CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Monteverdi: Orfeo (complete opera with libretto) Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Julianne Baird, Lynne Dawson, Anne Sofie von Otter, Nancy Argenta / Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gard [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1987 ] "This is an impressively musical Orfeo. With John Eliot Gardiner in charge of such a strong cast of singers and players, it could hardly have been otherwise. Most enigmatic of all is Anthony Rolfe Johnson's acting of the central role." Gramophone |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Requiem / Quattro Pezzi Sacri [Four Sacred Pieces] Luba Orgonasova, Anne Sofie von Otter, Luca Canonici, Alastair Miles, Donna Brown / Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, John Eliot Gardiner [ Philips / 2 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1995 ] "Gardiner, using period forces, is searingly dramatic and superbly recorded, with fine detail, combining transparent textures, weight and atmospheric bloom...The soloists make a characterful quartet." Penguin Guide |
CARL MARIA VON WEBER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Weber: Complete Piano Sonatas [2 CD set] Garrick Ohlsson (piano) [ Hyperion Dyad / 2 CD - released 10/Apr/2011 ] 'These are distinguished performances, by a pianist of true romantic temper, of four works that have had more than their share of misunderstanding from performers and critics alike' (Gramophone) |
MENDELSSOHN / VERDI / CHOPIN / SATIE / SAINT-SAENS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Romantic Ballet Music - The Lady and the Fool / A Midsummer Night's Dream / etc [2 CD set] Garrick Ohlsson (piano) / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / London Philharmonic Orchestra [ EMI Ballet Edition / 2 CD - released 1/Jul/2011 ] Sir Frederick Ashton appropriates Mendelssohn's exquisite incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream and Satie's haunting Gymnopédies; John Cranko, ably abetted by Sir Charles Mackerras, cherry-picks from the early operas of Verdi. |
SONGS OF THE CAT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Songs of the Cat Garrison Keillor (reciter) Frederica von Stadt (mezzo) / Ensemble conducted by Philip Brunelle [ RCA Victor / CD - released 25/Sep/1991 ] "Here are all the cats you know and all you need to know...funny original stories set to well-known tunes" |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Saint-Saens: Symphony No 3 Organ / Le Deluge op.45 / Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila / Danse Macabre Gaston Litaize (organ) / Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Orchestre de Paris / Daniel Barenboim [ Deutsche Grammophon Galleria / CD - released 6/Oct/1985 ] "I certainly do not know a rival version to match this in its warmth, its power and its sumptuous sound" (Gramophone) |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schubert: Octet Gaudier Ensemble [ ASV / CD - released 27/Feb/1990 ] First Choice - BBC 'Building a Library' |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Oboe Quartet / Horn Quintet / etc The Gaudier Ensemble [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 1/Sep/2011 ] "Anyone interested in this particular program is unlikely to be anything but delighted with this disc" (Fanfare) |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Prokofiev: Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution / 'The Tale of the Stone Flower' [excerpts] Gennady Rozhdestvensky (narrator) / Philharmonia Chorus & Philharmonia Orchestra, Neeme Järvi [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 1/Sep/1992 ] 'It is good to have so sharply original and refreshingly dramatic a piece complete on disc at last, and occasional disc that rises far above its first inspiration." 3 stars, Penguin Guide. |
ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Korngold: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3 Geoffrey Tozer (piano) [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Sep/1995 ] Originally recorded in 1994 |
FRANZ LISZT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Liszt: 10 (ten) Hungarian Rhapsodies Georges Cziffra (piano) [ EMI Classics Great Recordings of the Century / CD - released 1/Nov/2001 ] "Cziffra, with his superb technique, Hungarian birthright and virtuoso flair, is the ideal exponent of this music and, predictably, there are wonderful things in these performances" Gramophone |
FRANZ LISZT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Liszt: Piano works [Incls 'Hungarian Rhapsodies'] Georges Cziffra (piano) [ EMI Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2011 ] "Cziffra, with his superb technique, Hungarian birthright and virtuoso flair, is the ideal exponent of this music and, predictably, there are wonderful things in these performances" Gramophone on the Hungarian Rhapsodies |
PAUL HINDEMITH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Hindemith: Konzertmusik op.50 / Der Schwanendreher / Nobilissima visione Geraldine Walther (viola0 / San Francisco Symphony, Herbert Blomstedt [ Decca / CD - released 1/Nov/1993 ] "Walther brings such character to the solo part that the pastiche German folk style holds the attention throughout. Nobilissima visione has had several recordings recently, but none better than Blomstedt's warm and brilliantly detailed version" BBC |
J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach: 6 suites for viola solo. Gerard Causse (bratch), Laurent Terzieff (Reader). [ Virgin / 2 CD - released 11/Feb/2013 ] "expressive (and) touching in the slower, more involved movements" MusicWeb. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Gerard Poulet (violin) Dominique Merlet (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi Mandala / 4 CD Box Set - released 29/Dec/2001 ] "one immediately feels confident that he's in command, both technically and musically. He chooses consistently brisk or flowing tempos, but never sounds hurried, because his playing has such rhythmic poise" Gramophone (on Gerard Poulet's Bach) |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Brahms: Complete works for solo piano Gerhard Oppitz (piano) [ Eurodisc / 5 CD Box Set - released 14/Jul/1990 ] "Gerhard Oppitz is a penetrating Brahmsian, bracing in the youthful works, quietly confiding in the later ones" Gramophone |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schumann: Carnival / Waldszenen / Nachtstucke Gerhard Oppitz (piano) [ RCA Victor Red Seal / CD Box Set - released 20/Feb/1992 ] "There's no doubt that Oppitz has a formidable technique. Just listen to the way he flies through 'Papillons' or 'Pantalon et Colombine' from Carnaval." ClassicalNet |
FRANZ LISZT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 / Hungarian Fantasy Gerhard Oppitz (piano) / Bamberger Symphoniker, Roberto Abbado [ RCA Victor Red Seal / CD Box Set - released 20/Feb/1992 ] "Mr. Oppitz plays with the same virtuosity that I imagine Liszt did while never losing sight of Liszt's macabre sensibility." Review |
GEORGE GERSHWIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gershwin - Standards & Gems John Pizzarelli, Judy Blazer, Dawn Upshaw, David Garrison, David Carroll, Audra McDonald, William Katt, Kurt Ollmann / Eric Stern, John Mauceri [ Nonesuch / CD - released 2/Feb/2000 ] "This is an excellent introduction to the Nonesuch series of George & Ira Gershwin shows recorded authentically in the spirit of the original productions in the capable hands of conductors Eric Stern and John Mauceri." MusicWeb |
BEDRICH SMETANA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Smetana: Ma vlast (complete) / The Bartered Bride (excerpts) Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Václav Neumann [ Teldec / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/1985 ] Original recordings from 1968 & 1972 |