RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Siegfried (Complete Opera) Tomasz Konieczny, Stephen Gould, Christian Elsner, Violeta Urmana / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Marek Janowski [ Pentatone SACD / 3 Hybrid SACD - released 21/Oct/2013 ] This is the ninth release in PentaTone's successful Wagner Edition and the third release of the cycle: "Der Ring des Nibelungen. |
BROSCHI / GALUPPI / GIACOMELI / HASSE / PORPORA
Arias for Farinelli Vivica Genaux (mezzo-soprano) / Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, Rene Jacobs [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / CD - released 25/Mar/2008 ] "While Vivica Genaux has all the virtupsity needed to negotiate the intricately embellished lines in these songs, she knows, too, how to use ornamentation for expressive effect. Strongly recommended." ***** Five Stars (Pick of the Month) BBC Music... |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Intense Tchaikovsky - a collection of Russian romantic masterpieces (LP) Vladimir Spivakov (violin), Maxim Vengerov (violin), Itamar Golan (piano), Mikhail Pletnev (piano), Viktoria Postnikova (piano), Berlin Philharmonic, [ Warner Classics / LP - released 3/May/2024 ] Tchaikovsky stands as the central figure of 19th-century Russian Romanticism, embodying its widespread and vibrant vitality alongside a profound and sincere depth. This collection seeks to encapsulate the epic and intense qualities inherent in the... |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachts Oratorium) Werner Gura, Klaus Hager, Dorothea Roschmann, Andreas Scholl / Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, Rene Jacobs [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 14/Feb/2006 ] "A handsome package matched by a lively interpretation" (BBC Music) |
BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / FAURE / MOZART / SCHUBERT / SCHUMANN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Wilhelm Kempff III Wilhelm Kempff (piano) / Berlin Philharmonic, Ferdinand Leitner [ Decca / Philips / Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 20/Jan/1998 ] Few pianists on record convey quite the impression of actually composing the music while they perform it that sets Wilhelm Kempff's artistry apart. This quality may owe something to his gift as an improviser (Kempff had also received early training... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Paris & Haffner Symphonies / Oboe Concerto Xenia Loffler (oboe), Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin, Bernhard Forck [ Pentatone / CD - released 17/Jan/2024 ] "The Akademie's great clarity in this recording gives a frequently exhilarating sense of the finesse in Mozart's musical architecture." BBC Orchestral Choice December 2023 |
STRAVINSKY / TCHAIKOVSKY / RACHMANINOV
Sir Simon Rattle conducts Stravinsky, Rachmaninov & Tchaikovsky (rec June 2009) BLU-RAY Yefim Bronfman (piano) / Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic], Sir Simon Rattle [ EuroArts Music Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Feb/2014 ] The famous yearly Berliner Philharmoniker Open-Air concert at the Berlin Waldbühne attended by more than 20,000 people. The atmosphere is unique and unconventionally relaxed. People bring champagne, salmon and caviar, making the Waldbühne a giant... |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 4) [recorded in 1992] Yefim Bronfman (piano) / Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic], Kurt Sanderling [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 22/Dec/2010 ] "The DVD camera lets us watch his mercurial hands in astonishment as well as pleasure...This is among the most revealing accounts available" (Gramophone) |
JOHANNES BRAHMS / W. A. MOZART
Brahms / Mozart: Violin Concertos Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) / Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic], Wolfgang Sawallisch [ Warner Classics Redline / CD - released 15/Oct/2018 ] Two great milestones in the discography of Frank Peter Zimmermann, one of the finest of German violin virtuosi. Graceful elegance marks his Mozart interpretation, while his Brahms is all virtuoso fire and dreamy, romantic rapture. |
JOSEF HAYDN
Haydn: Symphonies 88-92 / Sinfonia Concertante Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle [ EMI / 2 CD - released 1/Sep/2007 ] "Some nods to 'authenticity' but this is big-band Haydn and Rattle relishes it" Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine October 2007 |
Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic
Beethoven:wellington's Victory [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD ] |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphonie No. 5 Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic], Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 1/Jan/2000 ] |
BRAHMS / DVORAK / MENDELSSOHN / MUSSORGSKY / MAHLER / NONO
Claudio Abbado Edition Vol. 1 Berliner Philharmoniker [Berlin Philharmonic], Claudio Abbado [ Sony Classical / 5 CD Box Set - released 10/Apr/2014 ] As the endlessly sad news of Claudio Abbado's passing broke on Monday 20th January 2014, heartfelt tributes quickly poured in from around the world: "a great musician and a generous man" (Sir Simon Rattle); "will always be part of the exalted group... |
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No.9 Karita Mattila, Violeta Urmana, Thomas Moser, Thomas Quasthoff / Eric-Ericson-Kammerchor, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 11/Mar/2002 ] |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1 - 5 Mitsuko Uchida (piano) / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, SirSimon Rattle [ Berlin Philharmonic / 4 CD Box Set - released 10/Oct/2019 ] There is hardly a better way to approach Ludwig van Beethoven than through his piano concertos. Beethoven's own instrument was the piano, and in his improvisations - which made him the darling of the Viennese salons - he merged virtuosity and... |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Symphonies, Serenades and Overtures Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado, with Marjana Lipovsek (contralto) [ Deutsche Grammophon / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Jul/2014 ] The 5 CD BRAHMS box of Symphonies, Serenades and Overtures, is generally recognized as containing the best modern recordings of his symphonic oeuvre. "Brahms would be the top of my Abbado picks," critic Martin Kettle has written, "partly but not only... |
LORENZO PALOMO
Dulcinea Ainhoa Arteta (soprano) / Chorus and Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin / Miguel Angel Gomez Martinez [ Naxos Spanish Classics / CD - released 1/Jun/2010 ] Driven by exuberant rhythms and soaring lyricism, Lorenzo Palomo's Dulcinea is a cantata-fantasy devoted to love and freedom. The inimitable knight errant Don Quixote and his companion Sancho Panza each sing of their loves, the imaginary Dulcinea... |
TELEMANN
Orchestral Suites Akadamie Fur Alte Musik Berlin [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / 2 CD - released 3/Jun/2013 ] "This set can hardly fail to entertain. That is first and foremost the merit of the composer who apparently had a sharp eye for his environment and the idiosyncrasies and weaknesses of human beings." (MusicWeb Aug 2013) |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Concerti Grossi Op.3 Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin [ Pentatone / CD - released 14/Aug/2020 ] The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin complete their Handel trilogy with this recording of the Op. 3 concerti grossi. Even if this selection of concertos was most likely compiled by Handel's publisher rather than by the composer himself, the overall... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Adagios & Fugues [after JS Bach] Fugue arrangements for strings Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/Mar/2014 ] "The Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin are radiant in this recording … this is glorious music beautifully played; a fascinating collection." Early Music Today |