GEORGE FREDERICK McKAY
Violin Concerto / Sinfonietta No. 4 / Song Over the Great Plains Ludmilla Kovaleva, piano / Brian Reagin, violin / Ukraine National Radio Symphony Orchestra / John McLaughlin Williams, conductor [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 23/Feb/2005 ] "Naxos's third McKay disc ... a worthy revival of music that could otherwise have been lost to posterity" - MusicWeb Feb 2005 |
W. A. MOZART
Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro] (complete opera recorded in 2010) Ludovic tezier / Barbara Frittoli / Ekaterina Siurina / Luca Pisaroni / Orchestra of the Paris National Opera / Philippe Jordan [ Bel Air Classiques DVD / 2 DVD - released 20/Sep/2012 ] G:- "Unlike many Figaro productions these days, the physicality is never vulgar, and there are constant small touches that add character...[Pisaroni] displays the ideal bass-baritone instrument for this role" (International Record Review) |
LUDIVICO EINAUDI
Einaudi: Cinema Ludovico Einaudi (piano), with Daniel Hope (violin), Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Prague [ Decca Classics / 2 CD - released 4/Jun/2021 ] Presenting Cinema - a brand new handpicked 2CD collection of Ludovico's most emotive musical works from film and television, including tracks from Oscars favourites Nomadland and The Father and much more. |
MANUEL de FALLA
Luis Fernando Pérez plays Falla Luis Fernando Pérez (piano) / Basque National Orchestral, Carlo Rizzi [ Mirare / CD - released 1/Dec/2014 ] Luis Fernando Pérez is one of the few Spanish pianists since Alicia de Larrocha to have championed his native repertoire with such passion. After discs of Soler and Granados for Mirare, he now presents a portrait of Manuel de Falla. From the... |
ARTHUR BLISS
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra / A Colour Symphony Lydia Mordkovitch (violin) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 1/Oct/2006 ] 'Bliss's A Colour Symphony needs a full Technicolour acoustic to do justice to its heraldic splendour. The Chandos sound certainly gives us that...A rewarding release.' The Times |
KHACHATURIAN
Violin Concerto in D minor / Cello Concerto in E minor Lydia Mordkovitch (violin) Raphael Wallfisch (cello) / Scottish National Orchestra [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 28/Apr/2002 ] This disc couples two of Khachaturian's best concertos |
SERGEY IVANOVICH TANEYEV
Taneyev: Suite de Concert, Op. 28 (with Rimsky-Korsakov - Fantasy on Two Russian Themes, Op. 33) Lydia Mordkovitch (violin) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 20/Oct/2008 ] "A mellower Mordkovitch is outstanding in this splendid Russian pairing. A disc to enjoy. Sounds like she did." (Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine Awards Issue 2008) |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 Lydia Mordkovitch (violin) Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 10/Aug/2015 ] This album is a tribute features Lydia Mordkovitc's famous 1989 recording of Shostakovich's violin concertos with Neeme Järvi and the Scottish National Orchestra. |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 / Violin sonata No 1 Lydia Mordkovitch (violin) Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Järvi [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 1/Sep/2009 ] "..She is aided by a most lovely, close yet lustrous and deep Chandos recording. This is a precise yet yieldingly romantic version which can be placed alongside the finest: Oistrakh and Sitkovetsky." (MusicWeb Aug 2009) |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No.4 Lynda Russell (soprano) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit [ Naxos / CD ] "Well there are a lot of fine Fourths, some of them name-brands. But this is as good as any of them - really - and costs a fraction of what they cost" American Record Guide |
PHILIPPE DECOUFLE
The Planet Decoufle: documentary profiles dancer, choreographer and film-maker Philippe Decoufle / Abracadabra Lyon National Opera Ballet / Francoise Jouillie, Dominique Laine, Jayne Plaisted / Yakov Kreisberg [ Kultur / DVD - released 1/Jun/2009 ] g - Abracadabra is a play on multiple reflections within the imaginary universe of Philippe Decouflé. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Lohengrin (complete opera recorded at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus 2006) BLU-RAY Lyon National Opera / Klaus Florian Vogt, Solveig Kringelborn, Hans-Peter König, Waltraud Meier / Kent Nagano (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jun/2009 ] Blu-Ray - "Elsa remains constantly onstage to narrate and to dream. The cast includes the sexy, brainy Ortrud of Waltraud Meier and the controversially light-toned Klaus Florian Vogt in the title-role." (Gramophone) |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Barbe-Bleue [Blue-beard] (complete operetta recorded in 2019) BLU-RAY Lyon National Opera / Yann Beuron, Heloise Mas, Christophe Gay, Christophe Mortagne, Jennifer Courcier / Michele Spotti [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 23/Jul/2021 ] Offenbach composed a hilarious version of the gruesome story of Barbe-Bleue, made famous by Charles Perrault. As an adept of the comically and visually offbeat, the artist Laurent Pelly brings out its impertinent, fantastical universe. After... |
DEBUSSY
Orchestral Works Vol 1 (Incls 'La Mer', 'Children's Corner' & 'Jeux') Lyon National Orchestra / Jun Markl [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Jun/2008 ] Debussy was one of the most important and influential composers of the early twentieth century. This recording features two of Debussy's most harmonically innovative and imaginatively orchestrated works. Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to... |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Orchestral Works Vol 2 (Incls 'Pelleas et Melisande', 'Nocturnes' & '12 Etudes') Lyon National Orchestra, Jun Markl [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2008 ] "Throw in the popular Nocturnes, and the lesser-heard Berceuse, and you get over an hour of delicious listening. This disc is well worth the effort." (MusicWeb Feb 2009) |
DEBUSSY
Orchestral Works Vol 3 (Incls 'Images' & 'Marche ecossaise') Lyon National Orchestra / Jun Markl [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Apr/2010 ] The music of three nations-Britain, Spain and France-inspired Debussy's Images for orchestra, which occupied him from 1905 to 1912. Originally conceived for two pianos, this third set draws on several folk songs in its outer movements, the tripartite... |
MESSIAEN
Poemes pour Mi / Les offrandes oubliees / Un sourire Lyon National Orchestra / Jun Markl [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2009 ] "As with the accompaniment to the song cycle, the orchestral playing and the conducting of Jun Märkl cannot be faulted, while Tim Handley's engineering is admirable. My disc of the month." (David's Review Corner Oct 2009) |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Préludes - Books 1 & 2 (24, complete) [arr orchestra] Lyon National Orchestra, Jun Markl [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Nov/2012 ] "The impression is of a job professionally done and of performances that do what they have to do and do it well. They do not, however, extinguish the temptation to go back and relish Debussy's piano originals." (Gramophone) |
EDWARD GRIEG
Grieg: Complete Orchestral Works Malmö Symphony Orchestra & Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bjarte Engeset [ Naxos / 8 CD Box Set - released 28/Apr/2014 ] This boxed set of Grieg's complete orchestral works is a celebration of the composer's rich and multi-faceted aesthetic. Grieg was an idealistic humanist whose music and writings underlined a harmony between humans and nature. The sense of nostalgia... |
CHOPIN / ROSSINI / OFFENBACH / BIZET / LALO / CHABRIER / etc
Art and Music: Manet - Music of His Time Hungarian State Opera Orchestra; New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; Polish National Radio Symphony, Kodály Quartet, etc [ Naxos Educational / CD - released 31/Mar/2003 ] Edouard Manet (1832-83) has been called the father of modern painting. In the 1860s he was the leader of a group of young artists who later became known as the Impressionists, though his own work resists any simple label. On this CD, the world of... |