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GRIME / ADES / BIRSTWISTLE / KNUSSEN / ELGAR
This Is Rattle Christian Tetzlaff (violin) London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle [ LSO Blu-ray / 2 Blu-ray - released 6/Sep/2019 ] Sir Simon Rattle's arrival in London heralded a new era for the LSO, and the ten day festival that opened his inaugural season as the Orchestra's Music Director wowed critics and audiences alike, going on to win the prestigious Royal Philharmonic... |
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VERDI
Requiem (complete recorded in 2009) Christine Brewer / Karen Cargill / Stuart Neill / John Relyea / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2009 ] "…Sir Colin conducts the Requiem with a judicious mix of fire and meditative calm; tempi never drag nor are they, in the reflective passages, metronome-quick. The work of the LSO Chorus is first-rate, as is that of the LSO itself." Gramophone... |
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JOSEF HAYDN
Die Schopfung [The Creation] Christine Oelze (sop) Scot Weir (tenor) Peter Lika (bass) / Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Sir Roger Norrington [ Hanssler Profil / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2008 ] The Creation (1798) and The Seasons (1801) are two works of unique artistic excellence. In them Haydn combined the theatrical gestures of Handel's oratorios with elements of his own symphonic style. Both The Creation and The Seasons represent the... |
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JAMES MacMILLAN
St John Passion (complete) Christopher Maltman / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 10/Feb/2009 ] "James MacMillan has delivered a St John Passion that stirred its premiere audience to a standing ovation, Maltman sought out the lyrical core of this striking portrayal, while acknowledging its angry edge." (The Independent) |
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WILLIAM WALTON
Henry V: A Shakespeare Scenario Christopher Plummer (narrator) Celia Nicklin (oboe) / Academy of St.Martin / Sir Neville Marriner [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 1/Sep/2007 ] 'Chandos's stunning sound captures with unflinching ease the rousing spectacle of the battle music at full tilt. In all, another winner of a CD in what's turning out to be a most distinguished series.' Hi-Fi News |
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JEAN SIBELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Sibelius: Symphony No 5 in E flat major, Op. 82 (with Nielsen - Symphony No. 4 'The Inextinguishable') City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Philharmonia Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle [ EMI Recommends / CD - released 14/Oct/2007 ] "Rattles account of the Fifth Symphony with the Philharmonia was to the 1980s what Karajan's Berlin account was to the 1960s. The Philharmonia Orchestra play spendidly and the EMI recording is very good indeed." (3 Stars Penguin Stereo Guide) |
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Claire Martin & Sir Richard Ro
When Lights Are Low [ Linn / CD - released 31/Oct/2011 ] |
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ELGAR
Crown of India, Op. 66 [Orchestrations by Anthony Payne] Clare Shearer (mezzo-soprano), Gerald Finley (baritone), various narrators / Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus & BBC Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 20/Nov/2009 ] "The music… is from start to finish authentic middling Elgar, highly enjoyable and well worth revival. Gerald Finley shines as St George in 'The Rule of England', however embarrassing the words." BBC Music Magazine |
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TELEMANN / VIVALDI / ALBINONI / FASCH / HERTEL / etc
Concerto à la Carte Claude Monteux (flute) John Wilbraham (trumpet) / Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner [ SBS Australian Decca Eloquence / 2 CD - released 15/Feb/2016 ] "The most alert string-playing distinguishes this record … first-class quality of recording throughout" The Gramophone |
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SATIE / BRITTEN / DVORAK
GymnopACdies / Sinfonia da Requiem, Op.20 / Symphony No 7 Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam / Sir John Barbirolli [ Testament / CD - released 27/May/2003 ] The great Sir John Barbirolli conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra |
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CHOPIN / BALAKIREV / RACHMANINOV / DOHNANYI / etc
Cyril Smith: The Complete Solo Recordings HMV & Columbia recordings Cyril Smith (piano) with Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent [ APR / 3 CD - released 10/Aug/2015 ] We tend to remember Cyril Smith (1909-1974) these days as the pianist who overcame the misfortune of a paralysing stroke to form a hugely successful duo for three hands with his wife, pianist Phyllis Sellick. Before then though, he had conquered the... |
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SUK
Asrael Symphony, Op. 27 Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras [ Supraphon / CD - released 8/Sep/2011 ] "this more recent Mackerras performance digs just that little bit deeper and for that reason edges nearest to the classics by Talich and Kubelík." (Gramophone Award Finalist 2011 - Orchestral) |
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DVORAK
Dvorak - Symphonic Poems Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras [ Supraphon / CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2010 ] "The Golden Spinning Wheel, a performance full of warmth and vitality, very realistically recorded and surely the highlight of the disc." Gramophone Awards 2010 WINNER - Orchestral |
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WILLIAM WALTON
Facade / Siesta / Scapino Overture / Portsmouth Point Overture (with music by Bax & Bliss) Dame Edith Sitwell and Sir Peter Pears (narrators), English Opera Group Ensemble, Anthony Collins / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Nov/2010 ] "As for the performance, it stands above all others since … must remain a classic to the end of time" Gramophone Magazine |
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HANDEL / BEETHOVEN / BACH / VERDI / ROSSINI / DELIBES / GOUNOD / etc/
Joan Sutherland: Oratorios & Recitals Dame Joan Sutherland, with Sir Peter Pears, Marilyn Horne, Kenneth McKellar, Barry Tuckwell, Richard Bonynge and others [ Decca / 37 CD Box Set - released 19/Jul/2024 ] The first set comprises Sutherland's complete Recitals and Oratorio recordings for Decca, ranging from the 1959 operatic recital recorded in Paris, with Nello Santi (has Verdi's "Santo di patria" ever rung out with greater thrill?). |
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SIR EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: The Music Makers / The Spirit of England Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano), Andrew Staples (solo tenor), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 2/Nov/2018 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 - Choral |
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SIR ARTHUR BLISS
Bliss: Mary of Magdala Dame Sarah Connolly (Mezzo-soprano), James Platt (Bass), BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] Bliss composed The Enchantress in 1951, the year of his sixtieth birthday, for Kathleen Ferrier. The text is a free adaptation of the Second Idyll of Theocritus, made by Henry Reed, and well suited to Bliss's love of classical Greek... |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Concerto for 2 & 3 Pianos / Piano Concerto in D minor, KV 466 Daniel Barenboim, Andras Schiff, Sir Georg Solti (pianos) / English Chamber Orchestra [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Feb/2006 ] 'The finale, a kind of rondo-minuet, is delightful, with energetic keyboard work that nevertheless dances' [Concerto for 3 Pianos] Gramophone |
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ELGAR / WALTON / BRITTEN / DELIUS / KNUSSEN / TIPPETT / RODNEY-BENNETT
Best of British from the 2007 BBC Proms [2 CD set] Daniel Hope (violin), Philip Dukes (viola) Christian Poltéra, Paul Watkins (cello) / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis, Jiríi Belohlávek [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 14/Jul/2014 ] This special priced two-CD set features selected highlights from the 2007 BBC Proms season, compiled to a survey of the best of British music of the last 100 years. The Album captures the world premiere performance of Sir Richard Rodney Bennett's... |
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LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Bernstein: Wonderful Town Danielle de Niese, Alysha Umphress, Nathan Gunn, Duncan Rock / London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle [ LSO Live SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Oct/2018 ] 'I cannot imagine better casting for the sisters than the quintessentially sassy Danielle de Niese and the effortlessly funny Alysha Umphress.' The Times |