GABRIEL FAURE
Fauré Edition - Piano Works, Chamber Music, Orchestral Works & Requiem Jean‐Philippe Collard (piano) Augustin Dumay (violin) Frédéric Lodéon (cello) Michel Debost (flute) Nicolai Gedda (tenor) / Michael Plasson (cond) [ Erato / 12 CD Box Set - released 24/Aug/2018 ] Gabriel Fauré, whose long and influential life spanned the eras of romanticism and early modernism, enriched a diversity of genres with music of proverbial subtlety. |
MOZART / TARTINI / TELEMANN / C.P.E. & J. S. BACH / MERCADANTE / VIVALDI / etc
Jean-Pierre Rampal: Famous Flute Concertos Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute) with various orchestras & soloists [ Erato / 12 CD Box Set - released 25/Aug/2023 ] Legendary flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal devoted just as much effort to establishing the masterpieces in their rightful place as to unearthing countless works from the baroque, classical and romantic eras. As far as concertos are concerned, cornerstones... |
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Leonard Bernstein: The Composer [25 CD set] Jennie Tourel, Zino Francescatti, Benny Goodman, Nancy Walker, Carol Lawrence, Yo-Yo Ma, Alan Titus, Harolyn Blackwell, etc / Leonard Bernstein (cond) [ Sony Classical Masters / 25 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2017 ] With his centenary upon us, Sony Classical releases the most comprehensive recorded collection ever released of the music of American conductor, composer and educator Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990). |
LUDOVICO EINAUDI
Einaudi: Waves - The Piano Collection Jeroen van Veen (piano) [ Brilliant Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2015 ] Ludovico Einaudi may well become the "Satie of the 21‐st century". His minimalist, deceptively simple piano works reach a massive audience well beyond the strict boundaries of traditional classical music. |
ERIK SATIE
Satie: Complete Piano Music Jeroen van Veen (piano) with Sandra Van Veen (piano) [ Brilliant Classics / 9 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2016 ] This set contains the complete music for piano by Erik Satie, including the works for 4 hands. |
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO
Sakamoto: For Mr Lawrence - Piano Music; Jeroen van Veen (piano) with Sandra van Veen (piano) [ Brilliant Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 2/Sep/2019 ] "This is an interesting and enjoyable set. I would not recommend that you sit down and listen to the whole set at once...this was an enjoyable listen. Brilliant Classics should be applauded for bringing us such a comprehensive set as this." MusicWeb |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia [The Barber of Seville] (Complete Opera recorded in 1992) Jerry Hadley, Bruno Praticò, Susanne Mentzer, Thomas Hampson, Samuel Ramey / Orchestra della Toscana, Gianluigi Gelmetti [ EMI Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/1993 ] "..an absolutely complete text (the recent critical edition by Alberto Zedda is used) shorn of the accretions of nearly 200 years, and singers of the calibre of Thomas Hampson and Samuel Ramey." Classical-Music |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Lohengrin (Complete Opera recorded in 1964) Jess Thomas, Elisabeth Grummer, Christa Ludwig, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Wiener Philharmoniker, Rudolf Kempe [ Warner Classics Home of Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2016 ] "The playing of the orchestra is absolutely glorious throughout, the choral singing is very good and, often, very beautiful, the cast is excellent and the overall interpretation provides the required theatrical immediacy and tension" (Gramophone) |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini: Turandot (Complete Opera with complete libretto) Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballe, Nicolai Ghiaurov / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta [ Decca Records / 2 CD Box Set - released 17/Feb/2015 ] "Sutherland gives an intensely appealing interpretation, while Pavarotti gives a performance equally imaginative. Mehta directs a gloriously rich and dramatic performance. Still the best-sounding Turandot on CD." Penguin Guide |
TRADITIONAL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Christmas with the Divas [4 CD set at a special price] Joan Sutherland, Leontyne Price, Kiri te Kanawa, Renata Tebaldi [ Decca Records / 4 CD Box Set - released 28/Aug/2014 ] Four original Christmas albums starring legendary divas - four CDs at a special price, an ideal Christmas gift. |
J. S. BACH
Bach: The Complete Secular Cantatas Joanne Lunn, Robin Blaze, Carolyn Sampson, Katsuhiko Nakashima, Hiroya Aoki, Makoto Sakurada, etc / Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki [ BIS SACD / 10 CD Box Set - released 6/Dec/2019 ] "The SACD sound is near ideal for such music, needing as it does to balance the intimate with a sense of public rejoicing. It catches the colours of the distinctive solo voices on display." MusicWeb |
GERSHWIN / RODGERS / BERLIN / HERRMANN / SCHOENBERG / WAXMAN / etc
John Mauceri - The Sound of Hollywood John Mauceri, with Julie Andrews, Ben Kingsley, Marilyn Horne, Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir John Gielgud, Patti LuPone [ Decca / Eloquence / 16 CD Box Set - released 17/Nov/2023 ] The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra breathed new life into the orchestral pops repertoire, told new stories and brought in new audiences when it was revived under the conductor John Mauceri in the 1990s. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: Death in Venice (Complete Opera recorded in 1974) John Shirley-Quirk, Peter Pears, James Bowman / Members of the English Opera Group, English Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford [ Decca Records / 2 CD - released 2/Jan/2002 ] *** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo Guide |
PAISIELLO / BEETHOVEN / MONTEVERDI
Jonas Kaufmann: Opera Collection Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) with Cecilia Bartoli, Camilla Nylund, Vesselina Kasarova, and Dietrich Henschel [ Arthaus DVD / 3 DVD - released 26/Jul/2019 ] Experience Jonas Kaufmann, opera world's top star, in this impressive opera collection from his time at the Zurich Opera House still before his great international breakthrough. He feels closely connected to the opera house, boosted his career there... |
J. S. BACH
Jörg Demus - The Bach Recordings on Westminster Jörg Demus (piano), with Paul Badura-Skoda (piano) [ Westminster Australian Eloquence / 11 CD Box Set - released 2/Dec/2022 ] Bach playing to refresh the spirits as well as satisfy the mind: the early recordings of consummate Viennese pianist, Jörg Demus, unfailingly lively as well as faithful. |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti - La Fille du Régiment [Daughter of the Regiment] & Don Pasqual (recorded 2005/2006) Juan Diego Florez, Patricia Ciofi, Isabel Rey, Ruggero Raimondi, etc [ Decca Music Group DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 12/Dec/2019 ] Juan Diego Flórez proves he's the new King Of The High C's in one of his greatest stage roles. He gives a sensational performance of Tonio's aria 'Ah! mes amis...' - with 9 top Cs sung not once, but twice! |
MILHAUD / MOZART / BARTOK / BERG / COPLAND / SCHOENBERG / etc
Juilliard Quartet - The Early Columbia Recordings Juilliard String Quartet, with Leontyne Price (soprano) Samuel Barber (piano) [ Sony Classical Masters / 16 CD Box Set - released 18/Jun/2021 ] Following up its widely acclaimed reissues of the Juilliard String Quartet's complete Epic and RCA Victor albums - originally issued between 1956 and 1960 - Sony Classical is excited to present a new 16-CD box set collecting the earliest albums of... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Seiji Ozawa Kazuyoshi Akiyama / Saito Kinen Orchestra / Berliner Philharmoniker / Marcus Roberts Trio / Anne-Sophie Mutter / Martha Argerich [ EuroArts DVD / 5 DVD Box Set ] Seiji Ozawa has dedicated most of his life to the service of music. He is not only one of Japan's best-known conductors but also the founder of the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, better known as the Seiji Ozawa Festival. This Seiji Ozawa edition... |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Piano Trios, String Quintet, String Quartets Klavertrio Amsterdam / Brandis Quartet [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] "I really admire these heartfelt accounts for their warm expressiveness and sumptuous textures." MusicWeb [Quartets] |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Complete Piano Sonatas Klára Würtz (piano) [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 4/Oct/2019 ] Mozart's piano sonatas date from 1773 until 1788 - a period in which his style matured at a truly remarkable rate. The earliest sonatas are very much in the galant style of W.F and CPE Bach, and in places Scarlatti's influence can be detected. |