VARIOUS COMPOSERS
The Masterpieces Collection - Australian Classics Various orchestras & performers from the vast ABC catalogue [ ABC Classics / CD - released 1/Dec/2019 ] ABC Classics and the Art Gallery of New South Wales present a new collection of albums bringing together culture from through the ages. From nineteenth-century visions of grandeur in Epic Classics to the sacred tradition in Divine Classics. |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 (with Elgar: Enigma Variations) BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult [ ICA Classics / CD - released 30/Jun/2011 ] "this Brahms 1 is superbly paced: hard-driven yet flexible, virile yet richly expressive. The opening's 6/8 - relentless, tragic - has, rightly, the same pulse as the ensuing allegro (where Boult, unusually, observes the repeat). In Elgar, Boult... |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 2 / Souvenir de Florence (sextet) Borodin Quartet, with with Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) & Genrikh Talalyan (viola) [ Alto / CD - released 20/Jun/2015 ] "Both their earlier recordings (as here) are unassailable recommendations. Look no further" (Penguin Guide) |
PAUL HINDEMITH
Hindemith: Sonatas for flute, horns and organ Bryan Keith (flute) Bedrich Tyšlar, Jozef Havlík, Zdeněk Divolný, Zdeněk Tylšar (horns) Ivan Sokol (organ) [ Point Classics / CD - released 6/Sep/1996 ] with Piano - Kristian Karena (tracks: 1-3), Peter Toperczer (tracks: 4-7) |
VERDI / PUCCINI / DONIZETTI / MASCAGNI / ROSSINI
Italian Opera Choruses Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Lamberto Gardelli [ EMI Studio / CD - released 25/Jan/1995 ] 11 masterpieces from Italian opera. |
J. S. BACH
Bach: St Matthew Passion [highlights] Elly Ameling, Julia Hamari, Helen Watts, Peter Pears, Fritz Wunderlich, Walter Berry, Tom Krause / Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Karl Munchinger [ Decca Eloquence / CD - released 20/Nov/2011 ] 'Many will be glad to hear Peter Pears's superb performance of the Evangelist' Gramophone, March 1965 |
FERDINAND RIES
Ries: Sonatas for Violin and Piano Vol 2 Eric Grossman (violin) / Susan Kagan (piano) [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Feb/2015 ] "Ries's chamber music seems to respond to Grossman's and Kagan's intimate and friendly playing....Kagan's knowledgeable booklet note adds to one's enjoyment. As before, this is unreservedly recommended." Fanfare |
FLOTOW / SCHUBERT / ROSSINI / SAINT-SAENS / VERDI / DONIZETTI / R. STRAUSS
Son Of Movies Go To The Opera Fritz Wunderlich, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Rita Gorr, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Nicolai Gedda, Janet Baker, Victoria de los Angeles, etc [ EMI / CD - released 2/Feb/1990 ] More favourite classical tracks from classic movies! |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: Symphonies Nos 94 "Surprise" & 95 (with Leopold Mozart: "Toy" Symphony) The Hanover Band, Roy Goodman [ Nimbus / CD - released 2/Feb/1988 ] Recorded, Mastered and Manufactured in England by Nimbus Records Ltd. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Violin Concerto Itzhak Perlman (violin) / Philharmonia Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini [ EMI Classics / CD - released 15/Nov/1981 ] Originally recorded in 1981 |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: The Ring Des Nibelungen (highlights) James Morris, Eva Marton, Cheryl Studer, Siegfried Jerusalem / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink [ EMI Studio / CD - released 23/Mar/1988 ] Highlights from the classic EMI recording |
HANDEL / J. C. SMITH
Handel: Ouverture in C major, HWV456 / Smith: Six Suites of Lessons for the Harpsichord, Op. 3 Julian Perkins (harpsichord) [ Chandos Chaconne / CD - released 20/May/2015 ] "The exuberantly stylish Julian Perkins is just the man for the job and tellingly collides the work of master and servant with a Handel keyboard transcription at the start." (Sunday Times) |
LISZT / SCHUMANN / KNUSSEN
Piano Works Kirill Gerstein (piano) [ Myrios / CD - released 12/Aug/2015 ] "Gerstein's fluid playing suits this tender piece (Knussen), with the rondo-like return of the main theme sensitively handled." International Record Review, March 2011 |
TONY BANKS
Banks: Seven - A Suite for Orchestra Tony Banks / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Mike Dixon (conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 26/Oct/2005 ] "Banks has a genuine melodic gift... The LPO under Mike Dixon play sympathetically and often ardently, and the woodwind relish Simon Hale's many piquant touches of colour." - Ivan March, Gramophone, 05/04 |
HAVERGAL BRIAN
Brian: Symphony No. 18 / Violin Concerto / The Jolly Miller Marat Bisengaliev, violin / BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Lionel Friend, conductor [ Marco Polo / CD - released 20/Jun/2005 ] "The violin concerto is a great work and deserves the recognition that it has so long been denied. I can only hope that this present recording does much to remedy this oversight" (MuusicWeb July 2005) |
CILEA / GIODANO / CATALANI / BOITO / ROSSINI / MEYERBEER / DELIBES
Maria Callas - Operatic Arias Maria Callas (soprano) / Orchestra del Teatro Alla Scala, Tullio Serafin [ EMI Music / CD - released 6/Dec/1986 ] 13 arias from a specially recorded recital by Maria Callas |
BELLINI / DONIZETTI / PUCCINI / GIORDANO / MOZART / VERDI
Opera's Greatest Mothers Montserrat Caballe, Fiorenza Cossotto, Leontyne Price, Cornells Kallisch, Zdislawa Donat, etc [ RCA / CD - released 1/Oct/1998 ] Montserrat Caballe and Leontyne Price lead a cast of the world's greatest voices on this album of arias about jealousies, passions, and betrayals! |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart Concert Arias Natalie Dessay (soprano) / Orchestre de l'Opera de Lyon, Theodor Gulschbauer [ Erato Classics Premium / CD - released 20/Mar/2010 ] Recorded when she was barely 30 this is one of Natalie Dessay's greatest ever recordings, comprising 8 of Mozart's concert arias for high soprano (up to G above high C!). |
GUSTAV HOLST / WILLIAM WALTON
Holst: Planets / Walton: Facade New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein / Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, with Vera Zorina (reciter) [ Sony Essential Classics / CD - released 20/May/1996 ] Recorded December 7, 1971 and February 19, 1961. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Classic Kennedy [incls Massenet: Meditation & Gershwin: Preludes] Nigel Kennedy (violin) with various orchestras and accompaniments [ EMI Classics / CD - released 13/Jan/2000 ] Classic Kennedy is an outstanding collection of popular classical and contemporary works plus traditional folk songs uniquely arranged for violin and orchestra. Vivaldi: Presto from Summer (The Four Seasons) feature's on this album. |