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HUGO WOLF
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wolf: Quartet in D minor / Italian Serenade Fine Arts Quartet [ Hanssler Classic / CD - released 2/Feb/2001 ] "...the Fine Arts group makes more of the music's unexpected rhythmic twists and turns, and elsewhere casts all caution by the wayside...A silver-toned, scampering rendition of Wolf's witty and concise Italian Serenade makes a delightful encore." C.T |
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FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn: String Quintets (Complete) Fine Arts Quartet (with Danilo Rossi, viola) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Jun/2008 ] "So unfamiliar as this repertoire is, it repays the effort in getting to know it, and one can hardly imagine these works being given a more sympathetic reading." (MusicWeb Recording of the Year 2008) |
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EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rautavaara: Sacred Works for mixed chorus Finnish Radio Chamber Choir [ Ondine / CD - released 1/Jan/1999 ] Sung variously in Latin, Finnish, or Swedish. Recorded at the St. John's Church, Helsinki 1/1999. |
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WITOLD LUTOSLAWSKI
Lutosławski: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu [ Ondine / CD - released 28/Feb/2020 ] "His musicians respond with brilliant, punchy playing but are also capable of dazzling refinement…Altogether, Lintu's Lutosławski cycle sets a new standard" Five Stars BBC Music Magazine May 2020 Orchestral Choice |
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ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Korngold: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 Flesch Quartet [ ASV / CD - released 5/Jun/1996 ] "..here is an accessible and inspired CD of the first two (quartets) and a strong pair of performances satisfying in themselves...If you enjoy chamber music you will relish these recordings and should snap them up without delay." MusicWeb |
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FREDERIC CHOPIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3 / Three Mazurkas / Three Waltzes / etc Ingrid Fliter (piano) [ EMI Classics / CD - released 7/Apr/2008 ] "…her playing is now enriched immeasurably by a poetic depth and subtle expressive imagination." BBC Music Magazine **** |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL / NICOLA ANTONIO PORPORA
Handel/Porpora: "The Rivals" Four Nations Ensemble, Andrew Appel (harpsichord/director), with Christine Brandes (soprano) & Geoffrey Burgess (oboe) [ ASV / CD - released 31/Jul/1999 ] The Four Nations Ensemble brings together leading soloists, generational front-runners of period instrument performance. With a core group of soprano, flute, violin, viola, cello and harpsichord Four Nations distinguishes itself with innovative... |
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KAROLY GOLDMARK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Goldmark: String Quartet in B-flat major Op. 8 / String Quintet in A minor Op. 9 Fourth Dimension String Quartet [ ASV / CD - released 1/Sep/1999 ] "What an amazingly responsive, fine-tuned, and utterly flexible ensemble they are. A major addition to the chamber catalog." ClassicsToday 10/10 |
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CESAR FRANCK / ERNEST CHAUSSON
Franck: Piano Quintet / Chausson: String Quartet Quatuor Ludwig, with Michael Levinas (piano) [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Feb/1998 ] "Michaël Levinas and the Quatuor Ludwig give a very impressive account of 'the king of piano quintets' (the phrase is Tournemire's). This is a very competitive account which is well worth its modest asking price." Penguin Guide Key Recording |
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FRANCIS POULENC
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Poulenc: Concerto for Piano,, 2 Pianos & Aubade Francois-Rene Duchable, Jean-Philippe Collard (piano) / Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, James Conlon [ Erato / 2 CD - released 30/Jan/1986 ] Francis Poulenc (January 7, 1899 - January 30, 1963) had his first major successes as an 18-year-old composer without a single composition lesson. Despite some study, he remained largely self-taught. In fact, his music is so individual, it's remained... |
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FELIX MENDELSSOHN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) / Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht [ EMI Classics / CD - released 27/Oct/2001 ] Frank Peter Zimmermann was born in Duisburg, West Germany, and started playing the violin when he was five years old, giving his first concert with orchestra at the age of 10. |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Romances Nos 1 & 2 Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) / English Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate [ EMI Encore / CD - released 20/Jun/2005 ] "Above all, it is the scale of this performance that I admire.." - Gramophone |
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MAURICE RAVEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Ravel: Piano Concerti (with Debussy: Fantaisie pour piano & orchestre François-René Duchâble (piano) / Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, MIchel Plasson [ EMI Classics / CD - released 1/May/1996 ] "Duchâble's recordings are considered a "splendid collaboration" with the conductor." Gramophone |
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VIVALDI / BACH, J.S. / SAINT-SAENS / HAYDN / SCHUMANN / etc
Charming Cello - Best loved classical cello music Franz Bartolomey Michael Grebanier, Janet Guggenheim; Havenith, Raimund; Hurvey, Keith; Madoka Inui; Ina-Esther Joost Ben-Sasson; Maria Kliegel (cello [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Aug/2019 ] The ancient origins of the modern cello came from India and the Far East, arriving in Europe through Arab trade routes. By the time of the instrument's advanced construction in the mid-18th century, the greater volume of sound and versatility that... |
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IGOR STRAVINSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex - Opera/Oratorio in two acts after Sophocles Franz Grundheber, Gabriele Schnaut, Gunter von Kannen, Peter Svensson / L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Neeme Jarvi [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 1/Feb/1993 ] Originally recorded June 1993 |
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ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
Schoenberg: Moses und Aron (complete opera recorded in 1984) Franz Mazura, Philip Langridge, Barbara Bonney / Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2007 ] 'Solti gives Schoenberg's masterly score a dynamism and warmth which set it firmly - if perhaps surprisingly - in the grand romantic tradition...As Aaron, Philip Langridge is lighter and more lyrical." Penguin Guide |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera (complete opera) Freddie de Tommaso, Saioa Hernández, Lester Lynch, Elisabeth Kulman / [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 23/Jun/2023 ] "De Tommaso turns out to be the real deal, singing with a confidence and ease that seem astonishing for a singer who was only 28 at the time of the recording, His is a real *spinto* tenor: bright yet intensely masculine." BBC Music Opera Choice |
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PIETRO MASCAGNI / RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Leoncavallo: Pagliacci / Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana (complete operas with libretto) Mirella Freni, Julia Varady, Ingvar Wixwwll, Luciano Pavarotti / National Philharmonic, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giuseppe Patane [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Jan/2010 ] Leoncavallo was a little-known composer when Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana premiered around 1890. After seeing Mascagni's success, Leoncavallo decided to write an opera in response: one act composed in the verismo style. |
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J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach, (J.S.): Alio Modo (keyboard works transcribed for viols) Fretwork [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 25/Dec/2005 ] "Fretwork play with a gorgeous simplicity of expression and deep musicality." - The Independent, UK |
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W. A. MOZART
Fritz Busch at Glyndebourne - Mozart Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Audrey Mildmay, Heddle Nash, John Brownlee, Ina Souez, Sena Jurinac, Alexander Young, Richard Lewis / Fritz Busch (cond) [ Warner Classics / 9 CD Box Set - released 8/Jul/2017 ] Fritz Busch (1890-1951) was one the greatest German conductors of the first half of the twentieth century, noted for his illuminating performances and his ethical principles. |