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 |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Sacred and Profane Polyphony, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 20/Feb/2013 ] "The programme is delightful and the choir excellent… this has to be one of the strongest winners of the choral award in recent years" (Gramophone) |
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 |
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 |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Jonas Kaufmann - Verismo Arias Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) / Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano [ Decca Music Group / CD - released 2/Oct/2010 ] "Kaufmann has entered this world most completely. His Italian is good, as are his desire and ability to project clearly differentiated characters. He is never afraid to sing softly...and there is plenty of power when needed." Gramophone Award WINNER... |
ORLANDO GIBBONS
Gibbons: Phantasm Susanna Pell (tenor viol), Asako Morikawa (bass viol) / Phantasm [ Linn ECHO / CD - released 1/Dec/2014 ] Gramophone Awards 2004 Winner - Early Music |
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 |
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) |
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 |
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 |
HENRI DUTILLEUX / ARNOLD SCHOENBERG / RAPHAEL MERLIN
'round Midnight Quatuor Ébène, with Antoine Tamestit (viola) and Nicolas Altstaedt (cello) [ Erato Classics / CD - released 15/Oct/2021 ] "With sound of unsparing immediacy and Merlin's typically provocative notes, this release testifies to the Ébène's ambition and, moreover, its attainment." Gramophone Award WINNER 2022 - Chamber |
FELIX & FANNY MENDELSSOHN
Play Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn Quatuor Ebene [ Virgin Classics / CD - released 1/May/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 2013: Chamber |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 MusicAeterna, Teodor Currentzis [ Sony Classical / CD - released 12/Jun/2020 ] "In this most celebrated of symphonies the players sound at times as though they might explode with excitement." BBC Music Orchestral recording of the Month July 2020 |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Songs Stephan Genz (baritone) Roger Vignoles (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 19/Sep/2003 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 1999 PREIS DER DEUTSCHEN SCHALLPLATTENKRITIK |
MUSSORGSKY
Pictures at an Exhibition (piano version) [with piano pieces by Prokofiev] Steven Osborne (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Feb/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 2013: Instrumental |
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 |
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 |
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 |