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JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann [The Tales of Hoffmann] (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Bregenz Festival / Daniel Johansson, Kerstin Avemo, Mandy Fredrich, Rachel Frenkel, Michael Volle / Johannes Debus (cond) [ C Major BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2016 ] "Johansson's big-voice Hoffmann lacks a genuine pianissimo but phrases elegantly…Fredrich and Frenkel are nicely stylish…playing and choral singing are both excellent" (Gramophone) |
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CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS / SERGEI PROKOFIEV / BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals / Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra / Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf Britten-Pears Orchestra, Marin Alsop (conductor & narrator) [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 8/Nov/2019 ] "I still find good recordings of children's music like this new one on Naxos quite special...this may be the ideal recording in many ways. I thoroughly recommend this totally enjoyable recording." MusicWeb |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Late String Quartets Brodsky Quartet [ Chandos / 3 CD - released 7/Feb/2020 ] "There is no shortage of outstanding recordings of these summits of the quartet repertory... they certainly have their own distinctive virtues...Technically, these performances are immaculate" Guardian |
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DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: String Quartets [complete] (recorded 2016) Brodsky Quartet [ Chandos / 6 CD Box Set - released 16/Oct/2016 ] This new box set with the Brodsky Quartet features Shostakovich's fifteen string quartets at a special price. |
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SHOSTAKOVICH
String Quartets [complete] Brodsky Quartet [ Teldec Warner Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 27/Oct/2003 ] "If you do not presently own a version of these quartets, then the Brodsky would be a very good one as a first set." (Bargain of the Month MusicWeb January 2004) |
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Burton
Story Of British Classical [ Naxos Educational / 2 CD - released 28/Aug/2006 ] |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Late String Quartets (LP) Busch Quartet [ Warner Classics Vinyl / 3 LP - released 1/Jun/2020 ] "Anyone can take a few bars at random and find playing which is a model of style and full of insight … When you listen to the Busch, they always seem for the moment to have found the true and only path." The Gramophone |
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TRADITIONAL
The Cambridge Singers Christmas Album The Cambridge Singers with Stephen Varcoe (baritone); The City of London Sinfonia; directed by John Rutter [ Collegium / CD - released 20/Nov/2003 ] "Rutter has become the musical equivalent of Dickens, synonymous with the season of Christmas." Guardian |
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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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GEOFFREY BUSH
A Christmas Cantata Cardiff Polyphonic Choir and Orchestra [ Saydisc / CD - released 1/Nov/2008 ] The highly regarded Cardiff Polyphonic Choir and Orchestra perform the first commercial recording of Geoffrey Bush's beautiful work "A Christmas Cantata". This popular work features well-known carols in a setting for choir with string orchestra and... |
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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) |
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LUDWIG MINKUS
Minkus: La Bayadère (complete ballet recorded in 2019) BLU-RAY The Royal Ballet / Marianela Nuñez, Vadim Muntagirov, Natalia Osipova / Boris Gruzin (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 21/Feb/2020 ] "A very enjoyable release with a great deal to offer even if you already own another version." MusicWeb April 2020 |
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PROKOFIEV / TCHAIKOVSKY / DELIBES / ADAM / TALBOT / etc
The Royal Ballet - The Collection Carlos Acosta, Tamara Rojo, Edward Watson, Mara Galeazzi, Alina Cojocaru, Marianela Nunez, Darcey Bussell, Wayne McGregor [ Opus Arte Royal Opera House Collection DVD / 15 DVD Box Set - released 10/Nov/2016 ] Celebrating 60 years since the Royal Ballet was awarded its Royal Charter, this magnificent 15-disc collection brings together 22 ballets spanning a decade of dance. |
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CARLOS KLEIBER
Carlos Kleiber - Traces to Nowhere Carlos Kleiber with Placido Domingo, Brigitte Fassbaender, and others [ Arthaus Musik DVD / DVD - released 10/Jun/2011 ] Gramophone Magazine Award WINNER 2011 (DVD Documentary) - |
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JULIAN ANDERSON
Julian Anderson: In lieblicher Bläue / Alleluia / The Stations of the Sun Carolin Widmann (violin) / London Philharmonic Choir & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski [ LPO Live / CD - released 20/May/2017 ] Vladimir Jurowski ensures everything is deftly paced in all three pieces, while the LPO's joyous commitment to new music shines through" BBC Music Magazine Awards 2017 - Premiere Winner |
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J. S. BACH
Mass in B minor Carolyn Sampson, Rachel Nicholls (sopranos) Robin Blaze (alto) Gerd Tark (tenor) / Bach Collegium Japan / Masaaki Suzuki [ BIS SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2007 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD FINALIST 2008 - Baroque Vocal - "Among the handful of best recordings made, regardless of style." (MusicWeb Jan 2008) |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Messiah (complete with bonus CD) Carolyn Sampson (soprano) Catherine Wyn-Rogers (contralto) Mark Padmore (tenor) Christopher Purves (bass) / The Sixteen / Harry Christophers [ Coro / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Oct/2008 ] "a Messiah of splendid vitality and authority, a summation of Christophers's and The Sixteen's Handelian enterprise." International Record Review |
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FRANZ SCHUBERT
Carolyn Sampson: A Soprano's Schubertiade Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Joseph Middleton (piano) [ BIS / CD - released 20/Apr/2018 ] "In this recital of Schubert lieder we hear Carolyn Sampson's voice radiating with a sumptuous full tone. There is such a clarity and body, emphasised on the recording with Joseph Middleton's fine accompaniment on piano." Nicholas Butler/Marbecks |
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PURCELL
Victorious Love Carolyn Sampson (soprano) Lawrence Cummings (harpsichord & spinet) Elizabeth Kenny (archlute & thearbo) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Aug/2007 ] One of the most exciting young sopranos to emerge in recent years, Carolyn Sampson was born in Bedford, studied music at the University of Birmingham and lives in London. She made her opera début with English National Opera as Amor in The Coronation... |