MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG
Weinberg: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 21 Gidon Kremer (violin) / Kremerata Baltica, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mirga GrazinytÄ—-Tyla [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 10/Sep/2019 ] All in all, this has to be one of the most important symphonic releases of the year." Gramophone Awards 2020 WINNER - Orchestral / RECORDING OF THE YEAR |
GERALD FINZI
Finzi: In Years Defaced / Prelude Op 25 / Romance Op 11 / Concerto for Small Orchestra John Mark Ainsley (tenor) Tasmin Little (violin) / City of London Sinfonia, Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 12/Feb/2001 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE: Editor's Choice (May 2001) |
CHARLES-VALENTIN ALKAN
This is Alkan John Wells (organ St Matthews-in-the-city) [ Ribbonwood / CD - released 15/Sep/2001 ] 'An excellent new recording' (The Diapason, USA) |
EDOUARD LALO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Lalo: Cello Concerto / Symphonie espagnole Op 21 Paul Tortelier (cello) Yan Pascal Tortelier (violin) / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Louis Fremaux [ EMI Studio / CD - released 20/May/1988 ] "..a first class Lalo D minor, quite equal to Navarra's, and superior conducting of Louis Frémaux and his Birmingham forces." MusicWeb Amazon are currently asking nearly $50 US for this recording |
Sin City
Welcome to Sin City (LP) [ 1:12 Records / LP ] Having spent several years darkening doorways and gracing stages around the globe in other musical guises, SIN CITY were formed in the dry desert heat of Spain's Costa Blanca. Originally hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, the pair found... |
Spike Jones & his City Slickers
'Mis-taken Music' [ Alto / Take: 2 / CD - released 12/Sep/2015 ] Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 - May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in performing satirical arrangements of popular songs. Ballads and classical works receiving the Jones treatment would be punctuate |
CHARLES Villiers STANFORD
Stanford: Requiem Carolyn Sampson, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, James Way, Ross Ramgobin / University of Birmingham Voices, City of Birmingham Symphony, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Jun/2023 ] "Brabbins, who truly understands the language of this music, judges the tempos and balance of the ensemble with instinctive sensitivity...For anyone interested in British choral music of the period, it is a must!" Gramophone Editor's Choice June 2023 |
BACH / CHOPIN / HANDEL / MOZART / PROKOFIEV / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Andrei Gavrilov Andrei Gavrilov (piano) / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle [ EMI / Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2000 ] "The most gorgeous of Scriabin's studies has a fine sweep and sensitivity too, and the heavy torpor of the Rachmaninov Moments musicaux and the elegance of the Tchaikovsky Variations are nicely captured. Gavrilov's Islamey is justly famous," Gramophone |
CORELLI / BELLINI / CIMAROSA / FIORILLO / etc
Italian Oboe Concertos Vol 1 Anthony Camden (oboe) / Peter Lloyd (flute) / City of London Sinfonia, Nicolas Ward [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2001 ] More beautiful music for the oboe |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphonies 1-10 (complete) Arleen Auger, Janet Baker / City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Orchestra / Berlin Philharmonic / Vienna Philharmonic / Simon Rattle [ Warner Classics / 12 CD Box Set - released 4/Aug/2017 ] "There's no doubt that Rattle has inspired all concerned to an achievement which joins his groundbreaking readings of the Third, Seventh and Tenth Symphonies in the Mahlerian heaven." ***** BBC Music Magazine, May 2005, on Mahler 8 |