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HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / John Osborn, Mariangela Sicilia, Maurizio Muraro, Michèle Losier / Sir Mark Elder (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 5/May/2018 ] "Osborn has all the vocal verve and dash to make the devil-may-care sculptor the constant centre of attention. Mariangela Sicilia uses her fearless, technically brilliant vocalism to sustain his beloved Teresa's vibrant personality…a musical treat" |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No 8 'Symphony of a Thousand' Heather Harper, Lucia Popp, Arleen Auger, Rene Kollo / Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Originals / CD - released 10/Apr/2006 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - "Here is a version from Solti which ... conveys the feeling of a great occasion ... so overwhelming is the build-up of tension." Gramophone |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection' Heather Harper (sop) Helen Watts (cont) / London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Originals / CD - released 20/Jun/2007 ] "... the new Decca stereo recording has special points of excellence all its own. The most striking thing in the whole performance, for me, is the first movement, in which Solti penetrates to the inner significance of the unusual structure with an... |
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W.A. MOZART
Die Zauberflote [The Magic Flute] (recorded 1937 & 1938) Helge Roswaenge, Tiana Lemnitz, Gerhard Husch, Erna Berger / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Thomas Beecham [ Naxos Historic Great Opera Recordings / 2 CD - released 26/Jan/2008 ] "These singers, and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, come through with unprecedented clarity in this new transfer by the gifted sound engineer Mark Obert-Thorn. The new reissue looks likely to replace them in the hearts of Mozart fans, offering a... |
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DELIUS
Piano Concerto / Paris / Brigg Fair / etc Howard Shelley (piano) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos / Hybrid SACD - released 15/Oct/2012 ] "Sonics are excellent for a standard CD." (AudAud.com) |
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HAVERGAL BRIAN
Symphony no 1 in D minor "The Gothic" Hpnor Sheppard (soprano) Shirley Minty (contralto) Ronald Dowd (tenor) / BBC Symphony Orchestra & Choral Society, etc / Sir Adrian Boult [ Testament / 2 CD - released 10/Dec/2009 ] "Long available in a pirated recording of the broadcast, this live performance of the mighty Gothic has at last 'gone legit'." BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 *** |
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BEETHOVEN
Eroica / Symphony No. 3 Ian Hart / Tim Pigott-Smith / Claire Skinner / Jack Davenport / Orchestre RACvolutionnaire et Romantique / Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ BBC / Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 5/May/2005 ] G :- 'Ian Hart is brilliant as Beethoven, a volatile, magnetic figure of genius and uncouth charm…not to be missed.' -- Daily Mail |
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SIBELIUS / ELGAR
Violin Concertos (recorded 1984 & 1993) Ida Haendel (violin) / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle [ Testament / CD - released 10/Oct/2009 ] "..it is Haendel's thoroughly personal input of humanity, expressive power, and her dynamic fusion of immediacy and profound insight that puts this performance in a class of its own. It is simply mind-blowing." The Telegraph, 28th July 2009 ***** |
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MICHAEL TIPPETT
A Child of our Time (complete) Indra Thomas (soprano) Mihoko Fujimura (alto) Steve Davislim (tenor) / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2008 ] "There are emotional depths here which turn this recording into something very special." (Gramophone Editor's Choice September 2008) |
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CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS / FREDERICK DELIUS
Saint-Saens/Delius: Cello Concertos Jacqueline du Pré (cello), The Philadelphia Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent [ Warner Classics / LP - released 24/Jan/2025 ] In this important live recording, Jacqueline Du Pré's rendition of Camille Saint-Saëns' famous 1st Cello Concerto is made all the more sentimental with her husband Daniel Barenboim conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra behind her. |
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EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Orchestral Works, Cello Concerto, Sea Pictures, Dream of Gerontius Jacqueline du Pre (cello) Dame Janet Baker (mezzo) Richard Lewis (tenor) / Halle Orchestra / Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli [ EMI British Composers / 7 CD Box Set - released 25/Mar/2022 ] Born in London of Italian-French parents, Sir John Barbirolli (1899-1970) trained as a cellist and played in theatre and café orchestras before joining the Queen's Hall Orchestra under Sir Henry Wood in 1916. |
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EDWARD ELGAR / LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Elgar: Cello Concerto / Beethoven: The Ghost... Jacqueline du Pre in Portrait Jacqueline du Pre (cello) / Daniel Barenboim / Pinchas Zukerman / Sir John Barbirolli / Philharmonia Orchestra [ Opus Arte / BBC DVD / DVD - released 1/Sep/2004 ] Jacqueline du Pré's extraordinary career was cut cruelly short by illness in 1973 when she was only 28 years old. When she died 14 years later, she remained as vibrant a figure in the public mind as she had been at the pinnacle of her career. |
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EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Cello Concerto / Sea Pictures / Overture: Cockaigne Jacqueline Du Pre (cello) Dame Janet Baker (mezzo) / London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics Original Jacket Reissues / CD - released 22/Aug/2015 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE 100 GREATEST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME |
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HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Harold en Italie / Reverie et Caprice, Op. 8 / etc James Ehnes (violin & viola) / Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 20/May/2015 ] The virtuosic and nine-times Juno-winning Canadian James Ehnes is centre stage in a new recording of orchestral works by Berlioz, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. This recording follows an extraordinarily rare... |
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J. S. BACH
Bach: St Matthew Passion, BWV244 James Gilchrist, Stephan Loges, Hannah Morrison, Zoë Brookshaw, Charlotte Ashley, Reginald Mobley / Monteverdi Choir, Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ Soli Deo Gloria / 2 CD - released 24/Feb/2017 ] "..a thoughtfully moulded, expertly executed and deeply committed reading, so honestly communicative of its intent and so free of self-conscious monumentalism, sententiousness or melodramatics...one of his finest achievements." Gramophone |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Serenades Nos. 1 & 2 / Alto Rhapsody / Variations on a theme by Haydn / etc Janet Baker (alto) / London Philharmonic Orchestra & London Symhony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult [ EMI Gemini / 2 CD - released 20/Oct/2006 ] "Sir Adrian, courteous and thoughtful English gentleman, was for some reason not always willing to thrust Brahms's arguments fully home, and there is a little too much reserve in his music-making. Yet when he conducts for Dame Janet Baker, who sings... |
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DONIZETTI
Mary Stuart (Scenes from the opera in English) Janet Baker, English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Sir Charles Mackerras [ Chandos Opera in English / CD - released 17/Nov/2001 ] Janet Baker made her last appearances with English National Opera |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphonies 1, 5, 6, 9, Kindertotenlieder, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Ruckert-Lieder Janet Baker (mezzo) / Halle & New Philharmonia Orchestras, Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 28/Aug/2021 ] "Barbirolli's famous 1969 version on any count is one of the greatest, most warmly affecting performances ever committed to disc, expansive, yet concentrated in feeling: the Adagietto is very moving … A classic version." Penguin Guide (5th Sym] |
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MAURICE RAVEL / HECTOR BERLIOZ
Ravel: Sheherazade / Berlioz: Les Nuits d'ete [recorded in 1967] Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano) / New Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics Original Jacket Reissues / CD - released 10/Feb/2019 ] A classic recording of a classic pairing of French song cycles. Composed some 60 years apart, Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été and Ravel's Shéhérazade both visit romantic, mysterious and exotic locations, evoking a wealth of moods and sensations. Janet... |
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CHARLES IVES
Ives: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 [ Incls Symphony No. 3 'The Camp Meeting'] Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano) / Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ CHANDOS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Mar/2017 ] "This is one of the finest recordings - perhaps the best - of all the many I have heard of Ives." Recording of the Month MusicWeb |