Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler
Neck & Neck [ Columbia / CD ] Originally released in 1990, two generations of leading and groundbreaking guitarists combined their efforts to create this legendary album. American Country music legend Chet Atkins and British singer-songwriter, guitarist and Dire Straits front man... |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: The Bedbug / Love and Hate Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Mark Fitz-Gerald [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] Shostakovich was still a young composer when he was hired to provide incidental music for The Bedbug, a surreal and farcical satire on Communist utopian dreams and bourgeois corruption and vulgarity. He produced a terrifically knockabout score that... |
BIZET / FALLA / BERNSTEIN / RAVEL / LEHAR / etc
Elina Garanca: Habanera Elina Garanca (mezzo) with Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Coro Filarmonico del Regio di Torino, Karel Mark Chichon [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 30/Aug/2010 ] "GaranĨa's voice has been described as "creamy", "silken" and "lustrous" but it also has a surprisingly rounded maturity. What sets her apart, however, is the unteachable ability to send shivers down the spine." Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine,... |
BAX / BRIDGE / DELIUS
English Spring Halle Orchestra, Mark Elder [ ASV Halle / CD - released 20/Aug/2011 ] "...a truly cherishable account of a great work to crown a collection that bids fair to be one of my records of the year." (Gramophone Award Finalist 2011 - Orchestral) |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Cantatas Nos 35 & 169 Iestyn Davies (counter-tenor), Carolyn Sampson (soprano), John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Neal Davies (bass) / Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 4/Feb/2022 ] Both of these cantatas may have been written for an outstandingly gifted boy alto in Bach's Leipzig, but-listening to these peerless accounts-it's impossible to believe he could have approached Iestyn Davies's flawless technique. |
GILBERT AND SULLIVAN
G & S: The Pirates of Penzance (complete operetta) John Mark Ainsley, Rebecca Evans, Donald Adams, Richard Suart / Richard Suart / Orchestra & Chorus of Welsh National Opera, Charles Mackerras [ Telarc Records / CD - released 1/Jan/2007 ] "Sir Charles Mackerras directs a riveting performance with an exceptional cast. The numbers race along without any dragging tempos - witness the Pirate Kings song and 'How beautifully blue the sky'." Mel@Marbecks |
GERALD FINZI
Finzi: In Years Defaced / Prelude Op 25 / Romance Op 11 / Concerto for Small Orchestra John Mark Ainsley (tenor) Tasmin Little (violin) / City of London Sinfonia, Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 12/Feb/2001 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE: Editor's Choice (May 2001) |
PONCHIELLI / GIORDANO / VERDI / FLOTOW / BIZET / PUCCINI / etc
Johathan Tetelman - Arias Jonathan Tetelman (tenor), Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Karel Mark Chichon [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 12/Aug/2022 ] Chilean-American tenor Jonathan Tetelman has already earned a reputation in the opera world as a dedicated, distinctive and versatile artist. Having signed an exclusive agreement with DG, he has now recorded his debut DG album, Arias. |
STEPHAN PROCK
Sojourn Lisa Harper-Brown, Mark Dorrell, Roberto Fabbriciani, Margaret Medlyn, Jian Liu, Martin Riseley, Diedre Irons [ Rattle / CD - released 16/Feb/2018 ] Boston-based composer Stephan Prock offers a rich musical reflection of his time in Aotearoa with SOJOURN. Stephan is a film music scholar and freelance composer of contemporary music for soloists, chamber ensembles, orchestra, and film. Based in... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN / RICHARD WAGNER / GIUSEPPE VERDI
Lise Davidsen: Beethoven - Wagner - Verdi Lise Davidsen (soprano) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder [ Decca / CD - released 16/Apr/2021 ] GRAMOPHONE Award Nomination 2021 - Voice & Ensemble |