BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Operas [incls 'Peter Grimes', 'The Turn of the Screw' & 'Billy Budd'] Various Artists incls Pop Wagner, James Bowman, Ian Bostridge, Angelika Kirchschlager, Elisabeth Comeaux Nelson, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Felicity Lott [ Erato Classics / 13 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2019 ] Gramophone Awards 1988 Winner - Opera |
JULES MASSENET
Massenet: Operas Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda, Cheryl Studer, Beverly Sills, Renee Doria, Teresa Berganza, Jose van Dam, Sherrill Milnes, etc [ Erato / 16 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2018 ] "This is as good a performance as we are likely to get of this persuasive work. Victoria de los Angeles as Charlotte is adorable, both in character and in the sheer beauty of sound." (Gramophone on Werther) |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Iolanta (complete opera recorded in 1984) Galina Vishnevskaya, Nicolai Gedda, Walton Gronroos, Tom Krause / Groupe Vocal de France & Orchestre de Paris, Mstislav Rostropovich [ Warner Classics Erato Opera Collection / 2 CD - released 12/Oct/2009 ] "Rostropovich's 1984 Paris concert performance [is] centred round Galina Vishnevskaya… singing warmly and strongly, with a fine Vaudemont from Nicolai Gedda." Gramophone |
VIVALDI / DONIZETTI / ROSSINI / HANDEL / HASSE
Arias [3 CD set] Vivica Genaux (mezzo soprano) / Europa Galante, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Les Violons du Roy [ Erato / Warner Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Sep/2015 ] "Mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux is superb. Her voice is perfectly suited to this type of repertoire, with the ability to tackle the stratospheric scales, arpeggios and trills, while remaining comfortable in the lower registers." (MusicWeb Feb 2010) |
HENRY PURCELL
Purcell: King Arthur Veronique Gens, Claron McFadden, Sandrine Piau, Mark Padmore / Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Erato Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 6/Dec/2010 ] Rosette Penguin Stereo Guide |
CARL MARIA von WEBER
Clarinet Concertos Walter Boeykens, Paul Meyer, François-René Duchable / Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, James Conlon [ Warner Classics Erato Apex / CD - released 20/Dec/2014 ] Apex - the budget label from Warners |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Nacht & Träume Wiebke Lehmkuhl (contralto), Stanislas de Barbeyrac (tenor) Insula orchestra & accentus, Laurence Equilbey [ Erato Classics / CD - released 1/Feb/2018 ] "immediately one is struck by the high quality of Stanislas de Barbeyrac's singing. His interpretations are sensitive and intelligent and his tenor is beautifully controlled - flexible but steely" Gramophone |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Triple Concerto / Choral Fantasy Alexandra Conunova (violin), Natalie Clein (cello) & David Kadouch (piano), Bertrand Chamayou (piano), Sandrine Piau (soprano) / Accentus [ Erato Classics / CD - released 10/Jun/2019 ] Conductor Laurence Equilbey is fascinated and inspired by the unconventional, hybrid character of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy and Triple Concerto. |
GABRIEL FAURE
Faure: Requiem Op 48 / Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11 (with Pierre Villette & Roger-Ducasse - Motets) Winchester Cathedral Choir, David Hil [ Erato Classics Red Line / CD - released 15/Oct/2018 ] "This recording gives us what can be described as the 'original' version, in that it uses a small orchestra and all-male chorus as in its first performance. Hill takes an approach which cleverly combines austerity with expressive flexibility; the... |
J. S. BACH
Bach: The Complete Keyboard Works Zuzana Ruzickova (harpsichord) [ Erato / 20 CD Box Set - released 25/Mar/2017 ] "A significant set celebrating this fine harpsichordist's survey of Bach's solo keyboard music." Gramophone reissue of the Month (Jan 2017) |