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GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: La Boheme (complete opera directed by Franco Zeffirelli recorded in 2008) Metropolitan Opera / Angela Gheorghiu, Ramon Vargas, Ludovic Tezier, Ainhoa Arteta / Nicola Luisotti (Cond) [ Warner Classics / DVD - released 29/Sep/2008 ] "[Gheorghiu] was superb as Mimì… distinctive and alluring. She sang with extraordinary precision, subtlety, control, nuance, and, above all, musicality" (New York Sun). |
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GAETANO DONIZETTI
DonizettI: Lucia di Lammermoor (complete opera recorded in 1982) Metropolitan Opera / Joan Sutherland, Alfredo Kraus, Pablo Elvira & Paul Plishka / Richard Bonynge (conductor) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 20/Jun/2019 ] With an exhilarating performance of her signature role, Dame Joan Sutherland captivates the audience in this elaborate production of Donizetti's bel canto masterpiece, taped during its celebrated 1982 run at the Metropolitan Opera |
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THE COUPERIN FAMILY
Couperin Dynasty Michael Borgstede, Yago Mahúgo, Massimo Berghella (harpsichords) Simone Pierini (fortepiano) [ Brilliant Classics / 19 CD Box Set - released 5/Jan/2024 ] Admiration for the French composer, harpsichordist and organist, Louis Couperin continues to grow steadily today, but it was not so during his lifetime. The first important edition of his work in modern times catalogues 129 pieces as authentic. |
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W. A. MOZART
Piano Sonatas 1-18 (complete) Michael Endres (piano) [ Oehms Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2011 ] The pianistic refinement and interpretive imagination Michael Endres brings to his Mozart sonata cycle easily ranks alongside leading modern-day contenders... (ClassicsToday.com) |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Mitridate, Rè Di Ponto (complete opera) Michael Spyres, Julie Fuchs, Sabine Devieilhe, Elsa Dreisig, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djia / Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski [ Erato / 3 CD Box Set - released 29/Oct/2021 ] "that this is probably the most successful recording of Mozart's opera we will ever see on disc; there is no doubt in my mind that it is the most exciting by a long stretch." MusicWeb Recommended Jan 2022 |
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PROKOFIEV / LISZT / BEETHOVEN / TCHAIKOVSKY / MENDELSSOHN / DEBUSSY / etc
Kurt Masur - The Complete Warner Classics Edition (Teldec & EMI recordings) Michel Beroff, Boris Berezovsky (piano) Sharom Kam (clarinet) Klaus Konig (tenor) Sylvia McNair (soprano) Sarah Chang (violin), etc / Kurt Masur [ Warner Classics / 70 CD Box Set - released 22/Apr/2022 ] Kurt Masur's achievement is defined above all by his relationships with two orchestras exemplifying vastly different traditions. This 70CD set consolidates the entirety of the catalogues that Masur built for EMI and Teldec between 1974 and 2009. |
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CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Impressions: The Sound of Debussy (LP) Michel Béroff, Samson François, Yuri Egorov (pianos) / Philharmonia Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini / Orchestre de chambre Jean-François Paillard, etc [ Warner Classics / LP - released 5/Mar/2018 ] "Music would take over at the point at which words become powerless, with the one and only object of expressing that which nothing but music could express… I love music passionately. And because I love it I try to free it from barren traditions that... |
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HANDEL
Messiah (Complete oratorio arranged by Mozart) Audrey Michael, Magali Dami, Jard van Nes, Hans Peter Blochwitz / Ensemble Vocal et Instrumental de Lausanne, Michel Corboz [ Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 6/Apr/2009 ] 'There is much to praise in Corboz's realization of Mozart's revision… he has most appealing soloists… the orchestral playing is very stylish…the recording is truthful and well balanced and the acoustics of the Casino de Vevey, Switzerland, are very |
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BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Symphonies transcribed for piano by Franz Liszt Michel Dalberto, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Alain Planès [ Harmonia Mundi / 7 CD ] This box set assembles the complete Beethoven symphonies, patiently transcribed for piano over a quarter of a century and recorded for harmonia mundi by a glittering array of soloists in the late 1980s. Liszt's assiduity in this task reminds us of... |
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JOHANN LUDWIG KREBS
Krebs: Complete Harpsichord Music Michele Benuzzi (harpsichord) [ Brilliant Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 17/Sep/2021 ] This newly recorded 6-CD set contains the complete music for harpsichord by Krebs. Such was the power and influence of Bach that it is inevitable that Krebs' style is strongly inspired by his master. |
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CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saëns: Complete Music for Organ Michele Savino (organ) [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 1/Dec/2021 ] Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) is one of the most important French composers of the nineteenth century, his oeuvre embracing important orchestral and chamber works, as well as works for solo instruments, alongside a few operas and church music.... |
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ERICH ZEISL
Zeisl: Songs by Erich Zeisl, Vol. 2 Michelle DeYoung (mezzo-soprano), Jeremy Reger [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 6/Dec/2024 ] Though he composed in a variety of genres - choral and orchestral works and an opera among them - Erich Zeisl was a consummate Lieder composer whose songs are richly melodic, inventive, and cast in a late Romantic idiom. |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mina Foley and Michael Tarawhiti McGifford Mina Foley / Michael Tarawhiti McGifford with Val Hungerford (piano) [ Ode Records / CD - released 16/Aug/2007 ] This recording is available for the first time on CD and features a selection of fine songs for solo voice along with duets performed by Mina with another NZ great Michael Tarawhiti McGifford. |
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ALLEGRI / LULLY / MOUTON / BENEVOLO CHARPENTIER / etc
Miserere: Classical music for reflection and meditation Oxford Camerata / Le Concert Spirtuel / Capilla Flamenca / Ars Nova [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Apr/2009 ] Classical Music for Reflection and Meditation from the vast Naxos catalogue. |
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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame (complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / Misha Didyk, Alexey Markov, Vladimir Stoyanov / Mariss Jansons (cond) [ C Major Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 9/Mar/2018 ] "Musically, standards are extremely high, led by Mariss Jansons's inspired presence in the pit...Aksenova sings a steely Lisa..Diadkova is remarkable as the Countess - singing rather than growling her role." Gramophone Blu-ray of the Month March 2018 |
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EDVARD GRIEG
Grieg: The Complete Songs [6 CDs special price] Monica Groop (mezzo-soprano), Roger Vignoles, Ilmo Ranta & Love Derwinger (piano) [ BIS / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/2010 ] 'Something of a landmark in the Grieg discography… Monica Groop penetrates the very essence of the Grieg spirit with the artlessness that conceals art', wrote International Record Review |
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BELA BARTOK
Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano Monique Lapins (violin), Jian Liu (piano) [ Rattle Records / CD - released 22/Jul/2022 ] An album of newly recorded works composed by Béla Bartók featuring Monique Lapins (violin) and Jian Liu (piano). |
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CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: Complete Madrigals Le Nuove Musiche, Krun Koetsveld [ Brilliant Classics / 12 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2019 ] This set presents the complete recording of all nine books of Madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi, as performed by Le Nuove Musiche conducted by Krijn Koetsveld. "A polished, well-balanced sound.. consistently musical and intelligent" (Early Music) |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
Giacomo Puccini: The Warner Classics Edition Montserrat Caballé, Jose Carreras, Mirelle Freni, Tito Gobbi, Victoria de los Angeles, Barbara Hendricks, Maria Callas, Angela Gheorghiu, Kiri Te Kana [ Warner Classics / 23 CD Box Set - released 15/Nov/2024 ] Central to this performance is Montserrat Caballé's Turandot, a characterisation of striking subtlety and beauty. As the icy, but alluring princess she confronts the Calaf of José Carreras - heroic, seductive and irresistibly appealing to the slave... |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: La clemenza di Tito (complet opera) Anna Stéphany, Antoinette Dennefeld, Nicky Spence, David Steffens / Opéra de Rouen Haute-Normandie, Ben Glassberg [ Alpha Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 11/Nov/2022 ] Flanked by a spectacular cast featuring the role debuts of Nicky Spence (named 'Personality of the Year' by BBC Music Magazine in 2022) and Simona Šaturová, the conductor Ben Glassberg (Music Director of the Opéra de Rouen Normandie) once again... |