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FRANZ LEHAR
Lehar: Die Lustige Witwe [The Merry widow] (highlights in English) Joan Sutherland, John Brecknock, Francis Egerton, Regina Resnik, John Fryatt / National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 20/Mar/2016 ] Turn of the century Paris provides the glittering setting for this operetta, first performed in Vienna in 1905 and here given by a cast lead by Joan Sutherland and also featuring John Brecknock, Valerie Masterson and Werner Krenn. |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: La Boheme (complete opera) Renata Scotto, Alfredo Kraus, Carol Neblett, Sherrill Milnes, Paul Plishka / Ambrosian Opera Chorus / National Philhrmonic / James Levine [ EMI Classics for Pleasure / 2 CD - released 20/Jul/2006 ] "Scotto sings a lovely "Si, mi chiamano Mimi", and her phrasing is always beautiful...no one newly smitten by the opera will find this performance of it disappointing." (Gramophone) |
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UMBERTO GIORDANO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Giordano: Andrea Chenier (Complete opera recorded in 1976 with libretto) Renata Scotto, Placido Domingo, Jean Kraft, Sherrill Milnes / National Philharmonic Orchestra, James Levine [ RCA Opera Series / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Feb/1977 ] "for Scotto's sake and to a slightly lesser extent for Domingo's, I think I would choose RCA" Gramophone This set is currently unavailable |
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MASCAGNI
Cavalleria Rusticana (Complete Opera recorded in 1978) Renata Scotto, Placido Domingo, Pablo Elvira / Ambrosian Opera Chorus & National Philharmonic Orchestra, James Levine [ Sony Opera House / CD - released 20/Feb/2010 ] "This now stands as a clear first recommendation for Mascagni's red-blooded opera, with Domingo giving a heroic account of the role of Turiddu, full of defiance...James Lveine directs with a splendid sense of pacing." Penguin Stereo Guide |
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BELLINI
Norma (Complete opera recorded in 1980) Renata Scotto, Tatiana Troyanos, Giuseppe Giacomini / National Philharmonic Orchestra / James Levine [ Sony Opera House / 2 CD - released 1/Sep/2009 ] "…Scotto's Druid priestess grows in stature to give us an unbearably moving scene in which she contemplates the murder of her children and, best of all, the duets with the rival priestess of Tatiana Troyanos, who offers the most sheerly beautiful... |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 - 9 (Recorded live from the Opéra Bastille and the Palais Garnier, Paris 2014-15) Ricarda Merbeth, Daniela Sindram, Robert Dean Smitm, Günther Groissböck / Paris National Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Philippe Jordan [ Arthaus DVD / 4 DVD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2016 ] "A seasoned Beethovenian will likely conclude that a lot of care and thought went into the interpretations as well." Classical-Net |
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CARL MARIA von WEBER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Weber, completed Mahler: Die Drei Pintos (The Three Pintos) [complete opera] Robert Holzer, Sophie Marilley, Peter Furlon / Wexford Festival Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Belarus Paolo Arrivabeni [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 1/Mar/2004 ] Recorded: 22, 25, 28 & 31 October 2003 Recording Venue: Theatre Royal, High Street, Wexford, Ireland |
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JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffman (The Tales of Hoffman) (complete opera) Roberto Alagna, Jose van Dam, Natalie Dessay, Sumi Jo / l'Opera National de Lyon, Kent Nagano [ Erato / Warner Classics The Opera Collection / 3 CD - released 25/Jul/2011 ] "With Nagano taking a light, airy view and using the most scholarly text available, this new version certainly has its place." (Gramophone) |
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FRANK BRIDGE
Orchestral Works Volume 5 (Includes Suite for Strings & Two Songs of Robert Bridges) Roderick Williams, baritone BBC National Orchestra of Wales Richard Hickox, conductor [ Chandos / CD - released 5/Oct/2004 ] "Charming miniatures performed with great refinement ... enchants from beginning to end. Strongly recommended" - MusicWeb Oct 2004 |
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ANDRE MESSAGER
Messager: Les P'tites Michu (complete operetta) Romain Dayez, Pierre Dumoussaud, Anne-Aurore Cochet, Marie Lenormand / Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Pierre Dumoussaud [ Bru Zane / 2 CD/Book - released 11/Jan/2019 ] "The cast is predominantly youthful, as is the conductor Pierre Dumoussaud. Their account of the work is uniformly spirited, energetic, sympathetique and also full of comic broadness. But there's the rub." Opera |
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NIELS W. GADE
Symphonies Vol 4 (Symphony Nos 1 & 5) Ronald Brautigam (piano) / Danish National Symphony Orchestra / Christopher Hogwood [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 2/Feb/2003 ] 'Splendidly played and evocative recordings to finish Hogwood's fine Gade cycle.' Gramophone |
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THOMAS WILSON
Thomas Wilson: Symhonies Nos. 3 & 4 Rory Macdonald; Royal Scottish National Orchestra [ Linn Records / CD - released 8/Feb/2019 ] Rory Macdonald conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in the premiere recording of three orchestral works by 'the father of Scottish music', composer Thomas Wilson (1927-2001). Wilson was an important figure in Scotland's musical renaissance,... |
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STRAVINSKY
Jeu de cartes (The Card Game) / Orpheus / Suite from 'the Soldier's Tale' Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Scottish National Orchestra / Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 5/May/2004 ] 'Järvi's 1992 coupling of Stravinsky's Jeu des cartes (still relatively rare on CD) and Orpheus was welcomed 'with open arms…' when it first appeared; he has an orchestra [the Royal Concertgebouw] capable of lightness of touch and tone without... |
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CESAR FRANCK
Franck: Le Chasseur maudit, Psyche & Les Eolides Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Voices, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Jean-Luc Tingaud [ Naxos / CD - released 20/May/2020 ] César Franck was a childhood prodigy who gained later renown as an organist and teacher. His compositions received scant attention until the success of Le Chasseur maudit, a symphonic morality tale that vividly portrays the 'accursed huntsman' from... |
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SHOSTAKOVICH / TCHAIKOVSKY / PROKOFIEV / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV / RACHMANINOV / etc
Great Russian Symphonies [10 CD set] Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Vasily Petrenko / National Symphony of the Ukraine, Theodore Kuchar / Russian Symphony Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky, etc [ Naxos / 10 CD Box Set - released 1/Dec/2015 ] The first attempts at a Russian Nationalist symphony were made in the late nineteenth-century by Balakirev and his acolytes, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov as well as by Tchaikovsky, whose symphonies have a distinctly Russian flavour. |
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DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Symphony No 11 Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Alexander Lazarev (conductor) [ Linn SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 29/Apr/2005 ] "This well mastered disc assumes a worthy position in the RSNO/Shostakovich at tradition, confirming the orchestra's standards and international credentials" (MusicWeb Juen 2005) |
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WILLIAM GRANT STILL
Still: Summerland / Violin Suite / Pastorela / American Suite Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Avlana Eisenberg, with Zina Schiff (violin) [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 27/May/2022 ] William Grant Still, the "Dean of Afro-American Composers," was part of the Harlem Renaissance and wrote nearly 200 works including nine operas and five symphonies. |
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GEIRR TVEITT
A Hundred Hardanger Tunes Suites 2 & 5 Royal Scottish National orchestra / Bjarte Engeset [ Naxos / CD - released 14/May/2002 ] ***** Five Stars BBC Music Magazine (July 2002) |
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EDVARD GRIEG
Grieg: Orchestral Music, Vol. 2 - Orchestrated Piano Pieces Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Bjarte Engeset [ Naxos / CD - released 3/Apr/2007 ] "This delightful collection, dazzlingly performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the young Norwegian conductor Bjarte Engeset, brings together some of the composer's most attractive folk-based pieces." Three Stars Penguin Guide |