BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Best of Britten (Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Peter Grimes Interludes, Variations on a theme by Frank Bridge) Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields / English Chamber Orchestra / Royal Concertgebouw [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 16/Apr/2002 ] "The bargain-price gems from Eloquence continue with this marvellous selection... first-rate performances and quality sound. Highly recommended." - The Age |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Chamber Music [incls 'Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat, K452'] András Schiff, Andre Previn (piano), Heinz Holliger (oboe), Elmar Schmid (clarinet) / Musikverein Quartet [ Australian Decca SBS Eloquence / CD - released 20/Oct/2014 ] "The wind players are excellent and blend well, while the overall ensemble displays a fine unity. The balance places the piano more backwardly than usual, but no detail of Schiff's playing is lost." (Gramophone on the Quintet) |
W. A. MOZART
Horn Concertos & other works Barry Tuckwell (horn & conductor) / English Chamber Orchestra, with Sheila Armstrong (soprano) [ SBS Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Sep/2013 ] "This is a double celebration: of Mozart and of Barry Tuckwell's artistry … A superlative box." (Hi-Fi News) |
MAURICE RAVEL
Ravel: String Quartet / Piano Trio / Introduction et Allegro Beaux Arts Trio / Carmirelli Quartet / Chamber Music Society of Amsterdam / Eduard van Beinum [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Mar/2006 ] 'this new Beaux Arts performance, even more than their previous one, is most sensitive to the music's ebb and flow, acutely aware of its inventive new combinations of sounds ... the new Beaux Arts recording now becomes the prime recommendation'... |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Chamber Music (Incls Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata, Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, etc) Boston Symphony Chamber Players [ Deutsche Grammophon Australian Eloquence / CD - released 27/Jul/2005 ] 'remarkably transparent [Prelude] ... an attractive collection' (Penguin Guide to CDs) |
RALF YUSUF GAWLICK
Ralf Yusuf Gawlick: O Lungo Drom - An oratorio for soprano, baritone and chamber ensemble Clara Meloni (soprano) Christoph Filler (baritone) / Alban Berg Ensemble Wien [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 22/Mar/2024 ] This large-scale work, scored for a chamber ensemble including soprano, baritone, flute, clarinet, cimbalom, piano and string quartet, integrates texts from all around the world into an oratorio to create a Lied of the scattered Sinti and Roma. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Concerto for 2 & 3 Pianos / Piano Concerto in D minor, KV 466 Daniel Barenboim, Andras Schiff, Sir Georg Solti (pianos) / English Chamber Orchestra [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Feb/2006 ] 'The finale, a kind of rondo-minuet, is delightful, with energetic keyboard work that nevertheless dances' [Concerto for 3 Pianos] Gramophone |
W.A. MOZART
Symphonies Nos. 28, 33, 36 (Linz), 38 (Prague) / Divertimenti Nos. 10 & 11 English Chamber Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Dec/2006 ] Sir Colin Davis and the English Chamber Orchestra made several Mozart recordings for L'Oiseau-Lyre. All five symphonies and both Divertimenti he recorded are collected here on a 2CD set (the Concertone is issued this month too). Crisp and tender,... |
HAYDN / MOZART / HUMMEL
Haydn, Mozart, Hummel: Oboe Concertos Ernest Rombout (oboe) / Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Jul/2005 ] These peerless recordings of Oboe Concertos are despatched with beautiful clarity by Ernest Rombout both playing the oboe and directing the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra. |
PIZZETTI
La Pisanella - Suite / Concerto de l'estate (with works by Respighi and Rota) I Musici / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Lamberto Gardelli / Argo Chamber Orchestra / Laszlo Heltay [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 24/Aug/2006 ] Appearing on CD for the first time, Lamberto Gardelli's Pizzetti recording has been one of the most venerated in the Decca catalogue, not only because the music is comparatively rare, but because the recording is true state-of-the-art. |
GLUCK
Gluck: Opera Arias Janet Baker (mezzo) / English Chamber Orchestra, Raymond Leppard. [ SBS Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 19/Feb/2006 ] "this is in general a thrillingly sung recital of music which, apart from the two arias on which I have concentrated, is not particularly well-known." (MusicWeb Feb 2006) |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Vivaldi: Great Sacred Works (Incls Stabat Mater & Nisi Dominus) Jochen Kowalski (counter-tenor) Nico van der Meel (tenor) / Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra / Vittorio Negri [ ABC Eloquence / CD - released 8/Jul/2005 ] One could be forgiven for being surprised that sacred music does not account for a more substantial proportion of Vivaldi's life's work, especially in view of his having been ordained a priest. The music on this disc, however, presents the 'other'... |
SHOSTAKOVICH / PROKOFIEV / SEIBER
Shostakovich / Prokofiev / Seiber: Chamber Music Melos Ensemble of London, with Peter Pears (narrator) & the Dorian Singers [ Decca ABC Eloquence / CD - released 20/May/2010 ] "(Shostakovich) We all know that the Melos Ensemble is a virtuoso group, but I have never heard them give a clearer demonstration of sheer musicality than this." (Gramophone) |
MOZART / WEBER / BRAHMS
Chamber Music Melos Ensemble of London [ Decca ABC Eloquence / CD - released 20/May/2010 ] "(Mozart) ...a very satisfying performance of the Mozart Clarinet Trio... warranting the very strongest recommendation." Gramophone. |
HOLST
Four Songs for Voice & Piano / Two Carols / Six Canons / etc Peter Pears (tenor) Norbert Brainin (violin) / The Purcell Singers, English Chamber Orchestra, Imogen Holst [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Nov/2011 ] "Throughout the record the Purcell Singers are in splendid form. Miss Holst is a most sensitive conductor, and the choir seems able to reflect every nuance of her intention." (Gramophone) |
BACH / BOCCHERINI / HOFFSTETTER / PACHELBEL / GLUCK / MOZART / etc
Münchinger Miniatures Stuttgarter Kammerorchester [Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra], Karl Munchinger [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] Two Decca LP albums of orchestral miniatures, newly remastered and issued complete for the first time on CD, with a substantial bonus from Karl Münchinger's varied discography. |
GIULIANI / PAGANINI / VIVALDI
Favourite Guitar Concertos Eduardo Fernandez (guitar), Norbert Blume (viola d'amore) / English Chamber Orchestra, George Malcolm [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 20/Mar/2016 ] The growing popularity of the guitar throughout Europe in the late eighteenth century is mirrored in the careers of Paganini, Vivaldi and Mauro Giuliani. |
BERWALD / BORODIN / KREUTZER / MENDELSSOHN / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Romantic Chamber Music (recorded 1968 - 1971) Vienna Octet with Walter Panhofer (piano) [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Mar/2011 ] "full of grace and charm and has all the polish and virtuosity one has come to expect from this ensemble….delicacy and lightness of touch … performances are first-class … The recording is quite superlative. Strongly recommended" (Gramophone) |
RUSSIAN FOLK SONGS
Russian Folk Songs: Songs with orchestra & songs with choir Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone) / Ossipov Russian Folk Orchestra / St.Petersburg Chamber Choir [ ABC Australin Philips Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Jul/2008 ] This double CD set returns two popular CDs to the catalogue - Hvorostovsky performing songs with orchestra and with choir. Winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World, he has gone on to give great performances in operas by Verdi and is unequalled in... |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: Symphonies Nos 44 - 49 [includes 'The Farewell'] English Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim [ Deutache Grammophon Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 21/Aug/2020 ] "These performances are crisp and bright, and the attendant clarity is achieved with seeming ease… Highly recommended.' Fanfare, November 1981 |