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 |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Stabat Mater Arthur Davies (tenor) Della Jones (contralto) Roderick Earle (bass) / City of London Sinfonia / Richard Hickox [ Chandos Richard Hickox Legacy / CD - released 19/Jul/2013 ] Rosette (Highest Rating) Penguin Stereo Guide |
Avalanche City
My Babylon [ The Guacamole Farm / CD - released 22/Feb/2019 ] Respected Kiwi singer and songwriter, Avalanche City (AKA Dave Baxter), returns with his first new album in three years, My Babylon. The new album presents a less folky and more moody Avalanche City than we've heard before. That's probably a... |
Avalanche City
My Babylon (LP) [ The Guacamole Farm / LP - released 8/Mar/2019 ] Respected Kiwi singer and songwriter, Avalanche City (AKA Dave Baxter), returns with his first new album in three years, My Babylon. The new album presents a less folky and more moody Avalanche City than we've heard before. That's probably a... |
Avalanche City
We Are For The Wild Places [ Warner Music Australia / CD - released 3/Jul/2015 ] Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Avalanche City is the musical moniker of Dave Baxter, whose debut single Love, Love, Love was propelled into radio mainstay back in 2011. While he spent two years travelling the world off the back of the breakout... |
Bay City Rollers
Gold (3CD) [ Sony Crimson Gold / 3 CD - released 25/Nov/2022 ] The 'Gold' collection includes 50 tracks across 3CDs, covering the band's most successful line up of Les, Eric, Woody, Alan and Derek and features all 12 of their UK chart hit singles |
JEAN SIBELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 6 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle [ EMI / CD - released 20/Mar/1988 ] Jean Sibelius (1865-1958) was one of the greatest symphonists of the 20th century and his music is as popular today as it was when he died over 50 years ago. |
GUSTAV MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mahler: Symphony No 10 (with Brahms/Schoenberg: Piano Quartet No 1) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle [ EMI / 2 CD Box Set - released 5/May/1985 ] Simon Rattle has performed the 10th more times than any other conductor. In many ways it's become his signature work. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
O Praise the Lord of Heaven: Music of rejoicing and reflection The Cambridge Singers & City of London Sinfonia, John Rutter [ Collegium / CD - released 20/Mar/2014 ] |
JOHN RUTTER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rutter: Requiem / I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes The Cambridge Singers, The City of London Sinfonia, John Rutter [ Collegium / CD - released 1/Jan/2004 ] John Rutter was born in London in 1945 and received his first musical education as a chorister at Highgate School. He went on to study music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he wrote his first published compositions and conducted his first... |
DEBUSSY / MUSSORGSKY / RAVEL / CHOPIN / RACHMANINOV / FAURE / etc
Cécile Ousset - The Complete Warner Recordings Cecile Ousset (piano) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra [ Warner Classics / 16 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/2022 ] "Cecile Ousset is an arrestingly ebullient artist...who leaves her own distinctive stamp on everything she plays" Gramophone |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: A Ceremony of Carols / Saint Nicolas The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge / Holst Singers / City of London Sinfonia, Stephen Layton (cond) [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Oct/2012 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Choral |
GORDON SHI-WEN CHIN
Chin: Double Concerto / Formosa Seasons Cho-Liang Lin (violin) / Felix Fan (cello) / Kansas City Symphony Orchestra / Michael Stern [ Naxos / CD - released 4/Mar/2007 ] "Formosa Seasons" is based on a series of Haiku-like poems, and is dedicated to the celebrated Taiwanese-American violinist Cho-Liang Lin. |
DEBUSSY / RAVEL / MAHLER / SIBELIUS / BEETHOVEN / BRITTEN / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Simon Rattle - The CBSO Years City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle, with Peter Donohoe (piano), Arleen Augér (soprano), Dame Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano), etc [ Warner Classics Simon Rattle Edition / 52 CD Box Set - released 5/Nov/2015 ] The transformation that Rattle wrought in Birmingham over an unprecedented eighteen-year tenure went beyond the artistic fortunes of one particular orchestra. Indeed, the CBSO's prestige had transformed the economic prospects of the UK's second city... |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Symphony No 7 "Leningrad" City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons [ Orfeo / CD - released 10/Mar/2013 ] "Nelsons is excellent at judging the music's momentum, a considerable problem in the first movement but which he helps to solve by allowing himself some flexibility in tempo, not always marked in the score but musically justified." (Gramophone) |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn in Birmingham, Volume 5 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 31/May/2019 ] Edward Gardner's Mendelssohn in Birmingham series continues with an album that collects eight overtures. As on the previous volumes, a reduced-size CBSO joins Gardner in Birmingham's Town Hall, where Mendelsohn himself conducted many of the UK... |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Symphonies 1 & 4, Volume 3 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 14/Apr/2023 ] "Album of the Weekend" ClassicFM |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert - Symphonies, Volume 2 [Symphonies Nos 2 & 6, etc] City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 28/Feb/2020 ] "I think it is safe to say these Schubert performances are excellent, and I would be surprised if you could do significantly better with any others. Highest recommendation!" MusicWeb recommended |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Shostakovich: Symphony No.10 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle [ EMI / CD - released 30/Sep/1986 ] Shostakovich's triumphant Symphony No. 10 is a work of liberatory spirit, performed here by Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH / BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem / Shostakovich: Symphony No.10 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Simon Rattle [ EMI Studio Plus / CD - released 30/Sep/1993 ] The Sinfonia da Requiem, composed in 1940, was Britten's first major work for full orchestra without a soloist and is now regarded as the finest of all of Britten's orchestral works. |
GEORGES BIZET / GABRIEL FAURE
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bizet: Symphony in C / Faure: Pavane (with works by Ibert & Ravel) City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox [ Virgin Classics / CD - released 20/Nov/1989 ] Original recording from the Henry Wood Hall, February 1988 |
FRANCIS POULENC
Poulenc: Stabat Mater / Gloria / Litanies à la Vierge noire Catherine Dubosc (soprano), Westminster Singers, City Of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox [ Erato Classics Red Line / CD - released 25/Oct/2018 ] "French soprano Catherine Dubosc sings with Gallic nobility and passion, but the affecting sincerity of her interpretation raises her above ethnicity to sublimity." AllMusic.com |
MIKLOS ROZSA
The Essential Miklos Rozsa (suites from Ben-Hur, El Cid, The Thief of Bagdad, Quo Vadis, etc) City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra / Crouch End Festival Chorus / Kenneth Alwyn / Paul Bateman / etc [ Silva Screen Records / 2 CD - released 20/Nov/2005 ] LATEST RELEASE IN THE ESSENTIAL FILM COMPOSERS SERIES 2CD SET OVER 100 MINUTES OF MUSIC THE CITY OF PRAGUE PHILHARMOINIC CONDUCTED BY KENNETH ALWYN PAUL BATEMAN AND NIC RAINE |
The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus
The Music Of James Horner [2 CDs] [ Silva Screen / 2 CD - released 31/May/2011 ] A comprehensive 2CD, 27 track collection, celebrating one of the most prolific and accomplished composers working in Hollywood today. James Horner's outstanding film music career has seen him work with the greatest directors of the last three... |
GRACE WILLIAMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Williams: The Dancers / Two Choruses / Ave Maris Stella / Six Gerard Manley Hopkins Poems Eiddwen Harrhy (soprano) Helen Watts (contralto) Caryl Thomas (harp) / Richard Hickox Singers, City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 17/Mar/1999 ] "The recorded sound is excellent. .. I found this a fascinating disc. Anyone interested in fine choral writing and singing - or in exploring a new pathway in music - should seek it out. And I predict we will be hearing more of Grace Williams." A.R.G. |
GEORGE DYSON
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Dyson: Three Concertos Eric Parkin (piano) / City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 3/May/1993 ] Dyson was born in Halifax, Yorkshire. Studied with Charles Stanford at the Royal College of Music (he later became director of that institution) and traveled to Germany and Italy on A Mendelssohn Scholarship. |
ALEXIS ALRICH / KARL JENKINS / NED ROREM
Concertos for Mallet Instruments Evelyn Glennie (percussion), City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, Jean Thorel [ Naxos / CD - released 15/Jan/2021 ] This compilation of concertos for mallet instruments features triple GRAMMY Award-winning percussion virtuoso Dame Evelyn Glennie and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. Alexis Alrichs Marimba Concerto, a rich amalgam of bold rhythms and exuberance,... |
GUSTAV HOLST
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Holst: Savitri / The Dream-City Felicity Palmer (soprano) Patrizia Kwella (soprano) Philip Landridge (tenor) / City of London Sinfonietta / Richard Hickox [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 16/Feb/2006 ] 'If you have not come across Holst's Savitri, then I envy you the prospect of hearing this small miracle of a one-act opera for the first time. Fine performances make this a budget-price bargain' (Classic FM Magazine) |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Rape Of Lucretia Jean Rigby, Nigel Robson, Catherine Pierard, Donald Maxwell / City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox [ Chandos 241 / 2 CD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] "Hickox allows his singers plenty of space with no loss of tension; they respond impressively, with Catherine Pierard exceptional as the Female Chorus." BBC Music Magazine, October 2014 **** |
MICHAEL KEMP TIPPETT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tippett: Concerto For Double String Orchestra and other Orchestral Works John Mark Ainsley (tenor) City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox (conductor) [ CHANDOS / CD - released 1/Nov/1995 ] Recorded at St Jude's Church, London NW11; 7-8 March 1995 |
JOHN RUTTER
The Very Best of John Rutter Cambridge Singers and the City of London Sinfonia, John Rutter [ Decca Music Group / CD - released 5/May/2011 ] No composer alive today more completely embodies the Anglo-Saxon choral tradition than John Rutter, whose compositions and arrangements have enjoyed endless success around the world. |