W.A. MOZART
Greatest Hits Daniel Barenboim / Gianluigi Gelmetti / Hartmut Haenchen / Sharon Kam / Angelika Kirchschlager / Sir Neville Marriner / RenAC Pape / Gil Shaham / etc. [ EuroArts / DVD - released 12/Mar/2007 ] G :- All the very best of Mozart on one DVD. |
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... |
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 |
W. A. MOZART / HANDEL / JENKINS / MARCELLO
Diva [incls 'Exsultate, jubilate'] Danielle de Niese (soprano) with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Sir Charles Mackerras & Bryn Terfel [ Decca Music Group / CD - released 10/Mar/2011 ] "Her vocal and musical vitality shines out of every track" (BBC Music) |
TCHAIKOVSKY / BRAHMS
Violin Concerto in D major, Op.35 / Violin Concerto in D major, Op.77 (Rec 1960/61) David Oistrakh (violin) / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Norman Del Mar; London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent [ BBC Legends / CD - released 7/Jan/2004 ] "The big tone, the generous gestures, the energy and the poetry, all are here, plus an extra shot of 'live' adrenalin" Gramophone |
BERLIOZ
Symphonie Fantastique / Béatrice et Bénédict, Op. 27: Overture London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live / CD - released 12/Feb/2001 ] Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice - May 2001 |
Dolora Zajick, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles MacKerras
The Art of Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano (Incls arias by Verdi, Gluck & Saint-Saens) [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 12/Aug/2000 ] This collection, amazingly enough, is Zajick's first solo recording! |
REINHOLD GLIERE
Gliere: Symphony No. 1 BBC Philharmonic, Sir Edward Downes [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Jan/1993 ] |
GILBERT & SULLIVAN
The Very Best of Gilbert & Sullivan D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Isidore Godfrey, Royston Nash, Sir Malcolm Sargent [ Decca / 2 CD - released 14/Jul/2003 ] "If you are looking for a CD to cheer you up on a dull day, either of the pair which make up this Double Decca will serve admirably." Rosette Recording. Penguin Stereo Guide. |
Peter MAXWELL DAVIES
Strathclyde Concertos 7 & 8 / A spell for green corn: The MacDonald dances Duncan McTier (double-bass), Ursula Leveaux (bassoon), James Clark (violin) / Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Sir Peter Maxwell Davies [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Feb/2014 ] "The demise of Collins Classics - on which label many of the composer's recordings were originally issued - removed from the catalogue a great many valuable discs. It is to the great credit of Naxos they have over the years so assiduously re-released |
TCHAIKOVSKY
The Sleeping Beauty (complete ballet recorded in 2004) The Dutch National Ballet / Sir Peter Wright / Marius Petipa / Philip Prowse / Sofiane Sylve / Gael Lambiotte [ Opus Arte / Kultur / 2 DVD - released 1/Apr/2009 ] G :- Tchaikovsky and Petipa's timeless ballet - acknowledged to be the most pure and demanding piece in the classic romantic repertoire - brings out Petipa's rich dance vocabulary with the sparkling virtuosity a superb performance needs. |
SIR ARTHUR BLISS
Sir Arthur Bliss: the Decca Originals Eileen Joyce (piano) Alfredo Campoli (violin) Griller Quartet (string quartet), Colin Hampton (cello), Philip Burton (viola) / Sir Arthur Bliss, Muir [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 19/Jun/2020 ] "This is a convenient, well-transferred compilation of some of the finest performances of music by a still-underrated composer. Bliss's version of the Colour Symphony is better paced than many of its successors." BBC Music |
BARTOK
Bluebeard's Castle Elena Zhidkova & Sir Willard White / London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, Valery Gergiev [ LSO Live SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 5/Sep/2014 ] "…Gergiev and his superlative orchestral forces and vocal soloists, supported by magnificent sound quality, present the enigmatic piece with great power, leaving us, as adequate performances always do, feeling stunned and somewhat bewildered." (BBC) |
ELGAR
Cello Concerto / Pomp and Circumstance Marches Nos. 1-5 / etc Paul Watkins (cello) / BBC Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos / CD - released 22/Apr/2012 ] "Watkins plays with consummate artistry, his golden-toned and technically flawless contribution striking a judicious balance between classical poise and unexaggerated depth of feeling...Durable rewards guaranteed" Gramophone Magazine, Editor's Choice... |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Starlight Express, Op. 78 Elin Manahan Thomas (soprano), Roderick Williams (baritone) & Simon Callow (narrator) / Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "Davis secures absolutely first-rate results from the Scottish CO. Elin Manahan Thomas's light and slivery soprano could hardly be more suited to the parts of the Laugher and Jane-Anne, while Roderick Williams is in glorious voice throughout."... |
LEOS JANACEK
Janacek: Kata Kabanova (complete opera) Elisabeth Saderstram, Petr Dvorsky, Nedezda Kniplova, Vladimir Krejcik / Wiener Philharmoniker / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Decca Originals / 2 CD Box Set - released 11/Apr/2006 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - "... Charles Mackerras's ... long knowledge of the score has flowered into the richest account of it he has yet given ... he draws wonderful playing from the Vienna Philharmonic." |
JANACEK
Jenufa (Complete opera in English) Elizabeth Vaughan; Nigel Robson; Dame Josephine Barstow / Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera. Sir Charles Mackerras [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 1/May/2004 ] "There are few opera composers whose language seems totally to defy time and remain as startlingly new and potent 100 years on. Janá?ek is one of them and his Jen<=fa of 1904 is as powerful today as it must have been a century ago. In the hands of... |
Elly Ameling / Kathleen Battle / Arleen Auger / Barbara Hendricks / Dawn Upshaw / Marie McLaughlin / Prague Chamber Orchestra / Sir Charles Mackerras
Divine Sopranos (music of Berlioz, Handel, Mahler, Vivaldi, Richard Strauss, etc) [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 11/Aug/2003 ] More than any other singer, the public has always been enticed by the scandals and mysteries that surround the diva. Because of this curiosity and genuine love for the soprano voice, there has always been a strong interest in the recordings. |
SIR ARTHUR BLISS
Bliss: the Beautitudes Emily Birsan (soprano), Ben Johnson (tenor), Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos SACD / SACD - released 23/Feb/2018 ] Excelling in recordings of Delius, Elgar, and Holst, Sir Andrew Davis here presents a spirited programme of works by Sir Arthur Bliss. It follows a recording of Morning Heroes that made the top recommendations of 2015; likewise recorded in... |
HANDEL / CHARPENTIER / BARBER / RACHMANINOV / BRITTEN / MOZART / BEETHOVEN
Sacred Treasures Emma Kirkby, Veronique Gens, Janet Baker, Barbara Hendricks, Andrew Parrott, Riccardo Muti, Richard Hickox, Georges Prêtre, Michel Plasson, Sir Simon [ Erato / Warner Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 24/Dec/2016 ] Three CDs of some of the greatest sacred choral and vocal works of the last three centuries. |