PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto / Sérénade mélancolique / Valse-Scherzo Joshua Bell (violin) Midori (violin) / The Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy, London Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 23/Apr/2012 ] "Bell's is a masterly performance full of flair, Ashkenazy's contribution adds considerably to the performance." Gramophone |
JOAQUIN RODRIGO
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez / Fantasía para un gentilhombre (with de Falla - 'Three Cornered Hat' excerpts) Carlos Bonell (guitar), Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 27/Oct/2011 ] "Carlos Bonell plays the cadenza of the Adagio of the Concierto de Aranjuez most sensitively, and the weight of the orchestral contribution is judged to a nicety throughout." (Gramophone) |
FRANZ LISZT
Liszt: Liebesträume & other works Jorge Bolet (piano) [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 1/Dec/2014 ] "Bolet's Liszt is renowned for its aristocratic refinement: rather than youthful flashy fingers, we get masterful lyrical poise. The Cuban-American's Die Forelle remains unchanging." (BBC Music) |
SCHUMANN / BEETHOVEN / MOZART / MUSSORGSKY / BRAHMS / etc
Piano Encores (Incls Liebestraum No 3 & Rondo 'Alla Turca') Martha Argerich, Alexis Weissenberg, Emil Gilels, Christoph Eschenbach, Wilhelm Kempff, etc [ Deutsche Grammophon Virtuoso / CD - released 27/Oct/2011 ] An inexpensive introduction to the world's most favourite piano pieces. |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2 / Symphony No 9 Peter Jablonski (piano) Cristina Ortiz (piano) / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 14/Jul/2014 ] "this kind of plain-spoken Shostakovich could make a good benchmark library choice" (Gramophone on the symphony) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos 8 "Pathétique", 14 "Moonlight" & 23 "Appassionata" Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 27/Oct/2011 ] "All too rarely does one come across a record of popular, titled Beethoven sonatas which is as musically aware and as musically responsible as this" (Gramophone) |
RALF VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending / Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis / Symphony No. 5 in D major / Fantasia on Greensleeves Iona Brown (violin) / Academy Of St Martin In The Fields, Neville Marriner / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Roger Norrington [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 14/Jul/2014 ] A delightful disc from Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, neatly encompassing four of Vaughan Williams' most enduringly popular orchestral works. |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Goldberg Variations Andrei Gavrilov (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon Virtuoso / CD - released 27/Oct/2011 ] "Gavrilov's actual performance demonstrates, intermittently, that virtuosity and warmth of feeling are cause for celebration rather than apology. He can also be temperate and finely controlled." (Gramophone) |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Ballet Suites: Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 27/Oct/2011 ] Herbert von Karajan and the Vienna Philharmonic provide performances of "utmost polish and sophistication" in a recording that ..."can be recommended without reservation." (Gramophone) |
TCHAIKOVSKY
The Nutcracker [complete ballet] / Entr'acte & Waltz and Polonaise (from Eugene Onegin, Op. 24) Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic], Semyon Bychkov [ Decca Virtuoso / 2 CD - released 1/Nov/2013 ] |