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 |
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 |
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." |
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) |
JOSQUIN DESPREZ
Josquin Desprez: Baisiez Moy Ensemble Theleme, Jean-Christophe Groffe [ Aparté / CD - released 23/Jul/2021 ] 'Not only are the performances all on an extremely high level but there are quite a lot of pieces here that you cannot otherwise hear.' Gramophone Award WINNER 2022 - Early Music |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann: Piano Trios (Nos 1 & 2) The Florestan Trio [ Hyperion 30 / CD - released 1/Oct/2010 ] GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE CLASSIC CD 100 GREATEST DISCS OF THE DECADE |
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 |
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 |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Violin Concerto & Chamber Works Isabelle Faust, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Jakub Hrůša [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 12/Apr/2024 ] "In the Concerto, Faust digs deep and her tone has a visceral immediacy that goes straight to the heart of the music...unafraid and unflinching, and vividly unleashes the passion in these pages with mesmeric power." Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 |
EUGENE YSAŸE
Ysaye: Sonatas For Solo Violin, Op.27 James Ehnes (violin) [ Onyx / CD - released 26/Mar/2021 ] 'Ehnes's 'centrist' approach keeps your attention focused on the music, leaving you to marvel at his technique only after you've stopped listening.' Gramophone Award WINNER 2022 - Instrumental |
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... |
GIOCOMO PUCCINI
The Great Puccini Jonathan Tetelman (tenor) / PKF - Prague Philharmonia, Carlo Rizzi [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 17/Nov/2023 ] 'What a sound! Tetelman's tenor possesses gleaming brightness, and his open vowels and excellent Italian diction make him the sunniest-sounding tenor since Luciano Pavarotti.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 - Voice & Ensemble |
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 |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin Konstantin Krimmel (baritone), Daniel Heide (piano) [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 7/Jul/2023 ] "...beautifully sung, played and recorded - is among the most satisfying and quietly moving to come my way for a long time." Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 - Song |
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) |