GYORGY LIGETI
Ligeti: The 18 Études Danny Driver (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 5/Mar/2021 ] "In essence, Driver's Ligeti Études complement rather than compete with Aimard and Ullén, and that's high praise." Gramophone Editor's Choice April 2021 |
MONTEVERDI / HANDEL / GLUCK / KEISER / ORLANDINI
Drama Queens: Royal Arias from the 17th and 18th Centuries Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano) / Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis [ Virgin Classics / CD - released 15/Oct/2012 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Vocal |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH / FRANZ LISZT
Shostakovich: Suite on poems by Michelangelo / Liszt: Petrarch Sonnets Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone) & Ivari Ilja (piano) [ Ondine / CD - released 1/Jul/2017 ] This second release of star baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky for Ondine features Russian Lieder by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Taneyev. Dmitri Hvorostovsky is recognized as one of the leading and most charismatic baritones of our time, performing... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Leonardo da Vinci, La Musique Secrète Doulce Mémoire, Denis Raisin Dadre [ Alpha Classics CD + Book / CD/Book - released 10/May/2019 ] 2019 saw the 500th commemoration of the death of one of the greatest geniuses humanity has produced: Leonardo da Vinci, scientist, inventor, painter - an musician. |
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Samson Joshua Ellicott, Sophie Bevan, Fflur Wyn, Mary Bevan, Jess Dandy, Hugo Hymas / Dunedin Consort, John Butt [ Linn / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2019 ] "This new Samson now becomes the top recommendation: for its uniformly excellent soloists, its excitingly 'present' choral singing and, above all, its more urgent sense of theatre" Gramophone Awards 2020 Short List - Choral |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Gothic Voices Gramophone Award Winners Collection (3 CDs at a special price) Emma Kirkby (soprano) Andrew Lawrence King (harp) / Gothic Voices / Christopher Page [ Hyperion / 3 CD - released 26/Sep/2006 ] Three classic Gothic Voices albums: A FEATHER ON THE BREATH OF GOD, THE SERVICE OF VENUS AND MARS and A SONG FOR FRANCESCA |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Death in Venice (Complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY English National Opera / John Graham-Hall, Andrew Shore, Tim Mead / Edward Gardner (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/May/2014 ] "Graham-Hall is a real stage-animal, convincing us utterly of his descent into obsession...every colour, timbre and texture of this richly imaginative score comes blazing through under Gardner's baton". (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Opera) |
ANONYMOUS
Au Sainct Nau Ensemble Clément Janequin, Dominique Visse [ Alpha / CD - released 17/Nov/2014 ] "The ensemble continues to do what it does best but retains a freshness and questing spirit that sometimes eludes groups of comparable vintage, a sense of joyous music-making." (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Early Music) |
JEAN de CAMBEFORT / FRANCESCO CAVALLI / ANTOINE BOESSET / ANONYMOUS
Le Concert Royal de la Nuit: Louis XIV 1715-2015 Celebration [Special Edition] Ensemble Correspondances, Sébastien Daucé [ Harmonia Mundi CDs plus Book / 2 CD/Book - released 20/Nov/2015 ] "A rotating team of up to 52 musicians traverse the musical spectrum from whispered intimacy to jovial ceremony." (Gramophone Editor's Choice November 2015) |
FANTINI:/ MALVEZZI / CACCINI / MARENZIO / BRUNELLI / STRIGGIO
Stravaganza d'Amore!: The Birth of Opera at the Medici Court Ensemble Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD Box Set - released 15/Nov/2017 ] "The performances are highly polished, chorus and ensemble, producing a glossy and liberally embellished sound while the dozen soloists give fine and well-balanced contributions." BBC Music Opera Choice Oct 2017 |
JOSQUIN DESPREZ
Josquin Desprez: Baisiez Moy Ensemble Theleme, Jean-Christophe Groffe [ Aparté / CD - released 23/Jul/2021 ] 'Not only are the performances all on an extremely high level but there are quite a lot of pieces here that you cannot otherwise hear.' Gramophone Award WINNER 2022 - Early Music |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Elektra (complete opera recorded in 2013) Festival d'Aix-en-Provence / Evelyn Herlitzius, Waltraud Meier, Adrianne Pieczonka, Mikhail Petrenko / Esa-Pekka Salonen (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques DVD / DVD - released 1/Aug/2014 ] "There's nothing utilitarian about the cast, though, least of all its Elektra. Precise in pitch, unfailingly intense and charismatic, the German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius conquers every challenge." (Gramophone Award WINNER 2015 - Opera) |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Elektra (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Festival d'Aix-en-Provence / Evelyn Herlitzius, Waltraud Meier, Adrianne Pieczonka, Mikhail Petrenko / Esa-Pekka Salonen (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2014 ] "There's nothing utilitarian about the cast, though, least of all its Elektra. Precise in pitch, unfailingly intense and charismatic, the German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius conquers every challenge." (Gramophone Award WINNER 2015 - Opera) |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Pietro Il Grande, Kzar delle Russie (complete opera recorded in 2019) BLU-RAY Festival Donizetti Opera / Roberto De Candia, Loriana Castellano, Paola Gradina, Nina Solodovnikova / Rinaldo Alessandrini (cond) [ Dynamic Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 22/Jan/2021 ] "Conducting, playing and choral singing are all terrific, sweeping you through the opera with their infectious precision and energy." Gramphone DVD/Blu-ray of the Month April 2021 |
CHARLES GOUNOD
Gounod: Cantates et Musique Sacree Gabrielle Philiponet (soprano), Sébastien Droy (tenor) / Flemish Radio Choir, Brussels Philharmonic, Hervé Niquet [ Bru Zane Ediciones Singulares / 2 CD/Book - released 26/Jan/2018 ] "The choral singing has wonderful richness, clarity and fervour, above all in the Messe vocale, which is breathtaking. A tremendous set, it adds immeasurably to our understanding of Gounod's work. Very highly recommended indeed." Gramophone |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann: Piano Trios (Nos 1 & 2) The Florestan Trio [ Hyperion 30 / CD - released 1/Oct/2010 ] GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE CLASSIC CD 100 GREATEST DISCS OF THE DECADE |
ERNST KRENEK
Krenek: Reisebuch aus den österreichischen Alpen (with Zemlinsky - songs) Florian Boesch (baritone) & Roger Vignoles (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Sep/2016 ] "The emotional ambivalences are finely projected, as sadness, dismay and anger are repeatedly undercut by self-deprecating wit and humour" Gramophone Awards 2017 Nomination - Solo Vocal |
SCHOENBERG
Moses und Aron Franz Grundheber, Andreas Conrad / SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg & EuropaChorAkademie, Sylvain Cambreling [ Hanssler Classic / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 30/Jun/2014 ] "This imposing, intriguing opera is one of the most powerful contributions to 20th-century musical modernism and this recording does it justice." (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Opera) |
CROFT / ELGAR / PARRY / WOOD / LUTHER / HOWELLS
An English Coronation, 1902-1953: Edward VII, George V, George VI, Elizabeth II Gabrieli, Paul McCreesh [ Signum / 2 CD - released 9/May/2019 ] "One can imagine the virtuosity required by every contributor, at every turn, to make this a reality, let alone a dazzling triumph." Gramophone Awards 2020 Short List - Choral |
LASSUS
Lagrime di San Pietro [The Tears of St Peter] Gallicantus, Gabriel Crouch (director) [ Signum / CD - released 2/Oct/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD NOMINATION 2014 |