PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: The 6 Symphonies / The Nutcracker Suite / Romeo and Juliet / The Tempest / etc Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado [ Sony Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2011 ] "Romeo & Juliet played by Chicago SO is one of the most exciting and powerfully moving accounts on record, and the sound is sumptuous and every part of the score is articulated and vividly captured." 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: 12 Piano Sonatas / 5 Piano Concertos Claudio Arrau (piano) / Philharmonia Orchestra, Alceo Galliera [ Warner Classics / 12 CD - released 14/Mar/2025 ] The pianist Claudio Arrau fully deserves the epithet "legendary": a sovereign technical command, a deep patience and a gravitation towards weighty matters, enriched by his study with 'philosopher pianists' such as Busoni and Martin Krause. |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vivaldi: Concerti per Violine Op 4 "La Stravaganza" I Solisti Veneti, Claudio Scimone [ Erato / 2 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1989 ] Originally recorded in 1977 |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Prokofiev: Cinderella, Op. 87 [complete ballet] Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 19/Apr/1983 ] "Ashkenazy gets excellent results from the Cleveland orchestra. The recording's fine definition is enchanced, yet not at the expense of atmosphere, and the bright, vivid image is given striking projection." (Penguin Stereo Guide) |
HELLENDAAL / WASSENAER / FESCH / SCHICKHARDT / SOLNITZ / GRONEMAN / HURLEBUSCH
Baroque Concerti from The Netherlands Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, Jan Willem de Vriend, Musica Ad Rhenum, Jed Went [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/2021 ] Excellent performances in Historically Informed Performance style by Dutch groups Combattimento Consort conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend and Musica Ad Rhenum, conducted by Jed Wentz, who is also a traverso soloist. |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vaughan Williams: Choral Works [Incls Serenade to Music; Five Mystical Songs & Fantasia on Christmas Carols] (4 CD set) Corydon Singers, Matthew Best, with John Mark Ainsley, Thomas Allen, Elizabeth Connell, John Gielgud, Bryn Terfel, Sarah Walker, etc [ Hyperion / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Jun/2008 ] 'The performances are splendid, graced by such soloists as Thomas Allen and Bryn Terfel … The rapturous Serenade to Music has a cast of 16 singers fit to rival those of the original recording' (Sunday Times) |
BELLINI / DONIZETTI / CHARPENTIER / GOUNOD / HANDEL / MOZART / VERDI / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Dame Joan Sutherland - The Art of (Five CD Special) Dame Joan Sutherland with various soloists and orchestras. Richard Bonynge, cond [ Decca Records / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Jun/2001 ] "a splendid collection… vividly fresh in these transfers" - Penguin Guide Yearbook (2000) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethven: Complete Piano Sonatas (with bonus Early Westminster Recordings) Daniel Barenboim (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / 13 CD Box Set - released 30/Oct/2020 ] This project - recorded completely during this year's lockdown - is set to become one of the classical recording events of the year! |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: The Complete Symphonies & Concertos Daniel Barenboim (piano), New Philharmonia Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 17/Mar/2023 ] The music of Brahms held an important place in Sir John Barbirolli's repertoire, and these recordings of the symphonies, made with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1966 and 1967, stand as one of the peaks of his discography. |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: 48 Piano Sonatas (8CD Box Set) Daniel-Ben Peinaar (piano) [ Avie / CD Box Set - released 25/Aug/2023 ] Autumn 2020 offered Daniel-Ben Pienaar an opportunity, not because the world was in lockdown but rather for the benefit it provided. A professor at London's Royal Academy of Music, Daniel-Ben was allowed overnight access to the RAM's Angela Burgess... |
MAURO GUILIANI
Guiliani: Complete Music for Flute and Guitar Daniele Ruggieri (flute), Alberto Mesirca (guitar) [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 11/Mar/2022 ] The combination of flute and guitar was a popular and appealing one for many amateur musicians of the early 19th century, and the Italian guitarist-composer Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) realised its full potential. |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: TheComplete Symphonies, Ovetures, Haydn Variations, Violin Concerto, Requiem & Alto Rhapsody David Oistrakh, Christa Ludwig, Elizabeth Schwarkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion, Otto [ Warner Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 23/Aug/2024 ] Klemperer and Brahms had much in common, which may go some way to explaining the empathy with which Klemperer conducts the works of the composer. Richard Osborne says 'no detail was insignificant, yet none was allowed to subvert the larger whole'. |
BEETHOVEN / SZYMANOWSKY / SHOSTAKOVICH / FRANCK / MOZART / LALO / TANEIEV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Les introuvables de David Oistrakh David Oistrakh (violin), with Lev Oborin (piano), Vladimir Yampolsky (piano), various orchestras [ EMI Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 18/Oct/2005 ] "For many, Oistrakh remains the violinistic ideal," wrote The Strad magazine in 2019. "His winning combination of tonal sumptuousness, clear interpretative focus, musical humility and effortless technical poise across a broad repertoire remains... |
BEETHOVEN / SZYMANOWSKY / SHOSTAKOVICH / FRANCK / MOZART / BRAHMS / etc
David Oistrakh - The Warner Remastered Edition David Oistrakh (violin), with Lev Oborin , Vladimir Yampolsky (piano), Yehudi Menuhin (violin), Borodin Quartet, various orchestras & conductors [ Warner Classics / 61 CD/DVD Box Set - released 18/Oct/2024 ] "For many, Oistrakh remains the violinistic ideal...his winning combination of tonal sumptuousness, clear interpretative focus, musical humility and effortless technical poise across a broad repertoire remains unmatched to this day." The Strad |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE - Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (14 CDs plus bonus DVD) John Tomlinson, Günter von Kannen, Bodo Brinkmann, Siegfried Jerusalem, Anne Evans, etc / Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Choir, Daniel Barenboim [ Warner Classics / 15 CD/DVD Box Set - released 1/Jun/2004 ] "Barenboim seems to get the most from his singers, as almost all are effective in their roles. I agree with the general consensus that John Tomlinson is excellent as Wotan (and, in Siegfried, as Der Wanderer). Anne Evans as Brünnhilde in the last... |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Shostakovich: Complete Symphonies & Concertos BLU-RAY Denis Matsuev, Daniil Trifonov (pianos) Mario Brunello, Gautier Capuçon (cellos) Alena Baeva, Vadim Repin (violin) / Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev [ Arthaus Blu-ray / 4 Blu-ray Box Set - released 1/Jul/2016 ] "Most successful are young violinist Alena Baeva, who gives a sensitive and appropriately fiery performance of Violin Concertoall the symphonies are given excellent, sometimes outstanding performances, with superb soloists…in Nos 13 and 14" BBC Music |
FRANCIS POULENC
Georges Pretre plays Francois Poulenc Denise Duval, Barbara Hendricks (soprano), Maurice Durufle (organ), Gabriel Tacchino (piano) / Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire, Georges Pretre [ Erato / 7 CD Box Set - released 13/Sep/2024 ] Composer Francis Poulenc, who celebrated the 125th anniversary of his birth in 2024, placed his deepest trust in conductor Georges Prêtre. |
RAVEL / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV / WAGNER / FRANCK / FAURE / BEETHOVEN / etc
Paul Paray - The Mercury Masters: Volume 1 Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Paul Paray, with Marcel Dupré (organ) [ Mercury Living Presence Eloquence / 23 CD Box Set - released 17/Jun/2022 ] Covering the first five years of their partnership on Mercury, this edition celebrates the legacy of French conductor, Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Recorded from 1953 to 1957, during the golden era of the orchestra. |
GABRIEL PIERNE
Pierne: Complete Piano Works / Chamber, Orchestral & Vocal Music Diane Anderson, Jean Hubeau (piano) Lily Laskine (harp) Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute) / Jean-Baptiste Mari, Andre Cluytens, etc [ Warner Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 17/Mar/2023 ] Gabriel Pierné - composer, pianist, organist, and conductor - This edition presents his compositions in dazzlingly diverse performances, with the composer himself at the piano and baton, inviting the listener on an exciting exploration of his career |
SCHUBERT / BEETHOVEN / LOEWE / BRAHMS / GRIEG / MAHLER / WPLF / R. STRAUSS / etc
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: Lieder & Songs on Warner Classics Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau (baritone), Gerald Moore (piano), Karl Engel (piano), etc [ Emi Classics Signature Collection / 79 CD Box Set - released 16/May/2025 ] One of the 20th century's most questing and influential singers, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is celebrated above all for his extraordinary skill and insight in lieder. This complete collection of lieder and songs recorded for HMV, EMI Electrola, Teldec... |