SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Vespers & Complete All-Night Vigil Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Paul Hillier [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 28/Oct/2022 ] "...from the first notes of this performance by the superb Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir we appreciate the difference between Western and Slavic sound, as a super-deep and resonant bass voice intones the Deacon's gathering words: "Arise! Bless... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Belshazzar (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Festival Aix-en-Provence / Kenneth Taylor, Rosemary Joshua, Bejun Mehta / Rene Jacobs (cond) [ Harmonia Mundi Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Sep/2011 ] "the dramatic essence of the story...comes over in a striking semi-expressionist fashion. There's a strong set of central performances." (BBC Music - Blu-Ray Choice August 2011) |
WITOLD LUTOSLAWSKI
Concerto for orchestra (with Brahms/Schoenberg - Piano Quartet No 1 in G minor) Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra / Miguel Harth-Bedoya (Conductor) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/May/2016 ] "This new entry to the catalogue shines out with its precision, vigour and clarity of sound....A seriously interesting and worthwhile disc." (The Guardian) |
GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Telemann: Suites / Concerto in E minor Freiburg Barockorchester, Gottfried von der Goltz [ Deutsche Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 10/Nov/1994 ] "I was reminded time and again that Telemann's music is extraordinarily good, and amazed at the quality of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra's performances. This is an unmitigated joy." Gramophone .. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Gerard Poulet (violin) Dominique Merlet (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi Mandala / 4 CD Box Set - released 29/Dec/2001 ] "one immediately feels confident that he's in command, both technically and musically. He chooses consistently brisk or flowing tempos, but never sounds hurried, because his playing has such rhythmic poise" Gramophone (on Gerard Poulet's Bach) |
ANTIONIO VIVALDI
Vivaldi: Il Mondo al rovescio - Concerti con molti istromenti Gli incogniti, Amandine Beyer [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 9/Sep/2022 ] Vivaldi's concerti con molti istromenti are true precursors of the symphony in their amplitude and audacity. In these pieces, the 'Red-haired Priest', a creator of boundless imagination, amused himself by devising literally unheard-of combinations of... |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Cantatas For Bass Matthias Goerne (baritone), Freiburger Barockorchester, Gottfried von der Goltz [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 25/Aug/2017 ] "Freiburg Baroque are at the top of their game: lithe, shapely, tuneful...And the singing? Matthias Goerne is all breath and vowels and gravel and intensity." The Guardian, 17th August 2017 *** |
MANCINI / GERSHWIN
Music For Peter Gunn / Gershwin By Grofé Harmonie Ensemble New York, Steven Richman [ Harmonia Mundi with complete catalogue / 2 CD - released 8/Jan/2016 ] "a fascinating and hugely enjoyable disc." (BBC Music) |
TCHAIKOVSKY / ELLINGTON / STRAYHORN
The Nutcracker Suites Harmonie Ensemble New York, Steven Richman [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 26/Oct/2013 ] Reviving the art of "swinging the classics", Steven Richman and the Harmonie Ensemble/New York present two different versions of the beloved Nutcracker Suite side by side on the same album for the first time: the Tchaikovsky original of 1892,... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Mass in C minor / Masonic Funeral Music in C minor Christiane Oelze, Jennifer Larmore, Scott Weir, Peter Kooy / La Chapelle Royale, Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, Philippe Herreweghe [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 12/Jun/2015 ] "The most gentle rendition of this work that I've ever heard…" (Fanfare) |
DUFAY
O Gemma Lux - Complete Isorhythmic Motets Huelgas Ensemble, Paul van Nevel [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 20/May/2011 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (Pre 1700) - A sumptuous farewell to the musical Middle Ages. |
LASSUS / PALESTRINA / ASHEWELL
La Quinta Essentia Huelgas Ensemble / Paul Van Nevel (conductor) [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 20/Jan/2014 ] "Huelgas Ensemble here produce a really amazing range of sounds, full and rich and yet wonderfully translucent. There can be few better ways to introduce oneself to the music of Thomas Ashewell. Paul van Nevel and his singers mine his expressive... |
LUDWIG DASER
Daser: Polyphonic Masses Huelgas-Ensemble (early music ensemble) Paul Van Nevel [ Deutche Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 6/Oct/2023 ] "this larger ensemble creates a rich, wellbalanced sound which at times I found attractively wistful...I'm already looking forward to the next volume." Gramophone Award WINNER 2023 - Early Music |
COSTANZO FESTA
La Spagna: 32 Variations sur 'La Spagna' Huelgas-Ensemble / Paul Van Nevel (conductor) [ Harmonia Mundi Musique d'abord / CD - released 1/Feb/2015 ] "a remarkable testament to the man's [Festa's] intellectual and imaginative powers." Early Music Review, February 2015 |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Violin Sonatas (with works by Dietrich & Schumann) Isabelle Faust (violin) Alexander Melnikov (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 22/Sep/2015 ] 'The elegance of Brahms's craft is still apparent, especially his ability to create long singing melodic lines of great sweep and complexity.' (Chamber Pick of the Month BBC Music November 2015) |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Sonatas for fortepiano & violin Vol 1. Isabelle Faust (violin) & Alexander Melnikov (fortepiano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 18/Jan/2019 ] "For those attuned to the less refined sound of period instruments, Faust and Melnikov demand to be heard." Gramophone |
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
Schoenberg: Violin concerto / Verklärte Nacht [Transfigured Night] Isabelle Faust (violin) / Daniel Harding, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, A. Tamestit & J-G. Queyras [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 28/Feb/2020 ] "Faust brings a fabulous range of colour and expressive nuance to this music, and Daniel Harding matches her understanding in the way he teases out the wiry orchestral textures around her violin lines." The Guardian Five Stars |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Op. 56 / Piano Trio, Op. 36 Isabelle Faust (violin) Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) Alexander Melnikov (piano) / Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 26/Feb/2021 ] GRAMOPHONE Award Nomination 2021 - Concerto |
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Isabelle Faust plays Bach Isabelle Faust (violin) [ Harmonia Mundi / 8 CD Box Set - released 23/Sep/2022 ] For the past several years, Isabelle Faust has been exploring Johann Sebastian Bach's music for the violin. First came her recording of the solo Sonatas and Partitas, which earned widespread acclaim. It was followed by the sonatas for violin and... |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for solo violin Vol 1 Isabelle Faust (violin) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 10/Mar/2010 ] "Hearing this performance, I was convinced more than ever that Faust is one of the greatest violinists of her generation. Needless to say Harmonia Mundi's recorded sound is beautiful. I cannot wait for the next instalment." (Keith) |