CARL MARIA von WEBER
Weber: Violin Sonatas / Piano Quartet Isabelle Faust (violin) / Alexander Melnikov (piano) with Boris Faust & Walfgang Emanuel Schmidt [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 15/Dec/2012 ] "Melnikov, with exuberance and senstivity, plays a fortepiano of about 1815, and Isabelle Faust (on a Stradivarius) is his lithe, discerning and thoroughly engaging companion." Gramophone |
SCHUMANN
Violin Concerto in D minor / Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor, Op. 110 Isabelle Faust (violin) / Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado, with Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) & Alexander Melnikov (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi CD + DVD / 2 CD/DVD - released 10/Apr/2015 ] In the autumn of 1851 Schumann composed, in rapid succession, the two violin sonatas and, in the space of just seven days from 2 to 9 October, the Piano Trio no.3, Op.110. As always during his work, Schumann was oblivious to everything around him,... |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann: The Schumann Trilogy - Complete Concertos & Piano Trios [plus bonus Blu-ray] Isabelle Faust (violin) Guihen Queyras (cello) & Alexander Melnikov (piano) / Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado [ Harmonia Mundi / 4 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 14/Jun/2024 ] These albums left their mark on the Schumann discography: performing the works on period instruments, the artists suddenly revealed unexpected textures and sonorities. |
BRITTEN / SHOSTAKOVICH
Cello Concertos Jamie Walton (cello) / Philharmonia Orchestra / Alexander Briger [ Signum / CD - released 20/Feb/2009 ] "Walton's performance of the Shostakovich 2nd Concerto is wholly satisfying. He hits exactly the right melancholic tone for the majority of the first movement." (MusicWeb Jan 2009) |
STEPHEN SONDHEIM / LEONARD BERNSTEIN / JULE STYNE / RICHARD RODGERS / etc
Jerome Robbin's Broadway Jason Alexander, Michael Lynch, Robert LaFosse, Faith Prince, etc / Original Broadway Cast [ RCA Victor / 2 CD Box Set - released 25/Mar/1989 ] Jerome Robbin's Broadway opened on Broadway on February 26, 1989 at the Imperial Theatre and closed on September 1, 1990 after 633 performances and 55 previews. Directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins with Grover Dale as co-director, the cast... |
DONIZETTI / ROSSINI / GOUNOD / BELLINI / VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Joan Sutherland - Live in Australia(recorded live in 1989) Joan Sutherland (Soprano) with John Alexander, Richard Cross, Elizabeth Harwood, Lucian Pavarotti & others [ Desiree Records / 2 CD - released 4/Jul/2003 ] These recordings come direct from the personal library of Joan Sutherland and various sources and were released with Joan's 'blessing'. |
BACH / HANDEL / PURCELL / PAISIELLO / GIORDANI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Let The Bright Seraphim Kiri te Kanawa, Luica Popp, Marjana Lipuvsek, Robert Holl, Roberta Alexander, Olaf Bar, Jose Carreras, Janet Baker, Elly Ameling, etc [ Philips Golden Baroque / CD - released 25/Jan/1996 ] Jesu joy of man's desiring, Bist du bei mir, When I am Laid in Earth, The Trumpet Tune, Let the Bright Seraphim, and more |
J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach: Cantatas Nos.180-184 Kurt Equiluz, Jan Patrick O'Farrell, Alexander Raymann, Paul Esswood / Collegium Vocale, Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt [ Teldec Das Alte Werk / 2 CD Box Set - released 26/Oct/1989 ] Original recording from 1984 One of the first recordings using historical instruments, with boys' choirs and boy soloists for most soprano and some alto parts. Adult soloists include the tenor Kurt Equiluz. Booklet contains translations |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Cherevichki [The Slippers] (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Larissa Diadkova, Maxim Mikhailov, Vladimir Matorin, Olga Guryakova, Vsevolod Grivnov / Alexander Polianichko (cond) [ Opus Arte Royal Opera House Collection Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "…this expensive-looking production that combines the forces of the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet…" The Guardian |
GIOCOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Turandot (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Maria Guleghina, Marco Berti, Alexia Voulgaridou, Alexander Tsymbaluk / Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Zubin Mehta [ C Major Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/May/2016 ] This 2008 production is staged by Chen Kaige, the film director of Farewell My Concubine and winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival. |
MOZART / SCHUBERT / RAVEL / MENDELSSOHN / SHOSTAKOVICH / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Australian Festival of Chamber Music [3 CD set] Mark Lindsay (violin) Theodore Kuchar (viola) Alexander Ivashkin (cello) Boris Berman (piano) Dong-Suk Kang (violin) [ ABC Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2000 ] A star-studded line-up of international performers and some of Australia's favourite soloists and ensembles. |
HENRY PURCELL / GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Purcell: Songs and Interludes / Handel: Arias from Xerxes Maureen Forrester (contralto) Alexander Young (tenor) Martin Isepp (harpsichord) / Vienna Radio Orchestra, Brian Priestman [ MCA Millennium Classics / CD - released 10/Oct/1996 ] Recording: June 1966 - Mozartsaal, Vienna |
TALBOT / EINAUDI / SHORE / SCHUMANN
Miloš : The Moon & The Forest Miloš Karadaglić (guitar) / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ben Gernon, National Arts Centre Orchestra Alexander Shelley [ Decca / CD - released 7/May/2021 ] 'Premiere recordings of two dazzling new concertos which offer new perspectives on the relationship between guitar and orchestra, performed with considerable conviction and élan.' Gramophone Editor's Choice June 2021 |
EDWARD GRIEG
Grieg: Chamber Music [3 CD set] The Moscow Trio, with Alexander Vinnitsky (violin) Vladimir Ovchinnikov (piano) Alexander Rudin (cello) Vladimir Skanavi (piano) etc [ Brilliant Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2013 ] "A dryish acoustic suits the two quartets, played with warmth and some urgency," (BBC Music) |
DVORAK / SCHUMANN / SAINT-SAENS / RACHMANINOV / HAYDN / etc
Rostropovich: Cellist of the Century Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) with David Oistrakh, Alexander Dedyukhin, Herbert Tachezi, and others [ Warner Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Apr/2017 ] Although Mstislav Rostropovich died 10 years ago, on April 27th 2007, he remains a powerful presence on the world's cultural scene through his legacy as the greatest cellist of his time, as a brave advocate of human rights, and as a man of proverbial... |
J. S. BACH
Bach: St. John Passion (complete oratorio recorded in 2021) [CD + Blu-ray video in Dolby Atmos] Nick Pritchard, William Thomas, Alex Ashworth, Julia Doyle, Alexander Chance / The Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner [ Deutsche Grammophon CDs + Blu-ray audio/Dolby Atmos / 2 CD Box Set - released 10/Apr/2000 ] "Don't expect polish at every corner as one would a studio recording; both the deliberate and undeliberate rough edges are part of possibly the most incandescently full-blooded interpretation to date." Gramophone Editor's Choice March 2022 |
ANNE-LOUISE BRILLON de JOUY / HELENE de MONTGEROULT / CLARA SCHUMANN / FLORENCE PRICE / AGATHE BACKER GRONDAHL / etc
Three Centuries of Female Composers Nicolas Horvath; Alexander Kostritsa; Sara Aimee Smiseth; Alexandra Oehler; Giorgio Koukl; Tanya Ekanayaka; Ishimoto Hiroko [ Grand Piano / 10 CD Box Set - released 11/Mar/2022 ] Ranging from the 18th century to the music of our time, this collection of critically acclaimed recordings explores the significant contribution to solo piano repertoire made by a wide variety of women composers. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Egmont Op. 84 [Complete incidental music] / Leonora Overture No 3 Miriam Gauci (soprano) Dirk Schortemeier (speaker) / Belgium Radio & Television Philharmonic Orchestra, Alexander Rahbari [ Discover / CD - released 10/Feb/2013 ] "His performance of the complete Egmont music is what one would expect from a Swarowsky pupil: complete command over his forces, a sweeping style and good attention to detail." |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Concerto No.10 for two Pianos K.365 / etc Peter Serkin (piano) with Rudolf Serkin (piano), Marlboro Festival Orchestra, Alexander Schneider, with Jamie Laredo (violin) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 5/Jun/1990 ] High Fidelity called it exceptional Serkin plays every note as if his life depended on it, and a more recent reviewer in ClassicsToday described it as sounding as fresh and individually compelling as it did four decades ago. |
ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Glazunov: Complete Concertos Rachel Barton Pine (violin) Alexander Romanovsky (piano) Wen-Sinn Yang (cello) Marc Chisson (saxophone) / Russian National Orchestra, Jose Serebrier [ Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 21/Feb/2011 ] "there's little doubt that both Serebrier and his soloists, supported by warmly idiomatic playing from the Russian National Orchestra and a beautifully clear recording, make a highly persuasive case for the reappraisal of these works." BBC Music |