PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture / Francesca da Rimini / Capriccio italien / Romeo & Juliet St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy, with St.Petersburg Chamber Choir [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 27/Oct/2011 ] 1812 - Romeo and Juliet - and more! |
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) |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Cello Suites 1 - 6 Lynn Harrell (cello) [ Decca Virtuoso / 2 CD - released 25/Jul/2016 ] ''so quietly confidential that he seems only to be allowing us to eavesdrop on his private musings'' (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) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Discover Beethoven Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano), Arthur Grumiaux (violin), Ingrid Haebler (piano), Henryk Szeryng (violin), Bernard Greenhouse (cello), Menahem Pressler (p [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 12/Dec/2019 ] Beethoven was a visionary genius whose trailblazing symphonies, sonatas and concertos paved the way for the Romantic era. |
DUPRÉ / SAINT-SAËNS / CHARPENTIER / VIERNE
French Virtuoso Organ Music Gillian Weir, at the Hradetzky organ in The Royal Northern College of Music [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 8/Nov/2019 ] "it is great to have this exciting, technically demanding and imaginative recording in my library once again." MusicWeb |
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) |
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) |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No 4 Frederica von Stade (mezzo-soprano), Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic], Claudio Abbado [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 14/Jul/2014 ] "this has a gleaming Vienna Philharmonic and a most touching soloist in von Stade" (Five Stars BBC Music) |
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) |
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 ] |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi Opera Choruses (Incls 'Anvil Chorus' & Grand March from Aida) Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 30/Aug/2014 ] |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 "Emperor" Stephen Kovacevich (piano) / BBC Symphony Orchestra / London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 27/Oct/2011 ] "..beautifully-judged textures-limpid, clean and with a wide range of sonority and very sensitive pedalling...both performances are worthy of the very highest comparisons, from the majority of which they will emerge unscathed." (Gramophone) |
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) |
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. |
FRANCIS POULENC
Poulenc: Gloria / Stabat Mater / Organ Concert Peter Hurford (organ) / Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre National De France, Charles Dutoit [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 28/Aug/2014 ] "Powerful performance, especially of the Organ Concerto. Vivid recording, fine contributions from the Radio France Choir, and muscular conducting from Charles Dutoit." (BBC Music) |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Opera Arias Renée Fleming, José Carreras, Domenico Trimarchi, Montserrat Caballé, Luciano Pavarotti, Carlo Bergonzi, etc [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 23/Apr/2012 ] Spend a lovely time revelling in the wealth of magnificent Puccini recordings. |
VIRTUOSO VIOLIN
Virtuoso Violin (Paganini, Wieniawski, Elgar, Sarasate, Hubay, Suk) Ruggiero Ricci (violin) Louis Persinger (piano) Ernest Lush (piano) [ Double Decca / 2 CD - released 15/Dec/2000 ] A 2-CD set (3LPs) which formed some of Ruggiero Ricci's earliest Decca recordings. |
HENRYK GORECKI
Gorecki: Symphony No. 3 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" Joanna kozlowska (soprano) / Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Kazimierz Kord [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 1/Mar/2012 ] Gorecki's third symphony caused a sensation in 1992 when it became a worldwide commercial and critical success, selling more than a million copies. |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Symphony No 5 / Serenade for Strings Philharmonia Orchestra, St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy [ Decca Virtuoso / CD - released 1/Mar/2012 ] |