GUSTAV MAHLER
Paavo Järvi: The Complete Mahler Symphonies Nos. 1-10 Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (HR-Sinfonie Orchester), Paavo Järvi [ C Major / 6 DVD Box Set - due 7/Mar/2908 ] The HR-Sinfonie Orchester has for decades been numbered among the world's leading Mahler orchestras. Between 2008 and 2013 it gave its most recent Mahler cycle as part of the Rheingau Music Festival under its then principal conductor Paavo Järvi. The... |
HANS ABRAHAMSEN / GERARD PESSON / OSCAR STRASNOY
Contemporary Concertos by Pesson, Abrahamsen & Strasnoy Alexandre Tharaud (piano) / Rotterdam Philharmonic, Frankfurt radio Symphony, Les Violons du roy [ Warner Classics / CD - released 31/Jan/2020 ] "The three works are very different from each other, but all showcase the fleet brilliance, tonal variety and clarity of Tharaud's playing." Guardian |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Alice Sara Ott - Beethoven Alice Sara Ott (piano) / Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Karina Canellakis [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 5/Oct/2023 ] Earlier in 2023, pianist Alice Sara Ott became the face of the Apple Music Classical app when she starred in its launch video, performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto no.1, op.15 with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. |
RICHARD WAGNER / RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Deborah Voigt - Obsessions Deborah Voigt (soprano) / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Richard Armstrong, with Natascha Petrinsky (mezzo) [ EMI classics / CD - released 20/Nov/1994 ] "this is a must for admirers of Voigt and quite something in its own right." ClassicsToday |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Strauss, (R.): Vier Letzte Lieder, Op. 150 [Four Last Songs] / Lieder Diana Damrau (soprano) / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mariss Jansons, with Helmut Deutsch (piano) [ Erato Classics / CD - released 31/Jan/2020 ] "For me, Strauss is one of the greatest composers," Diana Damrau has said. "The way he handles the soprano voice is a joy. And to be able to sing his music with my voice feels like coming home." |
EDWARD ELGAR / FRANK BRIDGE
Elgar: Cello Concerto / Bridge: Oration Gabriel Schwabe (cello) / ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Ward [ Naxos / CD - released 19/Nov/2021 ] "..That plaintive quality is much in evidence in the Elgar, and I admire so much Schwabe's approach to this work, surely one of the most recorded concertos in the catalogue." MusicWeb Recommended Jan 2022 |
VARIOUS FRENCH COMPOSERS
Gautier Capucon - Destination Paris Gautier Capucon (cello), Jérôme Ducros (piano & harpsichord) / Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Maîtrise de Radio France, Lionel Bringuier [ Erato Classics / CD - released 10/Nov/2023 ] A concept album of laidback repertoire from popular film melodies to French chansons to classical pieces - including "La Foule" by Édith Piaf, the main theme from Summer of '42 by Michel Legrand, "Beau soir" by Debussy, Sicilienne by Fauré, and "Chi... |
ERNEST CHAUSSON / EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA / SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Hilary Hahn - Paris Hilary Hahn (violin) / Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 12/Mar/2021 ] "I doubt whether [the Prokofiev] has ever been played 'better' than it is here. While others find additional pockets of charm and tenderness, few demonstrate Hahn's grip on the argument." GRAMOPHONE Award Nomination 2021 - Concerto |
ARVO PART
Musica Selecta: from the legendary premiere recordings The Hilliard Ensemble, Alexei Lubimov (piano), Alexander Malter (piano), Gidon Kremer (violin) , Latvian Radio Choir, etc [ ECM / 2 CD - released 12/Sep/2015 ] Composer Arvo Pärt and producer Manfred Eicher have maintained their creative partnership for more than 30 years. Eicher launched ECM New Series in 1984 as a platform for Pärt's music, bringing the Estonian composer to the world's attention with... |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saens: Carnival Of Animals (with Ravel-Mother Goose Suite) Johnny Morris (narrator) / Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Ondrej Lenard (conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 30/Jul/2008 ] The French composer Camille Saint-Saëns was prolific and lived a long time, although by the time of his death in 1921 music had changed beyond anything he could have conceived. He was a gifted pianist and, in common with many other well known French... |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Piano Concerto No.1 & Four Pieces for Piano Op. 119 Joseph Moog (piano), German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicholas Milton (conductor) [ Onyx / CD - released 23/Oct/2020 ] "Moog's first entry [is] clear and unfussy, with enough subtle rubato to give the music shape and direction. The pacing is always effective." BBC Music |
KARITA MATTILA
The Irresistible Karita Mattila (Incls 'Song to the Moon' & 'Round Midnight') Karita Mattila (soprano) with Ilmo Ranta (piano) / Turku Philharmonic Orchestra / Finnish Radio Symphony [ Ondine / CD - released 20/Apr/2010 ] Celebrated soprano Karita Mattila has proved herself to be irresistible in any musical genre. |
SIR EDWARD ELGAR
The Best of Elgar (Incls 'Nimrod' variation & 'Pomp and Circumstance' March Nos 1 & 4) Maria Kliegel (cello) Dong-Suk Kang (violin) / BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / etc [ Naxos / CD - released 10/May/2008 ] Edward Elgar was arguably the leading English composer of his generation and a significant figure among late Romantic European musicians. Born in the West of England in 1857, the son of a piano-tuner and owner of a music shop, he earned his earlier... |
ANTON BRUCKNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bruckner: Latin Motets Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava [ Ondine / CD - released 6/Nov/2020 ] GRAMOPHONE Award Nomination 2021 - Choral |
W. A. MOZART / JOSEF HAYDN / CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK
Classic Vienna: Mozart - Haydn - Gluck Lena Belkina (mezzo) / ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrea Sanguineti [ RCA / Sony Classics / CD - released 20/Aug/2017 ] Mezzo-soprano Lena Belkina's first album garnered high praise: "She sings Desdemona's 'Willow Song' from Rossini's Otello with lyrical intensity... Nacqui all'affanno e al pianto" from La Cenerentola is sharp-witted and brilliant", opined Das... |
J. S. BACH
Bach: St Matthew Passion BLU-RAY Mark Padmore (Evangelist), Peter Harvey (Christus), Maria Espada (Soprano), Ingeborg Danz (Mezzo) / Royal Concertgebouw & Netherlands Radio Choir, Iva [ Arthaus Musik Blu-Ray / Blu-ray - released 10/Oct/2012 ] This 2012 recording of the most influential and wide spread oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach features the Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer, a visionary in his field, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. The double choir is the... |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 3 / Suite No 2 Martha Argerich & Nelson Freire (pianos) / Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Riccardo Chailly [ Philips 50 / CD - released 5/May/2001 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - One of the most electrifying "live" recordings of a concerto ever made and a constant best-seller. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der Fliegende Hollander [The Flying Dutchman] ( Alfred Muff, Ingrid haubold, Erich Knodt, Peter Seiffert / Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Pinchas Steinberg [ Naxos Opera Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1992 ] "The recording is both atmospheric and clear, and the set comes with libretto, translation, notes and detailed synopsis, an outstanding bargain." Penguin Guide |
BARTOK / BRAHMS / R. STRAUSS / BEETHOVEN / DEBUSSY / etc
Nelson Freire - Memories: The Unreleased Recordings (1970 - 2019) Nelson Freire (piano) / Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Uri Segal / Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Gielen & Horst Stein [ Decca Records / 2 CD - released 18/Nov/2022 ] On November 21st 2021, Nelson Freire was taken before his time. One year on, we remember him with a new collection of previously unreleased Decca recordings, bonus tracks making their debut on disc and rare radio broadcast tapes. |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Complete Symphonies Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra / Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland / Jaap van Zweden [ BRILLIANT CLASSICS / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Feb/2011 ] "here's not a weak link here: every performance is full of life and sections that can be problematic are triumphantly successful...van Zweden is consistently inspiring and imaginative." (International Record Review) |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Piano Concerto No 2 in B flat major, Op. 83 / Klavierstücke (8), Op. 76 Nicholas Angelich (piano) / Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra / Paavo Jarvi [ Virgin Classics / CD - released 20/Nov/2010 ] "Few pianists in my experience have sensed Brahms's emotional turbulence to such an acute degree...these works have rarely, if ever, received finer performances." (Editor's Choice Gramophone Sept 2010) |
JAMES LEE III
Voyages - Orchestral music by James Lee III ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop, conductor [ Avie / CD - released 20/May/2022 ] In Voyages, prolific American composer James Lee III takes the listener on a colourful journey through his endlessly creative orchestral music; painting biblical imagery in Beyond Rivers of Vision and celebrating the joyous Feast of Tabernacles... |
GRAZYNA BACEWICZ
Bacewicz: Concertos for 1 & 2 Pianos / Overture / Music for Strings, Trumpets & Percussion Peter Jablonski and Elisabeth Brauß (piano) / Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon [ Ondine / CD - released 5/May/2023 ] "Bacewicz's music certainly thrives on its high metabolic rate, its impatience, even, for which this brilliantly executed new album makes no apology." Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 - Concerto |
BEDRICH SMETANA
Smetana: Ma Vlast (My Fatherland), including Vltava (Moldau) The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Antoni Wit [ Naxos / CD - released 15/Sep/2000 ] "this new Naxos offering enshrines an interpretation of no mean stature and individuality: an undoubted bargain, I would say" - Gramophone |
Porridge Radio
Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me [ Secretly Canadian / CD - released 18/Oct/2024 ] Recorded in the Somerset countryside in early 2024 by longtime Big Thief and Laura Marling engineer Dom Monks, Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me is Porridge Radio's new album and first new music in two years. The UK band's new album... |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Sonata in D Major Tedi Papavrami (violin) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Antoni Wit [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Feb/2009 ] "Tedi Papavrami is evidently someone to shout about, playing with flawless technique". - Classic CD |
FREDERICK DELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Delius: Fennimore and Gerda (complete opera) Robert Tear (tenor) Brian Rayner Cook (baritone), Hedwig Rummel (Mezzo Soprano) Elisabeth Söderström (Sop) / Danish national radio symphony, Meredith [ EMI Classics / CD - released 12/May/1997 ] "Throughout his career, (Meredith Davies) championed the cause of Frederick Delius, and his most celebrated association with Benjamin Britten came in May 1962, when he directed the premiere of Britten's War Requiem" Guardian |
BERTHOLD GOLDSCHMIDT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Goldschmidt: Beatrice Cenci (complete opera with libretto) Roberta Alexander, Stefan Stoll, Simon Estes, Della Jones / Berlin Radio Chorus, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Lothar Zagrosek [ Sony Classical / 2 CD Box Set - released 7/Feb/1995 ] "The cast is a strong one, dominated by the burnished tone of Roberta Alexander in the title role of the abused daughter. Della Jones as her stepmother Lucrezia is equally fine" BBC Music |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Sonya Yoncheva - The Verdi Album Sonya Yoncheva (soprano) / Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra, Massimo Zanetti [ Sony Music / CD - released 8/Feb/2018 ] "She certainly has a go at just about everything, ranging from the delicacy of Desdemona's 'Ave Maria', to the wilder grief of the Forza Leonora's 'Pace! Pace, mio Dio!' OperaNews |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV / DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Prokofiev / Shostakovich: Cello Concertos Steven Isserlis (cello) / Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Apr/2015 ] BBC Music Magazine Awards 2016 Finalist - Concerto |
MAURICE RAVEL
Best Of Ravel Dong-Suk Kang (violin), Pascal Devoyon (piano), Francois-Joel Thiollier (piano), Marat Bisengaliev (violin) Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Ph [ Naxos / CD - released 26/Jul/1999 ] Take a large spoonful of Bolero, add a small amount of Pavane, simmer in the heat of Feria, then mix with a little Blues and you have the perfect Ravel. Its the recipe for success in the 'Best of' market. |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
My First Tchaikovsky Album Maria Kliegel (cello) / Ireland National Symphony Orchestra; Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; Queensland Symphony; Slovak Philharmonic Orches [ Naxos / CD - released 27/Feb/2012 ] Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: a great Russian name for a great Russian composer! Tchaikovsky was not always a happy man. He didn't laugh a lot. But he wrote music that is full of good melodies. |
GOUNOD / DELIBES / TCHAIKOVSKY / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV / RACHMANINOV / etc
Aida Aida Garifullina (soprano) / ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Cornelius Meister [ Decca Records / CD - released 10/Mar/2017 ] 'Garifullina dazzles in this impassioned and musical performance' Opera recording of the Month April 2017 |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Liebeslieder Aldis Liepiņš & Dace Kļava (pianos) Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava [ Ondine / CD - released 10/Jul/2015 ] "Under Sigvards Kļava these singers don't wallow in over-sentimentality but give an impressive interpretation of this glorious music, aided by two superb pianists." Choir & Organ |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Piano Concerto Nos. 3 & 4 Alicia de Larrocha (piano) / Radio-Symphonie-Orchester, Berlin, Riccardo Chailly [ Decca Eclipse / CD - released 27/Jan/1995 ] Recorded: June 1983 (No. 3); September 1984 (No. 4) |
REINHOLD GLIERE
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Glière Conducts Glière: Ballet Suites Nos. 1 & 2 All-Union radio Orchestra, Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Reinhold Gliere [ Consonance / CD - released 22/Feb/1995 ] Recorded in 1947 |
PUCCINI / CILEA / VERDI / DONIZETTI / FRANCK / SCHUBERT / TRADITIONAL
Viaggio Italiano Andrea Bocelli (tenor) / Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra [ Philips / CD - released 8/Nov/1998 ] Viaggio Italiano sees Bocelli perform a concert of famous opera arias and traditional songs. It's an imaginary journey through the melodrama of the Italian opera |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Angela Rippon (narrator) / Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Ondrej Lenard [ Naxos Children's Classics / CD - released 28/Oct/2007 ] "Angela Rippon's concise narration is dynamically conveyed with interest as one might expect from this lover of ballet. (Presumably she wrote the notes as no credit is given in this respect.)" --Review by Raymond Walker, Musicweb International,... |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: La Boheme (a film by Robert Dornhelm) Anna Netrebko (soprano) & Rolando Villazon (tenor) / The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bertrand de Billy [ Kultur DVD / DVD - released 5/Dec/2009 ] "The lovers' sheer intensity and Dornhelm's cinematic vision, expanded in the accompanying documentary, make this one of the finest opera films ever - unmissable." BBC Music Magazine (Five stars *****) |