Hi -- it's Mel here!
"Mel Moratti is considered something of a legend in New Zealand music circles. He has been a judge at various New Zealand music awards and is a recognised world authority on the light opera duo Gilbert and Sullivan. On top of this, in the last 25 years Mel has also managed several music shops, all of which have at one time or another won awards for being the best record stores in the country. His involvement in the music industry stretches back even further. "I grew up with it. When I left school I started working in music wholesale and marketing, then I went to England and worked for a major record company. I also played flute in various orchestras." On his return to New Zealand in 1977, Mel accepted a position as a shop manager in Auckland and has been in retail ever since."
(extracted from www.kiwicareers.govt.nz)
SHOSTAKOVICH
Symphonies, Vol. 6 - Symphonies Nos 6 & 12
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Vasily Petrenko
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[ Naxos / CD ] Release Date: Thursday, 20 October, 2011 "The deftness of the RLPO is admirable and the performance certainly rounds off in great style what is a very fine reading of the entire work...Petrenko and the RLPO and their commitment never wavers; nor does the excellence of the playing falter." |
POULENC / FAURE / DEBUSSY
Impressions Francaises: sonatas and other works for flute
Juliette Hurel (flute) / Christine Icart (harp) / Arnaud Thorette (viola) / Helene Couvert (piano) / Florence Darel (reciter)
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[ Zig Zag Territoires / CD ] Release Date: Thursday, 1 September, 2011 For her third recording on Zig-Zag Territoires, Juliette Hurel offers us a journey through the French masterpieces for flute of the first half of the twentieth century, including Poulenc's Flute Sonata, Debussy's Sonata for flute, viola and harp, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and Syrinx, and Fauré's Sicilienne and Berceuse. |
PROKOFIEV
Erich Leinsdorf conducts Prokofiev [6 CD set]
John Browning (piano) Erick Friedman (violin) / Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf
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[ Sony Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set ] Release Date: Friday, 20 May, 2011 "There is the characteristic Boston sheen on the sound, and a fine care for balance, and though Leinsdorf sometimes shies away from utter tenderness, the range of emotional expression is wider, I think, than in many previous Leinsdorf records. One could never call this a cold interpretation for Prokofiev's half-concealed emotional vein finds Leinsdorf in complete... |
![Erich Leinsdorf conducts Prokofiev [6 CD set] cover](http://images.marbecks.co.nz/_covers/10621/10621501.jpg)
STRAVINSKY
Pétrouchka (original 1911 version) / Le Sacre du printemps [The Rite of Spring]
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra / Andrew Litton
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[ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD ] Release Date: Monday, 7 March, 2011 "Andrew Litton has the Bergen Philharmonic playing at a world-class standard. In The Rite he reminds us that despite the extremes of volume and dissonance this is still a folk-music-based work. The tunes (or bits of them) really sing, with such vibrancy and freshness that you might think you are hearing them for the first time. If anything, Petrushka is even... |
![Pétrouchka (original 1911 version) / Le Sacre du printemps [The Rite of Spring] cover](http://images.marbecks.co.nz/_covers/10615/10615282.jpg)
SARASATE
Music for Violin and Orchestra, Vol. 3 (Incls 'Fantasies on The Magic Flute & Faust')
Yang Tianwa (Violin) / Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra / Ernest Martinez Izquierdo
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[ Naxos / CD ] Release Date: Sunday, 10 April, 2011 "It's really a crime that you'll almost never encounter this music at so-called "serious" symphonic concerts. If you put together the last three numbers on this recording--the "Faust" Fantasy, Barcarolle, and Caprice-Jota--you have a perfect, concerto-length triptych in fast, slow, fast form. It would be a spectacular, audience-pleasing showcase for the soloist,... |
STRAVINSKY
L'Histoire du soldat [The Soldier's Tale] / Octet for Wind Instruments (with Schoenberg - Chamber Symphony No. 1)
Sir John Gielgud (narrator), Tom Courtenay (The Soldier), Ron Moody (The Devil) / Boston Symphony Chamber Players
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[ Australian Deutsche Grammophon Eloquence / 2 CD ] Release Date: Tuesday, 1 February, 2011 "These Boston players give immaculately polished accounts of all five [chamber] works … The recording is excellent - clear without dryness, warm without over-resonance" |
![L'Histoire du soldat [The Soldier's Tale] / Octet for Wind Instruments (with Schoenberg - Chamber Symphony No. 1) cover](http://images.marbecks.co.nz/_covers/10610/10610625.jpg)
