HENRY PURCELL
Purcell: Ode for St Cecilia's Day, Te Deum & other choral works Jeni Bern (soprano), Susan Bisatt (soprano), Thomas Guthrie (bass), Ian Honeyman (tenor) / Orchestra of the Golden Age, Choir of the Golden Age, Rober [ Naxos / CD - released 5/May/1995 ] "The vocal soloists are especially fine ... highly respectable performances." American Record Guide |
DVORAK / MARTINU
Cello Concertos Christian Poltera (cello) / Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Thomas Dausgaard [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 15/Feb/2016 ] ChrisBorn in Zurich, cellist Christian Poltéra was a pupil of Nancy Chumachenco and Boris Pergamenschikov before studying with Heinrich Schiff in Salzburg and Vienna. Since replacing Yo-Yo Ma performing the Elgar concerto with the Tonhalle Orchestra... |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem [German Requiem], Op. 45 Christiane Libor (soprano) & Thomas E. Bauer (baritone) / Warsaw Philharmonic Choir & Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Apr/2014 ] "This is a choir-led performance of the German Requiem...the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir...is always here the centre of gravity, creating the music's existential continuum and arising to sombre unexpected splendour...Wit seems to hold back emotionally |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, [German Requiem] Op. 45 BLU-RAY AUDIO ONLY Christiane Libor (soprano) & Thomas E. Bauer (baritone) / Warsaw Philharmonic Choir & Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit [ Naxos Blu-Ray Audio / Blu-ray Disc - released 25/Apr/2015 ] The longest work in Brahms's entire oeuvre, A German Requiem was almost certainly triggered by the death of his mother, although it also seems likely that the tragic loss of his friend Robert Schumann, some years earlier, added to its depth and... |
MAHLER (ARR. ERWIN STEIN)
Symphony No. 4 Christiane Oelze (soprano) / Thomas-Christian-Ensemble [ MDG / CD - released 19/Mar/2006 ] "The one version that comes closest to capturing the logic of the transcription and the gloriousness of the original symphony. Real understanding, conviction and panache" (Recording of the Month MusicWeb Feb 2006) |
CARL ORFF
Orff: Carmina Burana Claire Rutter / Thomas Randel / Markus Eiche / Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra / Marin Alsop [ Naxos / CD - released 3/Apr/2007 ] The pulsating rhythms, colourful orchestration and dynamic choruses, contrasted with moments of sensuous innocence, have taken Carmina Burana into the world of 'pop classics'. |
BRUCH
Swedish Dances, Op. 63 / Serenade for Strings in C minor / Schon Ellen Claudia Braun (soprano), Thomas Laske (baritone) / Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra, George Hanson [ MDG / CD - released 1/Apr/2010 ] Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra, George Hanson |
J. S. BACH
Bach: 'Meins Lebens Licht' Cantatas BWV 45 & 198 / Motet BWV 118 Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe (director) / Dorothee Mields (soprano), Alex Potter (alto), Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Peter Kooij (bass) [ PHI / CD - released 26/Mar/2021 ] 'O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht, is tailor-made for Herreweghe. No one else peels back those tactile homogeneous phrases with quite such luminosity and deep-seated finesse as Collegium Vocale.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2022 - Choral |
SIMON MAYR
Arianna in Nasso (Ariadne on Naxos) Cornelia Horak, Thomas Michael Allen & Franz Hauk (directed from the harpsichord) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "[Cornelia Horak] doesn't quite have the necessary star quality, though Thomas Michael Allen in the distinctly secondary role of Bacchus is much more than adequate, and Franz Hauk ensures Mayr's striking orchestral textures make their point." (The... |
LORD BERNERS
Berners: Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement (Sung in English) Cynthia Buchan (mezzo), John Winifred (ten), Ian Caddy, Thomas Lawlor (bass-baritone), Anthony Smith (bar) / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; RTÉ Sinf [ Naxos / CD - released 22/Apr/2022 ] "..very satisfying: everyone sings and plays with obvious enjoyment. Again, Berners' temperament was obviously attuned to its times and his music partakes of the then prevailing mood of light-headedness and nonchalance." British Music Society |
PER NORGARD
Norgard, Per-Symphony No. 6 'At the End of the Day' ; Terrains Vagues Danish National Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Dausgaard [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 22/Aug/2002 ] ***** Five Stars BBC Music Magazine (Sept 2002) |
CARL NIELSEN
Nielsen: Orchestral Works Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard [ Dacapo / CD - released 9/Apr/2007 ] "About as close to the Nielsen ideal as you ever hope to hear. Thomas Dausgaard and his Danish National Symphony Orchestra, who play like demons, fill this music with energy and passion." (Gramophone Recording of the Month April 2007) |
JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 5, 6 & 7 / Pohjola's Daughter / Karelia Suite / etc Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Anthony Collins, Thomas Jansen [ Australian Decca SBS Eloquence / 2 CD - released 14/Jul/2014 ] "I think the star performance is that of the Sixth Symphony - so elusive, so easy to ruin by over-interpreting. I was fascinated by what seemed like a hint of Russian flavouring in the string chants of the coda - well why not?" (Gramophone) |
David Clayton-Thomas
David Clayton-Thomas / Tequila Sunrise / David Clayton-Thomas plus bonus track [ BGO Records / 2 CD - released 7/Mar/2014 ] Blood, Sweat & Tears' singer Clayton-Thomas' two Columbia albums from 1972 and his RCA self-titled LP from 1973. A talented singer and writer (with 'Spinning Wheel' being his biggest hit), Clayton-Thomas filled these albums with many of his own... |
FREDERIC CHOPIN
Chopin: Concertos for piano & String Quintet David Lively, Quatuor Cambini-Paris, Thomas de Pierrefeu [ Aparté / CD - released 12/Apr/2019 ] Chopin's Piano Concertos are works of a twenty-year old composer and ambitious soloist. Powerful and challenging, their romantic dimension also carries sensitive effusions. This duality is highlighted here by an interpretation on period instruments... |
AARON JAY KERNIS / ASTOR PIAZZOLLA / ROBERTO SIERRA
Double Echo - New Guitar Concertos from the Americas David Tanenbaum (guitar) / New Century Chamber Orchestra, Thomas Derthick, Aaron Jay Kernis [ Naxos / CD - released 9/Jul/2021 ] This album of guitar concertos from the Americas features pieces composed for David Tanenbaum. Building on a tradition of prominent guitarists generating repertoire through new commissions, these works present the guitar in a variety of settings.... |
Del Thomas
Driving Home Alone [ Saltaire / CD - released 19/Jul/2013 ] A cool combination of blues and country-folk-rock can be heard on 'Driving Home Alone'. |
FRANZ SCHREKER
Schreker: Der Schatzgräber (complete opera recorded in 2022) BLU-RAY Deutsche Oper Berlin / Elisabet Strid, Daniel Johansson, Michael Laurenz, Thomas Johannes Mayer / Marc Albrecht (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 8/Nov/2023 ] Franz Schreker's career was cut short by the events of 1933 in Germany but he achieved real fame with his operas, and the huge success of Der Schatzgräber ('The Treasure Hunter') in the 1920s was the high point of his career. In a complex and... |
FRANZ SCHREKER
Schreker: Der Schatzgräber (complete opera recorded in 2022) Deutsche Oper Berlin / Elisabet Strid, Daniel Johansson, Michael Laurenz, Thomas Johannes Mayer / Marc Albrecht (cond) [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 8/Nov/2023 ] Franz Schreker's career was cut short by the events of 1933 in Germany but he achieved real fame with his operas, and the huge success of Der Schatzgräber ('The Treasure Hunter') in the 1920s was the high point of his career. |