GERSHWIN / GROFE / HAYDN / BEETHOVEN / STRAVINSKY / BERNSTEIN / MAHLER / DVORAK
Leonard Bernstein: 10 Album Classics Original New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein, Broadway Casts, Dietrich Fischer Dieskau (baritone) [ Sony Classical / 11 CD Box Set - released 7/Jul/2023 ] The re-masterings in this new collection are the best ever issued of these thrilling recordings by one of the last century's greatest musicians, selected from the vast Bernstein catalogue. |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Handel: 12 Concerti Grossi Op 6 / Water Music / Music for the Royal Fireworks Orpheus Chamber Orchestra [ DG Trio / 3 CD Box Set - released 11/Sep/2002 ] "The conductorless Orpheus Chamber Orchestra are little short of superlative in polished and alive performances that sweep the board ... The recording is in the demonstration bracket." The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs, 2001 reviewing "Fireworks"... |
BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / MOZART / MENDELSSOHN / WAGNER / etc
Otto Klemperer - The Warner Classics Remastered Edition Otto Klemperer (conductor) with Daniel Barenboim, Alan Civil, Yehudi Menuhin, Janet Baker, Dennis Brain, Annie Fischer, Christa Ludwig, etc [ Warner Classics / 95 CD Box Set - released 2/Jun/2023 ] The German-born conductor Otto Klemperer, a towering figure in the musical history of the 20th century, died at the age of 88 on July 8th 1973, so 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of his death. |
BEETHOVEN / SCHUBERT / BOCCHERINI / HAYDN / etc
Pablo Casals - The Philips Legacy Pablo Casals (cello/conductor) with Mieczysław Horszowski (piano), Sándor Végh (violin), Ensemble of 102 Cellos, etc [ Decca Eloquence / 7 CD Box Set - released 28/Jul/2022 ] The late chamber recordings made by the great Catalan cellist with longstanding friends and colleagues, including two versions of Beethoven's 'Ghost' Trio, the 1956 'Hommage à Pablo Casals' LP, and the Schubert String Quintet with the Végh Quartet. |
MAURICE RAVEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Ravel: Orchestral Works / Piano Concertos / L'Enfant et les Sortileges / Sheherazade Pascal Roge (piano) / Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, Charles Dutoit [ Decca / 4 CD Box Set - released 10/Oct/2005 ] "This is self-recommending beautifully played and beautifully recorded." (Gramophone on the Piano Concertos) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Sonatas / Piano Concertos / Diabelli variations Paul Lewis (piano) / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek [ Harmonia Mundi / 14 CD - released 25/Oct/2019 ] |
BACH / R. STRAUSS / BEETHOVEN / FAURE / TCHEREPNIN / MENDELSSOHN / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Paul Tortelier: The Great EMI Recordings [20 CD set] Paul Tortelier (cello) with Aldo Ciccolini, Eric Heidsieck, Yehudi Menuhin, Royal Philharmonic, New Philharmonia, London Symphony [ EMI Budget Boxes / 20 CD Box Set - released 20/Feb/2010 ] Gramophone Magazine Reissue of the Month May 2010 - "Tortelier's many admirers will find here much that has slipped through the net; merits the highest admiration" (MusicWeb May 2010) |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Parsifal (Complete Opera recorded in 1979/80) Peter Hofmann, Dunja Vejzovic, Kurt Moll, José van Dam, Siegmund Nimsgern / Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon / 4 CD Box Set - released 4/Jun/2021 ] The finest of all the principal singers is surely the Gurnemanz of Kurt Moll, a wonderful blend of bel canto and Lieder singing, the voice a true bass, perfectly poised and projected, finely nuanced, ever attentive to the colour and meaning of words |
MAURICE RAVEL / ANTONIN DVORAK / RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Orchestral Works (3 CD set) Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy / Munich Philharmonic, Rudolf Kempe [ Sony Essential Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2004 ] A definitive collection of nine favourite works from three of the world's greatest composers. 220 minutes. |
GERSHWIN / RODRIGO / VIVALDI / RAVEL / RACHMANINOV / GIULIANI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rodrigo/Gershwin/Ravel/Rachmaninov: Concertos Philippe Entremont (piano), John Williams (guitar) / English Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra [ Sony Classical Concertos / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2009 ] .This special edition collects three highly regarded recordings on the Sony label. All three CDs features top selling soloists and world famous orchestras.. |
C. P. E. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach, (C.P.E.): Preussische und Württembergische Sonaten [3 CD set] Pieter-Jan Belder (harpsichord and clavichord) [ Brilliant Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2012 ] Fifth son of Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel was in his time even more celebrated than his father. |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Famous Concertos [Includes 'Brandenburg Concertos'] Thomas Zehetmair (violin), Amsterdam Bach Soloists / Pieter-Jan Belder, Musica Amphion / Erik Bosgraaf, Ensemble Cordevento [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 22/Jan/2021 ] "This is a most rewarding reissue. Even those lovers of baroque music who usually avoid modern instrument performances, should consider this disc at budget price." (MusicWeb Sept 2013 Violin Concertos) |
RAVEL / MOZART / MUSSORGSKY / R. STRAUSS / WAGNER / BACH / BRAHMS / etc
Fritz Reiner - The Complete Columbia Album Collection Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Columbia Broadcasting Concert Orchestra, Columbia String Ensemble, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Fritz Reiner [ RCA / Sony Classical / 14 CD Box Set - released 11/Jun/2020 ] Limited 14CD set. When the 50-year-old Fritz Reiner was appointed conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1938, he was still relatively unfamiliar in his adopted American homeland. This pupil of Bartók at the Academy of Music in his native... |
BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / BRUCKNER / TCHAIKOVSKY / WAGNER / COPLAND / etc
William Steinberg - Complete Command Classics Recordings Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg [ Deutsche Grammophon / 17 CD Box Set - released 29/Mar/2024 ] "Considering the sheer quantity and quality of music on offer, this collection represents excellent value." The Classic Review |
VERDI / BIZET / MOZART / PUCCINI / HANDEL / STRAUSS / WAGNER
150 Years Of Wiener Staatsoper: Great Opera Evenings (Limited Edition) Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Carlos Álvarez, Johan Botha, Angelika Kirchschlager, Brigitte Fassbaender, Wiener Staatsopernorchester [ Arthaus DVD / 11 DVD Box Set - released 2/Aug/2019 ] Limited Edition - Experience four decades of opera history from the Wiener Staatsoper on 11 DVDs. 150 Years Vienna State Opera means 150 years of impressive opera events featuring the greatest conductors of all time, and, high-class opera stars. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Complete opera) Price - Kollo - Fassbaender - Fischer-Dieskau - Moll. Rundfunkchor Leipzig Staatskapelle Dresden. Carlos Kleiber [ Deutsche Grammophon Originals / 3 CD Box Set - released 19/Apr/2005 ] If ever a recording has become legendary, this is it - the last time that Carlos Kleiber (1930-2004) ever entered a recording studio. This release will commemorate the 75th anniversary of his birth in 2005. |
DEBUSSY / BEETHOVEN / PROKOFIEV / SCHUMANN / MOZART / BRAHMS / etc
Quartetto Italiano: Prima la musica - The Complete Warner Recordings Quartetto Italiano [ Warner Classics / 14 CD Box Set - released 11/Jun/2021 ] "The finest string quartet, unquestionably, that our century has known." In 1951, when the Quartetto Italiano first visited the USA, composer Virgil Thomson's was enthused: "Perfection is the only word to describe this playing." |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Claude Debussy: The Complete Works Quatuor Ebene, Martha Argerich, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Samson François, Renaud Capuçon, Natalie Dessay, André Cluytens, François-Xavier Roth, etc [ Warner Classics / 33 CD Box Set - released 13/Feb/2018 ] This 33-CD set, comprising outstanding recordings selected by Debussy experts, exemplifies the depth and breadth of the Warner Classics catalogue and the label's commitment to producing comprehensive landmark editions of the highest quality. |
BACH / GABRIELI / HANDEL / MOZART / VIVALDI / etc
Canadian Brass: from Monteverdi to Mozart [5 CD set] Canadian Brass [ Sony Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Sep/2011 ] This album is a re-issue of the acclaimed ensemble Canadian Brass who have recorded works from the Renaissance and Baroque as well as a number of works by Mozart. |
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail / Die Zauberflöte René Jacobs, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin [ Harmonia Mundi / 5 CD Box Set - released 10/Mar/2023 ] The alpha and omega of Mozart! With Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782), probably his first absolute masterpiece, and Die Zauberflöte (1791 - the year of his death), René Jacobs penetrates to the heart of Mozartian singspiel. Featuring singers, a... |