ALBAN BERG / IGOR STRAVINSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Berg/Stravinsky: Violin Concertos Itzhak Perlman (violin) / Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa [ Deutsche Grammophon Originals / CD - released 2/Feb/1996 ] "excellent sound: the spacious but not over-resonant acoustic and admirable balance between soloist and orchestra remain exemplary and appealing" Gramophone |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Parsifal (Complete Opera recorded in 1979/80) Peter Hofmann, Dunja Vejzovic, Kurt Moll, José van Dam, Siegmund Nimsgern / Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon / 4 CD Box Set - released 4/Jun/2021 ] The finest of all the principal singers is surely the Gurnemanz of Kurt Moll, a wonderful blend of bel canto and Lieder singing, the voice a true bass, perfectly poised and projected, finely nuanced, ever attentive to the colour and meaning of words |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vivaldi: Recorder Concertos Peter Holtslag (treble and sopranino recorders) / The Parley of Instruments / Peter Holman [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Feb/1989 ] 'The flavour of the baroque strings is strong and unmistakeable, but of greater importance is the unerring preservation by the ensemble of every detail in Vivaldi's busy scores' (CDReview, USA) |
ALEXANDER SCRIABIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Scriabin: Complete symphonies - Prometheus - Poame de l'extase - Piano Concerto Peter Jablonski, piano - Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin - Vladimir Ashkenazy [ Decca Trio / 3 CD Box Set - released 14/Jul/2003 ] "outstanding sound-quality" (Penguin Stereo Guide on Symphony No 1) |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Peter Katin, John Ogdon, Brenda Lucas (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Anthony Collins, Jean Martinon [ Decca Duo / 2 CD - released 1/Mar/1996 ] "I had expected Katin to be agile, nimble and clear-headed in Mendelssohn, but he is more. In the G minor he is energetic and passionate, not in a way that tries to turn it into a Rachmaninov concerto but in a way that does not let us forget... |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: The Canticles / A Birthday Hansel Peter Pears, John Hahessy, James Bowman, John Shirley-Quirk, with Bary Tuckwell (horn), Osian Ellis (harp) & Benjamin Britten (piano) [ Decca / London / CD - released 21/Oct/1990 ] Written at intervals between 1947 and 1974 Britten's five Canticles are miniature cantatas sharing a spiritual intensity that derives from Britten's own religious belief. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Curlew River Peter Pears, John Shirley-Quirk, Harold Blackburn, Bryan Drake, English Opera Group, Benjamin Britten [ Decca Records / CD - released 2/Jan/1989 ] "Curlew River - A Parable for Church Performance (Op. 71) is an English music drama, with music by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by William Plomer. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Tthe Burning Fiery Furnace Peter Pears, John Shirley-Quirk, Robert Tear, Stafford Dean / English Opera Group, Benjamin Britten [ Decca / London / CD - released 18/Nov/1990 ] This recording remains unique and carries that special authority only the composer himself can bring to his recordings. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Serenade for tenor, horn and strings / Les Illuminations / Nocturne for tenor, 7 instruments and strings Peter Pears (tenor), Barry Tuckwell (horn) , London Symphony, English Chamber, Benjamin Britten [ Decca / CD - released 25/May/1986 ] 'The Decca performance [of the Nocturne] is as nearly definitive as anything could be. Pears as always is the ideal interpreter, the composer a most efficient conductor, and the fiendishly difficult obbligato parts are played superbly." Penguin Guide |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Folk Songs (with harp) / A Birthday Hansel / Suite for Harp / Canticle V / Part Songs Peter Pears (tenor) Osian Ellis (harp) / Wilbye Consort [ Decca SBS Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Jul/2008 ] 'This is a very important release at a budget price and is a "must have" for the pleasure of genius' MusicWeb |
PETER SCHICKELE [P.D.Q. BACH]
P.D.Q. Bach: WTWP Classical Talkity-Talk Radio Peter Schickele, composer and conductor, with Donna Browne & Elliot Forrest [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 1/May/2004 ] Professor Peter Schickele and his radio sikekicks of Station WTWP (Wall-to-Wall-Pachebel), do station IDs, a pledge plea, host a French cooking show, and discover Elvis Presley's "brother, Enos" singing "Hound Dog" and "Love Me Tender." |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schubert: Winterreise Peter Schreier (tenor), Andras Schiff (piano) [ Decca / CD - released 16/Nov/2009 ] "I need hardly say that, among tenor versions, this is now my preferred choice, benefiting from the warm yet clear acoustic of the recording." Gramophone |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLELCTABLE: Mozart: Lieder & Masonic Cantata Peter Schreier (tenor), Andras Schiff (piano) [ Decca / CD - released 8/May/2005 ] "There is something wonderfully old-fashioned about the way Schreier delivers these songs, revealing an attitude to Mozart interpretation that seems far more romantic than anything we are used to today." The Guardian |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Concerto No.10 for two Pianos K.365 / etc Peter Serkin (piano) with Rudolf Serkin (piano), Marlboro Festival Orchestra, Alexander Schneider, with Jamie Laredo (violin) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 5/Jun/1990 ] High Fidelity called it exceptional Serkin plays every note as if his life depended on it, and a more recent reviewer in ClassicsToday described it as sounding as fresh and individually compelling as it did four decades ago. |
ZOLTAN KODALY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Kodaly: Hary Janos (complete singspiel) / Peacock Variations / Psalmus hungaricus Peter Ustinov, Erzsébet Komlóssy, László Palócz / Edinburgh Festival Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Istvan Kertesz [ Double Decca / 2 CD - released 16/Oct/1994 ] During the ten years that Hungarian conductor István Kertész made recordings for Decca he produced a body of recordings which quickly established themselves as top choices for the record buying public. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Three Suites for Violoncello Solo Peter Wispelwey (cello) [ Channel Classics / CD - released 28/Jul/2003 ] "Three Suites, three highlights in the cello literature. Not a cycle, but three individual, formidable statements. The first a picarwsque novel, a kaleidoscope, theatrical, grandiose and exotic, the apollonian second, full of power, sophistication... |
MOZART / BARBER / HINDEMITH / JANACEK / POULENC / ROSSINI / etc
The Complete Columbia Album Collection Philadelphia, Woodwind Quintet [ Sony Classical / 12 CD Box Set - released 17/Sep/2023 ] The Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet; founded in 1950; comprised the principal woodwinds and French horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra. They made their recording debut for Columbia in 1953: four players from the ensemble were joined by pianist Rudolf... |
MALCOLM ARNOLD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Arnold: Scottish, Irish, Cornish, English Dances The Philharmonia, Bryden Thomson [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 1/Oct/2012 ] "resplendently recorded....It sports the booziest bassoon solo I have ever heard in the Vivace of the Scottish Dances." MusicWeb |
GUSTAV MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mahler: Symphony No. 1 Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 19/Jun/2000 ] "Sinopoli has the benefit of first-rate playing from the Philharmonia and ample yet detailed sonics from DG." Gramophone |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, Op. 68 "Pastoral" Philharmonia Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy [ Decca / CD - released 20/Mar/1983 ] "These early digital recordings are actually quite fine...sounding nicely detailed and transparent...there is a sense of pleasant nostalgia." Gramophone |