BEDRICH SMETANA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Smetana: Libuse (Festive Opera In 3 Acts) Eva Urbanová, Vratislav Kriz, Ludek Vele, Helena Kaupová / Prague National Theatre Chorus & Orchestra, Oliver Dohnanyi [ Supraphon / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2009 ] "The cast is splendid, reflecting that the extraordinary musical traditions of the Czech's (Europe's most musical nation?) are alive and well. The whole performance captures the sense of occasion." MusicWeb |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schubert: Lieder On Record Victoria de los Angeles, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Kirsten Flagstad, Elisabeth Schumann, Christa Ludwig, Brigitte Fassbaender, Ian Bostridge, etc [ EMI Classics / 17 CD Box Set - released 2/Jul/2012 ] "there's an incredible sense of broadness and of historical perspective that makes this something of a museum item...There's a song here for almost any occasion, mood, scene and emotion."BBC Music |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Living Stereo: 60 CD Collection Various Artists incls Charles Munch, Morton Gould, Jascha Heifetz, Arthur Fielder, Fritz Reiner, Van Cliburn, Leontyne Price, etc [ RCA Red Seal / 60 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2012 ] This 60-disc box set contains 60 original 'Living Stereo' recordings This is the first time a comprehensive collection of these iconic recordings has been created. Each album comes complete with its original LP artwork. |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen (recorded live in 1957) Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson, Otakar Kraus, Wolfgang Wingassen, Peter Klein / Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Rudolf Kempe [ Testament / 13 CD Box Set - released 20/Feb/2018 ] "The glory here is Birgit Nilsson's gleaming Brünnhilde, already 39 years old, but sounding youthful, touching and tireless. The set is a reminder of the strengths of the company at this period, with Joan Sutherland leading the Rhinemaidens." Sunday |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: The Great Operas - From the Bayreuth Festival Theo Adam, Gerd Nienstedt, James King, Leonie Rysanek, Wolfgang Windgassen, Erwin Wohlfahrt, Birgit Nilsson, Victoria de los Angeles, Christa Ludwig [ Decca / 33 CD Box Set - released 15/Feb/2016 ] As part of the Wagner year 2013 celebrations Decca Classics released a limited edition re-press of the successful 2008 set of Wagner Operas recorded live at the Bayreuth Festival. Stock is very limited. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLELCTABLE: 111 Classic Tracks [6 CD package limited edition at a special price] Various artists from the vast Deutsche Grammophon catalogue [ Deutsche Grammophon / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/Dec/2009 ] Ever since Beethoven wrote his last piano sonata and called it opus 111, the number 111 has enjoyed certain kudos in musical circles - of which we are proud to take advantage, as Deutsche Grammophon celebrates its 111th anniversary in 2009. |
ALWYN / BRITTEN / BUTTERWORTH / FINZI / IRELAND / VAUGHAN WILLIAMS / etc
English Song Collection Various Artists including Philip Langridge, Frank Lloyd, Felicity Lott, Christopher Maltman, Andrew Matthews-Owen, Ivan McCready, Thomas Allen, etc [ Naxos / 25 CD Box Set - released 21/May/2021 ] "Keenly priced, this set will surely provide many hours of listening pleasure." Gramophone |
BEETHOVEN / SIBELIUS / HAYDN / DEBUSSY / BERNSTEIN
Leonard Bernstein Vol 1 Various orchestras conducted by Leonard Bernstein, with James Taylor, Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Peter Serkin, Emanuel Ax (pianos), Yo-Yo Ma (cello) [ C Major DVD / 6 DVD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2017 ] A box set celebrating Leonard Bernstein's upcoming 100th birthday including concerts with the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia as well as the prizewinning documentary Leonard Bernstein: Larger than... |
GLUCK / SACCHINI / RAMEAU / BERLIOZ / CHERUBINI / MEHUL / MEYERBEER / LECLAIR / etc
Veronique Gens - Tragediennes Vols 1 - 3 Veronique Gens (soprano) / Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset (director) [ Erato Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 16/Oct/2018 ] "Wonderful surprises by little-known composers from Campra to Méhul and with Gens at the top of her game taking every point with matchless musicianship" Five Stars BBC |
BIZET / VILLA LOBOS / DEBUSSY / RAVEL / ROSSINI / PUCCINI / etc
Victoria de los Angeles - The Warner Classics Edition Victoria de los Angeles (soprano) with Nicolai Gedda, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Alicia de Larrocha, Gerald Moore, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Thomas Beecham [ Warner Classics / 59 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2023 ] A singer who inspired the greatest admiration and affection, Victoria de los Ángeles was, in the words of Opera magazine, "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century". |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Complete Piano Works Viktoria Postnikova (piano), with Gennady Rozhdestvensky (piano) [ Warner Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 5/Mar/2018 ] "A highly desirable library acquisition for all Tchaikovskians and serious lovers of the piano repertoire,' was Gramophone's verdict on this collection. "In every cycle of shorter pieces there are items to be treasured." Viktoria Postnikova, a... |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos / Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini / Piano Sonata 2 Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra / Andre Previn [ Decca Trio / 3 CD - released 29/Nov/2002 ] These recordings quickly established themselves as reference recordings at the time of their original release and have been a part of the Decca catalogue ever since. |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Complete Works for Piano Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) with André Previn (piano), with Vovka Ashkenazy (piano), Dody Ashkenazy (piano), Alastair Mackie (trumpet), Royal Concertge [ Decca / 11 CD Box Set - released 3/Feb/2014 ] "Perhaps the 1980s digital cycle of the concertos, with Bernard Haitink conducting, is not as instinctively sharp in its musical responses as Ashkenazy's earlier cycle with Previn, but his performances of the other major works would be hard to match... |
JOHANN STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (J.): Die Fledermaus (complete operetta) Werner Hollweg, Edita Gruberova, Christian Boesch, Barbara Bonney / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt [ Teldec / 2 CD Box Set - released 4/May/2009 ] "..the cast is strong too, with Marjana Lipovtek's Orlovsky particularly impressive...he men, including Josef Protschka as Alfred, are very good and so are the lively Netherlands Opera Chorus and the Concertgebouw Orchestra." (Gramophone) |
JOHANNES BRAHMS / ANTON BRUCKNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Carlo Maria Giulini & Wiener Philharmoniker Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic], Carlo Maria Giulini [ Deutsche Grammophon / 8 CD Box Set - released 20/Jun/2019 ] "The Bruckner recordings are uniformly excellent, and show Giulini at his absolute best. They are gloriously played throughout, with the brass of the Vienna Philharmonic sounding magnificent." ClassicalNet |
BACH / SCHUMANN / SCHUBERT / LISZT / MOZART / BEETHOVEN / etc
Wilhelm Kempff - The Decca Legacy Wilhelm Kempff (piano) with Pablo Casals, Paul Grümmer (cellos) Georg Kulenkampff (violin) [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 13 CD Box Set - released 18/Apr/2022 ] The Decca legacy of WILHELM KEMPFF, one of the last century's greatest keyboard poets. |
SCHUBERT / BRUCKNER / DUKAS / R. STRAUSS / STRAVINSKY / DVORAK
The complete RCA Victor Recordings William Steinberg & Boston Symphony Orchestra [ Sony Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 5/Apr/2024 ] Including "vital and inspiring performances", here are 4 CD's containing William Steinberg conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which includes some of his "best entries in his discography, and the finest recordings of the works." Mendelssohn's... |
SCHUBERT / SCHUMANN / BEETHOVEN / KRENEK / BRAHMS / DUPARC / RAVEL / etc
Wolfgang Holzmair - The Philips Recitals Wolfgang Holzmair (baritone) Imogen Cooper, Gérard Wyss, Peter Stamm (piano) / San Francisco Symphony Orchestra [ Decca Austrailian Eloquence / 13 CD Box Set - released 11/Mar/2022 ] From Haydn to Eisler: the collected Philips recordings of WOLFGANG HOLZMAIR, a supreme art-song interpreter, including many long-deleted albums. |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms Cycle [Symphonies, Concertos & Overtures] (recorded in 2015) Yefim Bronfman (piano) Julia Fischer (violin) / The Cleveland Orchestra, Franz Welser-Most [ Belvedere / BBC Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Nov/2017 ] The Cleveland Orchestra is the aristocrat among American orchestras (The Telegraph) and its conductor, Franz Welser-Möst, rules his subjects with a velvet glove. Indeed, velvet and silk keep showing up in descriptions of the Clevelanders sound under... |
J. S. BACH / ELGAR / DVORAK / TCHAIKOVSKY / HAYDN / SCHUMANN
Yo-Yo Ma Plays Cello Masterworks (8CD box set) Yo-Yo Ma (cello) / various accompaniments [ Sony Classical / 8 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/2013 ] "The CD gives an absolutely truthful projection of a cello image which in the concert hall can seem too reticent, but here is perfectly balanced with the orchestra." (Gramophone on the Lalo / Saint-Saens) |