LISZT
Songs (Includes Three songs from Wilhelm Tell & Three Sonnets of Petrarch) Keith Lewis (tenor) David Harper (piano) [ Trust / CD - released 26/Nov/2004 ] Although a prolific songwriter Liszt is not commonly regarded as a lyricist in the same way as are his contemporaries Wolf or Brahms. In this recital Keith Lewis aims to offer support for the contention that Liszt's songs are deserving of a more... |
KIRI te KANAWA
I Could Have Danced all Night (Concert & Portrait) BLU-RAY Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano) / New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, John Hopkins / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Stephen Barlow [ Arthaus Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Oct/2015 ] Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's story has all the best elements of an operatic fairytale. Coming from a part-Maori background she went on to become one of the world's most famous opera stars. |
ROSS HARRIS
Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 Madeleine Pierard (soprano) / Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Marko Letonja [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Mar/2012 ] Described as "often beautiful and sometimes frightening" (NZ Listener), Ross Harris's Symphony No 2 is a setting of poems on the subject of New Zealand soldiers shot for desertion in World War One. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Egmont (complete incidental music) / Ah! perfido, / Marches Madeleine Pierard (soprano) / New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / James Judd [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Feb/2010 ] "Those curious for some not too often heard music by Beethoven can safely invest in this well played disc" MusicWeb May 2010 |
MANOS ACHALINOTOPOULOS
Flight on Light Manos Achalinotopoulos (clarinet) / John Psathas (sequencing) / Tim Prebble (synth) / etc. [ Rattle Records / CD - released 29/Mar/2011 ] Flight On Light is an extraordinarily passionate and moving album. Clarinetist Manos Achalinotopoulos is one of Greece's most emotive musicians. His music is grounded in folk traditions, but his performances transport the listener into profound and... |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120 & Clarinet Trio, Op. 114 Marie Ross (clarinet), Petra Somlai (piano), Claire-Lise Démettre (cello) [ Centaur / CD - released 15/Nov/2019 ] A ground-breaking recording of Brahms' Chamber Works for the Clarinet and Piano, this is the new disc from University of Auckland Lecturer, Marie Ross. Performed with original instruments from the period in the rarely-heard historically informed... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: The Last Three Piano Sonatas: Opus 109, 110 and 111 Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Trust Records DVD / DVD - released 1/Dec/2009 ] 'Whatever Houstoun plays is superb, but to hear him in Beethoven is to hear him at his best.' Christchurch Star |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mina Foley and Michael Tarawhiti McGifford Mina Foley / Michael Tarawhiti McGifford with Val Hungerford (piano) [ Ode Records / CD - released 16/Aug/2007 ] This recording is available for the first time on CD and features a selection of fine songs for solo voice along with duets performed by Mina with another NZ great Michael Tarawhiti McGifford. |
DOUGLAS LILBURN
Lilburn: A Song of Islands / Aotearoa Overture / Forest / etc New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd [ Naxos / CD - released 5/Oct/2006 ] "A Kiwi legend is handsomely served by his homeland. James Judd and his New Zealand forces find an openness and an energy in the music that evokes all the majesty of that country's landscape." Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine (Dec 2006) |
AARON COPLAND
Copland: Symphony No 3 / Billy the Kid (Suite) New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 1/Jan/2002 ] "It's the Billy the Kid Suite that makes the stronger impression. The pace is compelling through to the end, the flavouring is sharp and fresh, and it's hard to keep the feet from tapping spontaneously in the Mexican Dance." - Stephen Johnson, BBC... |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Dream Children / Wand of Youth / Nursery Suite New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd, conductor [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Apr/2004 ] "The freshness of inspiration is a delight, superbly brought out in these fine performances from New Zealand, with James Judd always an idiomatic Elgarian. The Wand of Youth Suites in particular range wonderfully wide in mood and invention; they... |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Orchestral Miniatures (Incls Chanson de matin & 3 Bavarian Dances) New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd (Conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 9/Sep/2006 ] "Especially impressive are the woodwind, which excel the rest of the ensemble in both beauty of playing and ability to follow their conductor...the horns are also impressive. This orchestra has a great future in front of it." MusicWeb September 2006 |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia / Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1 / Fantasia on Greensleeves and others New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / James Judd (conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 25/Aug/2003 ] "The whole is nicely balanced in a warm but clear acoustic. There is good solo work, too, from the leading string players as well as the woodwind and brass soloists." Gramophone |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia / Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1 / Fantasia on Greensleeves and others New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / James Judd, conductor [ Naxos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 15/Jan/2005 ] "Helped by vivid sound, James Judd conducts the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in glowing performances of these favourite [sic] Vaughan Williams works." (Gramophone) |
DOUGLAS LILBURN
The Three Symphonies New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / John Hopkins [ Kiwi Pacific Records International Ltd. / CD - released 23/Jan/2000 ] A powerful reading of three great New Zealand symphonies! |
EDWIN CARR
Carr: Symphony No 4, Promenade, Sinfonietta, Pacific Festival Overture New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Young [ Continuum / CD - released 1/Aug/2000 ] The delightful music of New Zealand's own Edwin Carr! |
JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Symphony No 2 / Karelia Suite New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Pietari Inkinen [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Apr/2011 ] "Inkinen takes an unashamedly romantic view of the Second Symphony, and the Karelia Suite provides an atmospheric filler." Financial Times, 2nd April 2011 **** |
EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA
Rautavaara: Symphony No. 8, The Journey / Manhattan Trilogy / Apotheosis New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / Pietari Inkinen [ Naxos / CD - released 13/Apr/2008 ] "This is a very well-balanced ensemble, and Naxos has captured them in excellent sound." (AudAud.com May 2008) |
ARTHUR HONEGGER
Honegger: Symphony No. 3 / Liturgique / Rugby / Pacific 231 New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Takuo Yuasa (conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Oct/2004 ] "His Third Symphony is one of his most powerful works, a purely musical requiem written towards the end of the Second World War and full of its horrors and its hopes for peace… The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under Takuo Yuasa makes a highly... |
Ngati Poneke Young Maori Club
Ko Ngati Poneke Hoki Matou [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 13/Oct/2003 ] SPECIAL PRICE FOR A LIMITED TIME - These classic concert party recordings of the Ngati Poneke Young Maori Club feature solos by Witarina Harris, founder member. The recordings, dating from the late 1930s. |