W.A. MOZART
Symphonies Nos. 28, 33, 36 (Linz), 38 (Prague) / Divertimenti Nos. 10 & 11 English Chamber Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Dec/2006 ] Sir Colin Davis and the English Chamber Orchestra made several Mozart recordings for L'Oiseau-Lyre. All five symphonies and both Divertimenti he recorded are collected here on a 2CD set (the Concertone is issued this month too). Crisp and tender,... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Xerxes [Serse] (opera recorded 1988) English National Opera / Ann Murray, Lesley Garrett, Valerie Masterson / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Arthaus Musik DVD / DVD - released 7/Aug/2011 ] "a landmark in the reassessment of Handel's genius...Mackerras understood Handel's music intimately...Murray's Xerxes is unfailingly elegant, whether serenading a plant in the shadow of Roubiliac's statue of Handel, or pausing over a demitasse." |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Horn Concertos & Concert Rondo in E-flat Eric Ruske (horn) / Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Sir Charles Mackerras [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 12/Feb/2005 ] "The Young American horn player, Eric Ruske, is..very pleasing, producing a fine golden sound throughout. The recording captures Ruske's tone beautifully and is rich and spacious." - Gramophone |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Messiah [New Concert Edition by Sir Andrew Davis] Erin Wall, Elizabeth DeShong, Andrew Staples, John Relyea / Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 30/Jan/2017 ] "A performance I will return to often and with great pleasure." MusicWeb International, 13th December 2016 |
R. STRAUSS
Elektra & Ariadne auf Naxos (Final Scenes) Erna Schlüter / Ljuba Welitsch / Maria Cebotari / Karl Friedrich / Margaret Field-Hyde / Royal Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra / Sir Thomas Beecham [ Naxos Historical Great Opera Recordings / CD - released 1/Aug/2011 ] For the recording of Elektra, Beecham was fortunate to be to able call upon the renowned interpreters of Strauss's music Erna Schlüter, Ljuba Welitsch and Paul Schöffler, who were appearing with the Vienna State Opera at the Royal Opera House, Covent... |
GRIEG / RAVEL / STRAVINSKY / RICHARD STRAUSS / etc
Dances & Dreams: Gala from Berlin 2011 Evgeny Kissin (piano) / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle [ Euroarts DVD / DVD - released 10/Sep/2013 ] "Where Rattle and company radiate love, Kissin gives us duty. Still, nothing else casts a chill. Hearing the orchestra's splendours, observing the smiles and eye contact, you'd never believe the past stories of turbulence between musicians and conductor." |
FAMILY CAROLS
Family Christmas (Incls 'Sussex Carol', 'When Christ was Born' & 'The Holly & The Ivy') Bach Choir with the Fanfare Trumpeters of the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, conducted by Sir David Willcocks [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Nov/2002 ] Reissue of classic recording |
W.A. MOZART
Opera Highlights-Volume 2: The Magic Flute, Cosi fan Tutte Felicity Lott / Nuccia Focile / Marie McLaughlin / Jerry Hadley / Edinburgh Festival Singers / Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Sir Charles MacKerras [ Telarc Everybody's Classics / 2 CD - released 20/Sep/2008 ] "The recorded quality is unusually clear and, carefully nurtured by Mackerras, the delights of Mozart's scoring can readily be heard" (Gramophone on the Cosi) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Fernando Corena: Verdi: Falstaff - Scenes (with arias by Rossini & Donizetti) Fernando Corena (bass) with Renato Capechi, Ilva Ligabue, Lydia Marimpietr / New Symphony Orchestra of London, Sir Edward Downes, etc [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 20/Sep/2015 ] "Corena is an admirable Falstaff, vocally and dramatically, and he misses little or nothing of Verdi's superb musical characterization of the part." (Gramophone) |
Mozart, Wo
Mitridate Re di Ponto Ford, Sieden, Oelze, Kasarova, Grant Murphy, Spence, Rudakova; Camerata Salzburg, Sir Roger Norrington [ ORFEO / 2 CD - released 28/Jul/2006 ] |
STRAVINSKY
Oedipus Rex / Apollon Musagète Gentlemen of the Monteverdi Choir & London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ LSO SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 7/Apr/2014 ] 'Oedipus Rex' and 'Apollon musagète' are both ancient Greek-themed works by Stravinsky. The rich string harmonies and textures in the ballet score of 'Apollon musagète' are pleasantly mesmerising, expressive and calmly indulgent |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Rheingold (LP) George London, Kirsten Flagstad, Claire Watson, Set Svanholm, Waldemar Kmentt / Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca / 3 Vinyl Box Set - released 4/Aug/2023 ] For these new editions, a decade since the last remastering, a completely new set of high-definition 24 bit/192kHz transfers of the original master tapes have been utilized. |
Sir PETER MAXWELL DAVIES
A Celebration of Scotland [incls 'An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise'] George MacIlwham (Highland bagpipes) & Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (conductor/pianist) / Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Choir of St. Mary's School, Edinburg [ Unicorn-Kanchana / CD - released 20/May/2016 ] "Davies is a master story-teller in this vividly detailed tone painting…." (Gramophone) |
Mozart, Wo
Symphonie B-Dur KV 319, Symphonie C-Dur KV 551 "Jupiter", Symphonie G-Dur Hob. I:92 "Oxford", Ballade für Orchester op. George Szell, Sir Clifford Curzon, Rudolf Firkusny, Concertgebouw Orkest Amsterdam, Orchestre National de la RTF, Tschec [ ORFEO / 7 CD - released 31/Jul/2007 ] |
HUGH WOOD
Wood: Symphony & Scenes From Comus Geraldine McGreevy (soprano) / Daniel Norman (tenor) / BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sir Andrew Davis (conductor) [ NMC / CD - released 1/Jan/2001 ] "One of the outstanding British symphonies of the last century." BBC Music Magazine 2002Gramophone Awards nomination 2002 |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
The Very Best of the Glasgow Orpheus Choir Glasgow Orpheus Choir, Sir Hugh Roberton [ Alto Records / CD - released 10/Jul/2017 ] "Choir fanciers starting out on an Orphean collection would do very well to start here. The technical aspects have been lovingly handled. The only real criticism is the surfeit of the smooth and the dreamy - but that's the recorded legacy of the... |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Peter Grimes (Complete Opera recorded in 2004) Glenn Winslade, Janice Watson, Jonathan Lemalu / London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live / 3 CD - released 24/Jul/2004 ] "This is a landmark for the LSO...The Sea Interludes gleam within their dramatic context and the London Symphony Chorus relish their involvement with such a testy choral challenge." (William Dart New Zealand Herald) |
GLUCK
Alceste (complete opera recorded in stereo in 1981) Philip Gelling, Maldwyn Davies, Janet Baker, John Shirley-Quirk / The Royal Opera Chorus & Orchestra / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Royal Opera House / 2 CD - released 10/Apr/2008 ] "A great evening at Covent Garden rescued for posterity." (Gramophone on a previous release) |
CHARPENTIER
Louise (complete opera recorded in 1943) Grace Moore, Raoul Jobin, Ezio Pinza / Metropolitan Opera / Sir Thomas Beecham [ Naxos Historic Great Opera Performances / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2010 ] |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini (complete opera) Gregory Kunde, Laura Claycomb, Darren Jeffery, Andrew Kennedy / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 16/Jun/2008 ] 'Conductor and tenor are the joint heroes of this exhilarating release...Davis remains the supreme Berliozian of our day, brilliantly evoking the mercurial wit of the comic repartee...anyone who doesn't own this fabulous score should snap it... |