BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: The Turn of the Screw (complete opera) Andrew Kennedy, Sally Matthews, Michael Clayton-Jolly, Lucy Hall, Catherine Wyn-Rogers & Katherine Broderick / London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Farn [ LSO Live SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 29/Dec/2013 ] ".Broderick's darker-toned Miss Jessel contrasts well with [Matthews]..while Catherine Wyn-Rogers's Mrs Grose is faultlessly secure and vivid. Richard Farnes's conducting unfolds the opera at a quite expansive pace with no loss of tensions" BBC Music |
ANTHONY RITCHIE
Ritchie: Survivors Aquarius Choir, Marc Michael de Smet [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 5/Sep/2018 ] Moving a cappella settings of contemporary poems - music composed by Anthony Ritchie and performed by the superb Aquarius Choir of Belgium. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Gotterdammerung (Complete opera recorded in 2022) BLU-RAY Bayreuther Festspiele / Clay Hilley, Iréne Theorin, Albert Dohmen, Elisabeth Teige, Michael Kupfer-Radecky / Cornelius Meister (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 27/Oct/2023 ] In 2022 Bayreuth Festival 2022 presented a long-awaited new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, staged by young Austrian director Valentin Schwarz and conducted by Cornelius Meister. |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Violin Sonatas Bella Hristova (violin), Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Rattle Records / CD - released 4/Sep/2023 ] The Brahms Violin Sonatas are at the core of the violin and piano duo repertoire. From the exquisitely flowing melodies of the G major sonata to the warm-heartedness of the A major sonata and finally to the vast and turbulent D minor sonata, the music... |
MAURICE RAVEL / FRANCIS POULENC / GABRIEL FAURE
Réveiller - Violin Sonatas Bella Hristova (violin), Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Rattle Records / CD - released 26/Sep/2024 ] Réveiller is an exploration of some of the most exquisite French works for violin and piano, featuring sonatas by Ravel, Poulenc, and Fauré. Each piece evokes a unique character, blurring the lines between dreams and reality. |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Complete Schubert Edition: A Goethe Schubertiad Christine Shafer (soprano) John Mark Ainsley (tenor) Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Michael George (bass) / The London Chorale / Stephen Layton (dir) [ Hyperion Schubert Edition Vol 24 / CD - released 2/Feb/2002 ] 'The whole record is priceless … renewed praise … an engrossing and invaluable addition to this series' (Gramophone) |
TCHAIKOVSKY / CHOPIN / DVORAK / RACHMANINOV / SHOSTAKOVICH
Edgar Moreau - Rococo Edgar Moreau (cello), with David Kadouch (piano) / Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Michael Sanderling [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 8/Nov/2024 ] Recorded with Luzerner Sinfonie Orchester and conducted by Michael Sanderling, Edgar's new album features a key piece in the cello repertoire: Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. |
GIACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Messa di Gloria Eleonora Buratto, Teresa Iervolino, Lawrence Brownlee, Michael Spyres / Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano [ Warner Classics / CD - released 7/Oct/2022 ] Expanding their notable Rossini discography, Sir Antonio Pappano and the Chorus and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia perform the composer's Messa di Gloria of 1820. |
George Michael
Faith [ Epic / Legacy / Sony / CD - released 5/Jan/2012 ] A superbly crafted mainstream pop/rock masterpiece, Faith made George Michael an international solo star, selling over ten million copies in the U.S. alone as of 2000. Perhaps even more impressively, it also made him the first white solo artist to... |
George Michael
Twenty Five [ Sony & BMG Entertainment UK / 2 CD - released 10/Nov/2006 ] This fantastic double disc set spans George's brilliant 25 year career in one album - with tunes from his Wham! days and solo classics like "Freedom", "Too Funky", plus three new songs (including duets with Paul McCartney, Mary J. Blige & Elton John). |
DOUGLAS LILBURN
Lilburn: Music for solo piano Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Rattle Records / CD - released 20/Dec/2012 ] "In 2010 I was approached by playwright Dave Armstrong to see if I might be interested in being part of Rita and Douglas, a theatrical presentation built around the letters written to Douglas Lilburn by painter Rita Angus." MH |
HAROLD FRASER-SIMSON
Fraser-Simson: The Maid of the Mountains (Complete Operetta) Janis Kelly, Christopher Maltman, Michael George, Richard Suart / New London Orchestra / Ronald Corp [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 1/Nov/2006 ] "piloted with style and affection by ronald Corp, Hyperion's light music guru. Wicked!" (BBC Music) |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Vivaldi: Sonatas for violoncello & basso Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), with Michael Behringer, Lee Santana, Christoph Dangel [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 7/Sep/2018 ] "If you wanted one takeaway headline for this recording then it would be its sense of intimacy and immediacy; a quality we can mostly put down to the easy, loving familiarity with which Queyras handles this repertoire." Gramophone |
FAURE / PROKOFIEV / PREVIN / BARBER / RACHMANINOV / etc
Between Darkness and Light Jenny Wollerman (soprano) Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Rattle Records / CD - released 8/May/2015 ] Between Darkness and Light is a celebration of 19th and 20th century art-song from two of our finest classical musicians. This fine album features works by some of the world's most beloved composers, Gabriel Fauré, Sergei Prokofiev, Madeleine... |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schubert: Complete Hyperion Schubert Edition: The Final Year John Mark Ainsley, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Michael Schade (tenors) Graham Johnson (piano) [ Hyperion Schubert Edition Vol 37 / CD - released 20/Sep/2000 ] The final volume in the Schubert Hyperion series |
RUTH GIPPS
Gipps: Piper of Dreams Juliana Koch (oboe), Michael McHale (piano), Julian Bliss (clarinet) [ Chandos / CD - released 16/Aug/2024 ] "I have nothing but praise for the irreproachable musicianship displayed by Juliana Koch (principal oboe with the LSO), who in turn enjoys sterling support from Michael McHale... All in all, a delectable disc." Gramophone Editor's Choice Sept 2024 |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS & OTHERS
Saint-Saens: Carnival Of The Animals [plus 'Grandpa Christmas'] The Kanneh-Masons with Michael Morpurgo and Olivia Colman [ Decca / CD - released 13/Nov/2020 ] Carnival is a very special collaboration between Academy Award-winning actor Olivia Colman, children's author Michael Morpurgo and the seven "extraordinarily talented" (Classic FM) Kanneh-Mason siblings: Isata, Braimah, Sheku, Konya, Jeneba, Aminata... |
MOZART / SCHUBERT / PROKOFIEV / de FALLA / FAURE
Keith Lewis - In recital Keith Lewis (tenor) / Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Trust / CD - released 1/Aug/2000 ] New Zealand-born Keith Lewis is one of the world's busiest tenors. He appears regularly throughout the UK, Europe and North America with various orchestras and conductors |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart Momentum - 1785 Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Matthew Truscott (violin), Joel Hunter (viola), Frank-Michael Guthmann (cello) [ Sony Classical / 2 CD - released 28/May/2021 ] 'Socially distanced they may have been but the camaraderie that was so evident in their groundbreaking Beethoven cycle with Leif Ove Andsnes is, if anything, even more apparent here.' Gramophone Recording of the Month June 2021 |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Messiah (Complete oratorio) Lucy Crowe (soprano), Alex Potter (counter-tenor), Michael Spyres (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass), The English Concert & Choir, John Nelson [ Erato CDs + DVD / 3 CD/DVD - released 24/Nov/2023 ] The American conductor John Nelson, especially famed for his interpretations of Berlioz, conducted Handel's most celebrated oratorio at Coventry Cathedral in the heart of England in November 2022. |