BRAHMS / LIGETI
Horn Trios Marie-Luise Neunecker, horn, Antje Weithaas, violin, Silke Avenhaus, piano [ BIS / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Jan/2012 ] BIS present two major works for horn, violin and piano, bringing together Johannes Brahms, generally regarded as the great traditionalist of the late 19th century, and György Ligeti, born 90 years after Brahms, and one of the most innovative and... |
W.A. MOZART
Requiem Mass Marie-Noelle de Callata (soprano) / Netherlands Bach Society / Jos van Veldhoven [ Channel Classics / CD - released 14/Jul/2002 ] Mozart as he was intended to sound |
W.A. MOZART
Requiem Mass Marie-Noelle de Callata (soprano) / Netherlands Bach Society / Jos van Veldhoven [ Channel Classics SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 28/Jul/2003 ] On Hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) format, presented in full 5.1 surround sound! PLAYABLE ON ANY CD SYSTEM |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saens: Messe de Requiem / Partsongs Marie-Paule Dotti (sop) Guillemette Laurens (mezzo) Luca Lombardo (tenor) Nicolas Testa, bass Coro della Radio Svizzera, Lugano Orchestra del Italiana [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 6/Jul/2004 ] This is the only available recording of the Requiem Mass, a highly appealing work with beautiful and complex harmonies. |
ÉTIENNE NICHOLAS MEHUL
Méhul: Uthal (complete operetta) Marie-Ève Munger, Marie Lenormand, Jeanne Crousaud, Michael Spyres / Coro e Orquestra Gulbenkian, Paul McCreesh [ Bru Zane Ediciones Singulares / CD/Book - released 20/Apr/2017 ] "Speech and song are seemlessly integrated here, maintaining both dramatic tension and consistency of characterisation throughout. It's hard to imagine a better bicentenary tribute: do listen to it." Gramophone |
MENOTTI
The Medium / The Telephone (recorded 1947) Marilyn Cotlow / Frank Rogier / Evelyn Keller / Marie Powers / Beverly Dame / Orchestra / Emanuel Balaban [ Naxos Historical Great Opera Recordings / CD - released 30/Jun/2011 ] This original 1947 cast recording of The Medium, made by the American Columbia company, was first released in the UK in 1961, when The Gramophone wrote enthusiastically "its effectiveness as a musical work for the stage is beyond argument". |
50 BEST ROMANTIC CLASSICS
50 Best Romantic Classics: Includes Offenbach 'Barcarolle', Debussy 'Clair de lune' & Dvorak 'Song to the Moon' Martha Argerich, Julian Bream, Herbert von Karajan, Moura Lympany, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Carlo Bergonzi, etc [ EMI Classics / 3 CD - released 20/Jun/2010 ] All the greatest romantic classics performed by the world's greatest soloists, instrumentalists and orchestras. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Concerto 3 & Triple Concerto Martin Helmchen (piano), Antje Weithaas (violin), Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (cello) / Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Andrew Manze (cond) [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 13/Nov/2020 ] German pianist Martin Helmchen continues his journey through Beethoven's piano concertos with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester and Andrew Manze. In the Third Concerto, published in 1804, Beethoven seems to be moving away from the Mozartian model... |
SCHUBERT
Piano Quintet in A 'The Trout' / Variations on Trockne Blumen for flute and piano / Piano Trio (Notturno) in E flat Martin Helmchen (piano) Christian Tetzlaff (violin) Antoine Tamestit (viola) Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (cello) Alois Posch (double bass) [ Pentatone SACD / SACD - released 1/Apr/2009 ] "The players' wide dynamic range lets them wring every drop of energy from the finale without ever forcing the tone, and it's impossible to overpraise Helmchen's sensitivity in both his solo and accompanying roles." (10/10 ClassicsToday.com) |
ARNOLD BAX
Orchestral Works, Volume 8 (Incls 'Enchanted Summer' & 'Walsinghame') Martyn Hill (tenor) Anne Williams-Kingm, Lynore McWhirter (sopranos) / Brighton Festival Chorus / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Vernon Handley [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 1/Feb/2007 ] 'This issue represents a considerable achievement for all involved. The spacious recording copes beautifully with everything Bax can muster.' Hi-Fi News |
Mary-Anne Hobbs/Various Artists
Wild Angels [ 2 CD ] |
BEETHOVEN
The Concertos & Overtures [5 CD set recorded 1966-1988] Maurizio Pollini (piano) Christian Ferras (violin) Yo-Yo Ma (cello) Anne-Sofie Mutter (violin) / Vienna Philhamronic, Berlin Philharmonic [ Deutsche Grammophon / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Jun/2012 ] Recorded over a period of twenty years this is a mightly document featuring some of the world's most famous artists performing the music one of the world's greatest composers. |
HERZOGENBERG / SCHUMANN / KLUGHARDT / WEISMANN
Song of the Reeds Albrecht Mayer (oboe), Markus Becker (piano) with Marie-Luise Neunecker (horn) & Tabea Zimmermann (viola) [ Decca Music Group / CD - released 16/Feb/2012 ] The world's leading oboe player rediscovers his German Romantic roots. Albrecht Mayer is a master musician whose playing has touched the hearts of many fans. |
VERDI / JOHAN STRAUSS
Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991: 25th Anniversary at Lincoln Center [2 DVDs] The Metropolitan Opera with Placido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Cheryl Studer, Anne Sofie von Otter, Barbara Daniels, and many others [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 6/May/2010 ] G - Thrill to "hours and hours of glorious opera...A triumphant celebration of virtuosity (Toronto Globe and Mail) as New York's legendary opera company celebrates its first quarter century at Lincoln Center with "one of the most exquisitely refined... |
BERLIOZ
Damnation de Faust (complete) Michael Myers (Tenor) / Marie-Ange Todorovitch (Mezzo-soprano) / Alain Vernhes (Baritone) / Jean-Claude Casadesus (Conductor) [ Naxos Opera / 2 CD - released 27/Jun/2006 ] "The cast is a good one, the orchestra idiomatic and Jean-Claude Casadesus, who has made his mark on disc before, is at the helm." (MusicWeb July 2006) |
MICHAEL NYMAN
Nyman: Facing Goya (complete opera) Winnie Bowe, Marie Angel, Hilary Summers, Harry Nicoll / Michael Nyman Band, Michael Nyman [ Michael Nyman / 3 CD - released 26/Apr/2011 ] "A collage-like 'opera in four acts' investigating the physiology of genius, set to Nyman's usual chugging grooves, smartly packaged on his own label." (BBC Music) |
VERDI / MONTEVERDI / MOZART / BOESMANS
Festival d'Aix-en-Provence Vol.2 - La Traviata / L'Incoronazione di Poppea / Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail / Julie (complete operas) Mireille Delunsch / Anne Sofie von Otter / Matthew Polenzani / Marc Minkowski / Zeljko Lucic / Jean-Paul Fouchecourt / and more [ Bel Air Classiques / 4 DVD Box Set - released 17/Oct/2011 ] Four operas filmed in the Aix-en-Provence Festival from 2000 to 2006 in a limited edition box sets: internationnaly acclaimed productions of L'Incoronazione di Poppea by Klaus Michael Grüber, Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Deschamps & Makeïeff or... |
W.A. MOZART
Requiem in D minor Marie Arnet (soprano) Anna Stephany (mezzo) Andrew Kennedy (tenor), Darren Jeffrey (bass) / London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live / CD - released 9/Jun/2008 ] 'Davis's approach to the Requiem...contained both tragic grandeur and high drama, with the Dies Irae pointing the way towards the theatrical vividness of some 19th-century settings, but nothing was remotely sentimental of self-pitying' The Guardian |
J.S. BACH
Bach: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 / Double Concerto Anne-Sophie Mutter, Salvatore Accardo (violins) / English Chamber orchestra, Salvatore Accardo [ Emi Classics / CD - released 23/Jan/1984 ] Recorded in 1983 |
NAJI HAKIM
Hakim Plays Hakim Vol 1 Naji Hakim & Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet (Schuke Organ of the Palacio Euskalduna of Bilbao) [ Signum Classics / CD - released 28/Jul/2014 ] "I haven't enjoyed an organ collection this much in ages. Hakim the composer and performer are shown at their considerable best, and Signum have obliged with an exemplary recording. The composer's concise, very readable notes are an added bonus." (Re |