FRANCIS POULENC
Poulenc: Concerto pour deux pianos et orchestre / Concert Champêtre / Suite Française Jos van Immerseel (piano, harpsichord, conductor), Claire Chevallier (piano) & Katerina Chrobokova (harpsichord) / Anima Eterna Brugge [ Zig Zag Territories / CD - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "Of prime interest here are the instruments: Immerseel and his fellow pianist, Claire Chevallier, play on Erard concert grands dating from 1896 and 1902. Poulenc's wistful melodic nostalgia, sensual timbres and quirky wit guarantee illicit... |
MACMILLAN / VERBEY / BERIO
MacMillan, Verbey & Berio: Trombone Concertos Jörgen van Rijen (trombone), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra [ BIS SACD / CD - released 4/Oct/2019 ] Principal trombonist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Jörgen van Rijen is also much in demand as a soloist with a special commitment to promoting his instrument. Various composers have written new pieces for him, including James MacMillan and... |
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Early Cantatas Judith Howarth, Janice Watson (soprano), Jean Rigby (mezzo soprano), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Jose Van Dam (bass) / Corydon Singers & Orchestra [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 28/Aug/1997 ] 'Arguably Beethoven's first major masterpiece … superb performance, at once fresh and incisive and deeply moving' - PENGUIN GUIDE ROSETTE |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saëns: La princesse jaune Judith van Wanroij; Mathias Vidal; Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse; Leo Hussain [ Bru Zane / CD/Book - released 27/Aug/2021 ] That globetrotting composer Camille Saint-Saëns wrote La Princesse jaune in 1872, exemplifying the current craze for all things Japanese. Kornélis, played by the tenor Mathias Vidal, dreams only of the Land of the Rising Sun. Under the influence of a... |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV232 [recorded live in 2016] Katherine Watson (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Reinoud Van Mechelen (tenor) & André Morsch (baritone) / Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 10/Apr/2018 ] "At first the approach seems almost too light-toned and ethereal, but soon the intimacy of these modest forces takes an ineluctable grip. Textures are clear, tempi brisk - the Sanctus positively skips." The Observer |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Don Giovanni... The definitive film edition of Mozart's classic opera! (filmed in 1979 and now remastered & restored) Kiri te Kanawa, Edda Moser, Teresa Berganza, Jose van Dam, Ruggero Raimondi, Lorin Maazel (conductor) [ Second Sight /Gammont DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 1/Aug/2011 ] Filmed on location in picturesque Vincenza, Italy, the operatic masterpiece Don Giovanni is beautifully translated to film by director Joseph Losey. Now restored and remastered. |
BLOW / BYRD / CAMPION / DOWLAND / PURCELL / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Songs Of An English Cavalier: A hundred years of English music Kobie Van Rensburg (tenor) / Musikalische Leitung, Wolfgang Katschner [ NCA / CD - released 4/Apr/2001 ] A hundred years of English music |
KURT WEILL
Weill: Street Scene Kristine Ciesinski, Janis Kelly, Bonaventura Bottone, Richard van Allan, Catherine Zeta Jones / English National Opera, Carl Davis [ Jay Productions / 2 CD Box Set - released 9/Nov/1989 ] Street Scene is an American opera by Kurt Weill (music), Langston Hughes (lyrics), and Elmer Rice (book). Written in 1946 and premiered in Philadelphia that year, Street Scene is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1929 play of the same name by... |
LEOŠ JANÁCEK / ZOLTÁN KODÁLY / ANTONÍN DVORÁK / VITESZSLAVA KAPRÁLOVÁ
Pohádka - Tales from Prague to Budapest Laura van der Heijden (cello) Jâms Coleman (piano) [ Chandos / Hybrid SACD - released 18/Feb/2022 ] The label début of the Exclusive Chandos Artist Laura van der Heijden explores the rich musical heritage of Bohemia. |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Il Trittico (complete operas) Carlo Guelfi, Maria Guleghina, Neil Shicoff, Ricardo Cassinelli, Jose van Dam, Angela Gheorghiu / London Voices, London Symphony, Antonio Pappano [ Warner Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 4/Jun/2012 ] The dark, dangerous drama of Il tabarro… The heart-wrenching pathos of Suor Angelica… The merciless comedy (leavened with youthful romance) of Gianni Schicchi… Puccini's scores for his triptych of one-act operas are as compelling for their subtlety... |
JOSEPH PHIBBS / W. A. MOZART
Phibbs / Mozart: Clarinet Concertos Mark van de Wiel (clarinet), Philharmonia Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Christopher Warren-Green [ Signum / CD - released 12/Jul/2019 ] Mark van de Wiel joins the Philharmonia Orchestra under Christopher Warren-Green in the premiere recording of Joseph Phibbs' Clarinet Concerto, praised by The Sunday Times following its UK debut as a work "that will surely be performed all over the... |
IGOR MARKEVITCH
Markevitch: Complete Orchestral Works Volume 7 - Piano Concerto / Cantate / Icare Martyn van den Hoek (piano) / Nienke Oostenrijk (soprano) / Netherlands Concert Choir / Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra / Christopher Lyndon-Gee [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Mar/2011 ] "Icare is arguably Markevitch's masterpiece, one of the great ballets of the 20th century. If you don't know Markevitch the composer, this is probably the best place to start." (ClassicsToday 10/10 Jan 2011) |
FRANCIS POULENC
Poulenc: Chamber Music Vol.2 [Incls Violin Sonata & Clarinet Sonata] Graf Mourja (violin), Alexandre Tharaud (piano), Ronald van Spaendonck (clarinet), Francoise Groben (cello) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Jun/2016 ] "there are wonderfully spiky moments from Graf Mourja in the Stravinskian Violin Sonata, and Ronald Van Spaendonck's control of the haunting slow movement of the Clarinet Sonata is mesmerising." (BBC Music) |
J. S. BACH
50 Best Bach (3 CDs special price) Nancy Argenta, Bob van Asperen, Fabio Biondi, Ian Bostridge, Philippe Herreweghe, Monica Huggett, etc [ Warner Classics / 3 CD - released 20/Jun/2010 ] An amazing selection of period performances of the greatest pieces of Bach recorded by some of today's top musicians. |
BELLINI / OFFENBACH / MOZART / DELIBES / MONTEVERDI / DONIZETTI / etc
Natalie Dessay: The Opera Singer [33 CD & 19 DVDs] Natalie Dessay, with Francesco Meli, Jose Van Dam, Patricia Petibon, Sara Mingardo, Kathleen Kim, Ian Bostridge, Veronique Gens, and others [ Erato / Warner Classics / 52 CD Box Set - released 26/Feb/2021 ] "Dessay's performance is simply jaw-dropping.' BBC Music Magazine Award Finalist 2008: Opera [La Sonnambula] |
BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / TCHAIKOVSKY / VERDI / WAGNER / etc
Paul van Kempen - the Complete Philips Recordings Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic], Paul van Kempen [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 10 CD Box Set - released 7/Feb/2020 ] "Beethoven is represented by an Eroica that is truly among the greatest of the period - of any period, I'd say...testimony to a genuinely great conductor who up until now has rarely been acknowledged as such." Gramophone reissue of the Month June '20 |
HENRY PURCELL
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (complete opera) BLU-RAY Opera Comique / Malena Ernman / Christopher Maltman / Judith van Wanroij / Les Arts Florrisants / William Christie (cond) [ Fra Musica Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 12/Dec/2009 ] Brilliant stage direction by Deborah Warner combines various time spaces in the 17th century with the present day, enhanced by the subtle lighting schemes of Jean Kalman. |
WILLIAM WALTON
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Walton: Facade - The complete version 1922 - 1928 Pamela Hunter (reciter) / Melologos Ensemble, Silveer van den Broeck [ Discover / CD - released 10/Feb/2013 ] A 42-number CD set compiled and performed by Pamela Hunter (1993) restoring all the poems that Walton set, and nine that he did not set. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Parsifal (Complete Opera recorded in 1979/80) Peter Hofmann, Dunja Vejzovic, Kurt Moll, José van Dam, Siegmund Nimsgern / Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon / 4 CD Box Set - released 4/Jun/2021 ] The finest of all the principal singers is surely the Gurnemanz of Kurt Moll, a wonderful blend of bel canto and Lieder singing, the voice a true bass, perfectly poised and projected, finely nuanced, ever attentive to the colour and meaning of words |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos.2 & 7 Philharmonia Orchestra, Eduard van Beinum [ BBC Legends / CD - released 1/Sep/2003 ] Recorded Royal Festival Hall, London, 10 November 1958 |