WAGNER / HANDEL / MENDELSSOHN / VIVALDI / PARRY / RUTTER / WIDOR / etc
101 Wedding Stephen Cleobury (organ), The Michael Laird Brass Ensemble, The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, The National Philharmonic Orchestra, etc [ Decca / 6 CD Box Set - released 14/Jul/2014 ] For many people their Wedding will be the most important day of their lives and choosing the right music is an important element in the making of the special day. |
SAMUEL BARBER
Eternal Barber (Incls 'Adagio for Strings') Stephen Prutsman, Daniel Pollack (pianos) / Ormond College Choir / Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Oct/2008 ] Samuel Barber is widely known for his famous Adagio for Strings, the slow movement of a string quartet he wrote in 1936. Born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1910, he was one of the first students at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where he... |
TARIK O'REGAN
Acallam na Senorach (Tales of the Elders) Stewart French (guitar) / National Chamber Choir of Ireland, Paul Hillier [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 12/Dec/2011 ] "Led by Paul Hillier, the National Chamber Choir of Ireland negotiates dissonance and harmony with drama and nobility, never endangering the piece through pomposity - a delicate balance aided by the sparseness of the guitar." (The Independent) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos 1 - 5 Stewart Goodyear (piano) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Andrew Constantine [ Orchid / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/2020 ] "Glorious, life-embracing performances, very well recorded; surely a high point of the composer's birthday year (or any other, for that matter)." MusicWeb Recommended May 2020 |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Don Quixote / Romance for cello & orchestra in F major Alexander Rudin (cello) / Ireland National Symphony Orchestra, Gerhard Markson [ naxos / CD - released 25/Apr/2010 ] "The Naxos sound, too, is commendable for its smooth reliability...comfortable listening...now that I think about it, that's quite a bargain itself!" - John Puccio Sensible Sound August/September 2001 |
EDMUND RUBBRA
Sinfonia concertante / Ode to the Queen / etc Susan Bickley (mezzo) Howard Shelley (piano) / BBC National Orchestra Wales, Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 17/Nov/2001 ] 'A mouthwatering reissue comprising four outstandingly eloquent performances...' Gramophone |
MENDELSSOHN
Paulus (St Paul) Op.36 Susan Gritton / Jean Rigby / Barry Banks / Peter Coleman-Wright / BBC National Chorus & Orchestra of Wales / Richard Hickox [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 1/May/2009 ] 'Another superb performance from Hickox, who gets a quartet of tremendous soloists and a first-rate orchestra and chorus… One of this year's musts.' (Cathedral Music) |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Rodelinda (complete opera) Joan Sutherland, Alicia Nafe, Curtis Rayam, Isobel Buchanan / Welsh National Opera Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2019 ] "[The recorded sound] is vivid, rather spacious … Dame Joan Sutherland produces generous quantities of golden tone … Nafé does ['Dove sei'] very beautifully, gently yet with firm, well-formed tone." gramophone |
RACHMANINOV
The Bells / Vocalise / Dances from 'Aleko' / Capriccio bohemien Suzanne Murphy (soprano) Keith Lewis (tenor) David Wilson-Johnson (baritone) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Philharmonia Orchestra Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 12/Jul/2005 ] Rachmaninov, one of the twentieth-century's most enduringly popular composers, is represented here with acclaimed performances of some of his greatest compositions. |
SCHUMANN / TCHAIKOVSKY
Piano Concertos Sviatoslav Richter (piano) Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra & Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Stanislav Wislocki & Herbert von Karajan [ ALTO / CD - released 17/Mar/2013 ] (Schumann): "lacks no style" (Tchaikovsky): "The element of struggle for which this work is famous is all too clear: these two musical giants did not always agree" (Penguin Guide) |
EMIL TABAKOV
Tabakov: Complete Symphonies, Volume 5 Symphony Orchestra of Bulgarian National Radio, Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra, Emil Tabakov [ Toccata / CD - released 5/Jun/2020 ] The music of the Bulgarian composer-conductor Emil Tabakov (b. 1947) explores the darker side of the human spirit in epic scores as austere as they are powerful. |
MODEST MUSSORGSKY
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov Martti Talvela, Nicolai Gedda, Leonard Mroz / Polish rdio Chorus iof Krakow, Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra,Jerzy Semkow [ Warner Classics Home of Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 18/Mar/2013 ] "It has many virtues, not least the great Talvela in a role tailor-made for his massive bass. He gives us a deeply felt Boris without resorting to the admittedly effective but increasingly unfashionable histrionics typical of his predecessors; his... |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Violin Concerto / Polonia / Crown of India: Interlude Tasmin Little (violin) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2010 ] "Little...finds an element of wit in the fast-moving figuration [of the finale], leading to a more tender treatment of the lyrical contrasting sections." Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine Dec 2010 |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Hamlet (incidental music) / Romeo and Juliet (original version) Tatiana Monogarova (soprano) Maxim Mikhailov (bass) / Russian National Orchestra / Vladimir Jurowski [ Pentatone SACD / SACD - released 26/Jan/2009 ] MARBECKS STAFF PICK: CD OF THE YEAR 2009 - "Two Shakspearean fantasy overtures - but, excitingly, not as we know them." - Gramophone Recording of the Month March 2009 |
SHOSTAKOVICH
Symphony No. 9 Op.70 / The Adventures of Korzinkina / Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 35 / etc Tatiana Polyanskaya (piano) Vladimir Goncharov (trumpet) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 10/Aug/2007 ] 'This CD centres on the lighter side of Shostakovich - or, more accurately, his lighter sides, since the styles range from the pointed neo-Classical wit of the Ninth Symphony to the Keystone Kops mayhem of the First Piano Concerto to the more genial... |
DE FALLA
El Amor Brujo etc Teresa Berganza / Gonzalo Soriano / Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion / Francaise / Ataulfo Argenta [ Medici Arts / CD - released 12/Apr/2008 ] This Falla collection recorded live in Paris in 1957 is very highly regarded in Spain as representing the very best of Argenta in his compatriot's music. |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Coronation Ode, Op.44 / The Spirit of England, Op.80 Teresa Cahill (sop) Anne Collins (alto) Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor) Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Sep/1992 ] "Gibson's performances combine fire and panache, and the recorded sound has an ideal Elgarian expansiveness, the choral tone rich and well focused, the orchestral brass given plenty of weight." Penguin Guide |
Thibaudet/Lyon National Orch/M
Debussy: Fantaisie For Piano & [ Naxos / CD - released 21/Nov/2011 ] |
WILLIAM SHELLER / RICHARD GALLIANO / MICHEL COLOMBIER
3eme Souffle - works for trumpet and orchestra Thierry Caens (trumpet) / Orchestre National de Lyon / Michel Plasson (direction) / with Richard Galliano (accordion) [ ETCETERA / CD ] |
JULES MASSENET
Massenet: Werther (complete opera recorded in 1931) Paul Milliet, Edouard Blau, Georges Hartmann / Paris National Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Elie Cohen [ Naxos Great Opera Recordings / 2 CD - released 6/Nov/2000 ] "This first recording of Werther is still the best. There have been many others in up-to-date stereo sound with starry international casts, but none so idiomatic, well conducted, and beautifully sung." ClassicsToday |