GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: The Grand Duke (Complete), Henry VIII-Incidental Music, Overture di Ballo D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with John Reed, Meston Reid, Kenneth Sandford / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Royston Nash [ Decca Records / 2 CD - released 1/Apr/2003 ] "This represents, perhaps the ideal way to sample Sullivan's least known major score. The recorded performance has both polish and vigour. The recording is characteristically brilliant." *** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo Guide. |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: The Grand Duke (Complete) / Henry VIII-Incidental Music / Overture di Ballo D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with John Reed, Meston Reid, Kenneth Sandford / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royston Nash [ Decca Records / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/1993 ] "This represents, perhaps the ideal way to sample Sullivan's least known major score. The recorded performance has both polish and vigour. The recording is characteristically brilliant." *** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo Guide. |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance (Complete Operetta) D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with Valerie Masterson; Owen Brannigan; John Reed / Royal Philharmonic Orch. / Isadore Godfrey [ Decca Records / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/2003 ] "The recording is superbly spacious and clear throughout, with a fine sense of atmosphere. The CD transfer is remarkable in its added presence." (Penguin Guide) |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Lohengrin (complete opera recorded in 2016) BLU-RAY Dresden Opera / Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczala, Tomasz Konieczny, Georg Zeppenfeld / Christian Thielemann (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 15/Sep/2017 ] Previously at home in French and Italian lyric tenor roles, Piotr Beczala was expanding his repertory in a direction that many opera fans had long wanted him to explore, while Anna Netrebko was undertaking her first Wagnerian role. |
ENGELBURT HUMPERDINCK
Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel (Complete opera recorded live in 2006) Dresden State Opera / Antigone Papoulkas / Anna Gabler / Hans-Joachim Ketelsen / Irmgard Vilsmaier / Iris Vermillon / Michael Hofsletter [ EuroArts / DVD - released 10/May/2007 ] G :- "The staging tells the story clearly and believably but the trendy ideas come too thick and fast for comfort. Singing is generally good if not outstanding. Hansel (Antigone Papoulkas) and Gretel (Anna Gabler) are diminutive figures with... |
WALTER BRAUNFELS
Braunfels: Die Vogel [The Birds] (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Désirée Rancatore / Brandon Jovanovich / James Johnson / Martin Gantner / Los Angeles Opera Orchestra & Chorus / James Conlon [ Arthaus Musik Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 16/Feb/2011 ] "A rare chance to hear Braunfels's lighthearted, tenderly spiritual and little-known fable…" The New York Times "A marvelous performance…the orchestra sounded radiant." Los Angeles Times "Conlon conducted with lustrous élan…We should hear more... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Ode for St Cecilia's Day Dunedin Consort, John Butt (Director), Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Ian Bostridge (tenor), Polish Radio Choir [ Linn Records / CD - released 12/Oct/2018 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 - Choral |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Brahms: Hungarian Dances & Waltzes for Piano, Four Hands Duo Tal & Groethuysen [ Sony / CD - released 15/Sep/1993 ] Since 1985 tTal and Andreas have been performing worldwide as piano duo and have appeared at musical centers and renowned festivals. |
RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO / PIETRO MASCAGNI
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci / Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana (recorded in 2019) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / Anita Rachvelishvili, Ailyn Pérez, Rihab Chaieb, Brian Jagde, Roman Burdenko, Elena Zilio / Lorenzo Viotti (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 9/Apr/2021 ] "Anita Rachvelisvili is the undisputed star of Cav. She sings Santuzza as an unashamed mezzo, and her chest voice is thrilling in this music. Brian Jagde's Turridu is rakish and appealing, never a caricature villain, and he sings with electric energy |
ANTONIN DVOARK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Dvorak: Cello Concerto / Symphonic Variations Natalia Gutman (cello) / The Philadelphia Orchestra, Wolfgang Swallisch [ EMI Classics / CD - released 2/Feb/1991 ] Recorded At - Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, February 1991 |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Edward Power Biggs plays Historic Organs of Europe E. Power Biggs (organ) [ Sony Classical / 6 CD Box Set - released 26/Jan/2024 ] The legendary English organist E. Power Biggs became a household name when his Sunday morning CBS broadcasts introduced radio listeners all over North America to the sound of historic pipe organs and the classical organ repertoire from every... |
HENRY PURCELL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Purcell: Birthday Odes for Queen Mary Early Music Consort of London / David Munrow, with Norma Burrowes, James Bowman, Charles Brett & Robert Lloyd [ EMI Classics For Pleasure / CD - released 24/Sep/1990 ] Purcell's odes for Queen Mary show him at his best. A glorious succession of overtures, choruses, arias and delicious ritornelli display astonishing imagination and ingenuity: whilst overtly celebratory, never far beneath the surface lies the sense... |
SAMUEL ADLER
Adler: One Lives But Once, A 90th Birthday Celebration Eastman School of Music, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, Emily Freeman Brown [ Linn / 3 CD Box Set - released 23/Feb/2018 ] March 4th 2018 marks the 90th birthday of one of the twenty-first century's most influential and prolific composers: Samuel Adler. This three-disc boxed set provides a cohesive overview of his output and includes many premiere recordings. |
ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK
Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel (complete opera filmed in 1981) Edita Gruberova, Brigitte Fassbaender, Hermann Prey, Helga Dernesch, Sena Jurinac, Norma Burrowes / Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Georg Solti [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 14/Nov/2005 ] This production, filmed in 1981, is released on DVD for the first time. |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (highlights from the opera recorded in 1992) Edita Gruberova, Neil Shicoff, Alexander Agache / Ambrosian Singers, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Teldec Basic Edition / CD - released 16/Aug/2001 ] Highlights from the original 1992 release. |
BACH / HANDEL / MOZART / STRAUSS / MAHLER / BERLIOZ / etc
The Art of Edith Mathis Edith Mathis (soprano) with Otto Wiener (bass), Christa Ludwig (mezzo-soprano), Tatiana Troyanos (mezzo-soprano) etc [ Deutsche Grammophon Originals / 7 CD Box Set - released 10/Jul/2019 ] 7 CDs celebrating Edith Mathis's 80th birthday (11 February 2018), through a selection of her most treasured recordings from 1960 to 1984, of opera, oratorio and Lied. |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Complete Schubert Edition: Schubert 1817-1818 Edith Mathis (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano) [ Hyperion Schubert Edition Vol 21 / CD - released 20/Aug/2008 ] 'What riches are to be found here in a recital that is, by any yardstick, a profoundly satisfying one ... the musical marriage of the performers seems one made in heaven' (Gramophone) |
EDWARD ELGAR
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Elgar: Interpreters on Record, Vol. 1 - Vocal & Dramatic Music Maurice D'Oisly, Clara Butt, Tudor Davies, Peter Dawson, Alice Moxon, Haydn Wood, Kathleen Ferrier, Glasgow Orpheus Choir [ Dutton The Elgar Society / CD - released 1/Jan/1997 ] "This wonderful collection of recordings, made for the most part in Elgar's own lifetime, has not only authenticity of period; for those born into that time it is something to be played and savoured." Gramophone |
JEAN SIBELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Sibelius: Kullervo, Op.7 Eeva-Lilsa Saarinen (mezzo-sop) Jorma Hynninen (bar) Ida Haendel (violin) / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Berglund [ EMI Classics Matrix / CD - released 10/Feb/1994 ] "The 1971 performance is still a considerable one, and the analogue recording has plenty of atmosphere." (Gramophone) |
GRACE WILLIAMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Williams: The Dancers / Two Choruses / Ave Maris Stella / Six Gerard Manley Hopkins Poems Eiddwen Harrhy (soprano) Helen Watts (contralto) Caryl Thomas (harp) / Richard Hickox Singers, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 17/Mar/1999 ] "The recorded sound is excellent. .. I found this a fascinating disc. Anyone interested in fine choral writing and singing - or in exploring a new pathway in music - should seek it out. And I predict we will be hearing more of Grace Williams." A.R.G. |