GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: La Boheme (complete opera recorded in 2014) BLU-RAY Puccini Festival Torre del Lago / Daniela Dessì, Fabio Armiliato, Alessandro Luongo, Alida Berti, Federico Longhi / Valerio Galli (cond) [ C Major BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 11/May/2016 ] STAGED BY: Ettore Scola Puccini's masterpiece La Bohème is by far the most represented opera in the world. At the famous Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, where Puccini composed his main operas, La Bohème is directed by one of Italy's greatest... |
POULENC / MILHAUD / BARTOK
Concertos for Two Pianos Quattro Mani (piano duo) / Colorado College Summer Music festival Orchestra / Scott Yoo [ Bridge / CD - released 1/Jul/2011 ] |
MENOTTI
Apocalisse, Fantasia for Cello & Orchestra, Suite 'sebastian' Raphael Wallfisch, cello, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 5/Apr/2001 ] 'His [Menotti's] may be an eclectic style, but this is music for enjoyment… the Chandos recording is clear and refined, making one hope that Hickox and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra will continue their Menotti exploration'. - Gramophone |
BEETHOVEN
Piano Concertos Nos 1 - 5 Richard Goode (piano) / Budapest Festival Orchestra / Ivan Fischer [ Warner Nonesuch / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Sep/2009 ] Gramophone Awards 2009 Finalist: Concerto -- "Goode's artistry is lucid and assured. Fischer's fiery extroversion provides exciting contrast." The Observer, 10th May 2009 |
W. A. MOZART
Idomeneo, K366 Richard Lewis (Idomeneo), Léopold Simoneau (Idamante), Sena Jurinac (Ilia), Lucilla Udovich (Elettra) / Glyndebourne Festival Chorus and Orchestra, Si [ Brilliant Classics Opera Collection / 2 CD - released 8/Nov/2013 ] A classic performance of Idomeneo from 1956 Glyndebourne, conducted by Sir John Pritchard, featuring an excellent cast, with brilliant Sena Jurinac and formidable Leopold Simoneau. |
Robert Shaw Festival
A Cappella [ Telarc / CD - released 22/Aug/2005 ] |
CARL ORFF
Orff: Carmina Burana Robert Shaw Festival Singers / Atlanta Symphony Orchestra [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 1/Feb/2005 ] "...this is a sonic treat. Choral definition and clarity are excellent." - High Performance Review |
RACHMANINOV
Vespers Robert Shaw Festival Singers / Atlanta Symphony Orchestra [ Telarc Records / CD - released 1/Mar/2002 ] GRAMMY Award Winner for Best Engineered Recording, Classical |
Poulenc
Poulenc-Mass in G, Prayers of St. Francis, Motets for Christmas & Lent Robert Shaw Festival Singers, Robert Shaw director [ Telarc Records / CD - released 22/Sep/2003 ] Telarc Classics - Top quality recordings at mid-price. |
Ronnie Aldrich (piano) / Strings of the London Festival Orchestra
The Romantic Pianos of Ronnie Aldrich / Magnificent Pianos of Ronnie Aldrich [2 albums on 1 CD] [ Dutton Vocalion / CD ] Two original LP recordings remastered onto one CD. |
CHRISTMAS WITH RONNIE ALDRITCH
Christmas with Ronnie Aldritch Ronnie Aldritch and his Two Pianos with the Strings of the London Festival Orchestra [ Dutton Vocalion / CD - released 1/Dec/2005 ] |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Ciro in Babilonia (complete opera recorded live August 2012) Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro / Ewa Podles, Jessica Pratt, Michael Spyres, Mirco Palazzi / Will Crutchfield (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Feb/2013 ] "Podles makes for a feisty Ciro, her black treacle contralto imperious, even if her coloratura is now a little effortful...Pratt's Amira is excellent...The audience's matinee idol here, though, is Michael Spyres...a bari-tenor if ever there was one!" |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Ciro in Babilonia (complete opera recorded live August 2012) BLU-RAY Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro / Ewa Podles, Jessica Pratt, Michael Spyres, Mirco Palazzi / Will Crutchfield (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Oct/2013 ] "There are few better exponents of this genre of Rossini trouser roles, and this one in particular, than Ewa Podles. Formidable in her vocal range, she makes more than a cardboard character out of the part with outstanding acting and singing"MusicWeb |
RACHMANINOV
The Best of Rachmaninoff Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Andre Previn / Robert Shaw Festival Singers / William Tritt (piano) / Lang Lang (piano) [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 16/Jun/2006 ] Rachmaninoff's music was characterized by memorable soaring melodies, rich orchestration and Romantic chromatic harmonies, which made it distinctively Russian. The Best of Rachmaninoff, an essential recording for Rachmaninoff fans, compiles Telarc's... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Così fan tutte (Saltzburg Festival 2020) Saltzburg Festival / Elsa Dreisig, Marianne Crebassa, Lea Desandre, Bogdan Volkov, André Schuen / Joana Mallwitz (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics DVD / DVD - released 9/Apr/2021 ] "It's frankly difficult to imagine a better-cast Così today...Mallwitz really makes Mozart's score zing, keeping the Vienna Philharmonic light on their toes" Gramophone Magazine June 2021 DVD of the Month |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Don Giovanni (Blu-ray) Salzburg Festival / Alessio Arduini, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Anett Fritsch, Tomasz Konieczny, Valentina NaforniĊ£a / Vienna Philharmonic, Christoph Esc [ EuroArts Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 24/Jun/2022 ] Director Sven-Eric Bechtolf pulls off a brilliant coup with the high aesthetics of his intrigue, a masterful parody of the "everything is possible" of our time - flanked by an ensemble of exquisite vocal talents: Ildebrando D'Arcangelo,... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Ariodante (complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Salzburg Festival / Cecilia Bartoli, Kathryn Lewek, Nathan Berg, Christophe Dumaux, Sandrine Piau, Rolando Villazon / Gianluca Capuano (cond) [ C Major Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 21/May/2021 ] "This is no routine Ariodante…Bartoli is Bartoli. Those who find her trilling mannered and freighted with excessive vibrato will wrinkle their noses. But who can doubt her remarkable presence on stage" BBC Music Magazine Awards 2022 Shortlisted |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Don Carlo (complete opera recorded in 2013) Salzburg Festival / Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros, Matti Salminen, Thomas Hampson / Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Antonio Pappano [ Sony DVD / 2 DVD - released 15/Sep/2014 ] Giuseppe Verdi's late opera Don Carlo delivers all the big topics while Ferdinand Wögerbauer's ultra-simple décor provides a spartan counterpoint to the dramatic action. |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Don Carlo (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Salzburg Festival / Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros, Matti Salminen, Thomas Hampson / Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Antonio Pappano [ Sony Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 30/Sep/2014 ] Giuseppe Verdi's late opera Don Carlo delivers all the big topics while Ferdinand Wögerbauer's ultra-simple décor provides a spartan counterpoint to the dramatic action. |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Orphée aux Enfers [Orpheus in the Underworld] (complete operetta recorded in 2019) Salzburg Festival / Kathryn Lewek, Joel Prieto, Anne Sofie von Otter, Martin Winkler / Enrique Mazzola (cond) [ C Major DVD / DVD - released 17/Jul/2020 ] "A frantic and fabulous show" (New York Times) |