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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) |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Victoria De Los Angeles - On Wings Of Song Victoria De Los Angeles (Soprano) / Sinfonia of London, Spanish National Orchestra, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos [ EMI Studio / CD - released 2/Feb/1988 ] Recordings from 1962, 1964 & 1965 mostly at the Abbey Road Studios, London |
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ERNEST CHAUSSON
Chausson: Poème de l'amour et de la mer & Symphonie, Op. 20 Véronique Gens; Orchestre National de Lille; Alexandre Bloch [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 8/Mar/2019 ] Ernest Chausson is a most unusual figure in French music, positioned at the crossroads where the romanticism of Berlioz and Franck meet the language of Wagner and the symbolism of the young Debussy. His Poème de l'amour et de la mer is a unique score... |
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JACQUES OFFENBACH
Les Divas d'Offenbach Véronique Gens (soprano), Hervé Niquet, Chœur Et Orchestre National Des Pays de La Loire [ Alpha / CD - released 12/Oct/2025 ] "...Captured in warm, glowing sound, with the superb Choeur et Orchestre des Pays de la Loire matching the music's joie de vivre under Hervé Niquet, this is simply a delight." BBC Music Five Stars |
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VARIOUS
We'll Keep A Welcome-The Welsh Album Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone) / Welsh National Opera / Gareth Jones [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 29/Jun/2000 ] With The Orchestra of Welsh National Opera / Gareth Jones |
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WILLIAM PERRY
Jamestown Concerto for cello and orchestra (with works by Schuman & Thomson) Yehuda Hanani (cello) / RTE National Symphony Orchestra / William Eddins (conductor) [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 1/Dec/2008 ] "William Perry's Jamestown Concerto was written in 2007 for the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, VA, in 1607. It is programmatic, very tuneful, and adroitly scored, sounding more than a little bit like movie music...the recorded sound... |
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HENRYK GORECKI
Gorecki: Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) / Three Olden Style Pieces Zofia Kilanowicz (soprano) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. Antoni Wit, conductor [ Naxos / CD - released 26/Jul/2004 ] "What's most impressive about this performance is its spirituality; and given the overall excellence of the recording, the conducting and the singing, it's strongly recommended" (Gramophone) |
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Tal National
Zoy Zoy [ Fat Cat Records / CD - released 1/May/2015 ] By the time Tal National reached international acclaim with 2013's 'Kaani', the band's first release outside of Niger, they had spent more than a decade crisscrossing their native country, usually on dirt pathways through the Sahara, playing epic... |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Ernani (complete opera recorded in English) Alan Opie / Julian Gavin / Peter Wedd / Susan Patterson / English National Opera Chorus & orchestra / David Parry [ Chandos Opera in English / 2 CD - released 24/Nov/2006 ] 'American soprano Susan Patterson… proves a feisty Elvira, spirited and accomplished in delivery.' BBC Music Magazine |
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FRANK BRIDGE
Orchestral Works, Volume 4 (Includes Rebus & A Prayer) Alban Gerhardt (cello) / BBC National Chorus of Wales / BBC National Orchestra of Wales; Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 5/May/2004 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - '... this is an essential purchase for Oration alone - and the music itself deserves the widest dissmenation.' Gramophone |
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SIR LENNOX & MICHAEL BERKELEY
Symphony No. 4 / The Garden of Earthly Delights / Cello Concerto Alban Gerhardt (cello) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales; Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 7/Jul/2003 ] 'Throughout Richard Hickox draws brilliant playing from his band, energetic where necessary, sonically overwhelming in the Garden. Anthon Burton's notes are excellent, too, helpful and so objective that they don't tell you how good all the music on... |
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LENNOX & MICHAEL BERKELEY
Symphony No. 4 / The Garden of Earthly Delights / Cello Concerto Alban Gerhardt (cello) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Richard Hickox [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 7/Jul/2003 ] This third volume in Chandos' successful Berkeley series, featuring music by Lennox and Michael Berkeley, is released to celebrate the centenary of Sir Lennox Berkeley's birth. |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: The Valkyries (complete opera in English) Alberto Remedios / Norman Bailey / Margaret Curphey / Rita Hunter / English National Opera Orchestra / Reginald Goodall [ Chandos / 4 CD - released 1/Sep/2000 ] "Goodall draws everything from savagery to delicacy from the ENO Orchestra, and is alive to every nuance of the drama, both on stage and in the pit. And as if that weren't enough, the translation is a masterpiece" (Amazon.co.uk) |
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ERIK SATIE
The Best of Erik Satie (LP) Aldo Ciccolini, Anne Queffelec (piano) / Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse [ Erato / LP - released 13/Jun/2025 ] To celebrate the centenary of the composer's death, this compilation offers a journey through Erik Satie's unusual and distinctive piano works, by three of his greatest performers: Anne Queffélec, Bertrand Chamayou and Aldo Ciccolini. |
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ERIK SATIE
Best of Satie Aldo Ciccolini, Anne Queffelec (piano) / Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House [ Warner Classics Inspiration Series / CD - released 20/Jun/2015 ] Meditative piano sounds and glitter of Parisian cabaret. Satie was one of the most interesting figures of early 20th century Paris moving in the same artistic circles as Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray. He was known for his droll sense of... |
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DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Cantatas Aleksei Tanovitski (bass) & Kostiantin Andrejev (tenor) / Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Narva Boys Choir & Estonian Concert Choir, Paavo Järvi [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 20/Jun/2015 ] "Järvi's Estonians perform with fervour and the Razin makes the issue worthwhile." (Sunday Times) |
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CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saëns: Le carnaval des animaux [The Carnival of the Animals] (LP Version) Duo Jatekok (piano), Orchestre National de Lille, Lucie Leguay [ Alpha Classics / LP - released 27/Aug/2021 ] Alex Vizorek revisits Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals. The French composer never imagined that his bestiary would become one of the most famous works in musical history, a staple repertory piece on a par with Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. The... |
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SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Symphony No.2 Alexander Anissimov, National Symphony Orchestra Of Ireland [ Naxos / CD - released 26/Feb/2001 ] "Alexander Anissimov's Naxos account lingers nostalgically over lyrical episodes in a recording that's firmer at the bottom end than you'd expect from Dublin's airy National Concert Hall. Anissimov's Naxos account is an exceptional bargain" BBC Music |
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SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Music For Cello And Orchestra Alexander Rudin (Cello) / National Symphony Orchestra Of Ukraine / Theodore Kuchar [ Naxos / CD - released 29/Sep/2007 ] "Alexander Rudin is, both technically and interpretively, one of the most authoritative cellists of his generation...all in all the most successful recording of this score in years....Highly Recommended" - Fanfare |
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RICHARD STRAUSS / KELLY-MARIE MURPHY / KEVIN LAU
Poema 1. Ad Astra Alexander Shelley, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra [ Analekta / CD - released 24/Jan/2025 ] Poema 1. Ad Astra is the first in a series of recordings by Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra in which Music Director Alexander Shelley asked Canadian Composers to craft compositions that respond to masterpieces by German Composer, Richard... |