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JANACEK
The Makropulos Case (complete opera in English) Cheryl Barker (soprano) Neal Davies (bass-baritone) John Graham-Hall (tenor) / English National Opera / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/2007 ] "This electrifying performance has been captured in sound that is exceptionally clear and full-bodied, and it also has great immediacy. I very much welcome a recording in English." (International Record Review March 2007) |
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BELA BARTOK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion, Celesta and other works Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca / 2 CD - released 11/Jul/2002 ] Classic recording of Bela Bartok by Sir Georg Solti |
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MODEST MUSSORGSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel) (with Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin) Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca / CD - released 1/Apr/1982 ] Original recording made in Chicago May 1980 |
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RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The World of Wagner Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Vienna State Opera Chorus & Vienna Philharmonic, Sir Georg Solti, Birgit Nilsson (soprano) / [ Decca / CD - released 10/Nov/1993 ] A great beginners guide to the operas of Richard Wagner. |
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TRADITIONAL
50 Favourite Christmas Carols Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Sir David Willcocks, Sir Philip Ledger, Stephen Cleobury [ Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 3/Dec/2007 ] A collection of all the great carols performed by the world-famous King's college choir. |
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MAURICE RAVEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe (complete ballet) / Bolero City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle [ EMI Encore / CD - released 1/Feb/2012 ] "Rattle's reading is most enjoyable; it is atmospheric - sample the gorgeous 'Daybreak' opening of Part III, for instance - and often voluptuous and intoxicating, especially in the case of the final Danse générale and the dynamic Dance guerrière. MW |
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TELEMANN / VIVALDI / ALBINONI / FASCH / HERTEL / etc
Concerto à la Carte Claude Monteux (flute) John Wilbraham (trumpet) / Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner [ SBS Australian Decca Eloquence / 2 CD - released 15/Feb/2016 ] "The most alert string-playing distinguishes this record … first-class quality of recording throughout" The Gramophone |
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WILLIAM WALTON
Facade / Siesta / Scapino Overture / Portsmouth Point Overture (with music by Bax & Bliss) Dame Edith Sitwell and Sir Peter Pears (narrators), English Opera Group Ensemble, Anthony Collins / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Nov/2010 ] "As for the performance, it stands above all others since … must remain a classic to the end of time" Gramophone Magazine |
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HANDEL / BEETHOVEN / BACH / VERDI / ROSSINI / DELIBES / GOUNOD / etc/
Joan Sutherland: Oratorios & Recitals Dame Joan Sutherland, with Sir Peter Pears, Marilyn Horne, Kenneth McKellar, Barry Tuckwell, Richard Bonynge and others [ Decca / 37 CD Box Set - released 19/Jul/2024 ] The first set comprises Sutherland's complete Recitals and Oratorio recordings for Decca, ranging from the 1959 operatic recital recorded in Paris, with Nello Santi (has Verdi's "Santo di patria" ever rung out with greater thrill?). |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Concerto for 2 & 3 Pianos / Piano Concerto in D minor, KV 466 Daniel Barenboim, Andras Schiff, Sir Georg Solti (pianos) / English Chamber Orchestra [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Feb/2006 ] 'The finale, a kind of rondo-minuet, is delightful, with energetic keyboard work that nevertheless dances' [Concerto for 3 Pianos] Gramophone |
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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) |
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GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Yeomen of the Guard (complete operetta recorded in 1958) Denis Dowling, Richard Lewis, Elsie Morison, Alexander Young, Marjorie Thomas / Glyndebourne Festival, Sir MalcolmSargent [ EMI / 2 CD Box Set - released 10/Feb/1987 ] "This is a very operatic Yeomen which certainly suits the work and gives the soloists an opportunity to shine. Sir Geraint Evans makes a better Jack Point than a Ko-Ko and 'When a wooer goes a-wooing' is very moving." Mel (Marbecks) |
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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! |
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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. |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Orchestra! - Introducing the Modern Symphony Orchestra Dudley Moore (presenter) / Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra / Sir Georg Solti [ DECCA / 2 DVD/CD - released 8/Oct/2007 ] G - Hosted by Sir Georg Solti and Hollywood star Dudley Moore, Orchestra! is the landmark UK Channel 4 TV series from 1991, introducing the modern symphony orchestra. |
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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 |
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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." |
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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... |
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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. |
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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 |