JOHANNES BRAHMS / RICHARD STRAYSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Brahms / R. Strauss: Violin Concertos Boris Belkin (violin) / London Symphony Orxchestra, Ivan Fischer / Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Vladimir Ashkenazy [ Decca Eclipse / CD - released 24/Mar/1996 ] Boris Belkin was hailed as a wonderful violinist after he won the 1976 Tchaikovsky Competition. He was quickly snapped up under contract to Decca. He then recorded a few discs, notable among these being the Brahms Concerto with Fischer and the LSO. |
CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gluck: Italian Arias Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo-soprano) / Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin [ Decca / CD - released 10/Aug/2010 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 2002 - Recital |
PARRY / DAVIES / ALLEGRI / BRUCKNER / DURUFLE / POULENC / BARBER / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Voices of Silence - The beauty, Peace & Mystery of Voices Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, Richard Marlow / Choir of St. Hedwigs-Cathedral, Berlin / Musica Sacra, Richard Westenburg [ RCA classics / CD - released 2/Dec/1994 ] Recorded 1987 to 1989 |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphonie No. 6 / 5 Ruckert-Lieder / Kindertotenlieder Christa Ludwig (mezzo) / Berliner Philharmoniker [berlin Philharmonic], Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon Originals / 2 CD - released 1/Jan/2006 ] "One of Karajan's earliest recorded encounters with Mahler resulted in a powerful and intense experience with hints of the ninth still to come." (Gramophone) |
GUSTAV MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mahler: Symphony No. 9 in D major / Kindertotenlieder / Rückert-Lieder Christa Ludwig (mezzo) / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 10/Oct/2014 ] "Certainly this is the finest live performance of a Mahler symphony to have appeared on any kind of record since Mengelberg's 1939 account of the Fourth Symphony." Gramophone Top Ten Mahler Symphonies of all time |
BEETHOVEN / MOZART / SCHUMANN / HAYDN / SCHUBERT / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Christoph Escenbach Christoph Eschenbach (piano) with Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan [ Philips Great Pianists Of The 20th Century Vol. 24 / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2000 ] "Christoph Eschenbach is perhaps fortunate to have secured a niche in this particular pantheon. His career as a solo pianist featured a brilliant exposition but little in the way of a development or recapitulation." Gramophone |
EINAUDI / GLASS / NYMAN / PART / RICHTER
Spheres Daniel Hope (violin) / Deutsches Hammerorchester Berlin, Simon Halsey [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 18/Apr/2013 ] "Hope dances a path through a string of otherworldly new pieces, some intriguing, some sweet, some too brief to make much impression. Gabriel Prokofiev's Spheres, an impressive highwire act for Hope, easily stands out." (The Times) |
FREDERIC CHOPIN / LOUISE FARRENC / CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
French Cello Sonatas David Berlin (cello) Benjamin Martin (piano) [ Decca ABC Eloquence / CD - released 9/Oct/2020 ] In the masterful hands of David Berlin, Principal Cellist of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, partnered by internationally acclaimed pianist Benjamin Martin, the cello reveals its sublime range of colours and timbres. |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos 4 & 5 / Rondos / Adagio David Oistrakh (violin/conductor) / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra [ EMI Classics / CD - released 10/Oct/1993 ] Original recordings from 1970 &1971 |
SHOSTAKOVICH / SCHNITTKE / LUTOSLAWSKI
Shostakovich / Schnittke / Lutosławski: Works for piano & orchestra Denis Matsuev (piano), Kammerorchester Wien-Berlin, with Gabor Tarkövi (trumpet) [ Alto / Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 15/May/2020 ] Deutsche Grammophon presents the Kammerorchester Wien-Berlin's first recording on the Yellow Label which includes a premiere recording on DG of Schnittke's Concerto, alongside works by Shostakovich and Lutosławski. |
GLAZUNOV / VILLA-LOBOS / MARTIN / RIVIER / FRANCAIX
Saxophone Concertos & Quartets Detlef Bensmann (saxophone), RIAS Berlin Sinfonietta, Berlin Saxophone Quartet [ Alto / CD - released 7/Jul/2024 ] [Villa Lobos] 'incorporates nationalistic musical elements of Brazil along with melodic, lullaby-like themes, to make a truly contrasting and interesting three-movement work.' (Classic FM) |
ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD
Korngold: Das Wunder der Heliane (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Deutsche Oper Berlin / Sara Jakubiak, Brian Jagde, Josef Wagner, Okka von der Damerau, Derek Welton / Christof Loy [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 7/Jun/2019 ] "Marc Albrecht and his orchestra are familiar, so their excellence is no surprise. But the three lead singers are relative unknowns-and their stupendous performances leave you wondering why." Fanfare |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Fidelio (opera recorded 1962/63) Deutsche Oper Berlin / Walter Berry, James King, Christa Ludwig, Lisa Otto / Artur Rother (cond) [ Arthaus Musik DVD / DVD - released 7/Aug/2011 ] For the four main roles, singers were chosen who already had international experience but were still fresh and vigorous. Christa Ludwig, James King and Walter Berry. |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker (Complete ballet recorded in 1999) Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin / Nadja Saidakova, Vladimir Malakhov, Oliver Matz / Daniel Barenboim (cond) [ Arthaus Musik / DVD - released 27/Jun/2002 ] In 1999, exactly 107 years - to the day - after the first performance in St. Petersburg, Patrice Bart's choreography of Tchaikovsky's worldwide success The Nutcracker premiered at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Symphony No.5 / Scythian Suite Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Tugan Sokhiev [ Sony Classics / CD - released 12/Aug/2016 ] "This much sought-after maestro takes the first movement broadly enough to lend credence to what might seem mere ideological posturing...There are a few tank-like manoeuvres en route...but everything works in context." - Gramophone |
GERSHWIN / RODGERS / BERLIN / HERRMANN / SCHOENBERG / WAXMAN / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schoenberg in Hollywood Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, John Mauceri [ Decca / CD - released 17/Nov/2023 ] "Enormously exhilarating. Mauceri certainly has his own ideas about Schoenberg's music, and they are excellently presented by the two Berlin orchestras and by Decca's lean sound." Fanfare, November 1997 (Schoenberg in Hollywood) |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen [Highlights] Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Thomas Stewart, Josephine Veasey, Gundula Janowitz, Jon Vickers, Jess Thomas / Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon SBS Eloquence / 2 CD - released 11/Dec/2013 ] Highlights from Herbert von Karajan's mighty 'Ring' cycle. The disc includes extended highlights from the four 'Ring' operas and allows us to sample Karajan's choice of different singers for the same character in different operas - Fischer-Dieskau's... |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Shostakovich: Golden Mountains / Trilogy About Maxim Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Michail Jurowski [ Capriccio / CD - released 1/Jan/1995 ] Original recordings from 1994 |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: A German Requiem [Ein Deutsches Requiem] Dorothea Roschmann (soprano) Thomas Quasthoff (baritone) / Berlin Radio Choir / Berliner Philharmoniker / Sir Simon Rattle [ Warner Classics / CD - released 1/Apr/2007 ] 'This strikes me as probably the best new version of the Requiem I've heard in quite some years' Disc of the Month BBC Music Magazine (April 2007) |
J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach: Secular Cantatas BWV205 & BWV207 Edith Mathis, Carolyn Watinson, Peter Schreier, Siegfried Lorenz / Kammerorchester Berlin, Peter Schreier [ Brilliant Classics / CD - released 20/Aug/2014 ] The Bach's Cantatas have secured their place in the canon of human creations of eternal value. In no other oeuvre one finds the expression of all universal human emotions, from utter grief to extatic joy, from turbulant drama to serene contemplation. |