FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn: The Great Edition Daniel Adni, Martha Argerich, Wayner Marshall, Marie-Claire Alain, Emmanuel Pahud, Maxim Vengerov, Victoria de los Angeles, Janet Baker, Sabine Meyer [ Warner Classics / 40 CD Box Set - released 16/Feb/2024 ] A child prodigy, Felix Mendelssohn is considered one of Europe's greatest composers. A virtuoso conductor and pianist, he was a respected all-round musician for whom Robert Schumann had great friendship and admiration. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas, Cello Sonatas, String Trios, Piano Trios Jacqueline du Pré (cello), Lynn Harrell (cello), Pinchas Zukerman (violin) Itzhak Perlman (violin), Daniel Barenboim (piano) [ Warner Classics / 11 CD Box Set - released 5/Oct/2019 ] "The result is music-making of rare concentration, spontaneity and warmth." (Penguin Guide) |
MOZART / BEETHOVEN / WAGNER / C.P.E. BACH / HANDEL / DVORAK / etc
Dennis Brain - Homage Dennis Brain (horn) with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Sena Jurinac, Walter Gieseking, George Malcom, Gerald Moore, Malcolm Sargent, Herbert von Karajan, etc [ Warner Classics / 11 CD Box Set - released 14/May/2021 ] This 11CD collection presents all of Brain's Warner recordings as concerto soloist and chamber and ensemble player - including music composed with him in mind - and his most notable contributions to symphonic, choral and operatic works. |
MENDELSSOHN / SCHMITT / SIBELIUS / CHABRIER / BEETHOVEN / SUPPÉ / etc
Paul Paray - The Mercury Masters: Volume 2 Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Paul Paray, with Monique Haas (piano) [ Mercury Living Presence Eloquence / 22 CD Box Set - released 17/Jun/2022 ] This edition of their recordings, remastered from the original sources by Thomas Fine and Wilma Cozart Fine, chronicles the last five years of this partnership (1958-62). This original jackets collection is presented chronologically. |
SCOTT JOPLIN
Joplin: The Complete Works For Piano Dick Hyman (piano) [ Sony Classical / 3 CD Box Set - released 22/Sep/2023 ] In 1975, jazz pianist Dick Hyman made his definitive recording of all the piano works of ragtime legend Scott Joplin (1867 or 1868-1917) for RCA. Joplin's catchy tunes, which also have a certain cunning, had shortly before become better known through... |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Offenbach: La Belle Helene, Orphee Aux Enfers, La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein (Complete Operettas in French) Felicity Lott, Yann Beuron, Natalie Dessay, Ewa Podles, Sandrine Piau, Laurent Naouri, Patricia Petibon, etc / Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, Marc [ Erato Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 15/Nov/2018 ] "These are enormously spirited performances, no undue lingering, rhythmically riveting and generally uplifting. There is punch in the concerted numbers and the dances are whirlwinds." MusicWeb |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Robinson Crusoe / Vert-Vert / Entre Nous John Brecknock, Yvonne Kenny, Roderick Kennedy, Marilyn Hill Smith, Toby Spence, Thora Einarsdottir, Jennifer Lamore / Alun Francis, David Parry (cond [ Opera Rara / 7 CD Box Set - released 17/Feb/2023 ] 'All but dedicated misanthropes will find this set entrancing. Highly recommended' Gramophone |
SILVESTROV / PIAZZOLLA / KANCHELI / SCHNITTKE / SCHUMANN / BRAHMS / etc
Gidon Kremer: The Warner Collection Complete Teldec, EMI Classics & Erato Recordings Gidon Kremer (violin), with Andrei Gavrilov (piano) Oleg Maisenberg (piano) Clemens Hagen (cello) Kremerata Baltica, etc [ Warner Classics / 21 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2021 ] Gidon Kremer avoids the well-trodden paths of the musical world as he explores it with style and sensitivity. Kremer combines a passion for freedom with a quest for authenticity, as is revealed in the recordings he made over a period of two decades. |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (Complete Opera recorded at the New Zealand Festival 2000) Gordon Hawkins, Vladimir Vaneev, Yaron Windmuller, Nuccia Focile / New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Chapman Tripp Opera Chorus, Marco Guidarini [ Trust / 2 CD Box Set - released 25/Feb/2006 ] Verdi's sombre and powerful operatic masterpiece, with its themes of love, hate, treachery and reconciliation, is brought to life in this production from the 2000 New Zealand Festival, featuring the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Chapman... |
HENRY PURCELL
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas / The Fairy Queen Guillemette Laurens, Jill Feldman, Agnes Mellon, Nancy Argenta, Lynne Dawson, Veronique Gens, Sandrine Piau / Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / 3 CD Box Set - released 30/Jun/2014 ] "Purcell's semi-opera sounds fresh in this recording under Christie, with spirited playing from Les Arts Florissants and vivid singing from the large cast." (Five Stars BBC Music on The Fairy Queen) |
JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: The Complete Symphonies / Orchestral Works Hallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 19/Mar/2021 ] Sir John Barbirolli's electrifying interpretations of the works of Jean Sibelius have inspired audiences all over the world. In a letter to Barbirolli, Sibelius declared himself to be a 'devoted admirer' of the conductor, adding that he was always... |
VIEUXTEMPS / BRAHMS / BEETHOVEN / PAGANINI / BADINGS / VIOTTI / etc
Herman Krebbers Edition Herman Krebbers (violin) / Various orchestras & conductors [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / 15 CD Box Set - released 22/Sep/2023 ] 2023 marks the centenary of the birth of the Dutch violinist Herman Krebbers. This is the first CD edition dedicated to the breadth and range of his artistry - concerto soloist, chamber musician and concertmaster. |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Famous Cantatas Holland Boy's Choir, Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] 'characteristic performances, marked by a great sense of authenticity' (Gramophone) |
JOHN ADAMS
John Adams - Collected Works San Francisco Symphony, Orchestra Of St. Luke's, London Sinfonietta, Sanford Sylvan (baritone), Leila Josefowicz (violin), etc [ Nonesuch Records / 40 CD Box Set - released 17/May/2024 ] Nonesuch Records releases the forty-disc John Adams Collected Works, a box set featuring recordings spanning more than four decades of the composer's career with the label. |
BEETHOVEN / SCHUBERT / DVORAK / TCHAIKOVSKY / KREISLER / etc
Ida Haendel - The Decca Legacy Ida Haendel (violin) with Ivor Newton (piano) Adela Kotowska (piano) National Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra [ Decca Eloquence / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2020 ] "That special, spontaneous warmth of response … places Haendel's Tchaikovsky performance for Decca among the finest recordings ever made of this wonderful concerto." Gramophone, July 1999 |
PIETRO LOCATELLI
Locatelli: Complete Violin Concertos Igor Ruhadze (baroque violin) / Ensemble Violini Capricciosi [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 22/Jan/2021 ] Igor Ruhadze studied modern violin at the Moscow Central School of Music before pursuing his growing interest in music of the Baroque period. A pioneer of historically informed performance, he co-founded the Ensemble Violini Capricciosi. |
TCHAIKOSVKY / BRAHMS / SHOSTAKOVICH / SIBELIUS / HANDEL / RIMSKY KORSAKOV / etc
Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra - The Columbia Stereo Collection Isaac Stern (violin) William Kincaid (flute) Anthony Gigliotti (clarinet) Gary Graffman (piano) / Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy [ Sony RCA Original Masters / 88 CD Box Set - released 17/Nov/2023 ] The Sony label now presents Eugene Ormandy's stereo recordings from Philadelphia containing all recordings released from 1958 to 1963 (plus some fillers from later years). |
BRITTEN / ELGAR / BEETHOVEN / HAYDN / BRAHMS / DVORAK / CHOPIN / etc
Jacqueline du Pre - The Complete Warner Recordings (special price 23 CD set) Jacqueline du Pre (cello) with various accompaniments and orchestras [ Warner Classics / 23 CD Box Set - released 3/Jun/2022 ] This new box set draws together the entirety of Jacqueline du Pré EMI Classics catalogues, assembled over her short 12-year career. The whole content has been NEWLY REMASTERED in 192Hz/24bit and from ORIGINAL TAPES. |
GLASS / ADAMS / ten HOLT / EINAUDI / RICHTER / SAKAMOTO / PART / etc
Best of Minimal Piano Music Jeroen van Veen (piano) [ Brilliant Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 23/Oct/2020 ] Highlights from the award-winning, much-praised series of Brilliant Classics recordings by today's leading champion of minimalist piano repertoire. |
LUDOVICO EINAUDI
Einaudi: Waves - The Piano Collection Jeroen van Veen (piano) [ Brilliant Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2015 ] Ludovico Einaudi may well become the "Satie of the 21‐st century". His minimalist, deceptively simple piano works reach a massive audience well beyond the strict boundaries of traditional classical music. |