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W. A. MOZART / GUSTAV MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Symphony No. 41 K.551 / Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection' Rosamund Illing (soprano) Elizabeth Campbell (mezzo) / Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonic Choir, Stuart Challender [ ABC Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 6/Jun/1990 ] "Challender had an instinctive grasp of this symphony's sometimes unwieldy architecture, and here presents the symphony in the grandest possible style, with majesty where required, but with humanity and delicacy, too...recording quality is first-rate |
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DELIUS: / GERMAN / BANTOCK / BAX / LORD BERNERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Sir Thomas Beecham - English Music John Cameron, Maureen Forrester, Lorely Dyer, etc / Royal Philahrmonic Orchestra, Beecham [ EMI Sir Thomas Beecham Edition / 6 CD Box Set - released 7/Feb/2011 ] "Beecham's English Collection is unmissable...[Song of the High Hills is] one of the first recordings made by Beecham's new postwar orchestra, and they already play as though they adore him" (BBC Music) |
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BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / DVORAK / WAGNER / etc
Icon: Rudolf Kempe: The Genius of the Podium Rudolf Kempe conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, etc [ Warner Classics Icon / 11 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2011 ] The German conductor Rudolf Kempe (1910-1976) began his musical career playing the oboe in various symphony orchestras. The programme begins with recordings of four Beethoven Symphonies that Kempe made with the Munich Philharmonic in 1971-72. |
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RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Tannhauser (complete opera recorded in 2012) Robert Dean Smith, Nina Stemme, Marina Prudenskaya, Christian Gerhaher / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin & Rundfunkchor Berlin, Marek Janowski [ Pentatone SACD / 3 Hybrid SACD - released 14/Jan/2013 ] This is the 6th instalment of PentaTone's successful Wagner Edition. It is the first time in the recording history that a label records all major Wagner opera's with the same orchestra, choir and conductor. This makes the PentaTone Wagner Edition a... |
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ARRIGO BOITO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Boito: Mefistofele (Complete opera recorded in 1995) Samuel Ramey, Vincenzo La Scola, Michele Crider / Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Alla Scala, Milano, Riccardo Muti [ RCA Victor Red Seal / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Aug/1996 ] "Ramey was already a splendid Mefistofele...but here he is even more in command of the role, and has the advantage of Muti's masterly conducting. Crider is an affecting Margherita and La Scola a mellifluous Faust." Peformance & Sound: 5 (out of 5) |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Siegfried Simon O'Neill (tenor), Gerhard Siegel, Iain Paterson, Martin Winkler, Hallé, Sir Mark Elder [ Hallé / 4 CD - released 7/Jun/2019 ] "The outstanding performances here come from the Hallé and their music director. With quality playing from all departments, Wagner's complex orchestral timbres are carefully presented." BBC Music |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Siegfried Simon O'Neill (Siegfried), Michael Volle (Der Wanderer), Peter Hoare (Mime), Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle [ BR Klassik / 3 CD - released 6/Oct/2023 ] Following the 2015 release of Das Rheingold and of Die Walküre in 2019, BR-KLASSIK is now releasing Siegfried as part of the enthusiastically received Ring cycle under Sir Simon Rattle. |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Symphonies Simona Šaturová, Mihoko Fujimura, Christian Elsner & Christian Gerhaher / Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Herbert Blomstedt [ Accentus / 5 CD Box Set - released 3/Jul/2017 ] "Blomstedt's Beethoven seems 'right': tempi are never too fast or too slow, but never staid, and phrasing is alive with rhythmic energy and cumulative momentum. His Leipzig players give their all- the strings in particular have a glorious burnished... |
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BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / GRIEG / MOZART / SCHUMANN / LISZT / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Icon: Solomon - The Master Pianist Solomon (piano) with various orchestras & conductors [ EMI Icon / 7 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2008 ] "Noble, characterful and poetic musicianship..a strong, solid conspectus of Solomon's art. Strong on Beethoven of course, with a representative concerto arsenal; good representative Mozart; a serious-minded collection in fact, befitting Solo's... |
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FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Complete Symphonies & Rosamunde Staatskapelle Dresden, Herbert Blomstedt, Willi Boskovsky [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 4/Oct/2019 ] "The playing of the Staatskapelle Dresden is quite excellent, with fine work from the strings and commendable clarity of wind textures. This may be "big-band" Schubert, but never once did I sense a heaviness to the ensemble." (MusicWeb) |
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MOZART / LISZT / CHOPIN / BRITTEN / MacDOWELL / QUILTER / GODOWSKY / etc
Stephen Hough: The Erato Years 1987-1998 Stephen Hough (piano) [ Erato / 9 CD Box Set - released 19/Nov/2021 ] Some of Stephen Hough's most exquisite recordings come from his collaborations with EMI and Virgin Classics during this early period. |
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VERDI / ROSSINI / MOZART / GOUNOD / STRAUSS / DONIZETTI / etc
Sumi Jo: The Erato Recitals Sumi Jo (soprano) / Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, Garzenich-Orchester Kalner Philharmoniker, English Chamber Orchestra, etc [ Warner Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 16/Feb/2018 ] International Korean superstar Korean soprano Sumi Jo made 10 recital albums for Erato and Warner Classics. They include some of her most captivating performances from Mozart to Johann Strauss, from Bach to Rossini, from Scarlatti to Verdi, Baroque,... |
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ERICH KORNGOLD
Korngold: Die Tote Stadt (complete opera) Katarina Dalayman, Lars-Erik Jonsson, Hilde Leidland / Royal Swedish Opera Chorus and Orchestra [ Naxos / 2 CD Box Set - released 26/Jul/1999 ] "This set from Naxos really does him [Korngold] proud....The result is addictive music, certainly when performed with this degree of loving care. Leif Segerstam has the measure of this idiom." Classic CD |
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JOSEPH HAYDN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Haydn: The Complete Mass Edition Susan Gritton, Pamela Helen Stephen, Janice Watson, Stephen Varcoe, Mark Padmore / Collegium Musicum 90 / Richard Hickox [ Chandos / 8 CD Box Set - released 1/Jan/2007 ] Richard Hickox's plaudit-winning Haydn Mass Edition is now available as a complete boxed set. A full price collection but now available at a special price. |
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PROKOFIEV / TCHAIKOVSKY / MINKUS / MOZART
Ballets: Romeo & Juliet / The Sleeping Beauty / Don Quixote / Le Corsaire / The Lovers' Garden (Blu-ray) Teatro Alla Scala Ballet, with Natalia Osipova, Leonid Sarafanov, Nicoletta Manni, Roberto Bolle, Misty Copeland, etc [ C Major Blu-ray / 5 Blu-ray Box Set - released 12/Nov/2021 ] Five outstanding ballets from the legendary Teatro Alla Scala. |
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W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Don Giovanni (complete opera) Thomas Allen, Robert Lloyd, Sharon Sweet, Karita Mattila, Francisco Araiza / Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner [ Philips Trio / 3 CD Box Set - released 11/Jan/2008 ] "The playing of Sir Neville's Academy is exemplary, with perfect articulation in the string figures and spicy winds-and aside from a vocal moment or two, the solo singing is impressive." ClassicsToday |
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CHARLES IVES
Michael Tilson Thomas conducts Ives Thomas Hampson (baritone) / San Francisco Symphony orchestra & Chorus, Michael Tilson Thomas, Richard R. Webster (organ) [ Sony Classical ./ RCA / 4 CD Box Set - released 17/May/2002 ] Rosette (highest rating) Penguin Stereo Guide |
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RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vaughan Williams: Concertos & String Music Howard Shelley (piano) David Theodore (oboe) Kenneth Sillito (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Bryden Thomson [ Chandos / 2 CD Box Set ] The perfect introduction to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tokyo String Quartet plays Beethoven [9 CD set] Tokyo String Quartet [ Sony Classical Masters / 9 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "I doubt whether quartet playing comes much better than in this Tokyo set of the Op. 18. Quite frankly I don't think that you can go far wrong with this set: the playing is unfailingly alive, sensitive and poised." (Gramophone) |
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JOACHIM RAFF
Raff: Complete Piano Works Tra Nguyen [ Grand Piano / 6 CD Box Set - released 19/Jan/2024 ] "excellent Nguyen playing with intelligence and devotion - especially the ambitious Grande Sonate." BBC Music (Vol 5) |