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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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DEBUSSY / DUTILLEUX / SCHUBERT / BRITTEN / MOZART / BARTOK / etc
Belcea Quartet - The Complete Warner Classics Edition Belcea Quartet, with Jonathan Lemalu (bass-baritone), Ian Bostridge (tenor), Julius Drake (piano), Leon Bosch (double bass) [ Warner Classics / 11 CD Box Set - released 17/Mar/2023 ] One of today's most highly respected string quartets, the Belcea were established in 1994 at the Royal College of Music in London and studied with the Chilingirian, the Amadeus, and later the Alban Berg quartets. |
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FREDERIC CHOPIN
Chopin: Complete Edition [17 CD set] Alessandro Deljavan, Ewa Kupiec, Vittorio Ceccanti, Lucius Ruhl, Earl Wild, Frank van de Laar, etc [ Brilliant Classics / 17 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2015 ] This 17CD set is the third Chopin Edition by Brilliant Classics, an all-time favourite of one of the most popular and universally loved composers of all times. |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas Bella Hristova (violin), Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Rattle Records / 4 CD - released 26/Apr/2019 ] The complete Beethoven violin sonatas, 33 wonderful pieces of music, performed by two of the greatest Beethoven interpreters working today. Over 4 hours of beautifully produced, expertly performed Beethoven in a handsome 4-CD hard-cover... |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Violin Sonatas Bella Hristova (violin), Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Rattle Records / CD - released 4/Sep/2023 ] The Brahms Violin Sonatas are at the core of the violin and piano duo repertoire. From the exquisitely flowing melodies of the G major sonata to the warm-heartedness of the A major sonata and finally to the vast and turbulent D minor sonata, the music... |
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R. STRAUSS / WAGNER
Waldbühne: A Romantic Opera Night (recorded live in 1999) Ben Heppner (tenor) / Berliner Philharmoniker / James Levine [ ArtHaus Musik DVD / DVD - released 1/Aug/2011 ] Conducted by the celebrated James Levine, the 1999 Waldbühne concert for the Berlin Philharmonic features music by Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner. The orchestra is joined by the accomplished Canadian tenor Ben Heppner, who is renowned for his... |
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JOHN FIELD
Field: Piano Concertos, Nocturnes, Sonatas Benjamin Frith (piano), Northern Sinfonia, David Haslam [ Naxos / 6 CD Box Set - released 25/Jan/2019 ] 'Benjamin Frith has done a stellar job in bringing these concertos into the sunlight, brilliantly supported by the Northern Sinfonia under David Haslam' (Pianist magazine). |
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BEETHOVEN / BENJAMIN / DOWNLAND / JOSQUIN
Resonance Benjamin Hochman [ AVIE / CD - released 1/Nov/2024 ] In his late piano sonatas, Beethoven created music of extraordinary originality, simultaneously looking far into the future and far into the past Pianist Benjamin Hochman pays homage to this Janus-faced aspect with the inclusion of two works from... |
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ARVO PART
Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel (LP) Benjamin Hudson (violin) Sebastian Klinger (cello) Jurgen Kruse (piano) [ Brilliant Classics / LP - released 1/Aug/2023 ] An LP reissue for a critically acclaimed best-seller of the Brilliant Classics catalogue, and an ideal introduction to the unique, meditative world of Arvo Pärt. The gentle piano arpeggios introducing Spiegel im Spiegel calm the pulse and invite... |
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HERBERT HOWELLS
Howells: Stabat Mater / Sine Nomine, Op. 37 / Te Deum Benjamin Hulett (tenor) Alison Hill (soprano) / The Bach Choir & Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, David Hill [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2014 ] "The Bach Choir has a palpable vibrancy in its range and layers of dynamics which are complemented by the extensive and highly sensitive palette of Howells's orchestra...and the incisive solo tenor role of Benjamin Hulett." Gramophone Editor's Choice |
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PURCELL / DEBUSSY / RESPIGHI / TCHAIKOVSKY / SCHUBERT / BRAHMS / SIBELIUS / etc
Sir John Barbirolli - The Complete RCA and Columbia Album Collection Nathan Milstein (violin) , Benny Goodman (clarinet), Robert Casadesus (piano), Nathan Milstein (violin) / New York Philharmonic, Sir John Barbirolli [ Sony Classical / RCA / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2007 ] The young John Barbirolli was hardly known in America when the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra chose him to be Arturo Toscanini's successor starting in 1937. The 36-year-old Londoner's first season was a triumph with both players and... |
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SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: The Symphonies / Scythian Suite / Romeo and Juliet, Suites Nos 1-3 / etc Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton [ BIS SACD / 5 Hybrid SACD - released 3/Sep/2021 ] "Litton and the Bergen players brilliantly point up the wit, elegance and joy of this great work, turning out one of its finest performances on record...this superb set of Prokofiev's symphonies. Highly recommended!" MusicWeb Recommended |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen (complete operas recorded in 2021) BLU-RAY Berlin Opera / Nina Stemme, Iain Paterson, Brandon Jovanovich, Elisabeth Teige / Sir Donald Runnicles (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / 4 Blu-ray Box Set - released 15/Sep/2022 ] "Donald Runnicles leads an impressive account of the score. His deep knowledge of the music comes through in the naturalness of the discourse, the easy communication with the singers and the vibrant colours he draws from the orchestra." Fanfare |
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ANTON BRUCKNER
Bruckner: The Nine Symphonies Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim [ Warner Classics / 9 CD Box Set - released 20/Aug/2021 ] "Daniel Barenboim and the Berlin Philharmonic have given us one of the finest (and certainly the best-recorded) Bruckner Sixths of all time - this represents a major landmark in Brucknerian discography." Fanfare |
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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (complete ballet) (LP) Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle [ Warner Classics LP / 2 LP - released 6/Dec/2024 ] "Some of the tunes are so famous that you even forget that someone had to write them: what could be more perfect than the pas de deux after the Waltz of the Flowers, which is just a G major scale? We fell in love with this music, rehearsing and... |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: The Symphonies, Ein deutsches Requiem & Concertos Berlin & Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, Wilhelm Furtwangler, with Yehudi Menuhin, Edwin Fisher, Willi Boskovsky, etc [ Warner Classics / CD - released 20/Aug/2008 ] Wilhelm Furtwängler saw "a wild, fantastic and even demonic universe" in the symphonies of Brahms. "Music is not something that is invented and constructed," he wrote, "but something that grows, emerging … directly from the hands of nature." With... |
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EDVARD GRIEG
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite Nos.1 & No.2 / Sigurd Jorsalfar (LP) Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon / LP - released 25/Feb/2022 ] "Very impressive indeed. Somehow one feels that one could stretch out and touch the players, so vivid is the sound here." Gramophone |
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DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Complete Symphonies, Piano Concertos & Cello Concertos Berliner Philharmoniker / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons [ Warner Classics / 13 CD Box Set - released 13/Sep/2024 ] Mariss Jansons's complete EMI recordings of Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies, with various top-class orchestras is one of the most ambitious and accomplished discographic projects related to the Russian composer. |
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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Ballet Suites - Sleeping Beauty & Swan Lake (LP) Berliner Philharmoniker, Mstislav Rostropovich [ Deutsche Grammophon Vinyl / LP - released 25/Feb/2022 ] Rostropovich's accounts of the gorgeous Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake Ballet Suites. |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No. 9 [LP] Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir John Barbiroll [ Warner Classics LP / 2 LP - released 4/Apr/2019 ] A magnificent and best-selling version of Mahler's ultimate masterpiece by one of the greatest Mahlerians of the 20th Century. |