VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Elina Garanca - When Night Falls ... Elina Garanca (Mezzo), Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria, with Raphaël Feuillâtre (guitar), Raimonds Pauls (piano), Albrecht Mayer (oboe) [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 15/Mar/2024 ] This intimate album, says Elīna Garanča, is meant for "that time of day when you withdraw to your own private life". The celebrated mezzo has selected songs to help her listeners "tune out the world for two or three minutes and immerse themselves in... |
LECUONA / BARBIERI / GIMENEZ / LUNA / TORROBA / etc
Mis Amores Son Las Flores - Zarzuela Arias Lisette Oropesa (soprano), Orquesta Titular del Teatro Real [ EuroArts SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 25/Oct/2024 ] Zarzuela was born as a court genre in the 17th century, and became a mass spectacle in the mid-19th century, spreading throughout the whole of Spain. |
MASCAGNI / CILEA / ALFANO / CANTALANI / GIORDANO / PUCCINI / etc
Saioa - Il Verismo d'Oro Saioa Hernández (soprano) / Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid, Orquesta Titular del Teatro Real, Carlo Montanaro [ Euroarts SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 31/May/2024 ] The award-winning Spanish opera soprano Saioa Hernández and the Orquestra Titular del Teatro Real under the direction of Carlo Montanaro invite you on an unforgettable musical journey of discovery through the aria world of Italian verismo and more. |
MANUEL DE FALLA
Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain & Falla Piano Favourites Alicia de Larrocha (piano), Orquesta de Conciertos, Madrid, Jesus Arambarri [ Alto / CD - released 4/Sep/2021 ] "one of the very best pianists to have come out of Spain ... Unlike many names who have offered themselves in this nationalist repertoire, she has an impeccably clean technique, considerable strength verve and temperament, but a level enough head to... |
GABRIELE ROBERTO / DMITRI CERVO / NICOLA TESCARI / MENACHEM ZUR
Alchemy: New Music for Trumpet and Orchestra Fabio Brum (trumpets, Cornets, Flugelhorn, Horn) / Real Orquesta Sinfonica de Seville, Noam Zur [ Naxos / CD - released 22/Sep/2022 ] Like alchemists of old, attempting to recombine the four elements, here Fábio Brum presents four distinct musical languages in a programme forged during lockdown. Gabriele Roberto's Tokyo Suite charts the astonishment of a traveller dazzled by the... |
MANUEL MARIA PONCE
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Ponce: Violin Concerto (with works by Galindo & Revueltas) Henryk Szeryng (violin) / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de la Ciudad de Mexico, Enrique Batiz [ EMI / CD - released 1/Feb/1989 ] "A life-enhancing record. For within it two distinct fields are explored; both of them, in different ways, very rewarding. Try it." (Gramophone) |
PONCHIELLI / GIORDANO / VERDI / FLOTOW / BIZET / PUCCINI / etc
Johathan Tetelman - Arias Jonathan Tetelman (tenor), Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Karel Mark Chichon [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 12/Aug/2022 ] Chilean-American tenor Jonathan Tetelman has already earned a reputation in the opera world as a dedicated, distinctive and versatile artist. Having signed an exclusive agreement with DG, he has now recorded his debut DG album, Arias. |
GIMENEZ / VERDI / DONIZETTI / CATALANI / BARBIERI / BIZET / PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTIABLE: Gala Lirica (recorded live May 1991) Jose Carreras, Montserrat Caballe, Placido Domingo, Teresa Berganza, Alfredo Kraus / Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla, Various conductors [ RCARed Seal / CD - released 22/Jul/1992 ] Recorded live at the inauguration of the Gran Teatro de la Maestranza de Sevilla, May 10, 1991. |
CARLOS CHAVEZ
Carlos Chávez - The Complete Columbia Album Collection Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional De México, London Symphony Orchestra, Ambrosian Singers, Carlos Chávez [ Sony Classical / 7 CD Box Set - released 7/Jul/2023 ] Carlos Chávez is one of Mexico's most important and prolific 20th century composers. He championed the symphony form at a time when it was generally neglected by other Latin American composers, and the results are magnificent: when his first symphony... |
ENRIQUE GRANADOS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Montserrat Caballé Sings Granados Montserrat Caballe (soprano) Miguel Zanetti (piano) / Orquesta De Camara, Rafael Ferrer [ RCA Victor Red Seal / CD - released 26/May/1997 ] "Perfect singing of this music" raved MusicWeb International |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
50 Best Tango Various Artists including Jose Basso y su Orquesta, Francisco Canaro y su IOrquesta, Leopoldo Federico y su Orquesta, Carlos Garcia y su Orquesta, etc [ Warner Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Apr/2011 ] Three CDs entitled The original Tango, The Piazzolla Tango, and, Tango Sensations |
Orquesta Akokan
Orquesta Akokan [ Daptone / CD - released 30/Mar/2018 ] Akokán is a Yoruba word used in Cuba meaning "from the heart," and indeed, every song on the self-titled debut album by Orquesta Akokán feels like a heartfelt gift from the band to the listener. |
MANUEL de FALLA
Manuel de Falla - The Spanish Soul Alicia de Larrocha (piano), Turibio Santos (guitar), Victoria de los Angeles (soprano), Jean-Claude Gérard (flute), Orquesta Nacional de España, etc [ Warner Classics / 11 CD Box Set - released 12/Nov/2021 ] Manuel de Falla is regarded as the greatest Spanish composer of the twentieth century. Established in Paris from 1907 to 1914, he met Debussy, Ravel and Dukas and steeped himself in their works. |
ROSSINI
Matilde di Shabran (complete opera) Annick Massis / Juan Diego FlArez / Prague Chamber Choir / Orquesta SinfAnica De Galicia / Riccardo Frizza [ Decca / 3 CD - released 19/Sep/2006 ] "The opera itself is a joy. Typically pacey and tuneful, it was originally composed in a mad hurry, though revised at leisure. On this evidence it deserves to be, if not a mainstay, then at least a regular visitor to opera houses." Recording of the... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Rigoletto (complete opera recorded live in 1952) Maria Callas, Piero Campolonghi, Giuseppe di Stefano / Orquesta del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Umberto Mugnai [ Urania / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/2019 ] Callas only sang Gilda in Rigoletto twice on stage, in Mexico City in 1952, and this recording was taken from the first of those performances. She brought tonal substance and deep interpretative insight to a role that had sometimes been treated by... |
ALBENIZ
Merlin (Complete Opera) Carlos Alvarez, Placido Domingo, Orquesta Sinfonica de Madrid / Jose de Eusebio [ Decca Records / 2 CD - released 26/Sep/2000 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST - Opera |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Guitarra Espanola (five CD set) Narciso Yepes (guitar) with London Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta SinfAnica R.T.V. EspaAola, Philharmonia Orchestra [ Deutsche Grammophon Collector's Edition / 5 CD Box Set - released 12/Sep/2008 ] The Spanish noted guitarist and lutenist, Narciso Yepes, was born into a family of humble origin in Marchena, 7 km from Lorca, southern Spain.lection of Spanish music...ever! |
Abelardo Barroso with Orquesta Sensación
Cha Cha Cha [ BMG / ADA / CD - released 28/Nov/2014 ] The recordings made by Abelardo Barroso with Orquesta Sensación in Havana during the 1950s represent one of the pinnacles of the golden age of Cuban music. Now, on the album Cha Cha Cha, World Circuit, the label behind Buena Vista Social Club,... |
Jesús VILLA-ROJO
Jesús Villa-Rojo: Orchestral Works Hansjorg Schellenberger (oboe) & Asier Polo (cello) Orquesta de Camara Reina Sofia, Nicolas Chumachenco [ Naxos Spanish Classics / CD - released 28/Jan/2008 ] Jesus Villa-Rojo is one of the most dynamic figures on the Spanish music scene today. Almost all Villa-Rojo's works of the last twenty years or more feature certain constants originating from Spanish musical tradition, some melodic or modal, others... |
NINO ROTA
Rota: La Strada & Il Gattopardo [The Leopard] (film scores) Concerto Soiree, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Joseph Pons, with Benedetto Lupo (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 10/Aug/2018 ] This CD offers total immersion in the filmic and musical universe of Nino Rota, one of the greatest composers in the history of the cinema. "La strada" and "The Leopard" (with its unforgettable ball scene) are probably Rota's most famous scores,... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Sol y Vida Elina Garanca (mezzo-soprano) / Orquesta Filarmónica De Gran Canaria, Karel Mark Chichon [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 21/Jun/2019 ] "The singing is a delight, full of vitality and warmth" MusicWeb |
ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Mass In D & Te Deum Ewa Biegas (soprano), Marina Rodríguez-Cusí (mezzo), Javier Tomé (tenor), José Antonio López (baritone) / Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, Antoni Wit [ Naxos / CD - released 1/May/2017 ] "The score's orchestral colours are vividly etched and matched by splendidly ebullient choral singing" Gramophone |
IGOR STRAVINSKY
Stravinsky: Music for Violin, Vol.2 Ilya Gringolts (violin), Peter Laul (piano), Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia / Dima Slobodeniouk [ BIS / CD - released 25/May/2018 ] The relationship between Igor Stravinsky and the violin didn't get off to a promising start: early on in his career the composer stated that he was not fond of stringed instruments, finding them 'rich in cheap expressivity'. He was also suspicious... |
DE FALLA
La Vida Breve (Complete Opera) Inmaculada Egido / Antonio Ordonez / Mabel Perelstein / Coro De Valencia / Orquesta Ciudad De Granada / Josep Pons [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 4/Jan/2008 ] "The latest in a series of recorded gems from the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada and its conductor Josep Pons, this one a sultry, shimmering account of Manuel de Falla's gypsy opera La vida breve. Enchanting and typical of the work this label has been... |
RODRIGO
Complete Orchestral Works 5 (Includes 'Concierto Madrigal' & 'Concierto para una fiesta') Joaquin Clerch, guitar / Ricardo Gallen, guitar Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias Maximiano Valdes, conductor [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Jul/2003 ] "As with Russians, it takes Spaniards to play Spanish music properly, and the Asturias Symphony rises eloquently to the task, filling the most urban sitting-room with those sweeping Spanish vistas." |
DE FALLA
El Sombrero de tres picos (Three Cornered Hat); Noches en los jardines de Espana (Nights in the Gardens of Spain) Josep Colom (piano) / Orquesta Ciudad de Granada / Josep Pons - director [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / CD - released 24/May/2004 ] On Hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) format, presented in full 5.1 surround sound! PLAYABLE ON ANY CD SYSTEM |
Juan Pena Lebrijano Orquesta Andalusi De Tanger
Encuentros [ Ace Records U.K. / CD ] |
ALBERTO GINASTERA
Estancia / Variaciones concertantes / Harp Concerto Magdalena Barrera (harp) / Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Josep Pons [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 12/Jun/2015 ] "What makes this spectacularly engineered Harmonia Mundi disc especially attractive is the inclusion of the Variaciones concertantes, arguably the masterpiece of Ginastera's nationalist period. Pons chooses some extreme speeds, often pushing his firs |
ESSENTAIL BALLROOM CLASSICS
Essential Ballroom Classics [2 CD set] Manuel amd his orchestra, Gran Orquesta de Profesores Solistas, London Sinfonietta, The John Wilson Orchestra, Wiener Johann Strauss Orchestra, etc [ EMI Essential / 2 CD - released 1/Dec/2012 ] Over two hours of captivating dance music |
RODRIGO
Concierto de Aranjuez / Fantasia para un gentilhombre / Musica para un jardin / etc Marco Socias (guitar) / Orquesta Ciudad de Granada / Josep Pons [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 20/Sep/2009 ] "Socias and Pons hit you on the head with ethnic flavouring, the music sings tartly, then sweetly, but always with a Spanish accent." - The Times (22 Oct 2002) |
ROBERTO SIERRA
Sinfonía No. 3 'La Salsa', Borikén, El Baile & Beyond the Silence of Sorrow N. Scott Momaday (Lyricist), Martha Guth (soprano) / Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico , Maximiano Valdés [ Naxos / CD - released 31/Dec/2015 ] The sonic colour and distinctive rhythms enshrined in these four works provide further evidence of the art of internationally acclaimed Puerto Rican composer, Roberto Sierra. |
LALO / SARASATE / RAVEL / WAXMAN
Apasionado Ning Feng (violin) / Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Rossen Milanov [ Channel Classics / CD - released 1/Sep/2016 ] On this CD, full of virtuoso firework, romantic lyricism and temperamentful folklore, the borders between Spain and France fade and passion takes over. When Ning Feng was asked to perform with the Spanish Orchestra Sinfónica del Principado de... |
NICCOLO PAGANINI / HENRI VIEUXTEMPS
Virtuosismo - Paganini & Vieuxtemps Ning Feng (violin) / Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Rossen Milanov [ Channel / Hybrid SACD - released 25/Sep/2019 ] "Feng produces playing of real poetry, with a firm, burnished tone" Gramophone |
CHARLES IVES / FRANZ SCHUBERT / ROBERT SHUMANN
Ives: Orchestral Works Orchestra New England, Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, James Sinclair [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 1/Nov/2024 ] Charles Ives was a master of miniatures, and this program brings together a miscellanea of numerous shorter pieces that includes seven world premieres. Embracing ragtime before it became a craze at the end of the 19th century, Ives' Four Ragtime... |
Orquesta Akokan
Orquesta Akokan (LP) [ Daptone / LP - released 30/Mar/2018 ] Direct from Cuba! Daptone Records is proud to introduce Orquesta Akokán, a big band collective of Havana's top musicians both young and old, joining forces with some of the most creative and spirited talents of New York's Latin music scene. Born out... |
Orquesta Akokan
Orquesta Akokan (LP Limited Clear) [ Daptone / LP - released 30/Mar/2018 ] Akokán is a Yoruba word used in Cuba meaning "from the heart," and indeed, every song on the self-titled debut album by Orquesta Akokán feels like a heartfelt gift from the band to the listener. |
Orquesta Aragon
La Charanga Eterna [ Lusafrica / CD - released 30/May/2011 ] |
Orquesta Aragon
Lusafrica Years [ Lusafrica / CD - released 30/May/2011 ] |
BIZET
L'Arlasienne Suites / Symphony in C Orquesta Ciudad de Granada / Josep Pons [ Harmonia Mundi Musique d'abord / CD - released 1/Sep/2007 ] Written by a 17-year old composer, the totally classical Symphony in C major 'sounds... as if there had not been hundreds written before it. |
STRAVINSKY
Pulcinella / Two suites for chamber orchestra / Dumbarton Oaks Orquesta Ciudad de Granada / Josep Pons [ Harmonia Mundi Musique d'abord / CD - released 29/Jun/2006 ] Originally conceived for the Ballets Russes, Pulcinella asserted itself in its definitive form as the very epitome of Stravinskyan neo-classicism. |