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SIBELIUS
Violin Concerto / Finlandia, Op. 26 / Karelia Suite, Op. 11 / etc Jennifer Pike (violin) / Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Mar/2014 ] Jean Sibelius is perhaps best known for his seven great symphonies but there is also a large body of music for the concert hall, the theatre, and the salon, some of which is explored on this release. The Violin Concerto in D minor, Sibelius's only... |
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ELGAR
Symphonies 1 & 2 London Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Adrian Boult [ Lyrita / 2 CD - released 21/Jun/2007 ] Elgar's two symphonies have a special place in English musical history. When they were first played they towered head and shoulders - in sheer technique, let alone content - above previous symphonic offerings by British composers. Today when we have... |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Requiem / Quattro pezzi sacri Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, Martti Talvela / Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Originals / 2 CD - released 11/Nov/2007 ] "Horne is the formidable mezzo, although her singing isn't always lit with inner feeling. The beauty of the youthful Pavarotti's tone is admirable, but he is sometimes restrained by four-square support. Talvela is sonorous but lacks legato.... |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
An Olde English Christmas (Incls 'Hark, the Herald Angels Sing' & 'We Three Kings of Orient Are') John Alldis Choir / London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis [ Decca / CD - released 9/Nov/2007 ] "The ideal Christmas collection of 18 popular carols. Originally released by Decca in 1980, An Olde English Christmas presents 18 Christmas carols in opulent arrangements that should appeal to anyone who enjoys a "light classics" approach to the season." |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No 3 (with John Barbirolli - Elizabeth Suite) Lucretia West (alto) / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli [ Testament / 2 CD - released 24/Oct/2005 ] Recorded 1969 & 1964 |
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JOHN IRELAND
These Things Shall Be / Piano Concerto / Overture: Satyricon / etc John Carol Case (baritone) Eric Parkin (piano) / London Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra / Sir Adrian Boult (conductor) [ Lyrita / CD - released 1/Jun/2007 ] "The 1970s origins of many of Lyrita’s too long delayed CD revivals need hold no fears for any purchaser. The forty plus year old sound remains an object lesson taught by the analogue tradition to the digital era. Not the essential Ireland apart from... |
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ERNEST JOHN MOERAN
Moeran: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra / Rhapsody in F sharp for Piano and Orchestra / Rhapsody No. 2 John Georgiadis (violin) John McCabe (piano) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult / London Symphony Orchestra, Vernon Handley [ Lyrita / CD - released 1/Jun/2007 ] "A fine coupling including some classic Moeran in enduringly rewarding performances and recordings." (MusicWeb June 2007) |
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MENDELSSOHN
String Symphonies Nos 9, 10 & 12 / Concerto in A minor for Piano & Strings John Ogdon (piano) / Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Sir Neville Marriner [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / CD - released 12/Jun/2006 ] "If you are looking to experience more of the young Mendelssohn, then this is the disc for you" (MusicWeb Feb 2007) |
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GIACOMO MEYERBEER
Meyerbeer: Le Prophète John Osborn, Elizabeth DeShong Mané Galoyan, Edwin Crossley-Mercer / London Symphony Orchestra, Lyon Opera Chorus, Sir Mark Elder [ LSO Live SACD / 3 Hybrid SACD - released 28/Jun/2024 ] Recorded live in concert at Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in 2023, this album sees the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Sir Mark Elder join forces with Lyon Opera Chorus, Maîtrise des Bouches-du-Rhône, the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra, and an... |
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BRITTEN / DE FALLA / FROLOV / MILHAUD / SCHNITTKE
Suites and Fantasies Joo Yeon Sir (violin), Irina Andrievsky (piano) [ Rubicon Classics / CD - released 24/May/2017 ] Korean born British violinist Joo Yeon Sir is a name to watch. The Strad magazine reviewing a Wigmore Hall concert commented 'Exuberant…feline and seductive, rattling off the fiendish cadenza with bravura and oodles of personality' That personality... |
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DVORAK / STRAVINSKY / RICHARD STRAUSS / BERNSTEIN / SHOSTAKOVICH
New Year's Eve Concert 2017 Joyce DiDonato (mezzo) / Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic], Sir Simon Rattle [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 1/Apr/2018 ] With her flexible, slender but dark-timbred mezzo-soprano, Joyce DiDonato is the star guest at Sir Simon Rattle's side during the New Year's Eve Concert, singing Richard Strauss's lavishly beautiful orchestral songs. The programme also includes works... |
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GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'Ange de Nisida (complete opera) Joyce El-Khoury, David Junghoon Kim, Laurent Naouri, Vito Priante / Royal Opera Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Sir Mark Elder [ Opera Rara / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/2019 ] Opera Rara presents, 179 years after it was written, the world premiere recording of a Donizetti 'lost' masterpiece, restored and brought thrillingly back to life. Written in 1839 for the Theâtre de la Renaissance in Paris, rehearsals started but the... |
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J. R. R. Tolkien, Brian Sibley, Sir Michael Hordern
The Lord of the Rings: v.2: Two Towers: BBC Radio 4 Full-cast Dramatisation [ AudioGO Limited / 13 CD - released 4/Feb/2002 ] The acclaimed BBC Radio 4 dramatisation on 13 gold CDs |
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J. C. BACH
Welt, gute Nacht Julia Doyle, Katharine Fuge, Clare Wilkinson, Jeremy Budd, James Gilchrist / The English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ Soli Deo Gloria / CD - released 14/Apr/2011 ] "Bach of any generation from Gardiner's eminently engaged and engaging forces is self-recommending; yet for its rarity value alone Welt, gute Nacht is as important a release as that of a B minor Mass or St Matthew Passion." (BBC Music) |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphony No.10 / Symphony in C Major for Piano, Cello and Violin Op. 56 Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio / English Chamber Orchestra / Sir Alexander Gibson; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Walter Weller [ Chandos Collect / CD - released 7/Aug/2003 ] *** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo Guide |
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HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: La damnation de Faust Karen Cargill, Bryan Hymel, Christopher Purves, Gábor Bretz / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle [ LSO Live SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 19/Jul/2019 ] "Hymel's Faust is the most convincing soloist. But it's the vivid detail Rattle conjures up, the brilliant playing and the force and intensity of the choral singing that give greatest satisfaction." Sunday Times |
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W. A. MOZART
Cosi fan Tutte (Complete Opera recorded in 1990) Karita Mattila, Anne Sofie von Otter, Thomas Allen, Francisco Araiza / Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner [ Decca Classic Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Sep/2008 ] "A strikingly light, fresh Così with a truly superb ensemble, idiomatic and characterful; the voices are large, but only Mattila sounds a little weighty." (Five Stars BBC Music) |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No 2 in C minor 'Resurrection' Kate Royal (soprano), Magdalena Kozena (mezzo) / Berliner Philharmoniker & Rundfunkchor Berlin, Sir Simon Rattle [ Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 1/May/2011 ] "Kožená brings her customary depth of feeling to the still maternal voice of "Urlicht"...Rattle's famous piano-pianissimos are deployed to breathtaking effect." (Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice March 2011) |
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MICHAEL TIPPETT
King Priam (recorded on film, 1985) BLU-RAY Kent Opera / Rodney Macann, Sarah Walker, Howard Haskin & Anne Mason / Sir Roger Norrington (cond) [ Arthaus Monarda Arts Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Feb/2016 ] Rodney Macann heads a strong cast in the title role, giving a compelling performance as Priam, alongside Sarah Walker's moving portrayal of Hector's wife, Andromache. Howard Haskin plays Priam's rebellious son Paris, who elopes with Helen. |