MALCOLM WILLIAMSON
Elevamini-Symphony No 1 / Sinfonia Concertante / etc Martin Jones (piano) Malcolm Williamson (piano) / Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Charles Groves [ Lyrita / CD - released 27/Apr/2008 ] Though Malcolm Williamson lived in London for fifty years, many of the titles and first performance venues of his works confirm that he was at heart an Australian: as well as his pieces for Australian Bicentennial Year, 1988, his last two symphonies... |
Charles Mingus
Mingus Ah Um (LP) [ Music On Vinyl / LP - released 25/Feb/2010 ] When driving a band with his upright bass, Charles Mingus looked - and was - gigantic, in more ways than one. He had huge creative appetites (as well as being hot tempered), creating his own combination of hard bop, blues, and avant-garde jazz. There... |
Charles Mingus / Eric Dolphy
The Salle Wagram Concert - Complete Edition [ Jazz Collectors / 2 CD - released 26/Oct/2009 ] |
GUSTAV HOLST
Holst: The Planets Montreal Symphony Orchestra / Charles Dutoit [ Decca Records / CD - released 10/Aug/2007 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - "an highly successful version, both rich and brilliant, and recorded with an opulence to outshine almost all rivals. *** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo. |
W. A. MOZART
Chamber Sonatas London Baroque, Charles Medlam [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 25/Mar/2008 ] " Nothing sounds uncharacteristic - bustle, and a sure architectonic ear are in evidence across these works written between 1772 and 1780.They are jewelled little works each in a single movement." (MusicWeb) |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Violin Concerto / Encores (recorded 1949-53) Nathan Milstein (violin) / Boston Symphony Orchestra / Charles Munch [ Naxos Historical Great Violinists / CD - released 31/Aug/2007 ] "The three violin and piano works with Artur Balsam are played with Milstein's usual finesse and bravura, and the disc concludes with two tracks in which Milstein duets with the Italian bass Ezio Pinza in Calm as the night and None but the lonely... |
MOZART / PAGANINI / LISZT / WAGNER / OFFENBACH / STRAUSS / ELGAR / COPLAND / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Discovering the Classics: Classics for Eternity [4 CD set] National Philharmonic, Charles Gerhardt / New Symphony Orchestra of London, Douglas Gamley / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin [ Reader's Digest / 4 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1994 ] A wide reaching collection of work that acts as a good sampler for those wishing to do a bit of discovery. More like a greatest hits compilation though, so don't expect too many surprises. |
HERRMANN / NEWMAN / KORNGOLD / TIOMKIN / ROZSA / WAXMAN
Charles Gerhardt conducts Classic Film Scores National Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Gerhardt, with Kiri te Kanawa (soprano) & Norma Procter (contralto) [ RCA Red Seal / Sony music Masters / 12 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] In the 1970s, the Classic Film Scores series introduced a new generation to the sumptuous sound of music in Hollywood's "Golden Age." |
SMETANA
The Bartered Bride (Complete Opera) Neal Davies / Yvonne Howard / Susan Gritton / Geoffrey Moses / Philharmonia Orchestra / Royal Opera Chorus / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 1/Oct/2005 ] "A crisp, witty translation gives added sparkle to a terrific performance" - Editor's Choice Gramophoen Magazine November 2005 |
Nellie Melba (soprano) with Enrico Caruso, tenor, Charles Gilibert, baritone, Studio Orchestra / Walter B. Rogers, conductor
Nellie Melba: American Recordings, Vol. 1 (1907) [ Naxos Historical Great Singers / CD - released 1/Feb/2005 ] "A representative collection of Melba is more of a necessity than a luxury and admirers should have these 1907 sessions in their collection." (MusicWeb March 2005) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" The New Company / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Signum / CD - released 20/Nov/2011 ] "No passage from darkness to light here, but a pervasive exaltation even in the first movement...However many Ninths you own, add this to your treasury." (Five Stars BBC Music) |
MUSSORGSKY / STRAVINSKY
Mackerras conducts Mussorgsky & Stravinsky New Philharmonia Orchestra & London Symphony Orchestra, Charles Mackerras [ Alto / CD - released 25/Mar/2015 ] "Mackerras brings the same degree of visceral excitement and aural fantasy to these Russian orchestral showpieces as in his Janacek interpretations. The LSO's playing is superbly incisive" (Five Stars BBC Music) |
JULES MASSENET
Massenet: Thérèse (complete opera) Nora Gubisch, Charles Castronovo, Étienne Dupuis, François Lis Opera National Montpellier / Opéra national Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon, Alain Alt [ Bru Zane Ediciones Singulares / CD/Book - released 20/May/2013 ] "The scale is small, the plot thin, but the opera has its moments: one of them is the flowing 'O Therese, regarde', sensitively phrased by Etienne Dupuis. Nora Gubisch and Charles Castronovo are splendid" Gramophone |
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Bernstein: Violin Sonata / Piano Trio / New Transcriptions Opus Two (violin piano duo) with Charles Bernard (cello) & Marin Mazzie (soprano) [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 20/Jan/2011 ] "A worthy purchase for all fans of Bernstein and of mid-20th century American chamber music." (MusicWeb Feb 2011) |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Serenade in B flat Major 'Gran Partita' Orchestra of St. Luke's / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 14/Sep/2007 ] "...the playing is beautifully neat, blended and elegant..." -Gramophone |
JOSEF HAYDN
Symphonies Nos 100 Military 101 "Clock" 104 "London" & 103 "Drum Roll""" Orchestra of St Luke's / Sir Charles MacKerras [ 2 CD - released 20/May/2009 ] |
JOSEF HAYDN
Symphonies Nos 100 Military & 103 Drum Roll Orchestra of St Luke's / Sir Charles MacKerras [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 16/Apr/2002 ] "Brisk, spirited readings" - Billboard |
EDOUARD LALO / ARTHUR COQUARD
Eduard Lalo & Arthur Coquard: La Jacquerie Véronique Gens, Nora Gubisch, Charles Castronovo, Boris Pinkhasovich / Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France [ Bru Zane Ediciones Singulares / 2 CD/Book - released 16/Sep/2016 ] "Castronovo's Robert is all persuasive elegance and ringing high notes: you believe in him as a charismatic revolutionary, and he brings real passion to his scenes with Véronique Gens's smoky toned Blanche, who is equally convincing as a refined aris |
DEBUSSY
La Mer / Nocturnes / Jeux / Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit [ Decca 20th Century / CD - released 4/Jun/2012 ] " Dutoit is one of the world's foremost interpreters, and his approach to Debussy's orchestral works is lively and vibrant, as demonstrated in his effervescent readings of La mer, Jeux, and Nocturnes." (AllMusic.com) |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker [plus Sleeping Beauty: Aurora's Wedding] Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, Charles Dutoit [ Decca Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] A favourite ballet all round the year, but a perennial at Christmas-time, Tchaikovsky's evergreen Nutcracker has never perhaps received as luxurious a recorded performance as that of Charles Dutoit and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. |