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RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Tannhauser (complete opera recorded in 1962) Josef Greindl, Wolfgang Windgassen, Anja Silja, Eberhard Warchter / Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Wolfgang Sawallisch [ Philips / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/1992 ] "Windgassen gives a superb portrayal as Tannhäuser, bringing a sympathetic edge to what is otherwise an insufferable character." FlyinmgInkspot |
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DVORAK / TCHAIKOVSKY / SMETANA / STRAVINSKY / SHOSTAKOVICH / PROKOFIEV
The Karel Ancerl Edition Karel Ancerl conducting the Wiener Symphoniker, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, with Wolfgang Schneiderhan (violin) [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 9 CD Box Set - released 28/Jul/2023 ] A Czech maestro in his element: the complete Philips and Deutsche Grammophon albums of Karel AnĨerl collected as a single edition to mark the 50th anniversary of his death (3 July 1973). |
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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... |
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KIRSTEN FLAGSTAD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Icon: Kirsten Flagstad - The Supreme Wagnerian Soprano [5CDs special price] Kirsten Flagstad (soprano) with various orchestras & conductors [ EMI Icon / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2010 ] Kirsten Flagstad (1895-1962) enjoyed a successful career singing opera and operetta in Scandanavia, and was considering retirement when she was catapulted to international fame in 1935 after a sensational appearance at the Metropolitan Opera in New... |
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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. |
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J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach: Cantatas Nos.180-184 Kurt Equiluz, Jan Patrick O'Farrell, Alexander Raymann, Paul Esswood / Collegium Vocale, Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt [ Teldec Das Alte Werk / 2 CD Box Set - released 26/Oct/1989 ] Original recording from 1984 One of the first recordings using historical instruments, with boys' choirs and boy soloists for most soprano and some alto parts. Adult soloists include the tenor Kurt Equiluz. Booklet contains translations |
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CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi Edition Le Nuovo Musiche, Krijn Koetsveld [ Brilliant Classics / 30 CD Box Set - released 10/Nov/2023 ] Played and sung by leading musicians in the field of Early Music: Sergio Vartolo, Le Nuove Musiche/Krijn Koetsveld and others. |
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GRIEG / BRAHMS / SCHUBERT / MOZART / RACHMANINOV / SCHUMANN / etc
Leif Ove Andsnes - The Warner Classics Edition 1990 - 2010 Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), with Christian Tetzlaff, Sarah Chang, Artemis Quartet & Ian Bostridge [ Warner Classics / 36 CD Box Set - released 7/Mar/2011 ] Leif Ove Andsnes is a leading pianist of his time, known for his exceptional musicianship and subtle touch, his considerable technical flair being unfailingly put at the service of his interpretations. |
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CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Claude Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande Julien Behr, Vannina Santoni, Alexandre Duhamel, Marie-Ange Todorovitch, etc / Les Siècles, Chœur de l'Opéra de Lille François-Xavier Roth [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] 'I enjoyed the orchestral contributions of Les Siècles and the lucidity that period instruments bring to Debussy's score...there's an almost clinical clarity to their playing.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2022 - Opera |
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BELA BARTOK
Bartók: String Quartets Nos. 1-6 Lindsay String Quartet [ Decca Eloquence / 3 CD Box Set - released 23/Jul/2021 ] "These players have their own kind of distinction in this music and should not be missed." Gramophone, December 1989 |
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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty (Complete ballets) London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn [ Warner Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 12/Aug/2016 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (Sleeping Beauty) - "André Previn's new version is much the best there has ever been-the best played and the best recorded." (Gramophone on Sleeping Beauty) |
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RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams:Complete Symphonies London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Hickox, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos Classics / 6 Hybrid SACD - released 27/May/2022 ] 'Impeccable playing' The Times |
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GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (DVD + Blu-ray) l'Opera de Rouen Normandie / Deepa Johnny, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Nicolas Courjal, Iulia Maria Dan / Ben Glassberg [ Bru Zane DVD & Blu-ray / 2 Multi-Format Box Set - released 8/Apr/2025 ] Carmen, the most famous heroine of Romantic opera, has never been so moving and rebellious as in the historical staging of 1875, whose flamboyant Spanishry is brought back to life here with the help of unpublished archive material. -... |
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RODRIGO / VIVALDI / FLAMENCO / TRADITIONAL
Los Romeros - The Mercury Masters Los Romeros, with San Antonio Symphony, Victor Alessandro [ Decca / Philips / Mercury / 10 CD Box Set - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Los Romeros was the first guitar quartet to achieve eminence across continents and on stages of the world. Their first recordings were made in January 1960 and released on Contemporary Records. |
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BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / R. STRAUSS / TCHAIKOVSKY /
Lorin Maazel conducts the Cleveland Orchestra Lucia Popp (soprano) Jon Vickers (tenor) Elena Obraztsova (mezzo) Martti Talvela (bass) / The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus. Lorin Maazel [ Sony Classical / 15 CD Box Set - released 21/Mar/2025 ] Lorin Maazel burnished the Cleveland image and maintained the exalted standards set by Szell, who had elevated his ensemble to pre-eminence among the US "Big Five" orchestras. |
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MENDELSSOHN / MOZART / HAYDN / SCHUMANN / BRAHMS / WAGNER / REGER / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Joseph Keilberth: The Postwar Telefunken Recordings - 1953-1963 Ludwig Hoelscher (cello) / Berliner Philharmoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Joseph Keilberth [ Warner Classics Icon / 22 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2018 ] 20 July 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the death of the German conductor Joseph Keilberth. His name is perhaps not so widely remembered as some of his contemporaries, but he was an important figure in the musical life of Germany in the mid-20th |
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ALWYN / BAX / BERKELEY / BRITTEN / MOERAN / RAWSTHORNE / etc
British String Quartets Maggini Quartet, with David Campbell (clarinet), Peter Donohoe (piano) [ Naxos / 20 CD Box Set - released 4/Dec/2019 ] "Another British string quartet rarity from the Maggini Quartet. Fine performances of two superbly confident chamber works." Editor's Choice - Gramophone |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Das Rheingold (complete opera recorded 2012) Mariinsky Orchestra, Valéry Gergiev (conductor) [ Mariinsky / CD - released 2/Aug/2013 ] [Gergiev] draws plenty of vivid drama and glowing colour from the Mariinsky players, particularly the uniquely silken but powerful brass...Mikhail Petrenko and Evgeny Nikitin [make a] rich-voiced pair of giants, a splendid characterisation. (Gramopho |
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MENDELSSOHN / ROSSINI / VERDI / SCHUMANN
Riccardo Chailly in Leipzig MArtha Argerich, Alexandrina Pendatchanska, Manuela Custer, Stefano Secco / Mirco Palazzi / Gewandhaus Choir / Gewandhausorchester Leipzig / Riccardo [ EuroArts DVD / 4 DVD Box Set - released 16/Feb/2018 ] "Mr Chailly's genius for the Rossini style has ripened with the years. His performance has daring and velocity." Gramophone [on Missa Solennelle] |
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PERCY GRAINGER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Grainger: The Complete Piano Music, and transcriptions Martin Jones (piano) [ Nimbus / 5 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1997 ] "..He handles Grainger's complex counterpoints and voicing with superb clarity, achieving quasi-orchestral textures and colouring" BBC Music |