GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi [with Rachmaninov - The Miserly Knight] (complete operas recorded in 2004) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Alessandro Corbelli / Massimo Giordano / Richard Berkeley-Steele / Maxim Mikhailov / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Dec/2008 ] Blu-Ray - "Alessandro Corbelli delivers a masterclass in how to extract every ounce of humour from comedy by playing it straight. He is the king of comedy and an international treasure." The Stage |
STRAUSS / MASSENET / BIZET / BALFE / BELLINI / VERDI / etc
My Hero Greta Bradman (soprano) / English Chamber Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Decca Australia / CD - released 28/Aug/2015 ] 'True old-fashioned bel canto sound - the sort we only dream about today' announced Richard Bonynge, internationally recognized as one of the greatest of opera conductors and connoisseurs of the voice, speaking of Greta Bradman. Bonynge chose Greta... |
VARIOUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE; The Hoffnung Festival of Music - Royal Festival Hall 1988 Guests include Bill Oddie, Jane Glover, Jill Gormez, Robin Ashby, Felicity Lott, Joseph Horovitz,, Richard Watkins, etc [ Double Decca / CD - released 27/Aug/2014 ] On February 12th & 13th, 1988, two reprise concerts were performed and recorded at the Royal Festival Hall and released by Decca. Many distinguished guests appeared, including Donald Swann, Annetta Hoffnung (playing the role of "orchestral maid"),... |
JOSE SEREBRIER
José Serebrier - Composer & Conductor Sharon Bezaly, Alexandre Kantorow, Australian Chamber Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra José Serebrier, Richard Tognetti (conductors) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 31/Jan/2020 ] "Substantial concertos and stunning musicianship" MusicWeb Feb 2020 |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: The Apostles Op.49 Alison Hargan, Alfreda Hodgson, David Rendall, Bryn Terfel, Robert lloyd / London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox [ Chandos 241 / 2 CD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] Inspiration for The Apostles came at an early age for Elgar who, as a child, was fascinated to learn about Christ's disciples, ordinary men who witness the most extraordinary events. A commission from the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival gave him... |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Die Walkure (complete opera recorded in 2003) Gran Teatre del Liceu / Richard Berkeley-Steele / Falk Struckmann / Linda Watson / Bertrand de Billy (cond) [ Opus Arte / Kultur DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 1/Jul/2009 ] Filmed at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu in 2003, Harry Kupfer's acclaimed production, first staged in Berlin, numbers among the greatest productions of modern times and is recorded in sumptuous surround sound. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" Heather Harper, Alfreda Hodgson, Robert Tear, Gwynne Howell / Northern Sinfonia of England, Richard Hickox [ ASV / CD - released 21/Apr/1988 ] Performed by an orchestra of the same size as that used by Beethoven |
SIR MICHAEL TIPPETT
Tippett: Symphony No. 4, Fantasia Concertante & Fantasia on a Theme of Handel Howard Shelley (piano) / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD ] Penguin Guide 3 Star Awarded for general excellence of the disc |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: Harmoniemesse / Salve Regina in E Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox, with Nancy Agneta, Pamela Helen Stephen, Mark Padmore, & Stephen Vacoe [ Chandos Chaconne / CD ] " Tempos are lively, rhythms alert and vital. In the Mass Hickox generates an exhilarating symphonic momentum in, say, the opening sections of the Gloria and Credo, and, aided by an outstandingly clear, well-balanced recording.." Gramophone |
MALCOLM ARNOLD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Arnold: Symphonies 3 & 4 London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD ] "Intriguing, stimulating, disturbing - this music is all these. Arnold's orchestral palette is all jewelled colours but his treatment is diamond hard. Hickox and the LSO are splendid." Classical-Music.com |
MALCOLM ARNOLD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Arnold: Symphonies 1 & 2 London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Aug/2013 ] "Above all, these are real performances without any of the inhibitions of 'studio' recording." Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Rape Of Lucretia Jean Rigby, Nigel Robson, Catherine Pierard, Donald Maxwell / City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox [ Chandos 241 / 2 CD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] "Hickox allows his singers plenty of space with no loss of tension; they respond impressively, with Catherine Pierard exceptional as the Female Chorus." BBC Music Magazine, October 2014 **** |
Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns
Te Hekenga-a-rangi [ Rattle Records / CD - released 10/Jun/2003 ] Highly innovative use of traditional Maori instruments, female voice, etc. Includes exclusive, fascinating video footage on companion DVD |
LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK
Gottschalk: Orchestral Works (Complete) Hot Springs Festival Symphony Orchestra, Richard Rosenberg [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 9/Oct/2007 ] "As good an introduction to Gottschalk's œuvre as any." (MusicWeb Oct 2007) |
LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK
Gottschalk: A Night In The Tropics Hot Springs Music Festival / Richard Rosenberg [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 9/Sep/2007 ] "If you know Gottschalk's unorthodox two-movement symphony A Night in the Tropics...hearing Richard Rosenberg's scrupulous new restoration will be akin to hearing Mussorgsky's Boris after living with Rimsky-Korsakov. Most obviously, the new edition... |
HERBERT HOWELLS
Howells: Orchestral Works Vol 2 [Incls. 'Suite For Orchestra - The B's'] Yvonne kenny (soprano) Lydia Mordkovitch (violin) / The London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD ] "Essential listening for pursuers of the English pastoral vein: stunningly performed and recorded." MusicWeb |
MIKLOS ROZSA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Hungarian Sketches - The Miklos Rozsa Collection Igor Gruppman (violin) Richard Bock (cello) / New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Sedares [ Koch International Classics / CD - released 5/Jun/1996 ] The New Zealand Symphony under James Sedares recorded the majority of Rosza's concert works on Koch. This CD contains a generous selection of those recordings. |
BEDRICH SMETANA
Smetana: Dalibor (complete opera) Ivan Kusnjer, Richard Samek, Aleš Vorácek, Dana Burašová / BBC Symphony Orchestra & BBC Singers, Jiri Belohlávek [ Onyx / 2 CD - released 5/Dec/2015 ] "The BBC Symphony Orchestra plays with elegant clarity and a keen sense of drama, while the cast of native Czech singers is a revelation … The BBC Singers make a fervent contribution too … [an] admirable recording" (Daily Telegraph) |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Orchestral Works, Cello Concerto, Sea Pictures, Dream of Gerontius Jacqueline du Pre (cello) Dame Janet Baker (mezzo) Richard Lewis (tenor) / Halle Orchestra / Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli [ EMI British Composers / 7 CD Box Set - released 25/Mar/2022 ] Born in London of Italian-French parents, Sir John Barbirolli (1899-1970) trained as a cellist and played in theatre and café orchestras before joining the Queen's Hall Orchestra under Sir Henry Wood in 1916. |
Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Mario Lanza, Tony Martin, Richard Crooks, Howard Keel, Tony Bennett, and more
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Deep in My Heart - The Songs of Sigmund Romberg [ ASV Living Era / CD - released 1/Jul/2006 ] Romberg created a long string of musicals, the most memorable being his operettas of the 20s, The Student Prince, The Desert Song and The New Moon. |