HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras, etc Renee Fleming (soprano) / BBC Singers, New World Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas [ RCA Red Seal / CD - released 1/Apr/1996 ] Originally recorded in January 1996 |
Rob Thomas
Something To Be [ Atlantic / CD - released 30/May/2005 ] ''...Something to Be'' is the debut solo album from the Matchbox Twenty lead singer Rob Thomas. The album was released in 2005, and it debuted at #1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, knocking out Mariah Carey's ''The Emancipation of Mimi''.... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Don Carlos (Five-act French version) BLU-RAY Roberto Alagna, Karita Mattila, Thomas Hampson / Orchestre de Paris & Chœur du Théâtre du Châtelet, Antonio Pappano (conductor), Luc Bondy (director) [ Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 3/Feb/2014 ] Boasting an international cast in one of Verdi's most popular operas, Luc Bondy's moving production is the original French version restored to five acts. |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: La Boheme (Complete opera recorded in 1995) Roberto Alagna / Leontina Vaduva / Thomas Hampson / Ruth Ann Swenson / Philharmonia Orchestra / Antonio Pappano [ Warner Classics Home of Opera / 2 CD - released 18/Aug/2006 ] "This is a version to stand alongside the classics of the past." Rosette - Penguin Stereo Guide |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: La Boheme (Complete opera recorded in 1995) (with complete libretto) Roberto Alagna, Leontina Vaduva, Thomas Hampson, Ruth Ann Swenson / Philharmonia Orchestra, Antonio Pappano [ EMI Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 18/Aug/2006 ] "Pappano's recording of Boheme is the finest in over 20 years or even longer - sumptuously played and recorded, and characterfully sung by a starry cast. This is a version to stand alongside the classics of the past." Rosette. Penguin Stereo Guide. |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann: Genoveva (complete opera recorded in 1997) Ruth Ziesak, Marjana Lipovsek, Thomas Quasthoff, Rodney Gilfry, Deon van der Walt, Hiroyuki Ijichi / Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Nikolaus Harnoncourt [ Teldec / Warner Classics The Opera Collection / 2 CD - released 4/May/2009 ] "Opera buffs might complain at a lack of action, but lovers of Schumann will celebrate a work that is at once intimate, thought-provoking and gloriously melodious. A sure-fire first choice." (Gramophone) |
ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK
Humperdinck: Hansel und Gretel (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Angelika Kirchschlager / Diana Damrau / Elizabeth Connell / Thomas Allen / Colin Davis, conductor [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2009 ] "Diana Damrau, a plain-Jane Gretel with awkward pigtails, gets along famously with her brother, dancing, playing, being huffy. They work well off one another and their voices blend beautifully. The Sandman and Dew Fairy are lovely." 10/10 ClassicsTod |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann [The Tales of Hoffmann] (compete opera recorded in 2016) The Royal Opera / Vittorio Grigolo, Kate Lindsey, Thomas Hampson, Christine Rice, Sonya Yoncheva / Evelino Pidò (cond) [ Sony Classical DVD / 2 DVD - released 10/Jul/2017 ] "Vittorio Grigolo acts with terrific fervour as both the drunken wreck of the exordia and the ingenuous patsy of the central episodes, making the conflicted character deeply sympathetic if faintly risible." Telegraph |
EDVARD GRIEG
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Grieg: Peer Gynt / Symphonic Dance No.2 / In Autumn / etc. Ilse Hollweg (soprano) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Beecham Choral Society, Sir Thomas Beecham [ EMI Classics Studio Plus / CD - released 10/Oct/1993 ] "Beecham showed a very special feeling for this score and to hear (these excerpts) under his baton is a uniquely rewarding experience. Ilse Hollweg makes an excellent soloist." Rosette - Penguin Stereo Guide |
Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys, Fifth Avenue, New York (choir); Sara Cutler (harp); John Scott (conductor)
Dancing Day: Music for Christmas [ Resonus Classics / CD - released 1/Oct/2015 ] Sent to press just days before his untimely death in August 2015, John Scott's last recording is Dancing Day, a programme of works for Christmas, made with his beloved Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys of Fifth Avenue, New York. Recorded in the... |
ANTON BRUCKNER
Bruckner: Motets Philip Salmon (ten), Graham Chambers, Jeremy Gough, Martin Kelly, Christopher Stearn (trom), Thomas Trotter (organ) / Corydon Singers, Matthew Best [ Hyperion / CD ] 'A superb record. Exploring these pieces is a moving experience when the performances are as superlative as these. Very strongly recommended. Record of the Month' (The Monthly Guide to Recorded Music) |
JOHN BLOW
Blow: An Ode on the Death of Mr Henry Purcell & other works Samuel Boden (tenor), Thomas Walker (tenor) / Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 29/Sep/2017 ] "With a recording that is wonderfully clear and alive, everything seems to be going right for Jonathan Cohen at present." Gramophone Editor's Choice October 2017 |
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 3 "Eroica" San Francisco Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas [ Avie / San Francisco Symphony / Keeping Score / CD - released 20/Mar/2010 ] This companion concert recording for Keeping Score: Beethoven's Eroica, as seen on PBS, was recorded live in Davies Symphony Hall in May 2004. |
Otto Sauter, Thomas Hammes, Franz Wagnermeyer (trumpet) / Cappella Istropolitana / Mannheim Chamber Orchestra
Four Classic Albums (New Directions In Music / The Sons Of Sauter Finegan / Adventures In Time / Memoires Of Goodman & Miller) [ Avid / 2 CD - released 12/May/2017 ] Eddie Sauter met Bill Finegan in 1939 when both men were making a living as arrangers for the likes of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Red Norvo and Woody Herman who were in fact most of the classic Swing Era leaders of the... |
TELEMANN / SAINT-SAENS / DOPPLER / VILLA-LOBOS / J. S. BACH
Sharon Bezaly - Synergy Sharon Bezaly (flute) /Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Urban Svensson, Thomas Dausgaard & Michael Collins, with Michala Petri (recorder) & Bram van Sambeek [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 2/Sep/2022 ] On Synergy, flautist Sharon Bezaly and her musician friends demonstrate that one plus one can be much greater than two. Featuring works that celebrate the coming together of like-minded musicians. |
GILBERT & SULLIVAN
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance / Cox & Box Peter Pratt, Donald Adams, Thomas Round, Jean Hindmarsh, Kenneth Sandford / D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Isadore Godfrey, Royston Nash [ Australian Decca Eloquence / 2 CD - released 25/Aug/2015 ] "A classic recording and one of the very first Gilbert and Sullivan recordings ever made in stereo. The solo singing is all first-class with Thomas Round and Jean Hindmarsh (as Frederic and Mabel) being at their very best." Mel@Marbecks |
JOSEF HAYDN
Haydn: Die Schopfung [The Creation sung in German] Simone Kermes, Dorothee Mields, Steve Daviislim / Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble / Thomas Hengelbrock [ Deutsche Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 30/May/2008 ] "Thomas Hengelbrock directs a clear and unfussy reading. He has an excellent grasp of each of the different elements of the score, which he communicates extremely well to his forces and thence to the listener." MusicWeb |
CLAY / WOOD / SULLIVAN / COATES / WALLACE / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: More Songs My Father Taught Me (music of Sir Thomas Allen (baritone) Malcolm Martineau (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 30/Jun/2003 ] "Drawing-room songs that make their mark again, thanks to such a strong advocate" - Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine (August 2003) |
SULLIVAN / COATES / NOVELLO / PENN / WOOD / etc
Songs my father taught me Sir Thomas Allen (baritone) Malcolm Martineau (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 26/Feb/2002 ] A persuasive case for the often sublime artistry of the humble parlour song' (Gramophone) |