RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (R.): Elektra (complete opera recorded in 1981) Vienna State Opera / Astrid Varnay, Leonie Rysanek, Catarina Ligendza, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Karl Bohm (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Aug/2005 ] "Karl Bohm - Strauss's protégé - conducts, while Gotz Friedrich directs the stage production itself, dramatically evoking and emphasizing the expressionist set design inherent in Strauss's original conception." (Rovi) |
BEDRICH SMETANA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Die Verkraufte Braut [The Bartered Bride] (complete opera recorded in 1982) Vienna State Opera / Lucia Popp / Siegfried Jerusalem / Karl Ridderbusch / Adam Fischer (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon / DVD - released 7/Aug/2007 ] Every bar bubbles with the spirit of the Bohemian countryside in Otto Schenk's picturesque 1982 production from Vienna, where Smetana's comic masterpiece, The Bartered Bride, first conquered the hearts of opera lovers with its lilting melodies,... |
GEORGES BIZET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bizet: Carmen (complete Franco Zeffirelli production recorded in 1978) Vienna State Opera / Placido Domingo, Elena Obraztsova, Isobel Buchanan, Yuri Mazurok, Isobel Buchanan / Carlos Kleiber (cond) [ Arthaus DVD / Blu-ray Disc - released 12/Jul/2004 ] The Vienna Carmen from 1978 is a sensational filmed document from the musical legacy of Carlos Kleiber: the meticulous conductor only ever conducted a highly selected repertoire, and among his very few audio and video recordings are only seven... |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rachmaninov: Songs Viktoriya Dodoka (soprano) / Iola Shelley (piano) [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 20/Apr/2006 ] NZ-based Russian soprano Viktoriya Dodoka has established a remarkable reputation in New Zealand and Australia with dynamic performances for Canterbury Opera and at the Sydney Opera House. Here she is superbly accompanied by Iola Shelley in a... |
CARL NIELSEN / PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Nielsen / Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos Vilde Frang (violin) / Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Eivind Gullberg Jensen [ Warner Classics / CD - released 1/Dec/2012 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Concerto |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 Nigel Kennedy (violin) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Tennstedt [ EMI Music / CD - released 1/Jan/2000 ] Classic 1991 recording of the Brahms from Kennedy |
RACHMANINOV / TCHAIKOVSKY / CHOPIN / BEETHOVEN / PROKOFIEV / RAVEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Art Of Ashkenazy Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) / Concertge Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra [ Decca / 2 CD - released 4/Mar/2013 ] Ashkenazy attended the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Lev Oborin and Boris Zemliansky. He won second prize in the V International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1955 and the first prize in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition.. |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos / Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini / Piano Sonata 2 Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra / Andre Previn [ Decca Trio / 3 CD - released 29/Nov/2002 ] These recordings quickly established themselves as reference recordings at the time of their original release and have been a part of the Decca catalogue ever since. |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The World of Mozart Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Georg Solti, Willi Boskovsky, Kiri te Kanawa, Neville Marriner, Gervase de Peyer, Lucia Popp, Andreas Schiff [ Decca / CD - released 10/Nov/1991 ] A great beginners guide to music of Mozart. Recordings made between 1959 and 1985 |
CHOPIN / LISZT / PROKOFIEV / RACHMANINOV / SCRIABIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Vladimir Horowitz II Vladimir Horowitz (piano) [ Philips / EMI / RCA / Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2000 ] On December 18, 1925, Horowitz made his first appearance outside his home country, in Berlin. He later played in Paris, London, and New York City. In 1926, the Soviet Union selected Horowitz to join the delegation of pianists that were to represent... |
CHOPIN / LISZT / SCARLATTI / SCHUBERT / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vladimir Horowitz: 3 Classic Albums Vladimir Horowitz: (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / 3 CD Box Set - released 22/Jan/2014 ] "Vladimir Horowitz, incomparable wizard of the keyboard, is a law unto himself-more than ever so in his freewheeling eighties-and what a compelling law it is." Gramophone |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rachmaninoff: Miserly Knight Vladislav Verestnikov, Mikhail Krutikov, Piotr Gluboky, Vladimir Kudriashov, Soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre, Audrey Chistiakov [ Harmonia Mundi Saison Russe / CD - released 7/Sep/1994 ] Recorded in Moscow, May 1993 |
EDMUND RUBBRA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rubbra: Choral Music Voces Sacrae, Judy Martin [ ASV / CD ] A beautiful disc of (mostly) World Premiere recordings, this first-ever CD to be devoted solely to the choral music of Edmund Rubbra. The earliest are the Five Motets of 1934, settings of 16th century metaphysical poems. |
PALESTRINA / BRUCKNER / MENDELSSOHN / VICTORIA / FAURE / DURUFLE / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mysteries Beyond - songs and chants in the praise of Mary Kathleen Bride (soprano), Mark Krucez (organ), Vinson Cole (tenor), Patrick Stephens (piano) / Voices Of Ascension, Dennis Keene [ Delos / CD - released 2/Feb/1994 ] Voices of Ascension Chorus and Orchestra, founded and directed by conductor Dennis Keene, is one of the world's premier professional choral ensembles. |
GUSTAV MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde Waltraud Meier, Siegfried Jerusalem / Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim [ Teldec Maestro / CD - released 1/Sep/2009 ] "I think this is the most compelling and most spontaneous of performances recorded in the past few years, and I shall want it by me for the sheer beauty of the sound, often in that respect surpassing any other version." (Gramophone) |
JOSEPH HAYDN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Haydn: String Quartets Op.33 4 - 6 / Fragment Op.103 Weller Quartet [ Decca / CD - released 12/Apr/1992 ] "The Haydn quartets (are) most beautifully played... buoyant and colourful." ClassicalNet |
GEOFFREY BURGON
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Burgon: Choral Music (Incls Short Mass & Nunc dimittis) Wells Cathedral Choir, Matthew Owens, with David Bednall (organ) & Alan Thomas (trumpet) [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Feb/2013 ] 'The national soundtrack for the past three decades...[Burgon] shows what can be done with some simple ideas and a top-flight cathedral choir' (Album of the Week - The Independent) |
JOHANN STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (J.): Die Fledermaus (complete operetta) Werner Hollweg, Edita Gruberova, Christian Boesch, Barbara Bonney / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt [ Teldec / 2 CD Box Set - released 4/May/2009 ] "..the cast is strong too, with Marjana Lipovtek's Orlovsky particularly impressive...he men, including Josef Protschka as Alfred, are very good and so are the lively Netherlands Opera Chorus and the Concertgebouw Orchestra." (Gramophone) |
JOHN TAVENER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tavener: Innocence (Incls 'The Lamb' & 'Song for Athene') Westminster Abbey Choir, Martin Neary, with Alice Neary (cello), Graham Titus (bass), Leigh Nixon (tenor), Patricia Rozario (soprano) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 10/Oct/1985 ] "If I had to recommend a single disc to convince anyone of the mastery of John Tavener, this would be it." Gramophone |
GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI da PALESTRINA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Palestrina: Music for Advent and Christmas Westminster Cathedral Choir, Martin Baker [ Hyperion / CD - released 20/Oct/2003 ] What better way to encapsulate the spirit of Christmas than with works of such devotional beauty, all sung with Westminster Cathedral Choir's customary finesse and atmospheric reverence |