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ANONYMOUS / TRADITIONAL / ARNE / HOWELLS / QUILTER / etc
Songs of England Jennifer Vyvyan (soprano), Ernest Lush (piano) / Norma Procter (contralto), Alec Redshaw (piano) [ Australian Decca Eloquence / CD - released 13/Dec/2017 ] In the August 1953 issue of Opera magazine, the editor looked back on outstanding vocal achievements in the preceding season of opera. Drawing largely from stagings in London, he could pick out Maria Callas as Norma, Kathleen Ferrier as Orpheus and... |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Jess Thomas sings Wagner Jess Thomas (tenor) / Orchestras conducted by Walter Born, Herbert von Karajan & Wolfgang Sawallisch [ Deutsche Grammophon SBS Eloquence / CD - released 1/Sep/2013 ] "Mr. Thomas sings, and sings most sensitively, producing a steady flow of pleasing tone. He sings with intelligence and musicianship, too." (Gramophone) |
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ARNE / HANDEL / BELLINI / ROSSINI / MEYERBEER / MOZART / VERDI / etc
Joan Sutherland - The Art of the Prima Donna Joan Sutherland (Soprano) / Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Francesco Molinari-Pradelli [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 11/Mar/2022 ] Sutherland's sensational debut recital album, long unavailable on its own, reissued with photographs and rarely seen costume designs for the soprano's signature roles. |
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OFFENBACH / MEYERBEER / MASSENET / CHARPENTIER / GOUNOD / etc
Joan Sutherland - Romantic French Arias Joan Sutherland (Soprano) / London Symphony & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge (conductor/piano) [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 11/Mar/2022 ] One of Dame Joan Sutherland's own favourite recordings, long unavailable on its own, reissued with additional material recorded at the Geneva sessions, with rarely seen photographs and a new booklet introduction. |
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GRAUN / MOZART / BELLINI / GLIERE / GOUNOD / etc
Joan Sutherland: My Favourites Joan Sutherland (soprano) with various orchestras. Richard Bonynge (conductor) [ Decca Eloquence / CD - released 2/Oct/2020 ] "She was a dab hand at charming the listener in Noël Coward numbers, operetta and songs from the 19th century. In all these one felt she could relax and enjoy herself." Opera |
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FRANCESCO CAVALLI
Cavalli: L'Ormindo (complete opera) John Wakefield, Peter-Christoph Runge, Jean Allister, Anne Howells, Hanneke van Borke / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Leppard [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 12/Apr/2019 ] 'Leppard […] welds all his forces together to produce one of those wonderfully integrated performances that still characterizes Glyndebourne at its best.' Opera magazine, April 1969 |
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FREDERIC CHOPIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Chopin - 24 Preludes Op 28 / 2 Ballades / Fantasie in F minor Jorge Bolet (piano) [ Decca Eloquence / CD - released 25/May/1999 ] The Cuban-American pianist, Jorge Bolet (1914-1990), was a pupil of the great virtuoso, Leopold Godowsky. Bolet's career reached its peak during his later years (1970-1990) and it was during this period that he made a number of outstanding recordings... |
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RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Der Fliegende Hollander [The Flying Dutchman] (complete opera recorded in 1953) Josef Metternich, Annelies Kupper, Wolfgang Windgassen, Josef Greindl / RIAS Kammerchor & RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester, Ferenc Fricsay [ Australian Deutsche Grammophon Eloquence / 2 CD - released 10/Aug/2015 ] "By a fair margin [this set] remains my favourite, with Fricsay at his most electrifying and the team of men quite unbeatable." (Gramophone) |
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NAZARETH / SCOTT / LAMB
Rags & Tangos Joshua Rifkin (piano) [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 12/Sep/2015 ] Joshua Rifkin is a musical polymath - a Bach scholar and a Ragtime specialist. His performances of Ragtime are gentle and inviting and in this wonderful recording of Rags and Tangos (made in 1990 for Decca) he treats us to a Scott Joplin-free... |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
MARBECKS COLELCTABLE: Brahms Masterworks - Handel Variations / Paganini Variations / 6 piano pieces / etc Julius Katchen (piano) [ Decca Eloquence / 2 CD - released 10/Feb/1997 ] Julius Katchen, that colossus that bestrode the pianistic firmament for all too short a time, recorded the Brahms Handel and Paganini Variations three times, twice in mono and once in stereo. This CD set contains the stereo recordings from 1962 and 1965. |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat / Paganini Variations Op. 35 Julius Katchen (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Janos Ferencsik [ Decca Eloquence / CD - released 10/Feb/2006 ] 'Julius Katchen relishes their challenges like a meat-deprived lion jawboning a stack of raw, juicy steaks' ClassicsToday.com |
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DVORAK / TCHAIKOVSKY / SMETANA / STRAVINSKY / SHOSTAKOVICH / PROKOFIEV
The Karel Ancerl Edition Karel Ancerl conducting the Wiener Symphoniker, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, with Wolfgang Schneiderhan (violin) [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 9 CD Box Set - released 28/Jul/2023 ] A Czech maestro in his element: the complete Philips and Deutsche Grammophon albums of Karel AnĨerl collected as a single edition to mark the 50th anniversary of his death (3 July 1973). |
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TRADITIONAL CHILDRENS
The Wonderful World of Nursery Rhymes Kenneth McKellar & Vera Lynn [ Australian Decca Eloquence / CD - released 10/Oct/2018 ] In March 1959 and May 1963, respectively, Vera Lynn and Kenneth McKellar - two of Decca's best-selling exclusive artists - went into the studio to record albums of nursery rhymes. Simply, but deliciously scored, with several touches of humour, the... |
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ANDREA & GIOVANNI GABRIELI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Glory of Venice King's College Choir, Cambridge, Stepen Cleobury / Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Philip Jones [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 20/Sep/2015 ] With Charles Brett (countertenor), Ian Caddy (bass), Thomas Elias (treble), Richard Farnes (organ), Peter Hall (tenor), William Kendall (tenor), Stephen Layton (organ), John Scott (organ) |
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GRIEG / SIBELIUS / EGGEN / ALNAES / LIE
The Flagstad Recitals Vol 2: Scandinavian Songs Kirsten Flagstad (soprano) Edwin McArthur (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra / Oivin Fjeldstad [ Decca SBS Eloquence / 2 CD - released 12/Dec/2009 ] "…what a marvellously fresh and original work Haugtussa is and how glorious is Flagstad's tone and characterisation! I do urge readers who do not know this song-cycle to invest in this record." Gramophone |
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GIOVANNI BONONCINI
Griselda (highlights from the opera) Lauris Elms, Joan Sutherland, Monica Sinclair, Margreta Elkins / The Ambrosian Singers & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Nov/2014 ] "Monica Sinclair rattles through three octaves with enough masculinity for the whole cast. In the title role Lauris Elms sings with charm, and makes much of her opportunities." (Gramophone) |
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BELA BARTOK
Bartók: String Quartets Nos. 1-6 Lindsay String Quartet [ Decca Eloquence / 3 CD Box Set - released 23/Jul/2021 ] "These players have their own kind of distinction in this music and should not be missed." Gramophone, December 1989 |
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MOZART / SCHUBERT / WEBER
Mozart / Schubert: Symphonies London Symphony Orchestra, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, Walter Susskind, Antal Dorati [ Decca SBS Eloquence / 2 CD - released 19/Jun/2020 ] 'Like most of the great European conductors,' wrote the critic Harold C. Schonberg, '[Schmidt-Isserstedt] has been brought up in a tradition that insists on selflessness before great music.' |
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ANTONIN DVORAK / JULES MASSENET
Dvorak: Slavonic Dances / Massenet: Le Cid (Ballet music) with Meyerbeer's 'Les Patineurs' London Symphony Orchestra / Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Jean Martinon [ Decca ABC Eloquence / CD - released 1/Feb/2006 ] "In Martinon's hands, Massenet's tunes fizz and effervesce like the best champagne." (Rosette Penguin Stereo Guide) |
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THE STRAUSS FAMILY
Josef Krips: Memories of Vienna London Symphony Orchestra, New Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Philharmoniker, Josef Krips, with Hilde Gueden [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 27/Sep/2019 ] Newly remastered from the original tapes and in the case of two works these hellac discs this compilation presents recordings made in London and Vienna by a conductor born and bred to the rhythms of the Strauss family. |