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BAX / BRIDGE / DELIUS / ELGAR / GRAINGER / VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
English Idylls John Birch (organ), John Lanehan (piano), Julian Lloyd-Webber (cello) / Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner [ Philips SBS Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 20/Mar/2016 ] Simply idyllic, this 2-CD set couples a traversal of English seasons (CD1) with idyllic music for cello and orchestra by English composers, all rapturously performed by the Academy and Marriner. |
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GERSHWIN / RODGERS / BERLIN / HERRMANN / SCHOENBERG / WAXMAN / etc
John Mauceri - The Sound of Hollywood John Mauceri, with Julie Andrews, Ben Kingsley, Marilyn Horne, Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir John Gielgud, Patti LuPone [ Decca / Eloquence / 16 CD Box Set - released 17/Nov/2023 ] The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra breathed new life into the orchestral pops repertoire, told new stories and brought in new audiences when it was revived under the conductor John Mauceri in the 1990s. |
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GILBERT & SULLIVAN
The Gondoliers (complete operetta recorded in 1977) John Reed, Geoffrey Shovelton, Kenneth Sanford, Barbara Lilley / D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Royal Philharmonic, Royston Nash [ Australian Decca SBS Eloquence / 2 CD - released 10/Aug/2015 ] "the appealing gondoliers of Meston Reid and Michael Rayner, John Reed's typically reliable Duke and Kenneth Sandford's pillar of strength Don Alhambra" (Gramophone) |
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J. S. BACH
Mass in B minor BWV232 / Cantata BWV56 'Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen' John Shirley-Quirk, Margaret Marshall, Janet Baker, Robert Tear / Academy & Chorus of St Martin in the Fields [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 10/Mar/2013 ] "I found the solo singing rewarding and in particular Dame Janet Baker's account of the Agnus Dei very moving … the sound is rich with plenty of bloom ... Cum Sancto Spiritu is a real choral tour de force" (Gramophone Mass) |
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J. S. BACH / DOMENICO & ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI
Bach & Scarlatti: Guitar Suites and Sonatas John Williams (guitar) [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 14/Apr/1994 ] 'self recommending' 24 Hours |
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DEBUSSY
16 Preludes Jorge Bolet (piano) [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Oct/2009 ] The Cuban-American pianist Jorge Bolet isn't readily associated with the music of Debussy, but his selection of sixteen of the composer's Préludes yield performances of refinement and fluidity. |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Piano Encores (incls Albeniz: Tango & Mendelssohn: Rondo capriccioso) Jorge Bolet (piano) [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Oct/2009 ] "…the unfailing wizardry of Bolet. He is also splendidly recorded. It is difficult to see how an encore-fancier could greet this record with anything but the most delighted of, well encores." Gramophone |
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SCHUBERT
Piano Sonatas D 959 & 784 Jorge Bolet (piano) [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Oct/2009 ] Schubert and Jorge Bolet may seem rare bedfellows for a virtuoso who excelled in the music of Liszt and Rachmaninov and whose lineage extended, through his teacher David Saperton, to Leopold Godowsky (Saperton's teacher). But he finds in this music... |
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SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 2 & 3 / Preludes / Piano Music Jorge Bolet (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Ivan Fischer / Montreal Symphony, Charles Dutoit [ Decca SBS Eloquence / 2 CD - released 20/Mar/2014 ] "a greatly superior recording is one of the attractions of this CD, and at countless points it highlights Bolet's absolute command of this work's myriad pianistic complexities … the finale's central scherzando is executed with great pianistic acuity" |
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BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / J. STRAUSS / MOZART / TCHAIKOVSKY / etc
Josef Krips Edition - Volume 2 Josef Krips, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Concertgebouworkest, Wiener Symphoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Zubin Mehta, Inge Borkh, Wiener Staatsoper [ Decca Eloquence / 21 CD Box Set - released 7/Jun/2024 ] Mozart was Josef Krips's yardstick in music: 'My maxim is that everything has to sound as though it were by Mozart, or it will be a bad performance.' Collected here are his Mozart symphony recordings with the Concertgebouworkest for Philips. |
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BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / STRAVINSKY / HONEGGER / Prokofiev / DEBUSSY / etc
Joseph Szigeti - The Mercury Masters Joseph Szigeti (violin) with Roy Bogas, Artur Balsam, Mieczysław Horszowski (piano), various concductors & soloists [ Mercury Living Presense Australian Eloquence / 6 CD Box Set - released 17/Feb/2023 ] Issued internationally and complete, for the first time on CD in this Limited Edition original-jackets collection, these Mercury recordings were made in New York and London during the autumn of Szigeti's career, between 1959 and 1961. |
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TCHAIKOVSKY / PROKOFIEV / SCHUMANN / BRAHMS / SAINT-SAENS / WIENIAWSKI / KREISLER / etc
Joshua Bell - Complete Decca Recordings Joshua Bell (violin), with Samuel Sanders (piano), Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano), Orchestre symphonique de Montréal , Cleveland Orchestra, etc [ Decca Eloquence / 14 CD Box Set - released 15/Nov/2024 ] A new-world virtuoso with old-world musicianship: the complete Decca recordings of JOSHUA BELL, capturing the first decade of the violinist's career on record. |
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HENRY PURCELL
Dido and Aeneas (complete opera) Jospehine Veasey / John Shirley-Quirk / Helen Donath / Thomas Allen / Academy of St. Martin in the Fields / Sir Colin Davis [ Philips Eloquence / CD - released 1/Nov/2007 ] "fresh and enjoyable" Penguin Guide to CDs |
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J. S. BACH
Jörg Demus - The Bach Recordings on Westminster Jörg Demus (piano), with Paul Badura-Skoda (piano) [ Westminster Australian Eloquence / 11 CD Box Set - released 2/Dec/2022 ] Bach playing to refresh the spirits as well as satisfy the mind: the early recordings of consummate Viennese pianist, Jörg Demus, unfailingly lively as well as faithful. |
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COUPERIN / MONTECLAIR / FORQUERAY / LECLAIR / MARAIS
Musique pour la Chambre du Roy Judith Nelson (soprano) Christophe Coin (bass viol) Monica Huggett (violin) & Christopher Hogwood (harpsichord/director) / Academy of Ancient Music [ Decca SBS Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Sep/2013 ] " Fine playing and a fine, reverberant recording which captures every detail of the instruments' character make this a notable release. There is much repertoire here which is, furthermore, new to the catalogue." (Gramophone) |
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JOSEF HAYDN
Music For England [2 CD set] Judith Nelson (soprano) & Paul Elliott (tenor) / The Academy of Ancient Music / Christopher Hogwood [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 10/Feb/2011 ] "handsomely produced, very well recorded" (Gramophone) |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos 13 & 20 / Six German Dances Julius Katchen (piano) / New Symphony Orchestra of London, Peter Maag [ SBS Decca Eloquence / CD - released 1/Jan/2013 ] "Katchen's Mozart is a joy, in which the musical dialogue, whether within the solo part or when it is pitted against the orchestra, provides a constant effervescent narrative" Gramophone |
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GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore (highlights from the opera recorded in 1990) Kathleen Battle, Luciano Pavarotti, Leo Nucci, Enzo Dara, Dawn Upshaw / Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House, james Levine [ Deutache Grammophon Australian Eloquence / CD - released 10/Jun/2018 ] "Levine conducts a lively performance, Battle makes a sympathetic Adina, Dara is a thoroughly professional purveyor of the elixir … spirited virtuosity in the orchestral playing" Gramophone |
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MOZART / BACH / SCHUBERT / HANDEL / DONIZETTI / TRADITIONAL / etc
Kathleen Battle Edition Kathleen Battle, with Jessye Norman, Christopher Parkening, Itzhak Perlman, etc [ Deutche Grammophon Australian Eloquence / 15 CD Box Set - released 28/Jul/2023 ] A Limited Edition, Original Jackets collection showcasing the artistry of the magnificent American soprano, Kathleen Battle. |
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TRADITIONAL
Kenneth Mckellar's Book of Hymns Kenneth McKellar (tenor) & John Turner (organ) / Choir of Paisley Abbey, George McPhee [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 20/Mar/2016 ] Released by popular demand, this collection brings together 21 favourite hymns and sacred songs sung by that most beloved of tenors, Kenneth McKellar |