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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Dissonance Asmik Grigorian (soprano), Lukas Geniušas (piano) [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 8/Apr/2022 ] "Grigorian is utterly compelling throughout. Even on disc, without the visuals, you can hear how Grigorian lives and breathes each song...Pianist Lukas Geniušas is an equal partner dramatically." Gramophone Award WINNER 2022 - Song |
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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 |
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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 |
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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." |
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THOMAS TALLIS
Tallis: Gaude gloriosa The Cardinall's Musick / Andrew Carwood (director) [ Hyperion / CD - released 10/Aug/2005 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER - Early Music GOLDBERG MAGAZINE 50 DISCS OF THE DECADE |
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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 |
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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 |
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GABRIEL FAURE
Faure: Quintets with Piano Eric Le Sage (piano) / Quatuor Ébène [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 20/Mar/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Chamber |
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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 |
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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 |
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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... |
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EUGENE YSAYE
Ysaye: 6 sonatas for violin solo (LP) Hilary Hahn (violin) [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 LP - released 14/Jul/2023 ] "...her unabashed confidence, her imagination and her ability to present the music as freshminted (she seems to have located a hotline to Ysaÿe's muse) - inclines me towards her recording as the finest currently available." Gramophone |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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... |