DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Symphony No 10 / Passacaglia from 'Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk' Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons [ Deutsche Grammophon Shostakovich Under Stalin's Shadow / CD - released 12/Sep/2015 ] "Powerful and beautifully crafted, this recording - the first from the relationship between DG and the Boston Symphony under Nelsons - is a hugely impressive sign of just what this ensemble/maestro partnership may go on to achieve." Gramophone WINNER |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS / HERBERT HOWELLS / FREDERICK DELIUS / SIR EDWARD ELGAR
Music for Strings John Wilson, Sinfonia Of London [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Feb/2023 ] "I expect it has been said before, but the Sinfonia of London belongs in the Formula 1 class of orchestras, and in this repertoire sits in pole position." Gramophone Award Finalist 2023 - Orchestral |
FRANCESCO CAVALLI
Ombra mai fu: Francesco Cavalli Opera Arias Philippe Jaroussky (counter-tenor) / Ensemble Artaserse, with Emöke Baráth (soprano) [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 15/Mar/2019 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 WINNER - Recital |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: String Quintets K.515 & 516 Quatuor Ébène, with Antoine Tamestit (viola) [ Erato / CD - released 17/Mar/2023 ] "While it's always dangerous to nominate an outright 'winner' in this inexhaustible music, the Ébène are second to none in colour and vitality, and unrivalled in their lyrical tenderness. For me they become a new benchmark." Gramophone Award Finalist |
SAINT-SAENS / FAURE / BERLIOZ / MASSENET etc
Sandrine Piau - Si j'ai aimé Sandrine Piau (soprano) / Le Concert de la Loge, Julien Chauvin [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 24/May/2019 ] Gramophone Awards 2020 WINNER - Recital BBC Music Award Finalist 2020 |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier Books 1 & 2 Andras Schiff (piano) [ ECM New Series / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2012 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Instrumental |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Goldberg Variations Beatrice Rana (piano) [ Warner Classics / CD - released 1/Mar/2017 ] "Her detailing is one of the aspects that makes this performance so compelling, be it the bringing out of a new line in the repeat, subtle changes in phrasing, a touch of pedal - examples are to be found in every single variation." Gramophone |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann - Myrthen Christian Gerhaher (baritone), Camilla Tilling (soprano), Gerold Huber (piano) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 18/Oct/2019 ] "Certainly a top choice for this wonderful cycle." Gramophone Awards 2020 Short List - Solo Vocal |
HUGO WOLF
Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch Diana Damrau (soprano), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Helmut Deutsch (piano) [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 11/Jan/2019 ] "We're presented with a welcome alternation of moods which beautifully showcase these musicians' enormous expressive versatility." BBC Music Choral & Song Choice April 2019 |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Ode for St Cecilia's Day Dunedin Consort, John Butt (Director), Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Ian Bostridge (tenor), Polish Radio Choir [ Linn Records / CD - released 12/Oct/2018 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 - Choral |
GABRIEL FAURE
Faure: Quintets with Piano Eric Le Sage (piano) / Quatuor Ébène [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 20/Mar/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Chamber |
GABRIELI / BENDINELLI / etc
A New Venetian Coronation, 1595 Gabrieli Consort and Players, Paul McCreesh [ Signum Records / CD - released 20/Aug/2012 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 2013: Early Music |
LEOPOLD GODOWSKY
Godowsky: The Complete Studies on Chopin's Etudes Marc-Andre Hamelin (piano) [ Hyperion / 2 CD - released 12/Jun/2000 ] "It is quite stunning, an extraordinary schievement even by Hamelin's own standards. No one with an interest in the piano should pass this by." Rosette (Highest Rating) - Penguin Stereo Guide |
THOMAS ADES
Adès Conducts Adès Mark Stone (baritone), Kirill Gerstein (piano), Christianne Stotijn (mezzo-soprano), Boston Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Adès [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 28/Feb/2020 ] "...for proof that Adès does what he does with mind-boggling brilliance, look no further." Gramophone Awards 2020 WINNER - Contemporary |
MOZART / MEHUL / OFFENBACH / LEONCAVALLO / LEHAR / WAGNER / RAVEL / etc
Michael Spyres - BariTenor Michael Spyres (baritone/tenor) / Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg, Marko Letonja, Choeur d'hommes de l'Opéra national du Rhine [ Erato Classics / CD - released 1/Oct/2021 ] "The range of roles is astonishing, but then so are these performances...Spyres really is a tenor - and a baritone, it seems - who has the operatic world at his feet." Gramophone Award WINNER 2022 - Vocal & Ensemble |
LEOS JANACEK
Janácek: The diary of one who disappeared & other works Nicky Spence (tenor), Julius Drake (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 28/Jun/2019 ] "Not only does Spence's voice offer a rare mix of steely strength and velvety tenderness but his bright, vibrant timbre communicates a touching, wide-eyed sense of ardent longing, tinged with melancholy." Gramophone Awards 2020 WINNER - Solo Vocal |
CHARLES-VALENTIN ALKAN
Alkan: Concerto and Symphony for Solo Piano Paul Wee (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] "What is almost incredible is that the soloist Paul Wee is not a professional pianist but a highly successful international commercial London lawyer." Gramophone Awards 2020 Short List - Instrumental |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier - Book II [excerpts] Piotr Anderszewski (piano) [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 29/Jan/2021 ] GRAMOPHONE Award WINNER 2021 - Piano |
FREDERICK DELIUS
Delius: Sea Drift / Cynara (with Holst - The Hymn of Jesus) Roderick Williams (baritone) / Hallé Choir & Hallé Youth Choir, Halle Orchestra, Mark Elder [ Halle / CD - released 15/Nov/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD NOMINATION 2014 |
GEORGE BENJAMIN
Benjamin: Written on Skin (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Christopher Purves, Barbara Hannigan, Bejun Mehta, Victoria Simmonds / George Benjamin (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Aug/2014 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2014 - Contemporary |
GIACHES DE WERT
Giaches de Wert: Divine Theatre - Sacred Motets Stile Antico [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Mar/2017 ] "It is a testament to Werts's emotional immediacy that this album is one of their (Stile Antico's) most engaging recording; polyphony to grab one's attention rather than to carpet a devotional daydream" Gramophone Award Nomination 2017 - Early Music |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Late Quartets Opus 95, 127, 130-133, 135 Takacs Quartet [ Decca Records / 3 CD Box Set - released 12/Dec/2004 ] "Excellent recordings too: sonorous, and with well-judged sense of four-voices-in-one. It doesn't feel all risky to say that this is probably the finest modern set of these great quartets." (BBC) |
JOSEF HAYDN
Haydn: Piano Trios [Nos 14, 18, 21, 26 & 31] Trio Wanderer [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 20/Apr/2018 ] "There is enough clarity around each instrument to make every line audible, which hasn't necessarily been the case in the Wanderer's previous recordings of Romantic music" Gramophone Editor's Choice June 2018 |
FROBERGER / CASPAR / COUPERIN / MUFFAT / etc
Pour passer la Melancolie Andreas Staier (anon. French harpsichord, late 17th century, Joseph Collesse, 1749, restored by Laurent Soumagnac 2000-4) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 20/Feb/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 2013: Baroque Instrumental |
JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Tapiola / En Saga / Eight Songs Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) / Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu (conductor) [ Ondine SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 24/Aug/2017 ] "Lintu's Tapiola does indeed settle into one of the finest performances on record, reconciling the obvious with the mysterious...Again, [En Saga] is a superb performance: rich down below, perky up top, full of delectable solos" Gramophone |
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
J.S. Bach: St Matthew Passion Benjamin Bruns, Christian Immler, Carolyn Sampson, Damien Guillon, etc / Bach Collegium Japan chorus & orchestra / Masaaki Suzuki [ BIS SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 7/Feb/2020 ] "The musicians convey it with infectious zeal...Generic early music politesse is relegated to the shadows" Gramophone Awards 2020 WINNER - Choral |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 3 / Piano Quintet Belcea Quartet, Piotr Anderszewski (piano) [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 20/Apr/2018 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 - Chamber |
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: Selva morale e spirituale (complete) Cantus Calln / Junghanel [ Harmonia Mundi Heritage / 3 CD - released 20/Aug/2015 ] Gramophone Award Winner 2002: Baroque vocal - "This set is a remarkable achievement. Anybody at all interested in Monteverdi's music will want to own it." |
THOMAS TALLIS
Tallis: Gaude gloriosa The Cardinall's Musick / Andrew Carwood (director) [ Hyperion / CD - released 10/Aug/2005 ] Gramophone Magazine Award Finalist 2006 - "The Cardinall's Musick - a group specialising in music of the English Renaissance - excel themselves here. The singing is radiant, warm and luminous with the individual winding strands of voices clear and... |
WILLIAM BYRD
Byrd Edition Vol 10: Laudibus in sanctis The Cardinall's Musick / Andrew Carwood [ Hyperion / CD - released 23/Nov/2006 ] 'If, according to Burney, the Mannheim orchestra of 1772 was 'an army of Generals', the Cardinall's Musick of 2006 is surely 'an exaltation of larks'... Performances of exquisite perfection' (International Record Review) |
BRETT DEAN
Dean: Hamlet (Complete opera recorded in 2018) Glyndebourne Opera / Allan Clayton, Sarah Connolly, Barbara Hannigan, Rod Gilfry / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Jun/2019 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 WINNER - Contemporary |
WAGNER
Siegfried (complete opera) (Recorded in stereo live at the 1955 Bayreuth Festival) Hans Hotter, Astrid Varnay, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gustav Neidlinger / Bayreuth Festival Orchestra / Joseph Keilberth [ Testament / 4 CD - released 1/Mar/2006 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2006: Historic - "I keep relistening to Keilberth's forging scene closing Act I. Keilberth naturally unfolds the lyrical strength of full rich Bayreuth strings, basses and timps deepen and gather force, Mime animates... |
JOSEF HAYDN
Project Haydn 2032 - Vol. 4 'Il distratto' Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini [ Alpha / CD - released 8/Aug/2017 ] "The orchestral playing is breathtaking in its accuracy -the sort of Haydn playing you dream of…this may well become the period-instrument Haydn cycle by which all others are measured." Gramophone Award WINNER 2017 - Orchestral |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Lieder (Incls Zueignung, Morgen! & Ruhe, meine Seele) Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) Helmut Deutsch (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 16/Aug/2006 ] The name of Richard Strauss immediately conjures up thoughts of operas and large-scale symphonic works; but we tend to underestimate his lieder, a genre to which the composer devoted no fewer than 205 pieces! Like a glorious sunset culminating in the... |
MAGNUS LINDBERG
Lindberg: Clarinet Concerto / Gran Duo / Chorale Kari Kriikku (clarinet) / Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo (conductor) [ Ondine / CD - released 26/Jan/2006 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2006: Contemporary - "A marvellous vehicle for the amazing virtuosity of clarinettist Kari Kriikku, this is a shiny, sophisticated, nostalgic cultural artefact... a stunning disc." BBC Music Magazine |
MAURICE RAVEL
Ravel: The Piano Concertos / Valses nobles et sentimentales (orchestral version) Krystian Zimerman (piano) Cleveland Orchestra / London Symphony / Pierre Boulez [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 20/Jul/2001 ] 1999 Gramophone Award Winner: Concerto - A Penguin Stereo Guide Rosette recording |
JOHN CAGE
Cage: Choral Works Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava (conductor) [ Ondine / CD - released 19/Aug/2022 ] "one is unsurprised by the unconventionality but taken aback by the richness and variety of the final musical result. It must be said as well that the singers sound as though they are enjoying themselves enormously." Gramophone Award WINNER 2023 |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony no. 2 in c minor 'Resurrection' Lisa Milne / Birgit Remmert / Budapest Festival Orchestra / Ivan Fischer [ Channel Classics SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 20/Oct/2006 ] "This Budapest band have reserves aplenty, and the cumulative effect is overwhelming. As all good performances of this work must be. I listened to it three times in three days." (Gramophone Magazine Recording of the Month Awards Issue 2006) |
RALF VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 2 'London' [Original Version] (with Butterworth-The Banks of Green Willow) London Symphony Orchestra / Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 10/May/2004 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER, Orchestral and Recording of the Year |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: Phantasy Quintet / String Quartets Nos.1 & 2 Maggini String Quartet [ Naxos / CD - released 1/May/2001 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER: Chamber - Rosette [highest rating] - Penguin Stereo Guide |