|
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi - Simon Boccanegra (Original 1857 Version) German Enrique Alcantara, Eri Nakamura, William Thomas, Ivan Ayon-Rivas / The Halle, Opera North Chorus, Sir Mark Elder [ Opera Rara / 2 CD Box Set - released 21/Mar/2025 ] The original version of Simon Boccanegra, first performed in 1857, is a masterpiece of concision and spare vocal delivery, having many important differences from the later 1881 version, including one of Verdi's most innovative central finales. |
|
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: La damnation de Faust (Complete) Giuseppe Sabbatini; Enkelejda Shkosa; Michele Pertusi / London Symphony Chorus; London Symphony Orchestra; Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live / 2 CD - released 4/Aug/2003 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1801-1850) - '[The] LSO Live series goes from strength to strength...outshines previous sets at whatever price' (Editor's Choice Gramophone) |
|
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
The Very Best of the Glasgow Orpheus Choir Glasgow Orpheus Choir, Sir Hugh Roberton [ Alto Records / CD - released 10/Jul/2017 ] "Choir fanciers starting out on an Orphean collection would do very well to start here. The technical aspects have been lovingly handled. The only real criticism is the surfeit of the smooth and the dreamy - but that's the recorded legacy of the... |
|
GLUCK
Alceste (complete opera recorded in stereo in 1981) Philip Gelling, Maldwyn Davies, Janet Baker, John Shirley-Quirk / The Royal Opera Chorus & Orchestra / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Royal Opera House / 2 CD - released 10/Apr/2008 ] "A great evening at Covent Garden rescued for posterity." (Gramophone on a previous release) |
|
CHARPENTIER
Louise (complete opera recorded in 1943) Grace Moore, Raoul Jobin, Ezio Pinza / Metropolitan Opera / Sir Thomas Beecham [ Naxos Historic Great Opera Performances / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2010 ] |
|
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini (complete opera) Gregory Kunde, Laura Claycomb, Darren Jeffery, Andrew Kennedy / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra / Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 16/Jun/2008 ] 'Conductor and tenor are the joint heroes of this exhilarating release...Davis remains the supreme Berliozian of our day, brilliantly evoking the mercurial wit of the comic repartee...anyone who doesn't own this fabulous score should snap it... |
|
GUSTAV HOLST
Holst - Orchestral Works, Vol 4 [Includes Symphony 'The Cotswolds'] Guy Johnston (cello), BBC Philharmonic, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 14/Oct/2018 ] "Remarkably translucent SACD sound distinguishes this latest addition to a highly collectable Holst series. None of the music recorded here was published in his lifetime, but all of it is worthy of the attention of Holstians." CD Choice |
|
HELEN GRIME
Night Songs Hallé & Hallé Soloists, Sir Mark Elder & Jamie Phillips [ NMC Debut Discs / CD - released 17/Sep/2014 ] "The performances are a tribute to the dedication of Hallé players, whether in orchestral or ensemble guise, and have all been recorded with the spaciousness and immediacy which this music needs." (Gramophone Award Nomination 2015 - Contemporary) |
|
DELIUS / ELGAR / VAUGHAN WILLIAMS / SULLIVAN / WALTON / BLISS / etc
Sir Charles Groves: British Music London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Charles Groves [ Warner Classics / 24 CD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2015 ] "The wonderful aggregate of soloists and musical personnel remains first-class." AudAud Feb 2017 |
|
SIBELIUS
Symphony No 2 / Pohjola's Daughter / The Oceanides Hallé, Sir Mark Elder [ Halle / CD - released 6/May/2013 ] "under Elder, [Pohjola's Daughter is] a primal folktale rather than an urbane fantasy...[in the Symphony] Elder's elemental strength, relieved by a sense of light and space and the Halle's intense playing, help to make this highly recommendable." (BBC Mus |
|
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 1 'A Sea Symphony' Katherine Broderick (soprano) Roderick Williams (baritone) / Halle Choir, Youth Choir & Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder [ Halle / CD - released 6/Nov/2015 ] "The superbly honed choral and orchestral contribution surely testifies to many hours of painstaking preparation." (Gramophone Award Nomination 2016 - Orchestral) |
|
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / John Osborn, Mariangela Sicilia, Maurizio Muraro, Michèle Losier / Sir Mark Elder (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 5/May/2018 ] "Osborn has all the vocal verve and dash to make the devil-may-care sculptor the constant centre of attention. Mariangela Sicilia uses her fearless, technically brilliant vocalism to sustain his beloved Teresa's vibrant personality…a musical treat" |
|
W.A. MOZART
Die Zauberflote [The Magic Flute] (recorded 1937 & 1938) Helge Roswaenge, Tiana Lemnitz, Gerhard Husch, Erna Berger / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Thomas Beecham [ Naxos Historic Great Opera Recordings / 2 CD - released 26/Jan/2008 ] "These singers, and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, come through with unprecedented clarity in this new transfer by the gifted sound engineer Mark Obert-Thorn. The new reissue looks likely to replace them in the hearts of Mozart fans, offering a... |
|
DELIUS
Piano Concerto / Paris / Brigg Fair / etc Howard Shelley (piano) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos / Hybrid SACD - released 15/Oct/2012 ] "Sonics are excellent for a standard CD." (AudAud.com) |
|
HAVERGAL BRIAN
Symphony no 1 in D minor "The Gothic" Hpnor Sheppard (soprano) Shirley Minty (contralto) Ronald Dowd (tenor) / BBC Symphony Orchestra & Choral Society, etc / Sir Adrian Boult [ Testament / 2 CD - released 10/Dec/2009 ] "Long available in a pirated recording of the broadcast, this live performance of the mighty Gothic has at last 'gone legit'." BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 *** |
|
BEETHOVEN
Eroica / Symphony No. 3 Ian Hart / Tim Pigott-Smith / Claire Skinner / Jack Davenport / Orchestre RACvolutionnaire et Romantique / Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ BBC / Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 5/May/2005 ] G :- 'Ian Hart is brilliant as Beethoven, a volatile, magnetic figure of genius and uncouth charm…not to be missed.' -- Daily Mail |
|
SIBELIUS / ELGAR
Violin Concertos (recorded 1984 & 1993) Ida Haendel (violin) / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle [ Testament / CD - released 10/Oct/2009 ] "..it is Haendel's thoroughly personal input of humanity, expressive power, and her dynamic fusion of immediacy and profound insight that puts this performance in a class of its own. It is simply mind-blowing." The Telegraph, 28th July 2009 ***** |
|
MICHAEL TIPPETT
A Child of our Time (complete) Indra Thomas (soprano) Mihoko Fujimura (alto) Steve Davislim (tenor) / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis [ LSO Live SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2008 ] "There are emotional depths here which turn this recording into something very special." (Gramophone Editor's Choice September 2008) |
|
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS / FREDERICK DELIUS
Saint-Saens/Delius: Cello Concertos Jacqueline du Pré (cello), The Philadelphia Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent [ Warner Classics / LP - released 24/Jan/2025 ] In this important live recording, Jacqueline Du Pré's rendition of Camille Saint-Saëns' famous 1st Cello Concerto is made all the more sentimental with her husband Daniel Barenboim conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra behind her. |
|
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Orchestral Works, Cello Concerto, Sea Pictures, Dream of Gerontius Jacqueline du Pre (cello) Dame Janet Baker (mezzo) Richard Lewis (tenor) / Halle Orchestra / Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli [ EMI British Composers / 7 CD Box Set - released 25/Mar/2022 ] Born in London of Italian-French parents, Sir John Barbirolli (1899-1970) trained as a cellist and played in theatre and café orchestras before joining the Queen's Hall Orchestra under Sir Henry Wood in 1916. |