ALLEGRI / PALESTRINA
Allegri: Miserere / Palestrina: Stabat Mater; Magnificat primi toni; etc The Choir of King's College, Cambridge / Sir David Willcocks [ Decca Legends / CD - released 1/Nov/2002 ] "The famous 1963 King's performance of Allegri's Miserere, with its equally arresting treble solo so beautifully and securely sung by Roy Goodman, is now reissued, impressively remastered in Decca's Legends series." *** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo... |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Rarities (incls 'Voices for Today' & 'Bottom's Dream') Choir of King's College / John Hahessy (boy alto) / Peter Pears (tenor) / Pamela Bowden (contralto) / Sir Geraint Evans (baritone) [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Jan/2013 ] "Britten's underrated United Nations anthem Voices for Today makes it onto disc at last, together with vintage recordings of artists the composer chose to work with." (BBC Music) |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN / etc
Discovering Mendelssohn Christian Li (violin) / Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis, with James Baillieu (piano), Xuefei Yang (guitar) [ Decca / CD - released 21/Jul/2023 ] A new album from Australian-Chinese violinist Christian Li. Having topped the Australian Classical Charts with his debut album in 2021 (with which he became the youngest artist ever to record Vivaldi's Four Seasons) the award-winning musician... |
VERDI
Requiem (complete recorded in 2009) Christine Brewer / Karen Cargill / Stuart Neill / John Relyea / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2009 ] "…Sir Colin conducts the Requiem with a judicious mix of fire and meditative calm; tempi never drag nor are they, in the reflective passages, metronome-quick. The work of the LSO Chorus is first-rate, as is that of the LSO itself." Gramophone... |
JEAN SIBELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Sibelius: Symphony No 5 in E flat major, Op. 82 (with Nielsen - Symphony No. 4 'The Inextinguishable') City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Philharmonia Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle [ EMI Recommends / CD - released 14/Oct/2007 ] "Rattles account of the Fifth Symphony with the Philharmonia was to the 1980s what Karajan's Berlin account was to the 1960s. The Philharmonia Orchestra play spendidly and the EMI recording is very good indeed." (3 Stars Penguin Stereo Guide) |
CONSTANT LAMBERT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Lambert: The Rio Grande; Concerto for piano & nine players (with Walton-Symphony No.2) Cristina Ortiz (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra / Andre Previn / Sir Richard Rodney Bennett / Neville Dilkes [ EMI British Composers / CD - released 15/Feb/2006 ] "An effective display with the effervescence of Lambert's The Rio Grande and Piano Concerto leading to the high spirits of Walton's Second, and some captivating shorties too." (BBC Music Feb 2006) |
WILLIAM CONGREVE / GEORGE FARQUHAR / RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: An 18th Century Comedy Album: The Way of the World; The Beaux' Stratagem; The School for Scandal Dame Edith Evans / Sir John Gielgud / Pauline Jameson / Ralph Truman / Miles Malleson / Anthony Quayle and others [ EMI Classic English Drama / CD - released 17/Sep/2006 ] A demonstartion of Edith Evan's matchless prowess in Restoration comedy. |
WILLIAM WALTON
Facade / Siesta / Scapino Overture / Portsmouth Point Overture (with music by Bax & Bliss) Dame Edith Sitwell and Sir Peter Pears (narrators), English Opera Group Ensemble, Anthony Collins / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Nov/2010 ] "As for the performance, it stands above all others since … must remain a classic to the end of time" Gramophone Magazine |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été / La mort de Cléopâtre / Les Troyens (excerpts) Dame Janet Baker / New Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson [ EMI Studio / CD - released 1/Jun/1988 ] "Dame Janet Baker and Sir John Barbirolli only made a handful of recordings together, but they all quite magical. This radiant, mellow account of (Le Nuits d'Ete) was made when Dame Janet's voice was at its peak." (Michael Heath) |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Piano Concerto No 1 / Piano Quartet No 1 [orch Schoenberg] (recorded in 2004) Daniel Barenboim (piano) / Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 20/Sep/2011 ] BBC Music Magazine DVD Choice - July 2005. |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: The Complete Symphonies & Concertos Daniel Barenboim (piano), New Philharmonia Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 17/Mar/2023 ] The music of Brahms held an important place in Sir John Barbirolli's repertoire, and these recordings of the symphonies, made with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1966 and 1967, stand as one of the peaks of his discography. |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Mozart Album Danielle de Niese (soprano) / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Sir Charles Mackerras [ Decca Music Group / CD - released 13/Aug/2009 ] "a voice seductive enough to woo gods as well as mortals... there is nothing restrained about Ms. de Niese's warmly voluptuous and passionate singing" New York Times |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Yeomen of the Guard (complete operetta recorded in 1958) Denis Dowling, Richard Lewis, Elsie Morison, Alexander Young, Marjorie Thomas / Glyndebourne Festival, Sir MalcolmSargent [ EMI / 2 CD Box Set - released 10/Feb/1987 ] "This is a very operatic Yeomen which certainly suits the work and gives the soloists an opportunity to shine. Sir Geraint Evans makes a better Jack Point than a Ko-Ko and 'When a wooer goes a-wooing' is very moving." Mel (Marbecks) |
GILBERT AND SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan Favourites (from The Gondoliers, Iolanthe, Ruddigore, The Mikado & The Yeomen of the Guard) The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company / James Walker / Sir Malcolm Sargent [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 7/Jul/1995 ] 'all the performances are as good as they get' ClassicsToday.com |
ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK
Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel (complete opera filmed in 1981) Edita Gruberova, Brigitte Fassbaender, Hermann Prey, Helga Dernesch, Sena Jurinac, Norma Burrowes / Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Georg Solti [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 14/Nov/2005 ] This production, filmed in 1981, is released on DVD for the first time. |
RICHARD STRAUSS / ALBAN BERG / MAURICE RAVEL / IGOR STRAVINSKY
Easter Festival Baden-Baden (recorded in 2018) Elina Garanca (mezzo), Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 30/Nov/2018 ] At this concert performance from the Easter Festival in Baden-Baden, the Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle and the Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča performed music from the early 20th century. |
CRUSELL / WEBER / BAERMANN / ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Crusell/Weber/Baermann/Rossini: Clarinet Works Emma Johnson (clarinet) / English Chamber orchestra, Sir Charles Groves [ ASV / CD - released 2/Feb/1986 ] Recorded: 1986 Now only available elsewhere as download |
ELGAR / HANDEL / BYRD / PURCELL / VAUGHAN WILLIAMS / WALTON / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Glorious Majestry - Music for English King's and Queens Felicity Lott, Alfreda Hodgson, Richard Morton, Norma Burrowes / Various orchestra & choirs / Sir Philip Ledger, Stephen Cleobury, King's college choi [ EMI Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 22/May/2012 ] "Stephen Cleobury's collection of Handel's Coronation Anthems (Academy of Ancient Music and Choir of King's College Cambridge) is one of the best currently available with great articulation and verve" MusicWeb |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Walkure (complete opera recorded in 2007) BLU-RAY Festival d'Aix-en-Provence / Robert Gambill, Mikhail Petrenko, Eva Johansson / Sir Simon Rattle (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Jan/2009 ] In a career spanning more than 30 years, Sir Simon Rattle has distinguished himself through his long-term relationships with a number of orchestras, wide-ranging repertoire and innovative educational and audiencebuilding activities. |
DUKAS / OFFENBACH / ROSSINI / TCHAIKOVSKY
Solti at the Ballet [Incls 'La Boutique fantasque' & 'Gaîté Parisienne'] Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 20/Jul/2016 ] "an absolutely splendid recording …This Solti performance [of La Boutique fantasque] is sheer delight, played as it is with a combination of style and gusto it needs; a most exhilarating performance …this is an excellent debut on Decca" Gramophone |