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BARTOK / STRAVINSKY / SCHOENBERG / TCHAIKOVSKY / MUSSORGSKY / SCHUBERT
Seiji Ozawa: The Complete RCA Recordings Arnold Steinhardt (violin), Peter Serkin (piano) / Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa [ RCA Red Seal / CD - released 21/Apr/2017 ] He is "one of those rarities, a natural conductor", exclaimed one reviewer after Seiji Ozawa's Chicago Symphony debut on July 16, 1963 at the orchestra's Ravinia Festival. "His technical facility is phenomenal, his sense of rhythm both solid and... |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Complete Works For Solo Piano Barry Douglas (piano) [ Chandos / 6 CD Box Set - released 5/Jan/2018 ] "..his tone is a deep velvet cushion, the legatos full of affection and the rhythms galvanised with great energy." BBC Music Magazine |
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JOHANN LADISLAUS DUSSEK
Dussek: Complete Piano Sonatas & Sonatinas Bart van Oort, Viviana Sofronitski, Petra Somlai, Wolfgang Brunner, Alexei Lubimov, Tuija Hakkila, Zvi Meniker, Ursula Dütschler, Piet Kuijken (period [ Brilliant Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 22/Mar/2024 ] Johann Ladislaus Dussek (1760-1812) was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the foremost keyboard performers and composers of his age. |
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ANTON BRUCKNER
Hans Knappertsbusch: The Decca & Westminster Bruckner Recordings Wiener Philharmoniker, Münchener Philharmoniker [No 8], Hans Knappertsbusch [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 4 CD Box Set - released 7/Feb/2020 ] "The consensus as I understand it among those convinced of Kna's wizardry in this music is that we just have to let go of any regrets and enjoy what we have...I am soon under his spell and swept along by his mastery." MusicWeb |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Richard Wagner Edition - Bayreuth Festival Bayreuth Festival / Martha Mödl; Ludwig Weber, Wolfgang Windgassen; Eberhard Wächter, Jess Thomas; George London, Birgit Nilsson, Christa Ludwig; etc [ Decca / 25 CD Box Set - released 11/Jul/2025 ] A quarter-century of postwar Bayreuth recordings, made live at the Festspielhaus by Decca, DG and Philips: this is an absorbing history in sound of Wagner interpretation featuring several albums of timeless authority. |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (Recorded Live at the Bayreuth Festival, Germany, in 2008) Bayreuther Festspiele Chorus & Bayreuther Festspiele Orchestra / Christian Thielemann (Conductor) / Tankred Dorst (Director) [ Opus Arte / 14 CD Box Set - released 26/Oct/2009 ] "The live recordings capture the grandeur and theatrical flair of Thielemann's approach very vividly. He's especially good in the big set pieces in Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung." (The Guardian) |
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CARL NIELSEN
Nielsen: The Symphonies / Helios Overture / Saga-Drom / Pan and Syrinx BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska [ BIS / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2010 ] "Collectors who have not yet sampled Osmo Vänskä in Nielsen should hasten to make good that omission by investing in this excellent set." (Bargain of the Month MusicWeb June 2011) |
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BEETHOVEN
The Complete String Quartets Belcea Quartet [ Alpha Classics / 8 CD Box Set - released 23/Aug/2019 ] Alpha is reissuing the complete Beethoven quartets by the Belcea Quartet : 'Beethoven's music has been at the center of our life as a quartet from our very first rehearsal together back in 1994. However, it is more recently that we immersed ourselves... |
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FREDERIC CHOPIN
Chopin: Complete Edition [17 CD set] Alessandro Deljavan, Ewa Kupiec, Vittorio Ceccanti, Lucius Ruhl, Earl Wild, Frank van de Laar, etc [ Brilliant Classics / 17 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2015 ] This 17CD set is the third Chopin Edition by Brilliant Classics, an all-time favourite of one of the most popular and universally loved composers of all times. |
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SCRIABIN / SAINT-SAENS / RACHMANINOV / BEETHOVEN / SCHUMANN / CHOPIN
Bella Davidovich - The Philips Legacy Bella Davidovich (piano) [ Philips Eloquence / 8 CD Box Set - released 2/Sep/2022 ] The Philips recordings of Russian pianist BELLA DAVIDOVICH, collected together for the first time on CD and digitally. Includes recordings previously unreleased on CD and digitally. |
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JOHN FIELD
Field: Piano Concertos, Nocturnes, Sonatas Benjamin Frith (piano), Northern Sinfonia, David Haslam [ Naxos / 6 CD Box Set - released 25/Jan/2019 ] 'Benjamin Frith has done a stellar job in bringing these concertos into the sunlight, brilliantly supported by the Northern Sinfonia under David Haslam' (Pianist magazine). |
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PURCELL / DEBUSSY / RESPIGHI / TCHAIKOVSKY / SCHUBERT / BRAHMS / SIBELIUS / etc
Sir John Barbirolli - The Complete RCA and Columbia Album Collection Nathan Milstein (violin) , Benny Goodman (clarinet), Robert Casadesus (piano), Nathan Milstein (violin) / New York Philharmonic, Sir John Barbirolli [ Sony Classical / RCA / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2007 ] The young John Barbirolli was hardly known in America when the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra chose him to be Arturo Toscanini's successor starting in 1937. The 36-year-old Londoner's first season was a triumph with both players and... |
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SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: The Symphonies / Scythian Suite / Romeo and Juliet, Suites Nos 1-3 / etc Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton [ BIS SACD / 5 Hybrid SACD - released 3/Sep/2021 ] "Litton and the Bergen players brilliantly point up the wit, elegance and joy of this great work, turning out one of its finest performances on record...this superb set of Prokofiev's symphonies. Highly recommended!" MusicWeb Recommended |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen (complete operas recorded in 2021) BLU-RAY Berlin Opera / Nina Stemme, Iain Paterson, Brandon Jovanovich, Elisabeth Teige / Sir Donald Runnicles (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / 4 Blu-ray Box Set - released 15/Sep/2022 ] "Donald Runnicles leads an impressive account of the score. His deep knowledge of the music comes through in the naturalness of the discourse, the easy communication with the singers and the vibrant colours he draws from the orchestra." Fanfare |
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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: 6 Symphonies [remastered CDs plus Blu-ray audio] Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra], Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon CDs plus Blu-ray audio / 5 CD Box Set - released 28/Jul/2019 ] "Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 and 3, dating from 1979 are Karajan's only recordings of those earlier works, but ones which saw him at his very finest combining high polish with freshness and lyrical spontaneity." Gramophone |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: The Symphonies, Ein deutsches Requiem & Concertos Berlin & Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, Wilhelm Furtwangler, with Yehudi Menuhin, Edwin Fisher, Willi Boskovsky, etc [ Warner Classics / CD - released 20/Aug/2008 ] Wilhelm Furtwängler saw "a wild, fantastic and even demonic universe" in the symphonies of Brahms. "Music is not something that is invented and constructed," he wrote, "but something that grows, emerging … directly from the hands of nature." With... |
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ANTON BRUCKNER
Bruckner: 9 Symphonies [9 CDs plus Blu-ray audio] Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra], Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon Karajan Edition CD set plus Blu-ray audio / 10 CD/Blu-ray Disc - released 19/Jul/2019 ] "It is Karajan who is best able to present a Bruckner Symphony as a single vision … some of the most consistently impressive Bruckner recordings of recent years" - Gramophone |
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BEETHOVEN / RICHARD STRAUSS / WAGNER / BRUCKNER / MENDELSSOHN / BRUCH / TCHAIKOVSKY / RACHMANINOV
Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic] - Great Recordings Berliner Philharmoniker Orchestra, Claudio Abbado, Seiji Ozawa, Herbert von Karajan, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Lorin Maazel, Gunter Wand, etc [ Sony Music / 8 CD Box Set - released 11/Sep/2015 ] The Berlin Philharmonic is consistently ranked as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. As is fitting such an eminent orchestra, they consistently work with the world's most renowned conductors and soloists. |
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SIBELIUS / NIELSEN / GRIEG / SVENDSEN / STENHAMMAR / ALFVEN
Nordic Symphonies Berliner Sinfonie‐Orchester, Kurt Sanderling / Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Theodore Kuchar / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Bjarte Engset / etc [ Brilliant Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/2024 ] This generous 10 CD set presents a comprehensive collection of symphonies written by Nordic composers. Their Symphonies hold a unique place in music history, blending lush melodies with the evocative power of nature. |
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JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Complete Symphonies / Symphonic Poems Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester, Kurt Sanderling / Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] "Sanderling glories in detail..brings out details that others gloss over or elide. He is not afraid to allow these Northern flowers and trees to bloom at a natural pace. He is no stranger to drama but will not force it unnaturally." MusicWeb |