GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Traviata (Franco Zeffirelli's film of the complete opera) Metropolitan Opera / Teresa Stratas, Placido Domingo, Cornell MacNeil, Pina Cei / James Levine (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 6/Sep/2007 ] "Surpassingly voluptuous…a spinning wheel of colors and textures." (Variety) |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Don Giovanni (complete opera recorded 2000) Metropolitan Opera / Renee Fleming, Bryn Terfel, Solveig Kringelborn, Paul Groves / James Levine (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 5/Sep/2014 ] "It's hard not to give this Don a warm welcome. For those irritated by modern psychological stagings, this set could well provide the perfect answer" - MusicWeb April 2005 |
STEPHEN WILKINSON
The Sunlight On the Garden Mhairi Lawson (soprano), Clare Wilkinson (mezzo-soprano), James Gilchrist (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass) [ Signum / CD - released 30/Aug/2017 ] One of the UK's leading choral directors for over 50 years, Stephen Wilkinson MBE has led both professional and amateur choirs across Europe, and is particularly renowned for his work with the BBC Northern Singers and the William Byrd Singers of... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Don Carlo (Complete Opera with libretto recorded in 1993) Michael Sylvester, Aprile Millo, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Vladimir Chernov, Dolora Zajick / Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, James Levine [ Sony Classical / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/1993 ] "Levine's performance of the five-act Italian Don Carlo supersedes all other versions, because he conducts Verdi's spacious score with such masterly skill and meticulous attention to detail, and has so magnificent an orchestra at his command" BBC |
Mitch James
patience [ Sony NZ / CD - released 4/Nov/2022 ] 'patience' is the follow-up to local singer-songwriter Mitch James' NZ Platinum-selling, debut album. It's an authentic look into his life, exploring the highs and lows of being a young man growing up in a crazy world. The bulk of the album was... |
Joni Mitchell & James Taylor
Royal Albert Hall 1970 [ Time Line / CD - released 17/Nov/2023 ] Here we have Joni and James together in London. Two weeks earlier they had played at the event in Vancouver which launched Greenpeace. They were truly a golden couple, displaying unguarded affection towards one another on stage, romantically entwined... |
IGOR STRAVINSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Stravinsky: Le Rossignol / Oedipus Rex (Complete Operas recorded 1999 & 1993) Natalie Dessay, Anthony Rolfe-Johnson, Marjana Lipovsek / l'Opéra National de Paris, James Conlon / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Franz Welser-Most [ EMI The Opera Series / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2010 ] "A fine recording of Stravinsky's colourful ballet, The Nightingale, with Natalie Dessay perfect in the title-role." (Gramophone) |
DOUGLAS LILBURN
Lilburn: A Song of Islands / Aotearoa Overture / Forest / etc New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd [ Naxos / CD - released 5/Oct/2006 ] "A Kiwi legend is handsomely served by his homeland. James Judd and his New Zealand forces find an openness and an energy in the music that evokes all the majesty of that country's landscape." Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine (Dec 2006) |
AARON COPLAND
Copland: Symphony No 3 / Billy the Kid (Suite) New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 1/Jan/2002 ] "It's the Billy the Kid Suite that makes the stronger impression. The pace is compelling through to the end, the flavouring is sharp and fresh, and it's hard to keep the feet from tapping spontaneously in the Mexican Dance." - Stephen Johnson, BBC... |
DOUGLAS LILBURN
Lilburn: The Three Symphonies New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / James Judd [ Naxos / CD - released 2/May/2002 ] "There's a freshness and enthusiasm in Judd's readings, and he takes care with the music, observing every detail. Throughout all three symphonies there is a greater breadth and warmth of emotion than we've heard before." - Sunday Star Times (May 2002 |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Dream Children / Wand of Youth / Nursery Suite New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd, conductor [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Apr/2004 ] "The freshness of inspiration is a delight, superbly brought out in these fine performances from New Zealand, with James Judd always an idiomatic Elgarian. The Wand of Youth Suites in particular range wonderfully wide in mood and invention; they... |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia / Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1 / Fantasia on Greensleeves and others New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / James Judd, conductor [ Naxos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 15/Jan/2005 ] "Helped by vivid sound, James Judd conducts the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in glowing performances of these favourite [sic] Vaughan Williams works." (Gramophone) |
LYELL CRESSWELL
The Voice Inside / Alas! How Swift / Cassandra's Songs / Kaea New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd, conductor [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Jan/2010 ] New Zealand-born Edinburgh-based Lyell Cresswell has composed works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, choir, voice and solo instruments which have been widely performed and broadcast. |
MUSSORGSKY / BACH / STOKOWSKI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Stokowski Transcriptions New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Sedares [ Koch International Classics / CD - released 5/Jun/1994 ] "To his and the NZSO's credit, James Sedares comes close to reanimating Stokowski, and if you don't quite see the white nimbus of hair or hear the suspicious Polish accent, the showman's spirit must have been present when these recordings were made.... |
MORTON GOULD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gould: Fall River Legend / Steven Foster Gallery / Of Time and the River New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. James Sedares, JoAnn Falletta / Greg Smith Singers, New York Choral Society [ Koch International Classics / CD - released 5/Jun/1996 ] "Next to perhaps Aaron Copland, Morton Gould was THE voice of American music during his long and fruitful life...a fine reading from the New Zealand Symphony under James Sedares." Daily Press (Virginia) |
ALFRED NEWMAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wuthering Heights - A tribute to Alfred Newman New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Sedares, with the New Zealand Youth Choir [ Koch International Classics / CD - released 5/Jun/1994 ] Recorded at Symphony House, Wellington, New Zealand, April 1996 |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia [The Barber of Seville] (highlights) Nicolai Gedda, Beverly Sills, Ruggero Raimondi, Sherrill Milnes / London Symphony Orchestra, James Levine [ EMI Classics Red Line / CD - released 1/Jul/2000 ] Original recording from 1975 |
STEPHEN SONDHEIM
Sondheim: Pacific Overtures Paul Strathearnj & Eric Roberts / English National Opera/Original London Cast, James Holmes [ TER / Thats Entertainment / 2 CD Box Set - released 3/Nov/1989 ] Pacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John Weidman, with "additional material by" Hugh Wheeler. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Britten: The Canticles / A Birthday Hansel Peter Pears, John Hahessy, James Bowman, John Shirley-Quirk, with Bary Tuckwell (horn), Osian Ellis (harp) & Benjamin Britten (piano) [ Decca / London / CD - released 21/Oct/1990 ] Written at intervals between 1947 and 1974 Britten's five Canticles are miniature cantatas sharing a spiritual intensity that derives from Britten's own religious belief. |
GUSTAV MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mahler: Symphony No 9 Philadelphia Orchestra, James Levine [ RCA / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Jan/2018 ] "As a Mahler interpreter, his performances are exciting, fabulously played, razor-sharp rhythmically, and sensitive to the myriad details of Mahler's scoring. Perhaps the two standout performances are the Fifth and Ninth, as much for the playing of... |