JOHN DOWLAND / THOMAS CAMPION / JOHN DANYEL / THOMAS FORD / HENRY PURCELL / etc
Drop Not, Mine Eyes Alexander Chance (counter-tenor), Toby Carr (lute) [ Linn / CD - released 28/Apr/2023 ] "Chance's tone is pellucid; notes fall round and clear as water drops...a recording in which Chance stakes serious claim to the title of his generation's most exciting British countertenor." Gramophone Editor's Choice July 2023 |
SCHUBERT / CHOPIN / LISZT / STRAVINSKY
Schubert / Chopin / Liszt / Stravinsky: Four Pianos - Four Pieces Alexander Melnikov (pianos) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 9/Apr/2018 ] "Melnikov gives thrilling performances of four cornerstones of the repertoire." Sunday Times |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Fantasie: Seven Composers, Seven Keyboards Alexander Melnikov (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 16/Jun/2023 ] BBC Music Magazine July 2023 - Instrumental Choice |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann: Piano Concerto Op 54 / Piano Trio No. 2 Op. 80 Alexander Melnikov (fortepiano) / Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado, with Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) & Isabelle Faust (violin) [ Harmonia Mundi CD + DVD / 2 CD/DVD - released 20/Aug/2015 ] '[T]he use of an early 19th-century fortepiano, here a Streicher of 1847, brings textural clairty, enhanced by the exceptionally subtle and sensitive dialogue between the two superb string players.' (BBC Music) |
PAUL HINDEMITH
Hindemith: Sonatas Alexander Melnikov (piano) with Isabelle Faust (violin) Jeroen Berwaerts (trumpet) Teunis van der Zwart (althorn), etc [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 20/Dec/2014 ] 'The patron saint of neglected instruments, Hindemith composed more than 30 sonatas for very diverse resources … The Hindemith anniversary of 2013 opened the gates to a welcome flood of excellent recordings, and this new release stands high among the |
FRANZ LISZT
Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1 Alexander Ullman (piano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton (conductor) [ Rubicon / CD - released 24/Jun/2022 ] Alexander Ullman was the winner of the 2011 Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Budapest. He studied at the Purcell School, the Curtis Institute and the Royal College of Music. His teachers include William Fong, Leon Fleischer and Dmitri... |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Tharaud Plays Rachmaninov Alexandre Tharaud (piano) / Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Alexander Vedernikov, with Sabine Devieilhe (soprano) [ Erato / CD - released 14/Oct/2016 ] "After the famous introductory bars - following the score rather than the composer's recording - the sweeping first subject enters faster, thankfully, than Richter's celebrated account but with the same majestic assurance" Gramophone Award Nomination |
J.S. BACH
The Best of J.S. Bach Eteri Andjaparidze, Hae Won Chen, Pi-hsien, Nicholas Goluses, Alexander Jablokov, Takako Nishizaki & Wolfgang Rubsam [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Jun/1997 ] The best of J.S Bach from across the vast Naxos catalogue. |
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS
Murder on the High C's Florence Foster Jenkins (soprano) with additional tracks by Alexander Kipnis; John Charles Thomas; Josephine Tumminia; Ezio Pinza; Jeanette MacDonald [ Naxos Nostalgia / CD - released 1/Oct/2003 ] "Hilariously ignorant of all musical rules and delightfully incapable of hitting, never mind holding the note, she recorded just nine songs. Priceless." -- Andrew Clarke, The Independent |
ARVO PART
Musica Selecta: from the legendary premiere recordings The Hilliard Ensemble, Alexei Lubimov (piano), Alexander Malter (piano), Gidon Kremer (violin) , Latvian Radio Choir, etc [ ECM / 2 CD - released 12/Sep/2015 ] Composer Arvo Pärt and producer Manfred Eicher have maintained their creative partnership for more than 30 years. Eicher launched ECM New Series in 1984 as a platform for Pärt's music, bringing the Estonian composer to the world's attention with... |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann: Piano Quartet & Piano Quintet Isabelle Faust, Anne Katharina Schreiber, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexander Melnikov [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 24/Nov/2023 ] "...they meld their ensemble seamlessly and attend to minute details of phrasing and dynamics without losing sight of the shape of each movement." Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 - Chamber |
IGOR STRAVINSKY
Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale (English version) Isabelle Faust (violin), Dominique Horwitz (narrator) with ensemble / Alexander Melnikov (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 27/Aug/2021 ] "Faust and her colleagues do indeed evoke the mise en scène of performers pulling up in a dusty square late one afternoon and performing from the back of an old truck" Gramophone Award Finalist 2022 - Chamber |
ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Violin Concerto & Trio Op. 65 Isabelle Faust (violin) Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) Alexander Melnikov (piano), Prague Philharmonia, Jiri Belohlavek [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 10/Feb/2023 ] Almost twenty years ago, Isabelle Faust and Jiří Bělohlávek established a new milestone in the discography of Dvořák's Violin Concerto. The coupling, the tumultuous Trio in F minor, inaugurated the violinist's long and fruitful collaboration with... |
CHOPIN / RACHMANINOFF
Chopin, Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonatas Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 2/Sep/2022 ] "Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov somehow manage to contain the overgrowth and shape the profusion of ideas into a cultivated and warmly lit musical garden." Gramophone |
HAVERGAL BRIAN
Brian: Symphonies Nos. 8, 21 & 26 New Russia State Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Walker [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Oct/2017 ] Each of the three symphonies on this recording represents a significant milestone in Havergal Brian's long musical journey, and each demonstrates the breadth of his symphonic approach. No. 8 was the first of Brian's symphonies to be performed and is... |
PAUL DUKAS
Dukas: Music for Piano / Orchestral Music / Ariane et Barbe-Bleue Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor), Jean Hubeau, Martha Argerich, Alexander Rabinovitch (pianos) / Orchestre National de I'O.R.T.F., etc [ Warner Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 15/Mar/2024 ] The composer Paul Dukas was known for abandoning many of his musical undertakings, resulting in a limited output of published works. This collection consolidates the core of his oeuvre in landmark renditions by prominent artists. |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
The Best Of Puccini Miriam Gauci (solo soprano), Alexander Rahbari (conductor), Thomas Harper (solo tenor), Michael Halasz (conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Jun/1997 ] From 'In quelle trine morbide' from Manon Lascaut, to 'Nessun Dorma' from Turandot this is an excellent selection of Puccini classics |
BERTHOLD GOLDSCHMIDT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Goldschmidt: Beatrice Cenci (complete opera with libretto) Roberta Alexander, Stefan Stoll, Simon Estes, Della Jones / Berlin Radio Chorus, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Lothar Zagrosek [ Sony Classical / 2 CD Box Set - released 7/Feb/1995 ] "The cast is a strong one, dominated by the burnished tone of Roberta Alexander in the title role of the abused daughter. Della Jones as her stepmother Lucrezia is equally fine" BBC Music |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Don Giovanni (complete opera recorded in 2014) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Mariusz Kwiecien, Alex Esposito, Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Véronique Gens , Antonio Poli / Nicola Luisotti (cond [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Nov/2014 ] Mozart's sublime tragic comedy offers boundless scope for directors, and Kasper Holten has chosen it to follow his directorial debut of Eugene Onegin. He wanted to shift the emphasis from Don Giovanni's sex life into a darker place, showing... |
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare: All's Well That Ends Well (recorded live in 2022) Royal Shakespeare Company / Claire Benedict, Benjamin Westerby, Rosie Sheehy, Jamie Wilkes, Will Edgerton, Bruce Alexander [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 22/Sep/2023 ] Bruce Alexander [The King of France] is best known as Superintendent Mullett in A Touch of Frost and has appeared in many other TV shows such as Berkeley Square, Casualty and Peak Practice. He has also played major roles in the theatre. |