JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos 1 - 7 / Karelia Overture & Suite / Violin Concerto / etc Finnish Radio Symphony, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, with Joseph Swensen (violin) [ Sony / RCA / Finlandia / 8 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] "His tempos grab and hold the listener, and the orchestra plays with a sure sense of style. The brasses are incisive, the woodwinds reedy and a bit nasal, the strings strident or cushioning, all as appropriate." New York Times |
WITOLD LUTOSLAWSKI
Lutosławski: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu [ Ondine / CD - released 28/Feb/2020 ] "His musicians respond with brilliant, punchy playing but are also capable of dazzling refinement…Altogether, Lintu's Lutosławski cycle sets a new standard" Five Stars BBC Music Magazine May 2020 Orchestral Choice |
PIETRO MASCAGNI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana (Complete Opera with libretto) Fiorenza Cossotto, Carlo Bergonzi, Mariagrazia Allegri / Coro e Orchestra del Teatro all Scala, Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD Box Set - released 3/Feb/2002 ] Includes a booklet with the synopsis and libretto in German, Italian, English and French. |
FREDERIC CHOPIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3 / Three Mazurkas / Three Waltzes / etc Ingrid Fliter (piano) [ EMI Classics / CD - released 7/Apr/2008 ] "…her playing is now enriched immeasurably by a poetic depth and subtle expressive imagination." BBC Music Magazine **** |
Floating Points, Pharaoh Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra
Promises (LP) [ Inertia / LP - released 30/Apr/2021 ] Not strictly classical, jazz or ambient electronica, this one-track, nine-movement album embodies the highest, most etiolated aspects of all three disciplines. British artist Sam "Floating Points" Shepherd is the anchor here, an electronic free... |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS CCLLECTABLE: Mozart: Piano Trios Vol 2: K254, K496, K548 Florestan Trio [ Hyperion / CD - released 26/May/2007 ] "The Florestan's sparkling, inventive performances, on this disc and its companion, make them a top recommendation for the complete Mozart trios, their claims enhanced by the warm, ideally balanced recording' (Gramophone Editor's Choice Gramophone... |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY/ MAURICE RAVEL / GABRIEL FAURE
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Debussy/Ravel/Faure: Piano trios The Florestan Trio [ Hyperion / CD - released 12/Dec/2003 ] 'The Florestans, exhibiting their trademark finesse, taste and sensitivity, fully demonstrate why they are one of the most highly prized of new ensembles' (The Scotsman) |
MOZART / SCARLATTI / CHOPIN / SCHUMANN / SCHUBERT / etc
Fou Ts'ong - Complete Westminster Recordings Fou Ts'ong (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Peter Maag, Vienna Radio Orchestra, Brian Priestman, with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, etc [ Westminster Australian Eloquence / 10 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] The Westminster label legacy of a master Chopin interpreter, issued complete for the first time in an 'original covers' box of new remasterings. |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL / NICOLA ANTONIO PORPORA
Handel/Porpora: "The Rivals" Four Nations Ensemble, Andrew Appel (harpsichord/director), with Christine Brandes (soprano) & Geoffrey Burgess (oboe) [ ASV / CD - released 31/Jul/1999 ] The Four Nations Ensemble brings together leading soloists, generational front-runners of period instrument performance. With a core group of soprano, flute, violin, viola, cello and harpsichord Four Nations distinguishes itself with innovative... |
KAROLY GOLDMARK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Goldmark: String Quartet in B-flat major Op. 8 / String Quintet in A minor Op. 9 Fourth Dimension String Quartet [ ASV / CD - released 1/Sep/1999 ] "What an amazingly responsive, fine-tuned, and utterly flexible ensemble they are. A major addition to the chamber catalog." ClassicsToday 10/10 |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Vivaldi: Cello Concertos (complete) Francesco Galligioni (cello) / L'Arte dell'Arco, Federico Guglielmo [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 25/Feb/2015 ] Antonio Vivaldi was one of the first composers to feature the cello, then a relatively "new" instrument (after the viola da gamba), as a mature solo instrument. He wrote no less than 27 concertos for the cello. |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Concert Arias Francine van der Heyden, Miranda van Kralingen, Annemarie Kremer, Marcel Reijans, Ezio Maria Tisi, and others / various orchestras [ Brilliant Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 10/Aug/2007 ] This set contains all concert arias on 6 CD's recorded by several singers including the famous Dutch soprano Miranda van Kralingen. |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Robinson Crusoe / Vert-Vert / Entre Nous John Brecknock, Yvonne Kenny, Roderick Kennedy, Marilyn Hill Smith, Toby Spence, Thora Einarsdottir, Jennifer Lamore / Alun Francis, David Parry (cond [ Opera Rara / 7 CD Box Set - released 17/Feb/2023 ] 'All but dedicated misanthropes will find this set entrancing. Highly recommended' Gramophone |
VERDI / BELLINI / GIORDANO / MASCAGNI / PUCCINI / DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Franco Corelli - Heroes Franco Corelli (tenor) with Corinna Vozza (mezzo), Antonietta Stella (soprano) & Gabriella Tucci (soprano) / Various orchestras & conductors [ EMI Classics / CD - released 14/Jun/1997 ] Original Recordings from 1960 to 1968 |
FRANCIS POULENC
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Poulenc: Concerto for Piano,, 2 Pianos & Aubade Francois-Rene Duchable, Jean-Philippe Collard (piano) / Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, James Conlon [ Erato / 2 CD - released 30/Jan/1986 ] Francis Poulenc (January 7, 1899 - January 30, 1963) had his first major successes as an 18-year-old composer without a single composition lesson. Despite some study, he remained largely self-taught. In fact, his music is so individual, it's remained... |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) / Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht [ EMI / CD Box Set - released 27/Oct/2007 ] Frank Peter Zimmermann was born in Duisburg, West Germany, and started playing the violin when he was five years old, giving his first concert with orchestra at the age of 10. |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Xerxes [Serse] (complete opera recorded in 2007) Frankfurt Opera / Gaëlle Arquez, Elizabeth Sutphen, Lawrence Zazzo, Louise Alder / Constantinos Carydis (cond) [ C Magor DVD / DVD - released 14/Sep/2018 ] "...Arquez rightly dominates, vocally and dramatically…Carydis's direction, always responsive to the singers, meshes well with the production." Gramophone |
ALEXANDER SCRIABIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Scriabin: Complete symphonies / Poeme de l'extase Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Eliahu Inbal, with Doris Soffel (mezzo) & Fausto Tenzi (tenor) [ Philips Duo / 2 CD - released 1/Jan/1996 ] Original recordings from 1978 and 1979 |
VIVALDI / BACH, J.S. / SAINT-SAENS / HAYDN / SCHUMANN / etc
Charming Cello - Best loved classical cello music Franz Bartolomey Michael Grebanier, Janet Guggenheim; Havenith, Raimund; Hurvey, Keith; Madoka Inui; Ina-Esther Joost Ben-Sasson; Maria Kliegel (cello [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Aug/2019 ] The ancient origins of the modern cello came from India and the Far East, arriving in Europe through Arab trade routes. By the time of the instrument's advanced construction in the mid-18th century, the greater volume of sound and versatility that... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera (complete opera) Freddie de Tommaso, Saioa Hernández, Lester Lynch, Elisabeth Kulman / [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 23/Jun/2023 ] "De Tommaso turns out to be the real deal, singing with a confidence and ease that seem astonishing for a singer who was only 28 at the time of the recording, His is a real *spinto* tenor: bright yet intensely masculine." BBC Music Opera Choice |