MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG
Weinberg: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 21 Gidon Kremer (violin) / Kremerata Baltica, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mirga GrazinytÄ—-Tyla [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 10/Sep/2019 ] All in all, this has to be one of the most important symphonic releases of the year." Gramophone Awards 2020 WINNER - Orchestral / RECORDING OF THE YEAR |
GERALD FINZI
Finzi: In Years Defaced / Prelude Op 25 / Romance Op 11 / Concerto for Small Orchestra John Mark Ainsley (tenor) Tasmin Little (violin) / City of London Sinfonia, Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 12/Feb/2001 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE: Editor's Choice (May 2001) |
CHARLES-VALENTIN ALKAN
This is Alkan John Wells (organ St Matthews-in-the-city) [ Ribbonwood / CD - released 15/Sep/2001 ] 'An excellent new recording' (The Diapason, USA) |
EDOUARD LALO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Lalo: Cello Concerto / Symphonie espagnole Op 21 Paul Tortelier (cello) Yan Pascal Tortelier (violin) / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Louis Fremaux [ EMI Studio / CD - released 20/May/1988 ] "..a first class Lalo D minor, quite equal to Navarra's, and superior conducting of Louis Frémaux and his Birmingham forces." MusicWeb Amazon are currently asking nearly $50 US for this recording |
Sin City
Welcome to Sin City (LP) [ 1:12 Records / LP ] Having spent several years darkening doorways and gracing stages around the globe in other musical guises, SIN CITY were formed in the dry desert heat of Spain's Costa Blanca. Originally hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, the pair found... |
Spike Jones & his City Slickers
'Mis-taken Music' [ Alto / Take: 2 / CD - released 12/Sep/2015 ] Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 - May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in performing satirical arrangements of popular songs. Ballads and classical works receiving the Jones treatment would be punctuate |
CHARLES Villiers STANFORD
Stanford: Requiem Carolyn Sampson, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, James Way, Ross Ramgobin / University of Birmingham Voices, City of Birmingham Symphony, Martyn Brabbins [ Hyperion / CD - released 2/Jun/2023 ] "Brabbins, who truly understands the language of this music, judges the tempos and balance of the ensemble with instinctive sensitivity...For anyone interested in British choral music of the period, it is a must!" Gramophone Editor's Choice June 2023 |
BACH / CHOPIN / HANDEL / MOZART / PROKOFIEV / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Andrei Gavrilov Andrei Gavrilov (piano) / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle [ EMI / Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2000 ] "The most gorgeous of Scriabin's studies has a fine sweep and sensitivity too, and the heavy torpor of the Rachmaninov Moments musicaux and the elegance of the Tchaikovsky Variations are nicely captured. Gavrilov's Islamey is justly famous," Gramophone |
CORELLI / BELLINI / CIMAROSA / FIORILLO / etc
Italian Oboe Concertos Vol 1 Anthony Camden (oboe) / Peter Lloyd (flute) / City of London Sinfonia, Nicolas Ward [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2001 ] More beautiful music for the oboe |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphonies 1-10 (complete) Arleen Auger, Janet Baker / City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Orchestra / Berlin Philharmonic / Vienna Philharmonic / Simon Rattle [ Warner Classics / 12 CD Box Set - released 4/Aug/2017 ] "There's no doubt that Rattle has inspired all concerned to an achievement which joins his groundbreaking readings of the Third, Seventh and Tenth Symphonies in the Mahlerian heaven." ***** BBC Music Magazine, May 2005, on Mahler 8 |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Stabat Mater Arthur Davies (tenor) Della Jones (contralto) Roderick Earle (bass) / City of London Sinfonia / Richard Hickox [ Chandos Richard Hickox Legacy / CD - released 19/Jul/2013 ] Rosette (Highest Rating) Penguin Stereo Guide |
Avalanche City
My Babylon [ The Guacamole Farm / CD - released 22/Feb/2019 ] Respected Kiwi singer and songwriter, Avalanche City (AKA Dave Baxter), returns with his first new album in three years, My Babylon. The new album presents a less folky and more moody Avalanche City than we've heard before. That's probably a... |
Avalanche City
My Babylon (LP) [ The Guacamole Farm / LP - released 8/Mar/2019 ] Respected Kiwi singer and songwriter, Avalanche City (AKA Dave Baxter), returns with his first new album in three years, My Babylon. The new album presents a less folky and more moody Avalanche City than we've heard before. That's probably a... |
Avalanche City
We Are For The Wild Places [ Warner Music Australia / CD - released 3/Jul/2015 ] Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Avalanche City is the musical moniker of Dave Baxter, whose debut single Love, Love, Love was propelled into radio mainstay back in 2011. While he spent two years travelling the world off the back of the breakout... |
Bay City Rollers
Gold (3CD) [ Sony Crimson Gold / 3 CD - released 25/Nov/2022 ] The 'Gold' collection includes 50 tracks across 3CDs, covering the band's most successful line up of Les, Eric, Woody, Alan and Derek and features all 12 of their UK chart hit singles |
JEAN SIBELIUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 6 City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle [ EMI / CD - released 20/Mar/1988 ] Jean Sibelius (1865-1958) was one of the greatest symphonists of the 20th century and his music is as popular today as it was when he died over 50 years ago. |
GUSTAV MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mahler: Symphony No 10 (with Brahms/Schoenberg: Piano Quartet No 1) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle [ EMI / 2 CD Box Set - released 5/May/1985 ] Simon Rattle has performed the 10th more times than any other conductor. In many ways it's become his signature work. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
O Praise the Lord of Heaven: Music of rejoicing and reflection The Cambridge Singers & City of London Sinfonia, John Rutter [ Collegium / CD - released 20/Mar/2014 ] |
JOHN RUTTER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rutter: Requiem / I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes The Cambridge Singers, The City of London Sinfonia, John Rutter [ Collegium / CD - released 1/Jan/2004 ] John Rutter was born in London in 1945 and received his first musical education as a chorister at Highgate School. He went on to study music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he wrote his first published compositions and conducted his first... |
DEBUSSY / MUSSORGSKY / RAVEL / CHOPIN / RACHMANINOV / FAURE / etc
Cécile Ousset - The Complete Warner Recordings Cecile Ousset (piano) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra [ Warner Classics / 16 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/2022 ] "Cecile Ousset is an arrestingly ebullient artist...who leaves her own distinctive stamp on everything she plays" Gramophone |