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BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / CHOPIN / SCHUBERT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Wilhelm Backhaus I Wilhelm Backhaus (piano) [ Philips / Decca / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2000 ] Backhaus made his first concert tour at the age of sixteen. In 1900 he went to England and in 1901 played for the first time in Manchester at the Gentleman's Concerts. In 1902 he performed at the Hallé Concerts, and thereafter in 12 concerts at the... |
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HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Music for Flute (Incls Bachianas Brasileiras No 6) William Bennett (flute) with Thea King (clarinet) Neil Black (oboe) and others [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Feb/2006 ] 'A disc of pure delight from beginning to end. Another example of why Hyperion gets my vote as the most innovative record label. Full marks!' (Which CD) |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Puccini - Messa di Gloria / Orchestral works William Johns (tenor) Philippe Huttenlocher (bass) / Chœur Symphonique Et Orchestre De La Fondation Gulbenkian De Lisbonne, Michel Corboz [ Erato Collection / CD - released 24/Mar/1974 ] Puccini composed the Mass as his graduation exercise from the Istituto Musicale Pacini. It had its first performance in Lucca on July 12, 1880. However, the Credo had already been written and performed in 1878 and was initially conceived by Puccini... |
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W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Don Giovanni (Highlights from the complete opera) William Shimell, Cheryl Studer, Samuel Ramey / Vienna Philharmonic / Riccardo Muti [ EMI Encore / CD - released 22/Feb/2005 ] Combining comedy and drama, Don Giovanni is one of the most well-known and often praised operas ever written. First performed in 1787, it has been appealing to audiences ever since with its multitude of moral, as well as musical themes. |
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ROBERT SCHUMANN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schumann: Dichterliebe / Liederkreis / Myrthen / etc [2 CD set] Wolfgang Holzmair (baritone) Imogen Cooper (piano) [ Philips SBS Eloquence / 2 CD - released 20/Apr/2011 ] "Singer and pianist work together almost by instinct in thinking themselves into the very heart of these songs... Holzmair's plangent, very Viennese voice bespeaks the vulnerability that lies at the soul of Robert's Eusebius side." (Gramophone) |
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ALBINONI / VIVALDI / CORELLI / PURCELL / ALBERTI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vivaldi: Concerti & Baroque Trumpet Music John Wallace (trumpet) / The Philharmonia, Christopher Warren-green, Simon Wright, with John Miller (trumpet) [ Nimbus / CD - released 2/Feb/1994 ] Recorded in the UK. by Nimbus Records, 1994 |
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WYNTON MARSALIS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Sweet Release & Ghost Story - two more ballets by Wynton Marsalis Wynton Marsalis (trumpet/conductor) / Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra [ Sony Music / CD - released 2/Sep/1999 ] The fifth in Wynton Marsalis's avalanche of eight releases in 1999 was another pairing of ballets, again issued on Sony Classical rather than Columbia. Sweet Release is easily the more ingratiating of the two - obviously, even slavishly, modeled on... |
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RICHARD STRAUSS / CHRISTOPHER HEADINGTON
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss/Headington: Violin Concertos Xue-Wei (violin) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jane Glover [ ASV / CD ] The Strauss Violin Concerto was first performed publicly on 5 December 1882, in the Bösendorfersaal of the Herrengasse in Vienna. The soloist was the dedicatee Benno Walter. Strauss himself played his own piano reduction of the orchestral parts.... |
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Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli (violins), Alan Claire Trio, etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Jealousy [ EMI Music / CD - released 26/Jul/2005 ] A classic album from these two masters of their art. Full of fun and infectious music-making, the recording is supplemented here with tracks from the 1975 LP 'Fascinatin' Rhythm'. |
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BACH / BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / DVORAK / DEBUSSY / RAVEL / BLOCH / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Yehudi Menuhin plays favourite encores Yehudi Menuhin (violin) [ Biddulph / CD - released 21/Jun/1996 ] These discs feature a collection of shorter, virtuosic pieces that Menuhin often performed at the end of concerts, with Biddulph Recordings releasing a series of these remastered recordings Piano - Ferguson Webster (tracks: 4, 9, 10, 17), Hendrik... |
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EDWARD ELGAR
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Elgar: Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61 / Cockaigne Overture, Op. 40 'In London Town' / etc Yehudi Menuhin (violin) / London Philharmonic Orchestra / New Philharmonia Orchestra / Sir Adrian Boult [ EMI British Composers / CD - released 23/Feb/2007 ] Recorded in All Saints', Tooting, 29 September 1970 and 19 February 1971 |
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ALEXANDRE MOSSOLOV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mossolov: Works for piano Russudan Khuntsaria (piano) / Orchestre Symphonique D'Etat D'URSS, Vladimir Kojoukhar [ Harmonia Muindi Russian Season / CD - released 12/Apr/2010 ] "Under Stalinism, Mosolov adhered to Soviet realism, composing with Kyrgyz and Turkmen folk music. Conflicts with authorities led to his expulsion from the Union of Soviet Composers (1936), a Gulag term (1937) reduced by professors' intervention." |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: The Sonatas for Cello and Piano Yo-Yo Ma (cello) Emanuel Ax (piano) [ Sony Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 25/Jun/1987 ] Grammy Awards 29th Awards (1986) Best Chamber Music Recording [for sonata no 4 & variation] |
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ROBERT SCHUMANN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schumann: Cello Concerto / Adagio & Allegro for cello & piano in A flat major, Op. 70 / etc Yo-Yo Ma (cello) / Emmanuel Ax (piano) / Bayerischen Rundfunks Sinfonie-orchester / Sir Colin Davis [ Sony Classical / CD - released 1/Mar/1988 ] "Yo-Yo Ma's playing is always distinguished by great expressive refinement and tonal sophistication. His account of the concerto is keenly affectionate...those wanting the present coupling need not hesitate." (Gramophone) |
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FRANZ SCHUBERT / ROBERT SCHUMANN / MAX BRUCH / GEORGES ENESCO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schubert / Schumann / Bruch ./ Enesco Yuri Bashmet (viola) & Mikhail Muntian (piano) [ RCA Victor Red Seal / CD - released 10/Aug/1991 ] "Yuri Bashmet (viola) and Mikhail Muntian (piano) are highly praised for their RCA recordings....MusicWeb International praises their collaborative performance style, describing them as a "true duo" with "strong readings". |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Symphony 9 'Choral' Yvonne Kenny (soprano) Sarah Walker (mezzo-soprano) Patrick Power (tenor) / Petteri Salomaa (bass) / London Classical Players, Roger Norrington [ Virgin Virgo / CD - released 19/Oct/2004 ] "For the Ninth, Norrington has a larger orchestra of some 65 players, with the 50-strong Schutz Choir in the finale. But the sonic mix is very much as it was on the earlier record, with glimmering, vibrato-free strings, plaintive woodwinds,... |
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HECTOR BERLIOZ
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Berlioz: Romeo et Juliette (with works by Cesar Franck) Yvonne Minton, Francisco Araiza, Jules Bastin, Christa Ludwig / Christa Ludwig / Orchestre de Paris, Daniel Barenboim [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD Box Set - released 26/Apr/2010 ] Now a rare recording of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet, along with works of Cesar Franck. Originally recorded in 1976 (Franck) and 1980. |
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GUSTAV: MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mahler: Symphony No 9 / Des Knaben Wunderhorn [Four Songs] / Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen Yvonne Minton (mezzo-soprano) / Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [ Decca Classics / CD - released 28/Sep/2003 ] "Solti's recordings for Decca were valued in their day for their electric energy, clarity, and precision; many were widely praised as vital contributions to the slender catalog and necessary antidotes to the faulty, idiosyncratic interpretations by... |
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CARL NIELSEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Nielsen: String Quartets Volume 1 [incls Little Suite for Strings] Zapolski Quartet [ Chandos / CD - released 29/Feb/2008 ] "They are marvellous pieces and their neglect outside Scandinavia strikes me as quite unaccountable." Gramophone |
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NICCOLO PAGANINI / CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 / Saint-Saens: Violin Concerto No. 3 Zino Francescatti (violin) / Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy / New York Philharmonic, Dimitri Mitropoulos [ Sony Masteworks / CD - released 27/Jul/1991 ] "Saint-Saëns Third Violin Concertos with Zino Francescatti captured at the height of his powers, his tone rich and vibrant, his bowing virtually as fleet as Heifetz's." MusicWeb |