SERGEI PROKOFIEV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Prokofiev: Cinderella, Op. 87 [complete ballet] Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 19/Apr/1983 ] "Ashkenazy gets excellent results from the Cleveland orchestra. The recording's fine definition is enchanced, yet not at the expense of atmosphere, and the bright, vivid image is given striking projection." (Penguin Stereo Guide) |
HELLENDAAL / WASSENAER / FESCH / SCHICKHARDT / SOLNITZ / GRONEMAN / HURLEBUSCH
Baroque Concerti from The Netherlands Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, Jan Willem de Vriend, Musica Ad Rhenum, Jed Went [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/2021 ] Excellent performances in Historically Informed Performance style by Dutch groups Combattimento Consort conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend and Musica Ad Rhenum, conducted by Jed Wentz, who is also a traverso soloist. |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vaughan Williams: Choral Works [Incls Serenade to Music; Five Mystical Songs & Fantasia on Christmas Carols] (4 CD set) Corydon Singers, Matthew Best, with John Mark Ainsley, Thomas Allen, Elizabeth Connell, John Gielgud, Bryn Terfel, Sarah Walker, etc [ Hyperion / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Jun/2008 ] 'The performances are splendid, graced by such soloists as Thomas Allen and Bryn Terfel … The rapturous Serenade to Music has a cast of 16 singers fit to rival those of the original recording' (Sunday Times) |
BELLINI / DONIZETTI / CHARPENTIER / GOUNOD / HANDEL / MOZART / VERDI / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Dame Joan Sutherland - The Art of (Five CD Special) Dame Joan Sutherland with various soloists and orchestras. Richard Bonynge, cond [ Decca Records / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Jun/2001 ] "a splendid collection… vividly fresh in these transfers" - Penguin Guide Yearbook (2000) |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn: The Great Edition Daniel Adni, Martha Argerich, Wayner Marshall, Marie-Claire Alain, Emmanuel Pahud, Maxim Vengerov, Victoria de los Angeles, Janet Baker, Sabine Meyer [ Warner Classics / 40 CD Box Set - released 16/Feb/2024 ] A child prodigy, Felix Mendelssohn is considered one of Europe's greatest composers. A virtuoso conductor and pianist, he was a respected all-round musician for whom Robert Schumann had great friendship and admiration. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethven: Complete Piano Sonatas (with bonus Early Westminster Recordings) Daniel Barenboim (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / 13 CD Box Set - released 30/Oct/2020 ] This project - recorded completely during this year's lockdown - is set to become one of the classical recording events of the year! |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: The Complete Symphonies & Concertos Daniel Barenboim (piano), New Philharmonia Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 17/Mar/2023 ] The music of Brahms held an important place in Sir John Barbirolli's repertoire, and these recordings of the symphonies, made with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1966 and 1967, stand as one of the peaks of his discography. |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: 48 Piano Sonatas (8CD Box Set) Daniel-Ben Peinaar (piano) [ Avie / CD Box Set - released 25/Aug/2023 ] Autumn 2020 offered Daniel-Ben Pienaar an opportunity, not because the world was in lockdown but rather for the benefit it provided. A professor at London's Royal Academy of Music, Daniel-Ben was allowed overnight access to the RAM's Angela Burgess... |
MAURO GUILIANI
Guiliani: Complete Music for Flute and Guitar Daniele Ruggieri (flute), Alberto Mesirca (guitar) [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 11/Mar/2022 ] The combination of flute and guitar was a popular and appealing one for many amateur musicians of the early 19th century, and the Italian guitarist-composer Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) realised its full potential. |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Destination Rachmaninoff: The Piano Concertos & Transcriptions (CD set with Blu-ray audio) Daniil Trifonov (piano), Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin [ Deutsche Grammophon / 4 CD Box Set - released 28/Apr/2023 ] "Nézet-Séguin and the superbly responsive Philadelphia Orchestra follow the soloist's every interpretative nuance." BBC Music |
BEETHOVEN / SZYMANOWSKY / SHOSTAKOVICH / FRANCK / MOZART / LALO / TANEIEV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Les introuvables de David Oistrakh David Oistrakh (violin), with Lev Oborin (piano), Vladimir Yampolsky (piano), various orchestras [ EMI Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 18/Oct/2005 ] "For many, Oistrakh remains the violinistic ideal," wrote The Strad magazine in 2019. "His winning combination of tonal sumptuousness, clear interpretative focus, musical humility and effortless technical poise across a broad repertoire remains... |
BEETHOVEN / SZYMANOWSKY / SHOSTAKOVICH / FRANCK / MOZART / BRAHMS / etc
David Oistrakh - The Warner Remastered Edition David Oistrakh (violin), with Lev Oborin , Vladimir Yampolsky (piano), Yehudi Menuhin (violin), Borodin Quartet, various orchestras & conductors [ Warner Classics / 61 CD/DVD Box Set - released 18/Oct/2024 ] "For many, Oistrakh remains the violinistic ideal...his winning combination of tonal sumptuousness, clear interpretative focus, musical humility and effortless technical poise across a broad repertoire remains unmatched to this day." The Strad |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Shostakovich: Complete Symphonies & Concertos BLU-RAY Denis Matsuev, Daniil Trifonov (pianos) Mario Brunello, Gautier Capuçon (cellos) Alena Baeva, Vadim Repin (violin) / Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev [ Arthaus Blu-ray / 4 Blu-ray Box Set - released 1/Jul/2016 ] "Most successful are young violinist Alena Baeva, who gives a sensitive and appropriately fiery performance of Violin Concertoall the symphonies are given excellent, sometimes outstanding performances, with superb soloists…in Nos 13 and 14" BBC Music |
FRANCIS POULENC
Georges Pretre plays Francois Poulenc Denise Duval, Barbara Hendricks (soprano), Maurice Durufle (organ), Gabriel Tacchino (piano) / Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire, Georges Pretre [ Erato / 7 CD Box Set - released 13/Sep/2024 ] Composer Francis Poulenc, who celebrated the 125th anniversary of his birth in 2024, placed his deepest trust in conductor Georges Prêtre. |
RAVEL / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV / WAGNER / FRANCK / FAURE / BEETHOVEN / etc
Paul Paray - The Mercury Masters: Volume 1 Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Paul Paray, with Marcel Dupré (organ) [ Mercury Living Presence Eloquence / 23 CD Box Set - released 17/Jun/2022 ] Covering the first five years of their partnership on Mercury, this edition celebrates the legacy of French conductor, Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Recorded from 1953 to 1957, during the golden era of the orchestra. |
GABRIEL PIERNE
Pierne: Complete Piano Works / Chamber, Orchestral & Vocal Music Diane Anderson, Jean Hubeau (piano) Lily Laskine (harp) Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute) / Jean-Baptiste Mari, Andre Cluytens, etc [ Warner Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 17/Mar/2023 ] Gabriel Pierné - composer, pianist, organist, and conductor - This edition presents his compositions in dazzlingly diverse performances, with the composer himself at the piano and baton, inviting the listener on an exciting exploration of his career |
SCOTT JOPLIN
Joplin: The Complete Works For Piano Dick Hyman (piano) [ Sony Classical / 3 CD Box Set - released 22/Sep/2023 ] In 1975, jazz pianist Dick Hyman made his definitive recording of all the piano works of ragtime legend Scott Joplin (1867 or 1868-1917) for RCA. Joplin's catchy tunes, which also have a certain cunning, had shortly before become better known through... |
BACH / BRAHMS / WOLF / SCHUMANN / BRAHMS / GLUCK / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: Early recordings on Deutsche Grammophon Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) with various accompaniments [ Deutsche Grammophon Original Masters / 9 CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/2013 ] "This nine CD set is a valuable commemoration of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's inestimable contribution to song. It is a real and genuine tribute, for it gives a true overview of a remarkable career." (MusicWeb) |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Complete Opera) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kirsten Flagstad, Ludwig Suthaus, Philhar. Furtwangler [ EMI Great Recordings of the Century / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Aug/2001 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1851-1900) "a uniquely compelling performance" Penguin Stereo Guide |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto (complete opera) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Wolfgang Schene, Julia Hamari, Peter Schreier, Tatiana Troyanos / Munchener Bach-Orchester, Karl Richter [ Deutsche Grammophon Opera House / 4 CD - released 1/Dec/2006 ] 'Tatiana Troyanos copes marvellously well with Cleopatra's essentially soprano part' (Gramophone) |