LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos.4 & 8 (with Mehul: Symphony No. 1 & Cherubini: Lodoiska Overture) Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 9/Sep/2022 ] The least famous of Beethoven's symphonies? Yet these two works are genuine tours de force: the composer takes the listener on a journey whose destination never seems to be known in advance, one brimming over with structural innovations subtly... |
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Coronation anthems Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, RIAS-Kammerchor Berlin, Justin Doyle [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 28/Apr/2023 ] In 1727, having just become a naturalised British subject, Handel was commissioned to write a set of anthems for the coronation of George II. Since he could hardly have expected ever to see a more majestic occasion, the composer took full advantage... |
ANTON BRUCKNER
Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 4-9 (The Mature Symphonies) (6-DVD Box Set) Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim [ Unitel Classics DVD / 6 DVD - released 8/Aug/2011 ] "This unforgettable Bruckner cycle sets new standards, and guarantees the Staatskapelle Berlin and their principal conductor "a place in the Bruckner pantheon." Der Tagesspiegel |
BEETHOVEN / FUCIK / SUPPE / JOHANN STRAUSS / SCHRAMMEL / etc
20 Favourite Marches Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Herbert von Karajan. [ Deutsche Grammophon Australian Eloquence / CD - released 13/Apr/1993 ] Herbert von Karajan turns his attention to the swaggering pomp of favourite marches by the 'other' Strauss family and many others in this good natured and emblazoned romp. |
JOSEPH LANNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wiener Musik [Music of Vienna] Vol.1 Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Robert Stolz [ Eurodisc / CD - released 3/Dec/1988 ] Robert Stolz was operetta royalty, and his recordings with the Berliner Symphoniker and Wiener Symphoniker document the world of light orchestral music with unique authority. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1, 6 & 8 (recorded 2001) Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic], Claudio Abbado [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 1/Mar/2014 ] Recorded live at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, February 2001 |
LIGETI / WAGNER / ELGAR / STRAVINSKY
Sir Simon Rattle & Sol Gabetta (Recorded live at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, 2014) Sol Gabetta (cello) / Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic], Simon Rattle [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 10/Apr/2017 ] "Rattle's presence can be heard, and felt, in virtually every bar of the score: the way he moulds phrases, nudges details to the fore, bends the line, holds tight to a salient accompanying detail (especially along the lower end of the spectrum) or re |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Arias from Der Fliegende Hollander / Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / etc Bryn Terfel (baritone) / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 6/Apr/2002 ] "This disc is only of extracts, but already it is clear that Terfel is going to be an outstanding Wagnerian bass-baritone of his generation, His tone colour is rich and full in the nest tradition, his declamation vivid and lively." Five Stars BBC |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV / FRANCIS POULENC
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini / Poulenc: Organ Concerto Cameron Carpenter (International touring organ) / Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Christoph Eschenbach [ Sony Classical / CD / CD - released 29/Mar/2020 ] "Cameron Carpenter (1981- ) is a spectacular musician and showman. But don't let his showmanship fool you. He is a brilliant and disciplined musician and arranger and belongs to a tradition of flashy virtuosos. He is also not the first organist to... |
FRANZ SCHREKER
Schreker: Der ferne Klang... Orchestral Works & Songs (2 CDs) Chen Reiss (soprano), Matthias Goerne (baritone) / Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Christop Eschenbach [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 7/Jul/2023 ] "The playing of the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach is both meticulously prepared and wonderfully idiomatic." Gramophone Editor's Choice June 2023 |