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HEINRICH IGNAZ BIBER
Violin Sonatas Romanesca: Andrew Manze (violin) / Nigel North (lute & theorbo) / John Toll (harpsichord & organ) [ Harmonia Mundi Gold / 2 CD - released 20/May/2011 ] "This is masterful playing...The range of expression is indeed a constant joy. Amongst the finest baroque chamber music to have appeared in recent years." - Gramophone Magazine |
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FRESCOBALDI / KAPSBERGER / SCHMELZER
Fantastic Style - 17th Century Violin Music (Frescobaldi, Kapsberger, Schmelzer) Romanesca: Andrew Manze (violin) / Nigel North (theorbo) / John Toll (organ) [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD ] Harmonia Mundi's Fantastic Style is a two-for-the-price-of-one combination of two great albums by Romanesca: Phantasticus, originally released in 1996, and Schmelzer: Violin Sonatas from 1998. Phantasticus takes as its point of departure an extract... |
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Romanesca: Andrew Manze, violin / Nigel North, theorbo / John Toll, organ
Uccellini - Sonatas [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 13/Mar/2005 ] "Some of the most uninhibited baroque playing around. Any disc released by Romanesca is a 'must'". - Classic CD |
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PURCELL
Purcell Edition (The Indian Queen, The Tempest, Dioclesian, Timon of Athens) Rosemary Hardy, Dinah Harris, Jennifer Smith, Lynne Dawson, Rogers Covey-Crump etc / Monteverdi Choir / English Baroque Soloists, John Elliot Gardiner [ Warner Erato / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2010 ] "The choral singing is especially fine, with the close of the work movingly expressive… for The Tempest, Gardiner demonstrates how delightful it is, a masterly collection, in performances both polished and stylish and with excellent solo and choral... |
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HEROLD
La Fille mal Gardee (complete ballet with cheography by Frederick Ashton recorded in 1981) The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden / Lesley Collier / Michael Coleman / John Lanchberry (cond) [ Kultur / NVC Arts / Warner Music Vision / DVD - released 22/Jun/2005 ] G :- Frederick Ashton's delightful ballet has proved irresistible to audiences of all ages and The Royal Ballet's production has immediate appeal for newcomers to ballet as well as for those who return time and again to enjoy its lyrical comedy. |
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STRAVINSKY
The Firebird / Les Noces (complete ballets recorded in 1996) The Royal Ballet / Leanne Benjamin / Jonathan Cope / Zenaida Yanowsky / John Carewe (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Nov/2002 ] G - 'The Firebird and Les Noces in revelatory and near definitive versions…' Best DVDs of the Year 2002 The Independent |
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PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (complete ballet recorded in 1968) Royal Ballet / Lesley Collier, Rudolf Nureyev, Merle Park, Leslie Edwards, Betty Kavanagh, Keith Martin, Ann Jenner, Gerd Larsen, Wayne Sleep / John L [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 27/Nov/2020 ] "Explore the dreamlike world of Rudolf Nureyev's interpretation of The Nutcracker. In his imaginative retelling of a 19th-century classic, the young Clara is propelled by dark forces from the realm of childhood into a radiant kingdom where she takes... |
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ERIC COATES
London Again Suite and other orchestral works Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra /John Wilson [ Avie / CD - released 27/Jun/2005 ] "Sweet tuneful nostalgic delight - a must for Eric Coates admirers." (MusicWeb May 2005) |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Made in Britain Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, John Wilson [ Avie Records / CD - released 3/Oct/2011 ] "[Clark's] playing has rapturous firepower...John Wilson's conducting secures ultra-vivid, sparklingly finished performances that also respond memorably to the quieter moments" BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 **** |
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MEYERBEER
Robert Le Diable (complete opera recorded in 2012) Royal Opera House / Bryan Hymel, Patrizia Ciofi, John Relyea, Marina Poplavskaya / Daniel Oren (conductor) [ Opus Arte Royal Opera House Collection DVD / 2 DVD - released 20/Aug/2013 ] A grand opera that dominated the stages of Europe for most of the 19th century, Robert le diable is a masterpiece. Director Laurent Pelly breathes new life into Giacomo Meyerbeer's great spectacle and audaciously entertaining moral fable, in this... |
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GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Guillaume Tell [William Tell] (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Gerald Finley, Malin Byström, John Osborn, Sofia Fomina, Nicolas Courjal / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte / BBC Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 15/Aug/2017 ] Rossini's final opera helped to lay the foundations of the genre of French grand opéra that dominated European stages throughout the mid-19th century. The opera's theme is liberty, as exemplified in the struggle against Austrian occupation led by the... |
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HARRISON BIRTWISTLE
The Minotaur (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / John Tomlinson, Johan Reuter, Christine Rice, Andrew Watts / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 30/Nov/2015 ] "The filming reinforces the strengths of Stephen Langridge's tightly controlled, potently expressive production in an economical yet atmospheric setting, with the whole ensemble totally engaged in the drama's dark enterprise." (Gramophone) |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Walküre (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY The Royal Opera / Stuart Skelton, Emily Magee, Nina Stemme, John Lundgren, Sarah Connolly / Antonio Pappano [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Mar/2020 ] "Pappano has always had a special relationship with the Ring's second part…and the Royal Opera House Orchestra rewards him with some of its most sumptuous playing." BBC Music Opera Choice June 2020 |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Top 100 Favourite Classical Melodies [5 CD set] Royal Philharmonic, London Baroque Ensemble, Choir of St. John's College Cambridge, Consort of London and others [ Brilliant Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Sep/2010 ] This set is newly compiled, choosing the 100 very best tracks in the best available performances, including London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Carl Davis, London Baroque Ensemble, Choir of St. John's College Cambridge,... |
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SIBELIUS
Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Halle Orchestra / Sir John Barbirolli [ Testament / CD - released 1/May/2010 ] "Barbirolli's October 1962 account of the Second Symphony with the RPO… finds Sir John at his inspirational best in a reading which marries outsize but never wilful temperament to edge-of-seat spontaneity and keen poetic instinct." (Gramophone) |
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The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / John Tavener
Plays John Tavener [ CD ] |
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PIERSON / RAWSTHORNE / MORGAN / ARNOLD / etc
Premieres & Encores Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / London Philharmonic Orchestra / London Syphony Orchestra / Vernon Handley / John Pritchard / Nicholas Braithwaite [ Lyrita / CD - released 18/Jan/2008 ] In the Britain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands edition of the Twentieth Century Composers series, Humphrey Searle commented on Alan Rawsthorne: "I feel that his contribution to English music is as important as that of any composer working in England... |
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VAUGHAN WILLIAMS / MOZART / HANDEL / VERDI / ROSSINI / KHACHATURIAN / etc
Classics for Pleasure Volume 2 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / London Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Boult / John Ogdon (piano) / Barry Tuckwell (horn) / etc [ EMI Classics for Pleasure / CD - released 2/Feb/1983 ] The perfect introduction to the classics from the vast EMI catalogue |
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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Owain Arwel Hughes, Philip Ellis, John Rigby, Barry Wordsworth, Robin Stapleton
Classics for the People, Vol. 2 [ Brilliant Classics SACD / 2 CD - released 30/Nov/2014 ] The second volume of this well‐received series again features some of the world's most popular masterpieces of classical music performed by the ever‐reliable Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and some of the most experienced British conductors of our day. |
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DOUGIE MACLEAN
Till Tomorrow Royal Scottish National Orchestra, John Logan [ Linn Records SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 30/Jun/2014 ] Dougie MacLean needs no introduction; as a singer, song-writer, composer and instrumentalist, no artist captures the soul of Scotland with more authenticity or emotion. |