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J. S. BACH
Bach: St Matthew Passion, BWV244 James Gilchrist, Stephan Loges, Hannah Morrison, Zoë Brookshaw, Charlotte Ashley, Reginald Mobley / Monteverdi Choir, Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ Soli Deo Gloria / 2 CD - released 24/Feb/2017 ] "..a thoughtfully moulded, expertly executed and deeply committed reading, so honestly communicative of its intent and so free of self-conscious monumentalism, sententiousness or melodramatics...one of his finest achievements." Gramophone |
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JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Serenades Nos. 1 & 2 / Alto Rhapsody / Variations on a theme by Haydn / etc Janet Baker (alto) / London Philharmonic Orchestra & London Symhony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult [ EMI Gemini / 2 CD - released 20/Oct/2006 ] "Sir Adrian, courteous and thoughtful English gentleman, was for some reason not always willing to thrust Brahms's arguments fully home, and there is a little too much reserve in his music-making. Yet when he conducts for Dame Janet Baker, who sings... |
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DONIZETTI
Mary Stuart (Scenes from the opera in English) Janet Baker, English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Sir Charles Mackerras [ Chandos Opera in English / CD - released 17/Nov/2001 ] Janet Baker made her last appearances with English National Opera |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphonies 1, 5, 6, 9, Kindertotenlieder, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Ruckert-Lieder Janet Baker (mezzo) / Halle & New Philharmonia Orchestras, Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 28/Aug/2021 ] "Barbirolli's famous 1969 version on any count is one of the greatest, most warmly affecting performances ever committed to disc, expansive, yet concentrated in feeling: the Adagietto is very moving … A classic version." Penguin Guide (5th Sym] |
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CHARLES IVES
Ives: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 [ Incls Symphony No. 3 'The Camp Meeting'] Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano) / Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ CHANDOS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Mar/2017 ] "This is one of the finest recordings - perhaps the best - of all the many I have heard of Ives." Recording of the Month MusicWeb |
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SIBELIUS
Violin Concerto / Finlandia, Op. 26 / Karelia Suite, Op. 11 / etc Jennifer Pike (violin) / Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Mar/2014 ] Jean Sibelius is perhaps best known for his seven great symphonies but there is also a large body of music for the concert hall, the theatre, and the salon, some of which is explored on this release. The Violin Concerto in D minor, Sibelius's only... |
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ELGAR
Symphonies 1 & 2 London Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Adrian Boult [ Lyrita / 2 CD - released 21/Jun/2007 ] Elgar's two symphonies have a special place in English musical history. When they were first played they towered head and shoulders - in sheer technique, let alone content - above previous symphonic offerings by British composers. Today when we have... |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No 3 (with John Barbirolli - Elizabeth Suite) Lucretia West (alto) / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli [ Testament / 2 CD - released 24/Oct/2005 ] Recorded 1969 & 1964 |
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JOHN IRELAND
These Things Shall Be / Piano Concerto / Overture: Satyricon / etc John Carol Case (baritone) Eric Parkin (piano) / London Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra / Sir Adrian Boult (conductor) [ Lyrita / CD - released 1/Jun/2007 ] "The 1970s origins of many of Lyrita’s too long delayed CD revivals need hold no fears for any purchaser. The forty plus year old sound remains an object lesson taught by the analogue tradition to the digital era. Not the essential Ireland apart from... |
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ERNEST JOHN MOERAN
Moeran: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra / Rhapsody in F sharp for Piano and Orchestra / Rhapsody No. 2 John Georgiadis (violin) John McCabe (piano) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult / London Symphony Orchestra, Vernon Handley [ Lyrita / CD - released 1/Jun/2007 ] "A fine coupling including some classic Moeran in enduringly rewarding performances and recordings." (MusicWeb June 2007) |
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GIACOMO MEYERBEER
Meyerbeer: Le Prophète John Osborn, Elizabeth DeShong Mané Galoyan, Edwin Crossley-Mercer / London Symphony Orchestra, Lyon Opera Chorus, Sir Mark Elder [ LSO Live SACD / 3 Hybrid SACD - released 28/Jun/2024 ] Recorded live in concert at Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in 2023, this album sees the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Sir Mark Elder join forces with Lyon Opera Chorus, Maîtrise des Bouches-du-Rhône, the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra, and an... |
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BRITTEN / DE FALLA / FROLOV / MILHAUD / SCHNITTKE
Suites and Fantasies Joo Yeon Sir (violin), Irina Andrievsky (piano) [ Rubicon Classics / CD - released 24/May/2017 ] Korean born British violinist Joo Yeon Sir is a name to watch. The Strad magazine reviewing a Wigmore Hall concert commented 'Exuberant…feline and seductive, rattling off the fiendish cadenza with bravura and oodles of personality' That personality... |
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GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'Ange de Nisida (complete opera) Joyce El-Khoury, David Junghoon Kim, Laurent Naouri, Vito Priante / Royal Opera Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Sir Mark Elder [ Opera Rara / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/2019 ] Opera Rara presents, 179 years after it was written, the world premiere recording of a Donizetti 'lost' masterpiece, restored and brought thrillingly back to life. Written in 1839 for the Theâtre de la Renaissance in Paris, rehearsals started but the... |
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J. C. BACH
Welt, gute Nacht Julia Doyle, Katharine Fuge, Clare Wilkinson, Jeremy Budd, James Gilchrist / The English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ Soli Deo Gloria / CD - released 14/Apr/2011 ] "Bach of any generation from Gardiner's eminently engaged and engaging forces is self-recommending; yet for its rarity value alone Welt, gute Nacht is as important a release as that of a B minor Mass or St Matthew Passion." (BBC Music) |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphony No.10 / Symphony in C Major for Piano, Cello and Violin Op. 56 Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio / English Chamber Orchestra / Sir Alexander Gibson; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Walter Weller [ Chandos Collect / CD - released 7/Aug/2003 ] *** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo Guide |
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HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: La damnation de Faust Karen Cargill, Bryan Hymel, Christopher Purves, Gábor Bretz / London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle [ LSO Live SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 19/Jul/2019 ] "Hymel's Faust is the most convincing soloist. But it's the vivid detail Rattle conjures up, the brilliant playing and the force and intensity of the choral singing that give greatest satisfaction." Sunday Times |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No 2 in C minor 'Resurrection' Kate Royal (soprano), Magdalena Kozena (mezzo) / Berliner Philharmoniker & Rundfunkchor Berlin, Sir Simon Rattle [ Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 1/May/2011 ] "Kožená brings her customary depth of feeling to the still maternal voice of "Urlicht"...Rattle's famous piano-pianissimos are deployed to breathtaking effect." (Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice March 2011) |
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TRADITIONAL
Carols from King's College, Cambridge (LP) King's College, Cambridge, Sir David Willcocks, Philip Ledger, with The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble [ Warner Classics / LP - released 4/Nov/2022 ] It's not Christmas without the angelic voices of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. These fifteen popular carols were originally recorded between 1969 and 1976 |
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GABRIEL FAURE / MAURICE DURUFLE
Faure / Durufle: Requiems Janet Baker (mezzo) Stephen Roberts (baritone) Robert Chilcott (treble) / King's College Choir Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger, Sir David Willcocks [ Warner Classics Masters / CD - released 3/Sep/2012 ] Since the advent of the compact disc, the Requiem in D minor, Op. 48, of Gabriel Fauré and the Requiem, Op. 9, of Maurice Duruflé have frequently been paired, not only because they neatly fit the running time, but also because they are complementary... |