ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV
Glazunov: Complete Symphonies & Concertos Rachel Barton Pine (violin), Wen-Sinn Yang (cello), Alexander Romanovsky (piano) / Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Jose [ Warner Classics / 8 CD Box Set - released 10/Sep/2018 ] "Clear and slightly reverberant recording maximises the textures and appeal of these works making the disc worthy of consideration as a benchmark recording" (MusicWeb on Symphony 5 & Seasons) |
SAMUEL / BERG / MAHLER
Clytemnestra - Orchestral Songs Ruby Hughes (soprano) BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jac van Steen [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Jan/2020 ] "Her eloquence is always unfussy and direct. The instrumental fabric is equally strong, with beautiful playing from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, on the top of its top form, conducted by Jac van Steen" The Times Five Stars |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart - Don Giovanni [Complete opera with libretto] Ruggero Raimondi, Kiri Te Kanawa, Edda Moser, Jose van Dam, Teresa Berganza / Theatre National de l'Opera de Paris, Lorin Maazel [ Sony Classical / 3 CD Box Set - released 25/Jun/1982 ] "Donna Anna sweeps in like a tornado: with Edda Moser all the furies, and a good many of the vowels as well, really are let loose." Gramophone |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tchaikovsky: Symphonic Poems (Incl Romeo & Juliet, Capriccio Italien, 1812 Overture & the Manfred Symphony Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev [ Deutsche Grammophon Trio / 3 CD Box Set - released 21/Jun/2004 ] "Whatever other versions you may have this issue is a must. Pletnev has quite a special feeling for Tchaikovsky's music...and essential purchase." (Rosette Penguin Stereo Guide) |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (complete ballet) Russian National Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 16/Dec/2018 ] Swan Lake is the first of the three great ballets that Tchaikovsky wrote, and arguably the most famous. The piece is mainly known in the shape it obtained in 1895, when it became a classic in the choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. That... |
KENNETH LEIGHTON
Leighton: Orchestral works Vol 2 (Incls 'Symphony No 2 'Sinfonia mistica') Sarah Fox (soprano) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD - released 20/Nov/2008 ] Sarah Fox is a pure-voiced, poignant soloist, and the BBC National Chorus of Wales sound very confident, as if this was a repertoire standard for them." BBC Music Five Stars |
ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Symphony No. 7 / The Golden Spinning Wheel Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos / CD - released 23/Jan/1987 ] Recorded in the SNO Centre, Glasgow on 8-9 May 1986 |
SHOSTAKOVICH
Ballet Suites / Festive Overture, Op. 96 / Suite from 'Katerina Ismailova' Scottish National Orchestra / Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos Classics / 2 CD - released 7/Jul/2003 ] "I've heard no conductor handle this music better than Järvi… These are vibrant, colourful, incisive performances of colourful, cheeky music in first-rate sound." American Record Guide |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Prokofiev: Symphony No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40 / Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1 Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Järvi (cond) [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Jan/1985 ] "As a Prokofiev interpreter Neeme Järvi is among the best." Gramophone |
JEAN SIBELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Sibelius: Symphonies No. 2 & 5 Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson [ Chandos Collect / CD - released 1/Nov/1991 ] "Alexander Gibson's 1980s Sibelius cycle on Chandos, one of the first digital sets, was praised for its clean lines, propulsive phrasing, and bracing impact." MusicWeb |
ETHEL SMYTH / HAMILTON HARTY / HAMISH MacCUNN / EDWARD GERMAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Music of the Four Countries (Incls The Land of the Mountain and the Flood & Welsh Rhapsody) Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson [ EMI Studio / CD - released 20/Mar/2000 ] Four classic tone poems depicting the British Isles including 'The Land of the Mountain and the Flood' which was a hit as the theme-tune for BBC's "Sutherland's Law" |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3 Idil Biret (piano) Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice); Antoni Wit [ Naxos / CD ] "In sum, this beautifully engineered disc tells much about these oft-recorded works we think we know better than we actually do." ClassicsToday |
EDMUND RUBBRA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rubbra: Symphony No. 1, Op. 44, etc. Howard Shelley (piano), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD ] It was not until 1937 that Rubbra's first symphony was completed. Symphonies 2, 3 and 4 followed in quick succession, the fourth being completed in March 1942. |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Shostakovich: Ballet Suites 1, 2 & 3 Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos / CD - released 23/Jan/1989 ] Original recording: City Hall, Glasgow & The Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow. April 1988 |
LEON MINKUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Minkus: Paquita / La Bayadere (ballets) Sofia National Opera Orchestra, Boris Spassov [ Capriccio / CD - released 12/Dec/1995 ] "This is a wonderful recording of music of the under-rated Minkus (and a few others), a way to often neglected composer of some of the most famous works of ballet." (Amazon.com) |
MOZART / WAGNER / BRAHMS / REGER
Neeme Jarvi In Concert State Choir Latvija Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi [ Chandos / CD - released 20/Jan/2023 ] The legendary conductor Neeme Järvi celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday in the summer of 2022, in Tallinn, giving a series of concerts with his beloved Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. This album serves not just as a commemoration of those... |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia (complete opera with libretto) Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Giacomo Aragall, Ingvar Wixell / National Philharmonic, Richard Bonynge [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set ] "Sutherland is in her element here - and what a wonderful score it is too...Horne has the odd moment of unsteadiness in the early parts of the opera, but she is impressive in the brilliant Brindisi of the last Act" Penguin Guide |
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 |
NICCOLO CASTIGLIONI
Castiglioni: Salmo XIX, La Buranella & Altisonanza Teresia Bokor (soprano) & Sine Bundgaard (soprano) / Danish National Symphony Orchestra & Concert Choir, Gianandrea Noseda [ Chandos / CD - released 15/Apr/2015 ] Conductor of the Year in the 2015 Musical America Awards, Gianandrea Noseda continues his Musica Italiana series with this recording of works by Castiglioni, with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. As an intellectual and an aesthete, Niccolò... |