TELEMANN / MOLTER / TORELLI / HAYDN / VIVALDI / L. MOZART / etc
Trumpet Concertos [special priced box set] Otto Sauter, Thomas Hammes, Franz Wagnermeyer, Reinhold Friedrich, Joachim Pliquett, etc (trumpets) [ Brilliant Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 25/May/2018 ] "Many good things: music by composers generally badly served by other labels, the standard of musicianship high and sound quality generally excellent." (Bargain of the Month MusicWeb April 2011 on the original release) |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: The Complete Piano Sonatas Paul Badura-Skoda (piano) [ RCA Red Seal / Sony Classical / 12 CD Box Set - released 25/Oct/2017 ] Badura-Skoda plays Schubert sonatas - The first CD release of a landmark edition Paul Badura-Skoda is unquestionably the outstanding Schubert pianist of the 20th century, declared the Leipzig Volkszeitung in 2012. An astute interpreter, a sensuous... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas Played on Period Instruments Paul Badura-Skoda (fortepiano) [ Arcana / 9 CD Box Set - released 28/Feb/2020 ] "his set represents a stunning bargain, especially as it seems to be retailing at around £30 to £35 from various online retailers." MusicWeb April 2020 |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Sonatas / Piano Concertos / Diabelli variations Paul Lewis (piano) / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek [ Harmonia Mundi / 14 CD Box Set - released 25/Oct/2019 ] "One of the most highly prized recording marathons of recent years… an unmissable benchmark." - Gramophone on the Sonatas |
Paul Robeson
Voice of Freedom; His Complete Columbia, RCA, HMV, and Victor Recordings [ Sony Classics / 14 CD Box Set - released 6/Sep/2024 ] This is a special edition, documenting Paul Robeson's complete major-label discography recorded 1925-1947! It contains the first release of Robeson's groundbreaking Victor recordings on CD with 16 recordings reissued for the first time. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: L'equivoco stravagante (Complete opera) Petia Petrova, Marco di Felice, Marco Vinco / Czech Chamber Chours / Alberto Zedda [ Naxos Opera Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 29/Jul/2002 ] "The cast is accomplished...with incisive diction and alert musicality. The one standout is the recording's Ernestina, the young Bulgarian mezzo Petia Petrova. She's a lively, vivid vocal presence, with the technique " - Opera News |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Eugene Ormandy Conducts Richard Strauss Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, with Rudolf Serkin (piano) & Lorne Munroe (cello) [ Sony Classical / 4 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/0020 ] Ormandy is best known for his longstanding post as the conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra. He also developed what came to be known as the "Philadelphia Sound" emphasizing lush string sonorities and, legato phrasing and rounded tone. |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Pianist and Conductor - Legendary Recordings, 1919-1942 Sergei Rachmaninov (piano) / Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski & Eugene Ormandy [ Naxos Historical / 9 CD Box Set - released 6/Dec/2010 ] In every recording by Rachmaninov, whether it be of his own compositions or not, one is immediately aware of his complete control. This is combined with acute clarity, sparse use of the sustaining pedal and an orchestral conception of sound. |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Le voyage dans la lune (complete operetta) Violette Polchi, Sheva Tehoval, Matthieu Lécroart, Pierre Derhet / Chœur et Orchestre national Montpellier Occitanie, Pierre Dumoussaud [ Bru Zane / 2 CD/Book - released 27/May/2022 ] "With Offenbach's opéra féerie - Le Voyage dans la Lune Bru Zane has come up trumps." MusicWeb |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Complete Fitzwilliam Virginal Book Pieter-Jan Belder (harpsichord) [ Brilliant Classics / 15 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2020 ] This landmark set gathers all seven volumes of Pieter-Jan Belder's exhaustive exploration of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book in recordings spanning the current decade. |
ARCANGELO CORELLI
Corelli: Complete Edition Pieter-Jan Belder (harpsichord), Musica Amphion [ Brilliant Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 15/Nov/2010 ] "The Concerti grossi, Op. 6 are full of verve here; there's a real sense of enjoyment in the playing and the same enthusiasm is to be found throughout. At its most zestful the set is excellent, and the disappointments are few." Penguin Guide |
J. S. BACH
Complete Concertos PieterāJan Belder (keyboard), Thomas Zehetmair (violin), Christine Schornsheim (harpsichord), Andrius Puskunigis (oboe) / Amsterdam Bach Soloists, etc [ Brilliant Classics / 9 CD Box Set - released 6/May/2016 ] This 9 CD set contains the complete solo concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach: the Brandenburg Concertos, violin concertos, keyboard concertos for one, two, three and four harpsichords and the triple concerto. As an attractive "bonus" two CD's are... |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Complete Symphonies Lynda Russell (soprano) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Warsaw Boys' Choir, Antoni Wit, Michael H [ Naxos / 15 CD Box Set - released 10/May/2017 ] "The excellent quality of the Katowice Orchestra of Polish Radio is impressively demonstrated...it stands comparison with any rival" Penguin Guide on No 6 |
HENRY PURCELL
Purcell: Complete Chamber Music Rémy Baudet (violin), Sayuri Yamagata (violin), Elisabeth Ingenhousz (violin) Rainer Zipperling (viola da gamba), Johannes Boer (viola da gamba), etc [ Brilliant Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 10/Mar/2008 ] A rare treat: no less than 7 CDs with instrumental chamber music by Henry Purcell. In spite of his past and present international fame too little attention has been paid to this part of his oeuvre. |
RACHMANINOV / CHOPIN / SCHUMANN / LISZT
Rafael Orozco - The Philips Legacy Rafael Orozco (piano) / Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Edo de Waart [ Decca / Eloquence / 8 CD Box Set - released 5/Jul/2024 ] Collected here are the complete Philips recordings of one of Spain's piano aristocracy, winner of the 1966 Leeds Piano Competition. There is passion and poetry in equal measure, and an instinctive feeling for the ebb and flow of a phrase... |
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... |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: The Complete Symphonies / Das Lied von der Erde [12 CD set] René Kollo (tenor), Christa Ludwig (mezzo-soprano) / New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein [ Sony Classics / 12 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] "All performances are remastered from the original tapes with a plausible claim that they have never sounded better. Such vigour and transparence! Such joyous heartbreak! And 48 minutes of Mahler reminiscences to boot." The Sunday Times |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 - 9 (Recorded live from the Opéra Bastille and the Palais Garnier, Paris 2014-15) Ricarda Merbeth, Daniela Sindram, Robert Dean Smitm, Günther Groissböck / Paris National Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Philippe Jordan [ Arthaus DVD / 4 DVD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2016 ] "A seasoned Beethovenian will likely conclude that a lot of care and thought went into the interpretations as well." Classical-Net |
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... |