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JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: Cello Concertos in D & C (LP) Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) / Academy St Martin in the Fields, Iona Brown [ Warner Classics / LP - released 22/Mar/2024 ] "A quite extraordinary achievement. Marvellously expressive cello playing. The orchestra gives splendid support and the sound is warm and ingratiating" (Gramophone) |
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JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Bach: The French Suites Murray Perahia (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 2/Dec/2016 ] "...I've only had this recording for five days but I predict a long and happy future in its company." Gramophone award WINNER 2017 - Instrumental |
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GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN
Telemann: Tafelmusik (complete) (Rec 2003) Musica Amphion / Pieter-Jan Belder (conductor) [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD - released 26/Aug/2005 ] "There is plenty of variety and colour and moments...Characterisation of the various movements, whether Francophile or Vivaldian is acutely judged and the rewards are uniform - and lasting." (Musicweb) |
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J. S. BACH
Bach: Brandenburg & Violin Concertos / Orchestral Suites Musica Amphion, P.J. Belder / Amsterdam Bach Soloists, Thomas Zehetmair (violin) / Netherlands Bach Ensemble [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] ."Zehetmair is by no means just a brilliant violinist; he is a very sincere musician...This is a most rewarding reissue. Even those lovers of baroque music who usually avoid modern instrument performances, should consider this disc." MusicWeb |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Requiem (LP) Simone Kermes, Stephanie Houtzeel, Markus Brutscher / MusicAeterna / New Siberian Singers, Teodor Currentzis [ Alpha Classics / 2 LP - released 23/Aug/2019 ] Mozart's Requiem is a supreme masterpiece of the history of music and a work inextricably bound up with the Mozartian legend. Now Alpha's recording of it under the direction of Teodor Currentzis is given a new lease of life in a vinyl reissue. A... |
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RACHMANINOV
Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28 (with Tchaikovsky - The Seasons) Olli Mustonen (piano) [ Ondine SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 2/Oct/2006 ] |
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SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Cinderella (Complete ballet recorded in 2012) Muziektheater, Amsterdam / Anna Tsygankova, Matthew Golding, Larissa Lezhnina, Megan Zimny Gray / Ermanno Florio (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Oct/2013 ] "After a convoluted start, Christopher Wheeldon's narrative offers magic in every sphere - design, choreography, and orchestra. Anna Tsyganova's Cinderella is charming." BBC Music Magazine, Christmas Issue 2013 **** |
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RICHARD STRAUSS
Salome (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Nadja Michael, Michael Volle, Michaela Schuster, Thomas Moser / Philippe Jordan [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2010 ] "Nadia Michael… is an attractive Salome, moving like a dancer, as physically unafraid as she is vocally… Michael Volle is an imposing, rich-toned Narraboth" (Gramophone) |
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Natalia Osipova with various artists & various ballet companies
Natalia - Force of Nature: Portrait of dance superstar Natalia Osipova BLU-RAY [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 20/Feb/2020 ] An in-depth portrait of dance superstar Natalia Osipova directed by BAFTA winning filmmaker Gerry Fox. Force of Nature Natalia follows a season in the life of dance superstar Natalia Osipova. . |
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BELLINI / OFFENBACH / MOZART / DELIBES / MONTEVERDI / DONIZETTI / etc
Natalie Dessay: The Opera Singer [33 CD & 19 DVDs] Natalie Dessay, with Francesco Meli, Jose Van Dam, Patricia Petibon, Sara Mingardo, Kathleen Kim, Ian Bostridge, Veronique Gens, and others [ Erato / Warner Classics / 52 CD Box Set - released 26/Feb/2021 ] "Dessay's performance is simply jaw-dropping.' BBC Music Magazine Award Finalist 2008: Opera [La Sonnambula] |
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TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20 (The Royal Swedish Ballet) Nathalie Nordquist, Anders Nordström, Marketta Kaila, Christian Rambe Royal Swedish Ballet, Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra, Michel Quéval [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 8/Nov/2002 ] This stunning production by The Royal Swedish Ballet, produced by Ross MacGibbon, stars Nathalie Nordquist as Odette/Odile and Anders Nordström as Prince Siegfried. Choreographer Peter Wright stages Swan Lake as a romantic Gothic tragedy. This... |
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JOSEF HAYDN
Trumpet Concerto / Cello Concerto / Double Horn Concerto Georges Barboteu, Gilbert Coursier (horns) Andre Navarra (cello) Maurice Andre (trumpet) / Orchestre de Chambre Radiodiffusion Sarroise, Jean-Francois [ Warners Classical The Erato Story / CD - released 10/Apr/2012 ] |
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VINCENZO BELLINI
Bellini: Norma (the complete opera, recorded in 2005) Netherlands Opera / Hasmik Papian / Hugh Smith / Irini Tsirakidis / Julian Reynolds (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 7/Nov/2006 ] G :- "Conductor Julian Reynolds extensively studied Bellini's score in manuscript and introduces lots of surprising details." -De Telegraaf |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Complete Symphonies & Serenades Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden [ Brilliant Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] "This is an unfailingly warm-hearted, full-blooded Brahmsian sound and seems to represent a genuine attempt at redirecting the modern symphony orchestra towards the sort of sound-mix Brahms himself is likely to have heard." MusicWeb |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 / Five Ruckert-Lieder (LP) New Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, Janet Baker (mezzo) [ Warner Classics Vinyl / 2 LP - released 5/Nov/2021 ] "… an interpretation of commitment and intensity and the recording is one of the finest I have heard from EMI." Gramophone |
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LEOPOLD MOZART
Mozart, (L.): Symphonies New Zealand Chamber Orchestra. Donald Armstrong, conductor [ Naxos 18th Century Symphony / CD - released 18/Aug/2002 ] "Clean, vital playing" (BBC Music Magazine) |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Semele (Blu-ray) Emma Pearson, Amitai Pati, Sarah Castle, Paul Whelan / New Zealand Opera Chorus, Holy Trinity Cathedral Choir, NZ Opera Baroque Orchestra, Peter Walls [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 21/Jul/2023 ] "Amitai Pati is the pick of the bunch. The Samoan tenor is an outstanding Jupiter, bright-toned and fullvoiced, lyrical lines anchored by enough weight to make this reluctant smiter believable as both lover and thug." Gramophone |
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PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: The Queen Of Spades & Voyevoda: Orchestral Suites arranged by Peter Breiner New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Peter Breiner [ Naxos / CD - released 29/Apr/2013 ] Slovak-born composer and conductor Peter Breiner has received considerable international acclaim for his adaptations, and his Tchaikovsky arrangements are particularly impressive examples of his art. He has already arranged The Seasons (8553510) and... |
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WEBER
Overtures (Incls 'Euryanthe' & 'Der Freischutz') New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / Antoni Wit [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Jan/2009 ] "Weber was a great tunesmith, and some of his overtures were on the same level of popularity (in the time before pervasive aural garbage) with William Tell, 1812 and the like. Polish-born and trained conductor Wit I'm sure is familiar with the... |
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MiECZYSLAW KARLOWICZ
Symphonic Poems, Vol. 2 (Incls 'Powracajace fale') New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / Antoni Wit (Conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Nov/2008 ] Mieczysław Karłowicz's six symphonic poems, composed between 1904-09, are the pinnacles of a career tragically ended when he perished in an avalanche during a solitary mountain hike. His fame as one of the outstanding Polish composers of his... |