VIVALDI / MOZART / MARCELLO / BACH / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV / etc
Outstanding Oboe - Best loved classical oboe music Stefan Schilli, Max Artved, Elise Batnes, Charles "Chip" Hamann, József Kiss, Lisa Stewart (oboes) [ Naxos / CD - released 27/Feb/2019 ] With its roots in ancient Greece and Rome, the oboe has evolved from the rustic medieval shawm and the French Baroque hautbois to become the modern instrument we know today. Italian composers provided the first works befitting of its expressive... |
HANDEL / RAMEAU / BACH / COUPERIN / SCARLATTI / POULENC / etc
Handsome Harpsichord: Best loved classical harpsichord music Alan Cuckston, Laurence Cummings, Luc Beauséjour, Glen Wilson, Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichords), Wolfgang Rubsam (lute-harpsichord), etc [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Mar/2020 ] For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The 'Best Loved' series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. Spotlighting individual... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Delicate Delights: Best Loved Classical Mandolin & Lute Music Dorina Frati (mandolin), Piera Dadomo (guitar), Paul O'Dette (mandolin), Elfriede Kunschak (mandolin), Maria Hinterleitner (harpsichord), Konrad Ragos [ Naxos / CD - released 26/Jun/2020 ] For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The 'Best Loved' series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. Spotlighting individual... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Heavenly Harp: Best Loved Classical Harp Music Erica Goodman (harp), Elizabeth Hainen (harp), Judy Loman (harp), Claudia Antonelli (harp), Ellen Bødtker (harp), Elisa Netzer (harp), Cristina Bianch [ Naxos / CD - released 26/Jun/2020 ] For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The 'Best Loved' series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. Spotlighting individual... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Perfect Piano: Best loved classical piano music Jenö Jandó, Idil Biret, Einar Steen-Nøkleberg, François-Joël Thiollier, Benjamin Frith, Boris Giltburg [ Naxos / CD - released 28/Feb/2020 ] For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The 'Best Loved' series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. Spotlighting individual... |
TELEMANN / BARTOK / MOZART / HINDEMITH / BRAHMS / etc
Vivid Viola: Best loved classical viola music Ladislav Kyselák, Hong-Mei Xiao, Roger Chase, Roberto Díaz, Tabea Zimmermann, Heinrich Koll (Violas) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] The viola is only slightly larger than the violin but possesses a middle range that is richly expressive and full of pathos. It has been played by some of the greatest composers, including JS Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Dvorak. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Booming Bass & Baritone: Best Loved Opera Arias Lado Ataneli (Baritone), Matthias Goerne, (Baritone), Carlo Colombara (Bass), Samuel Ramey (Bass) [ Naxos / CD - released 23/Apr/2021 ] From the jack-of-all-trades, Figaro, to the impotent jester Rigoletto, and from the heroic William Tell to the mischievous Méphistophélès, these larger-than-life characters for baritone and bass represent the grandeur of great music. |
CRUSELL / SPOHR / MOZART / BRAHMS / SCHUBERT / etc
Classic Clarinet: Best Loved Classical Clarinet Music Per Billman, Peter Schmidl, Ernst Ottensamer, Boris Rener, Nikolaus Friedrich (clarinets) with Sibylla Rubens (soprano) [ Naxos / CD - released 8/Mar/2019 ] Leading performers inspired the greatest composers of their times to write imperishable masterpieces for the new instrument, exploiting its fullest range. |
SCHUMANN / TCHAIKOVSKY / MOZART / HAYDN / BRAHMS / etc
Heroic Horn; Best Loved Classical French Horn Music Various artists from the Naxos catalogue [ Naxos / CD - released 23/Oct/2020 ] For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The Best Loved series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. |
MOURET / HAYDN / ALBINONI / HUMMEL / WEBER / etc
Terrific Trumpet: Best Loved Classical Trumpet Music Various artists from the Naxos catalogue [ Naxos / CD - released 23/Oct/2020 ] For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The Best Loved series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Gorgeous Guitar:Best Loved Classical Guitar Music Victor Villadangos (guitar), Norbert Kraft (guitar), Celil Refik Kaya (guitar), Ana Vidović (guitar), Andrea Bissoli (guitar), Dale Kavanagh (guitar) [ Naxos / CD - released 26/Jun/2020 ] For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The 'Best Loved' series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. Spotlighting individual... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Awesome Organ: Best loved classical organ music Wolfgang Rubsam, Simon Lindley, Stephen Tharp, Philippe Lefebvre, Robert Delcamp, Christiaan Teeuwsen, Éric Lebrun (organs) [ Naxos / CD - released 28/Feb/2020 ] For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The 'Best Loved' series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. Spotlighting individual... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Marvellous Mezzo-Soprano and Contralto: Best Loved Opera Arias Agnes Baltsa (mezzo-soprano), Sonia Ganassi (mezzo-soprano), Marjana Lipovšek (mezzo-soprano), Ewa Podleś (contralto) [ Naxos / CD - released 23/Apr/2021 ] Portraying characters such as Rossini's lovestruck heroines, Verdi's dramatic roles and the seductive Carmen, the mezzo voice is valued for a tone that embodies richness and sensuality in all its operatic variety. |
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... |
DELIBES / GOUNOD / OFFENBACH / PUCCINI / VERDI / MOZART / etc
SPECTACULAR SOPRANO - Best Loved Opera Arias Maria Pia Ionata, Monika Krause, Hellen Kwon, Ana María Martínez, Elisabeth Norberg-Schulz, Luba Orgonášová, Antonietta Stella, Krassimira Stoyanova [ Naxos / CD - released 3/Dec/2021 ] The soprano voice occupies the highest-sounding line of music (in Italian 'sopra' means 'over' or 'above') and it is subdivided into various types. The coloratura is the virtuoso, suited for rapid ornamentation such as in Mozart's Queen of the Night. |
LEONCAVALLO / VERDI / MOZART / DONIZETTI / PUCCINI / HANDEL / LEHAR / etc
THRILLING TENOR - Best Loved Opera Arias Piotr Beczała, János Berkes, John Dickie, Marcello Giordani, Vladimir Grishko, Marcus Haddock, Thomas Harper, Kristjan Johannsson, Torsten Kerl, etc [ Naxos / CD - released 3/Dec/2021 ] It is only since the bel canto era in the 19th century that the tenor voice really took off as a leading character in operatic roles, often playing the heroic figure against a love-interest soprano and a villain baritone. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Vibrant Violin: Best loved classical violin music Tianwa Yang (violin), Takako Nishizaki (violin) Henning Kraggerud (violin), Marat Bisengaliev (violin), Chloë Hanslip (violin) [ Naxos / CD - released 9/Aug/2019 ] No instrument can match the violin in its ability to emulate the beauty and subtlety of the human voice. Its design is an acoustic marvel, with tonal qualities that seem limitless, turning violin makers over the centuries, such as Stradivarius and... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
101 CLASSICS - The Best Loved Classical Melodies Various orchestras and conductors [ Naxos / 8 CD Box Set - released 1/Jul/2010 ] All your favourites in one great package! |