PIERRE RODE
Rode: Violin Concertos Nos. 3, 4 & 6 Friedemann Eichhorn (violin) / Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicolás Pasquet [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Nov/2011 ] "These three concertos, all first recordings, are minor masterpieces of their time and place. Though highly taxing for the soloist - even if Friedemann Eichhorn does not let it show - they are hugely entertaining and satisfying for the listener."... |
W. A. MOZART arranged HUMMEL
Mozart/Hummel: Piano Concertos (No 10 KV365 & No 24 KV491) (Arr Hummel) Fumiko Shiraga (piano) Henrik Wiese (flute) Peter Clemente (violin) Tibor Banyi (cello) [ BIS / CD - released 1/Nov/2004 ] In a series BIS loosely calls 'Concertos in Disguise' Fumiko Shiraga continues to offer strikingly novel and interesting versions of well-known piano concertos in chamber arrangements. |
JACEK SZYMANOWSKI
Szymanowski: Litany to the Virgin Mary / Stabat Mater / Symphony No. 3 'Song of the Night' Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano) Agnieszka Rehlis (mezzo) Dmitry Korchak (tenor) Artur RuciĆski (bar) / Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, Jacek Kaspsz [ Warner Classics / CD - released 25/Sep/2017 ] "This huge ensemble is captured in brilliant sound - essential for appreciating the composer's luxuriantly detailed soundworld...[in the Stabat Mater] Kaspszyk ensures that everything is balanced between introversion and dramatic impact" BBC Music |
MODEST MUSSORGSKY / PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY
Galina Vishnevskaya sings Russian Songs Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano) & Mstislav Rostropovich (piano) [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] "Intensity is the keynote of these performances. Mme. Vishnevskaya has a rich dramatic voice of characteristically Slavonic timbre, highly charged emotionally..she is invaluably aided by accompaniments of infinite sensibility by her husband" Gramopho |
BEETHOVEN
Diabelli Variations / 6 Bagatelles Gary Cooper (fortepiano) [ Channel Classics SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 20/Mar/2012 ] |
SCHUBERT
Winterreise D911 Gerald Finley (baritone) & Julius Drake (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 25/Feb/2014 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD NOMINATION 2014 |
J. S. BACH
Bach: St John Passion Gerd Turk, Yoshikazu Mera, Ingrid Schmithusen, Makoto Sakurada, Chiyuki Urano, Peter Kooij / Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki [ BIS / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/1999 ] "What more can I say, other than that I found myself drawn into the drama from the start, at the same time finding much that struck me as fresh in matters of interpretation, and tonality of great beauty. …this is a major recording event, and an emine |
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare: King Lear (recorded live Strafford-Upon-Avon, 2016) Royal Shakespeare Company / Antony Sher, Natalie Simpson, Nia Gwynne, Kelly Williams / Robin Lough (director) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 7/Aug/2017 ] King Lear has ruled for many years. As age begins to overtake him, he decides to divide his kingdom amongst his children, living out his days without the burden of power. |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (complete opera recorded live August 2002) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Anne Sofie von Otter, Laurent Naouri, Marcus Haddock, Lisa Milne / Philippe Jordan (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Dec/2008 ] Blu-Ray - - "(Von Otter's) Carmen has loads of overt sexuality - she languidly glides through the Habanera while sucking on a piece of fruit and then a cigar - and she shows plenty of temperament and fatalism tinged with fear later." (Los Angeles Times) |
GIOACCHINIO ROSSINI
Rossini: La Cenerentola [Cinderella] (complete opera directed by Peter Hall in 2005) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Raquela Sheeran / Lucia Cirillo / Ruxandra Donose / Nathan Berg / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2008 ] DVD Blu-Ray - "The BD disc offers an excellent reproduction of the "live" experience that will surely warm the hearts of those who cannot make it to the opera house often enough." (Blu-Ray.com) |
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 *** |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (Complete Opera recorded at the New Zealand Festival 2000) Gordon Hawkins, Vladimir Vaneev, Yaron Windmuller, Nuccia Focile / New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus, Marco Guidarini [ Trust / 2 CD Box Set - released 25/Feb/2006 ] Verdi's sombre and powerful operatic masterpiece, with its themes of love, hate, treachery and reconciliation, is brought to life in this production from the 2000 New Zealand Festival, featuring the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Chapman... |
GARETH FARR
Farr: Horizon: Piano Music Henry Wong Doe (piano) [ Morrison Trust New Zealand / CD - released 10/Aug/2012 ] Horizon showcases the vibrant and beautiful piano music of Gareth Farr. From the exotic sonorities of Indonesian gamelan to the more impressionistic influence of Olivier Messiaen, with echoes of Prokofiev and Shostakovich, this recording reveals... |
CACCINI / MONTEVERDI / SCHEIDT / LULLY / etc
La Barcha d'Amore (1563-1685) Hesperion X11. La Capella Reial de Catalunya. Jordi Savall, direction (with Montserrat Figueras, soprano) [ Alia Vox / CD - released 10/Oct/2009 ] "…there's a surprising homogeneity of sound and style throughout - testament to Figueras and Savall's innate musicality, artistic vision and spiritual harmony in a lifetime of collaboration and discovery." BBC Music Magazine, September 2009 **** |
FRANZ ANTON HOFFMEISTER / BEETHOVEN
Duos for Violin & cello John Mills (violin) & Bozidar Vukotic (cello) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Apr/2016 ] Anton Hoffmeister was active in Vienna both as a composer and a publisher, becoming closely associated with Mozart and including works by Beethoven amongst his editions. The combination of violin and cello had its appeal for the amateur market,... |
RICHARD HARVEY
John Williams & Richard Harvey's World Tour "Message to the Future" John Williams (guitar) [ Altus Records DVD / DVD - released 20/Mar/2015 ] The World Tour - Closing performance |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) / Wiener Philharmoniker, Jonathan Nott [ Sony Classical / CD - released 22/Apr/2017 ] "played with shimmering detail by the Vienna Philharmonic...As expected, Kaufmann is glorious in the tenor songs. In those for lower voice he sings with the same, unaffected sensitivity...An interesting, one-off experiment." Financial Times *** |
JONATHAN BESSER
Mr Darwin's Dances Jonathan Besser [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 30/May/2000 ] Mr. Darwin's Dances / Precious Legacy Suite. A personal geography of the imagination... |
CHARLES IVES
Ives: Concord Sonata Joonas Ahonen (piano), Pekka Kuusisto (violin) [ BIS / CD - released 1/Sep/2017 ] Charles Ives's 'Concord Sonata' is often described as one of the greatest of American piano works. Published in 1920, at the composer's own expense, it contains radical experiments in harmony and rhythm and would have to wait until 1939 for its first... |
DUKAS
Dukas: Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (Recorded live at Gran Teatre del Liceu, June & July 2011) BLU-RAY Gran Teatre del Liceu / José van Dam, Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet / Stéphane Denève (conductor) & Claus Guth (director) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Feb/2013 ] Stéphane Denève is universally acclaimed for his interpretation of French repertoire. |