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... |
J. S. BACH / MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER / ARCANGELO CORELLI / etc
A Baroque Christmas (Limited Edition) Akademie fur Alte Berlin, RIAS Kammerchor, René Jacobs / Ensemble 415,Chiara Banchini / Ensemble Correspondances, Sébastien Daucé [ Harmonia Mundi / 4 CD Box Set - released 4/Oct/2019 ] Ranging from unaffected simplicity to elaborate polyphony, the composers of the 17th and 18th centuries left us some of the most sublime pages of sacred music intended to tell the story of the Nativity. The extraordinary musical legacy produced as a... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Sonatas For Piano & Violin Renaud Capuçon (violin), Kit Armstrong (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / 4 CD Box Set - released 7/Jul/2023 ] This 4-CD album of Mozart's 16 Sonatas for violin and piano, played by Renaud Capuçon and Kit Armstrong, showcases the brilliance of the composer's chamber music and mastery of both instruments. The sonatas have been central to this duo's partnership... |
MATTHIAS WECKMANN
Complete Works Ricercar Consort, La Fenice [ Ricercar / 5 CD Box Set - released 22/Apr/2016 ] Matthias Weckmann is doubtless the most fascinating Hamburg composer of the mid-17th century. A disciple of Schütz, nurtured on Italian music and, in particular, that of Claudio Monteverdi, he shone in all genres, achieving an impressive blending of... |
LOUIS COUPERIN
The Complete Harpsichord Works RIchard Egarr (harpsichord) [ Harmonia Mundi / 4 CD Box Set - released 3/Oct/2011 ] "Egarr revels in the variety, both harmonic and rhythmic, that this music contains, and the interpretative opportunities it offers. I don't think anyone, even Egarr, would suggest listening to all four of these CDs at a single sitting, but in smaller... |
GERALD FINZI
A Finzi Anthology Robert Plane (clarinet), Tim Hugh (cello), Roderick Williams (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano), James Gilchrist (tenor), John Mark Ainsley (tenor) [ Naxos / 8 CD - released 9/Sep/2016 ] More than any other composer, Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) has come to embody the lyrical pastoralism so associated with English twentieth-century music. This anthology includes eight critically acclaimed recordings of Finzi's works. The themes of... |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffman (The Tales of Hoffman) (complete opera) Roberto Alagna, Jose van Dam, Natalie Dessay, Sumi Jo / l'Opera National de Lyon, Kent Nagano [ Erato Warner Classics Home of Opera / 3 CD - released 20/May/2016 ] "Kent Nagano uses Kaye's complete edition preserving the recitatives. He balances this by taking quite a brisk view of the tempi and the pacing of the piece." MusicWeb |
GIROLAMO FRESCOBALDI
Frescobaldi: Complete Keyboard Works Roberto Loreggian (organ & harpsichord) [ Brilliant Classics / 15 CD Box Set - released 1/Mar/2023 ] Definitive recordings by the leading Frescobaldi performer of our time, now more conveniently packaged than ever. In 2007, Roberto Loreggian embarked on a project that would see him record every published work by Girolamo Frescobaldi. Issued as a... |
GIROLAMO FRESCOBALDI
Frescobaldi: Complete Unpublished Works for Harpsichord and Organ Roberto Loreggian (harpsichord/organ) [ Brilliant Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583- 1643) was one of the most important and influential composers for the keyboard in the early 17th century. He embraced the late renaissance style in his early output, and by the end of his life had contributed some of the... |
FERDINAND HEROLD / PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY / ADOLPHE ADAM
The Art of Natalia Osipova: La Fille mal gardée / Swan Lake / Giselle / Force of Nature BLU-RAY Royal Ballet, Covent Garden / Natalia Osipova, with Steven McRae, Philip Mosley, Christopher Saunders, Matthew Golding, Elizabeth McGorian & others [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / 4 Blu-ray Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] Russian dance superstar Natalia Osipova joined The Royal Ballet as a Principal in 2013 and has since filled each of her leading roles with an unforgettable passion, fiery energy and technical prowess. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Orchestral Favourites Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Choral Society, Owain Arwel Hughes, Philip Ellis, Nick Davies, with soloists [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2020 ] Classical hits from one of the world's great orchestras: a fabulous introduction to the world of music at a super-budget price. |
HUGO ALFVEN
Alfven: Complete Symphonies, Suites & Rhapsodies Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Niklas Willen [ Naxos / 7 CD Box Set - released 25/Nov/2022 ] The music of Hugo Alfvén has always been close to the hearts of the Swedish people. He is regarded as representing the spirit of the country, partly owing to his intimate knowledge of Swedish folk music. |
ANTON BRUCKNER
The Complete Bruckner Symphonies Royal Scottish National Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Georg Tintner, conductor [ Naxos / 12 CD Box Set - released 22/Dec/2015 ] "The pattern of the later symphonies is set here, emotional slow movement, galumphing scherzo and all. But there are moments of almost Sullivanesque sparkle. Tintner's account is wonderfully cohesive and fresh." - The Sunday Times (Paul Driver), May |
ALBERT ROUSSEL
Roussel: The Complete Symphonies [4 CD set] Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Stéphane Denève [ Naxos / 4 CD Box Set - released 6/Dec/2010 ] "an excellent disc, splendidly and idiomatically performed and a superb advertisement for composer, conductor and orchestra. Highly recommended." Gramophone Magazine on Symphony No 4 |
LUGWIG van BEETHOVEN / W. A. MOZART / JOHANNES BRAHMS
The Rudolf Serkin Edition Rudolf Serkin (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado, with Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) [ Deutche Grammophon / 9 CD Box Set - released 19/Jun/2020 ] "Serkin was an artist who shaped the world's conceptions of the "Viennese school," and there's much to be gained by tracing the evolution of his style over his long life.' (AllMusic.com) |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Complete Secular Choral Works Ruth Ziesak, Angelika Kirchschlager, Christoph Prégardien, Robert Holl / Wiener Concert-Verein, Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Erwin Ortner, with András Sch [ Warner Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 19/Mar/2021 ] A voyage of discovery through a lesser-known area of Schubert's rich and prolific output, this collection comprises seven themed CDs: Transience; Love; Eternity; Heroism; Nature; Celebrations, and Circle of Friends. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Russian Orthodox Choral Music Rybin Male Choir, Dumka Choir, Yurlov Academic Choir [ Brilliant Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 22/Jan/2021 ] A history of Russian Orthodox sacred music from the 'Moscow Baroque' to the present day, including many rare and long unavailable recordings. |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Complete Symphonies (Nos 1-7) Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2008 ] "The recorded sound is great, the Scottish National Orchestra plays like a world class band. All in all, this is not only a set to complete your Prokofiev collection, it's also the one to start it - if you haven't yet." (MusicWeb bargain of the... |
SEGEI RUDNEV
Rudnev: Music for Guitar Sergei Rudnov, Aynur Begutov, Anton Baranov, Rovshan Mamedkuliev, Vladimir Mityakov (guitars) [ Brilliant Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 25/Feb/2022 ] Russian guitarist and composer Sergei Ivanovich Rudnev was born in 1955 in Tula. In 1975 he graduated in the accordion and balalaika class of Tula's "Dargomyzhsky" Conservatory, and while attending this school he studied guitar. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen Simon O'Neill, Matthias Goerne, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden [ Naxos / 14 CD Box Set - released 9/Aug/2018 ] Wagner's visionary Der Ring des Nibelungen was first performed as a cycle of four operas in 1876. One of the most sustained and remarkable achievements in all music, the tetralogy is performed by an all-star cast, conducted by the new music director... |