BELA BARTOK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bartok: The 3 Piano Concertos Stephen Kovacevich (piano) / BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis [ Philips / CD - released 1/Oct/1990 ] 'In each of the concertos it is Kovacevich's reading of the finale which crowns the performance...the recording represents the work of Philips engineers at its refined best [Concertos 1 & 3]' Gramophone |
BELA BARTOK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bartok: The 3 Piano Concertos / Violin Concerto / Concerto for Orchestra Stephen Kovacevich (piano) Henryk Szeryng (violin) / BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink [ Philips Duo / 2 CD - released 1/Oct/1993 ] 'In each of the concertos it is Kovacevich's reading of the finale which crowns the performance...the recording represents the work of Philips engineers at its refined best [Piano Concertos Gramophone] |
W. A. MOZART
Sir Colin Davis conducts Mozart Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Colin Davisa, The Orchestra of St. Luke's, Sir Colin Davis [ Sony / RCA Classical Masters / 4 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] "Twelve of Mozart scintillating Overtures are given superlative performances with the justly famous Staatskapelle of Dresden conducted with great panache by Colin Davis on this marvellous CD." classical-music.com |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No. 9 Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle [ BR Klassik / CD - released 7/Oct/2022 ] For the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the performances on November 26 and 27, 2021 in the Isarphilharmonie marked the beginning of a new chapter in its Mahler interpretation: with its designated new principal conductor Simon Rattle, the... |
FREDERICK DELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Delius: Violin Concerto / Two Aquarelles / On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring / etc Tasmin Little (violin) / Welsh National Opera rchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras [ Argo / CD - released 1/Oct/1992 ] Recorded: 1991 Recording Venue: Brangwyn Hall, Swansea |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Don Giovanni (complete opera with full libretto) Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming, Ann Murray, Michele Pertusi / London Philhmonic Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca / 3 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1997 ] "It is as finely disciplined as any other Solti performance, the orchestral playing is excellent, and the rhythms are crisp, strong and tautly held. There is a sense of spaciousness to the direction that is unusual these days...But there is certainly... |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Les Troyens (complete opera recorded in 2003) BLU-RAY Theatre Musical de Paris / Yannis Kokkos, Susan Graham, Gregory Kunde / Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ Opus Arte / BBC Blu-Ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "The magnificent high-definition recording does it ample sonic and visual justice. For anyone who loves Les Troyens, this is a revelatory and essential performance." (The Gramophone Classical Music Guide) |
GUSTAV MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn Thomas Allen (baritone) Ann Murray (soprano) / The London Philharmonic, Sir Charles Mackerras [ Virgin Ultraviolet / CD - released 5/Nov/1995 ] Recorded At - No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London, 1991 |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Opera Arias Cynthia Sieden, Charlotte Margiono, Anne Sofie von Otter, Rodney Gilfry, Bryn Terfel, Gerald Finley / English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardin [ Archiv Deutsche Grammophon Virtuoso / CD - released 8/Oct/2012 ] "Gardiner's Mozartian style is well sprung and subtly moulded rather than severe. The principals sing beautifully...The electrifying singing of the Monteverdi Choir adds to the dramatic bite." Penguin Guide |
JOHAN PACHELBEL
Pachelbel's Greatest Hit: The Ultimate Canon Sir James Galway, The Canadian Brass, Angel Romero etc [ RCA Red Seal / CD - released 6/Oct/2003 ] From movies and TV commercials to church services and weddings, Pachelbel's Canon has become central to the soundtrack of our lives. Now, experience this little masterpiece in fifteen very different arrangements - for orchestra, piano, string... |
EDWARD ELGAR
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Elgar: The Collector's Edition: The Masterpieces (30 CDs at a special price) Vernon Handley / Adrian Boult / Sir John Barbirolli / Janet Baker / Robert Tear / Charles Groves / Jacqueline du Pre / etc [ EMI Classics / 30 CD Box Set - released 1/Jan/2009 ] Elgar is the quintessential English composer. He is loved as our Shakespeare of music, and we turn to him at times of solemn remembrance and national rejoicing. This edition, released to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth,... |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: La Boheme (complete opera recorded in 1956) Victoria de los Angeles / Jussi Bjorling / Robert Merrill / Lucine Amara / RCA Victor Orchestra / Sir Thomas Beecham [ Naxos Great Opera Recordings / 2 CD - released 11/Apr/2007 ] Featuring Victoria de los Angeles and Jussi Björling in glorious form, the 1956 set ranks alongside the Callas De Sabata Tosca (Naxos 8.110256-57) as one of the greatest studio recordings of an opera ever made. |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (Complete Opera recorded in 1958 & 1959) Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda, Janine Micheau / French National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham [ Warner Classics The Home Of Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Jul/2019 ] "This classic Beecham set was originally welcomed in Gramophone with a glowing review from Philip Hope Wallace: 'I send up a loud "Ole".' It certainly stands the test of time, sparkling, swaggering and seducing in a way that is uniquely Beecham's. |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (Complete Opera recorded in 1958 & 1959) Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda, Janine Micheau / French National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham [ Warner Classics Legendary Opera Recordings / 3 CD Box Set - released 23/Sep/2016 ] "a spacious recording in which the atmospheric off-stage effects are vividly caught. What is so individual is the way that Beecham points rhythms to captivate the ear, as well as his persuasive moulding of phrases." (Gramophone) |
BIZET / VILLA LOBOS / DEBUSSY / RAVEL / ROSSINI / PUCCINI / etc
Victoria de los Angeles - The Warner Classics Edition Victoria de los Angeles (soprano) with Nicolai Gedda, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Alicia de Larrocha, Gerald Moore, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Thomas Beecham [ Warner Classics / 59 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2023 ] A singer who inspired the greatest admiration and affection, Victoria de los Ángeles was, in the words of Opera magazine, "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century". |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The World of Mozart Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Georg Solti, Willi Boskovsky, Kiri te Kanawa, Neville Marriner, Gervase de Peyer, Lucia Popp, Andreas Schiff [ Decca / CD - released 10/Nov/1991 ] A great beginners guide to music of Mozart. Recordings made between 1959 and 1985 |
ANTON BRUCKNER
Bruckner: The Nine Symphonies Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Georg Solti, Horst Stein, Karl Böhm, Lorin Maazel, Claudio Abbado [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 9 CD Box Set - released 22/Mar/2024 ] The Vienna Philharmonic's distinguished Bruckner tradition, documented through a series of superb Decca recordings from the 1960s and 70s on a Limited Edition 9-CD box set, with Original Jackets. |
LEOS JANACEK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Janacek: Sinfonietta / Taras Bulba Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic], Sir Charles Mackerras [ Decca / CD - released 29/Apr/1983 ] Much as the name Charles Mackerras is rightly associated with Janácek's music, when it comes to the pairing of his two greatest orchestral works, Sinfonietta and Taras Bulba, this recording remains a favourite. |
LUDWIG van BEEHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 "Pastorale" Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra], Sir Simon Rattle [ Warner Classics Masters / CD - released 13/Feb/2012 ] "These are not interpretations set in stone, deeply as Rattle has obviously thought them through; and his encouragement of the brilliant VPO woodwind and horn soloists to challenge each other in imagination and individuality adds to the impression of... |
IGOR STRAVINSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Stravinsky: Ebony Concerto / Symphony in 3 Movements / Petrouchka Woody Herman & his Orchestra / London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Eugene Goossens [ Philips / CD - released 19/Aug/1989 ] "The Ebony Concerto is played by the same artist whom it originally was dedicated in 1945. This remarkable virtuoso ensemble performed it at carnegie hall on March 25, 1946, conducted by Walter Hendl." |