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SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Coleridge-Taylor: Hiawatha (complete opera with libretto) Helen Field, Arthur Davies, Bryn Terfel / Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Kenneth Alwyn [ Argo / 2 CD Box Set - released 5/Nov/2007 ] "The performance is both spirited and sensitive...Bryn Terfel is splendid in his dramatic strength and sharpness of focus" Gramophone |
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KAROL SZYMANOWSK
Szymanowski: King Roger (Krol Roger), Op. 46 (Complete Opera) plus Prince Potemkin (Kniaz Patiomkin): Incidental Music to Act V Henryk Grychnik (tenor), Andrzej Hiolski (baritone), Anna Malewicz Madej (contralto) / Polish National Radio Symphony / Wit [ Naxos Opera Classics / 2 CD - released 6/Jan/2004 ] "The recorded sound surpasses the others. Perspective is good; voices aren't drowned, but the delicacy of the orchestration is not lost" - American Record Guide |
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KENNETH LEIGHTON
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Leighton: Orchestral works Vol 3 (Incls 'Symphony No 1') Howard Shelley (piano) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Martyn Brabbins [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Mar/2011 ] "Shelley proves a marvellously stylish, involving exponent and is backed to the hilt by Brabbins and the BBC NOW. Chandos's sound and balance, too, are beyond reproach." (Gramophone) |
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RACHMANINOV
Piano Concertos Nos 1-4 / Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Howard Shelley (piano) / Scottish National Orchestra / Bryden Thomson (conductor) [ Chandos 241 / 2 CD - released 20/Dec/2005 ] "The Second Concerto's finale easily holds its ground in the proverbial dazzle department, and the Third is a master-class in poise and proportion." (ClassicsToday) |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Schumann-Introduction and Concert-Allegro) Idil Biret, Jeno Jando (pianos) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Antoni Wit (conductor) [ Naxos Super Budget Series / CD - released 30/Jun/2008 ] "Jeno Jando and his Polish colleagues strike me as getting the balance just about right" - Classic CD |
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GEORGES BIZET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bizet: Les Pecheurs des Perles [The Pearl Fishers] (Complete Opera recorded in 1963) Ileana Cotrubas, Alain Vanzo, Guillermo Sarabia, Roger Soyer / Choeur & Orchestre du Theatre National de 'Opera de Paris / Georges Pretre [ EMI Classics For Pleasure / 2 CD - released 10/Feb/1990 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die - "The well-recorded CfP set is valuable principally because it has Cotrubas at her best, a most appealing Leila and worth the bargain price of the discs on her own account." (Gramophone) |
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ROBERT SCHUMANN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schumann: Der Rose Pilgerfahrt Op112 Inga Nielesn (sop) Deon van der Walt (tenor) Annemarie Moller (mezzo) / Danish National Radio Symphony & Choir, Gustav Kuhn [ Chandos / CD - released 30/Sep/2007 ] "The chorus and orchestra are first rate and the recording sponsored by Danish Radio, is full-bodied and atmospheric. A valuable rarity." (Penguin Stereo Guide) |
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KARL GOLDMARK
Goldmark: Rustic Wedding Symphony / In the Spring Ireland National Symphony Orchestra Stephen Gunzenhauser, conductor [ Naxos / CD - released 8/Feb/2005 ] "Gunzenhauser gives a fresh, bright-eyed account of the Rustic Wedding Symphony...the overall performance is spontaneous and enjoyable...In Italy is especially vivacious and sparkling" - Penguin Guide |
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ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Violin Concerto / Violin sonata & sonatina Jack Liebeck (violin) Katya Apekisheva (piano) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Garry Walker [ Sony Classical / CD - released 24/Aug/2009 ] "He shines most with the pianist Katya Apekisheva in Dvorák's Violin Sonata, winningly dispatched with plenty of depth and colour... Sweetness of tone and a prancing gait enliven the Violin Concerto." The Times, 30th May 2009 |
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SAMUEL BARBER
Barber: Violin Concerto / Serenade for Strings / Souvenirs (Ballet Suite) James Buswell (violin) Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Marin Alsop [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 2/Apr/2002 ] "This is a performance with a genuine heart, superbly played, with a marked care for detail, instrumental colour and melodic inflection, and with a deeply communicative warmth and affection." Daily Telegraph |
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WOLFGANG RIHM / JOHANNES BRAHMS / JOHN HARBISON
Brahms, Rihm, Harbison: Double Concertos Jan Vogler (violoncello). Mira Wang (violin) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra [ Sony Classics / CD - released 20/Jun/2018 ] The cellist Jan Vogler, who lives in New York and Dresden, has recorded three Double concertos for violin, cello and orchestra with his wife, the outstanding violinist Mira Wang, with the renowned Royal Scottish National Orchestra under direction of... |
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AARON COPLAND / WITOLD LUTOSLAWSKI / CARL NIELSEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Copland / Lutoslawski / Nielsen: Works for Clarinet & Orchestra Janet Hilton (clarinet) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Matthias Bamert [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Jan/1989 ] "Janet Hilton's new record couples two of the best, and most attractively complementary, twentieth-century clarinet concertos with what at the moment seems to be every clarinettist's favourite fill-up." Gramophone |
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PUCCINI / VERDI / BELLINI / DONIZETTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Love Duets Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti / National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Decca Opera Gala / CD - released 5/Apr/1999 ] The ardour and passion of some of the best-known love duets from Italian Opera are brought out to the full by the stunning voices of two of the world's greatest singers. |
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CARL NIELSEN
Maskarade (complete opera) Johan Reuter, Stephen Milling, Niels-Jørgen Riis, Dénise Beck / Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Choir, Michael Schønwandt [ Da Capo SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2015 ] "The new performance, like all previous rivals, builds on the strength of home casting at the work's alma mater, the Royal Danish Opera...there's a suitably towering comic monster performance from Stephen Milling." Gramophone Editor's Choice |
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VANGELIS / MORRICONE / PORTMAN / ROTA / RODGERS / etc
The Sound of Movies [Limited Deluxe Edition] Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Jochen Rieder [ Sony Classical / CD - released 15/Sep/2023 ] Great songs from classic movies have been a passion of Jonas Kaufmann throughout his life, and his new album celebrates that with almost a century of unforgettable movie songs that have thrilled global audiences. |
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Jonathan Pryce, Maria Friedman, Gregg Edelman, John Mark Ainsley / National Symphony Orchestra, John Owen Edwards
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Cabaret - selected highlights [cast recording] [ Showtime! / CD - released 29/Jun/1995 ] A Studio Cast recording from 1995 |
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MOZART / SCHUMANN / CHOPIN / RACHMANINOV / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Jozef & Rosina Lhevinne Jozef & Rosina Lhevinne (piano) with Juilliard Orchestra, Members of the National Orchestra Assiociation [ Philips Great Pianists Of The 20th Century Vol. 64 / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2000 ] "These discs celebrate both an incomparable partnership and two Moscow Gold Medallists who achieved a legendary status in their separate careers." Gramophone |
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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... |
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GEORGES BIZET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bizet: Carmen (complete opera with full libretto) Julia Migenes Johnson, Placido Domingo, Ruggiero Raimondi, Faith Esham / National Orchestra of France, Lorin Maazel [ Erato / CD - released 1/May/1984 ] "Carmen is sung here by Julia Migenes Johnson. Her Habanera is wonderfully shapely and sexy, in a quite light flirty manner. In Act 4 she and Placido Domingo (as Don José) give us a wonderfully dramatic climax to the opera." (MusicWeb) |
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GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers) [complete opera] Julie Fuchs, Cyrille Dubois, Florian Sempey, Luc Bertin-Hugaul / Orchestre National de Lille, Alexandre Bloch [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] Les Pêcheurs de Perles is best known for its glorious duet, but Georges Bizet's opera has much more to offer. This live recording more than ever brings out the brilliance of this oriental story about love, duty and friendship. In the last 150 years,... |