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SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67 (complete ballet recorded in 2010) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Sergei Polunin, Will Kemp, Kilian Smith, Charlotte Edmonds / The Royal Ballet School & Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Paul Murphy [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Apr/2016 ] Choreography Matthew Hart Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev's musical fairy tale, has been delighting children since 1936. Nearly 60 years later, in 1995, the young choreographer Matthew Hart created a witty choreographed version for the Royal Ballet... |
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BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Gloriana (complete opera recorded in June 2013) Royal Opera House / Susan Bullock, Toby Spence, Patricia Bardon, Mark Stone, Kate Royal / Paul Daniel (conductor) [ Opus Arte Royal Opera House Collection DVD / DVD - released 25/Nov/2013 ] Central to the Royal Opera's centenary celebrations marking the birth of Benjamin Britten was Richard Jones's witty and insightful new production of the royal operatic pageant that Britten wrote to honour the Coronation, exploring the late life, love... |
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OLIVER DAVIS
Davis: Arcadia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Paul Bateman [ Signum / CD - released 10/Oct/2019 ] Oliver Davis graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 1994 and has since composed numerous concertos, ballet scores, albums, soundtracks and television scores working with many of the major London orchestras. The Infinite Ocean was composed... |
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J. S. BACH
J.S. Bach: Matthäus Passion (Deluxe Edition) Rufus Müller, Richard Jackson, Nancy Argenta, Jonathan Peter Kenny, Jamie MacDougall, Stephen Varcoe / Paul Goodwin (conductor) [ Brilliant Classics / 2 CD - released 2/Feb/2024 ] The audio version of Jonathan Miller's ground-breaking production for TV of Bach's great sacred drama. |
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MODEST MUSSORGSKY
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov (complete opera recorded in 1991) Ruggero Raimondi (Boris Godunov), Paul Plishka, Kenneth Riegel, Nicolai Gedda, Galina Vishneyevskaya / National Symphony Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropov [ Erato / Warner Classics Home of Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Aug/2018 ] "Ruggero Raimondi's Boris is sung firmly and lyrically. He responds to the elegance to be found in Mussorgsky's brief, speech-inflected phrases, and some scenes, notably his final exchanges with his son, are movingly done." (Gramophone) |
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STEPHEN ALBERT
RiverRun / Symphony No. 2 Russian Philharmonic Orchestra / Paul Polivnick [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 18/Apr/2007 ] Stephen Albert’s music is at once traditional and contemporary, lyrical yet powerful and dynamic. He drew inspiration from the rich orchestral palettes of composers such as Stravinsky and Bartók, but his musical language is very much his own. |
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WILLIAM WALLACE
Lurline (complete opera) Sally Silver, Paul Ferris, Fiona Janes, Keith Lewis / Victorian Opera Chorus & Orchestra / Richard Bonynge (Conductor) [ Naxos Opera / 2 CD - released 20/Jun/2010 ] Stylistically a German opera much indebted to Weber and Mendelssohn, with a passing knowledge of Wagner. That is then diluted to make it a pleasingly melodic opera and forerunner of the Gilbert and Sullivan era. |
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PARRY / SOMMERVELL / STANFORD
A Century of English Song Volume 2 Sarah Leonard Soprano, Paul Leonard Baritone, Malcom Martineau Piano [ Somm / CD - released 2/Oct/2002 ] This CD is devoted to Parry, Somervell, and Stanford, three of the greatest songwriters of the Late-Victorian Renaissance. Parry is considered to be a very fine composer indeed, and this collection includes some of the best of his songs. The Stanford... |
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EUGÈNE YSAŸE
Eugène Ysaÿe - Violin Discoveries Sherban Lupu (violin), Henri Bonamy (piano) / Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, Paul Mann (cond) [ Divine Art Records / CD - released 8/Oct/2021 ] Belgian violinist, conductor and composer Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) has been recognized as one of the greatest violin virtuosos of the 19th and early 20th centuries; regarded as the "King of the Violin" by Nathan Milstein, his legacy has inspired... |
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BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Music For Winds Shifrin, Paul Wonjin Cho, Morelli, Olegario, Purvis, L. Hunt [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] Music for wind ensemble was a regular part of entertainment in Beethoven's day, and his Octet was composed for the skilled players in the service of his patron, the Archbishop-Elector in Bonn. The charming and skilfully written Sextet is also 'from... |
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KODALY / DOHNANYI
Kodály & Dohnányi: Chamber Works for Strings Simon Smith (violin), Clare Hayes (violin), Paul Silverthorne (viola) & Katherine Jenkinson (cello) [ Resonus Classics / CD - released 17/Mar/2017 ] Following on from his acclaimed Resonus debut of solo works by Bartók and Kurtág (Signs, Games & Messages - RES10167), virtuoso violinist Simon Smith returns to the label with an enticing programme of chamber works for strings by Zoltán Kodály and... |
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PURCELL
Hail Bright Cecilia / Come ye Sons of Art / Funeral Sentences for the death of Queen Mary Jennifer Smith, Ashley Stafford, Brian Gordon, Paul Elliott, Stephen Varcoe / Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Orchestra, John Elliot Gardiner [ Erato Veritas / 2 CD - released 1/Mar/2015 ] *** Three Stars (Penguin Stereo Guide) |
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EDWARD GREGSON
Gregson: Instrumental Music Soloists from the BBC Philharmonic and Hallé Orchestras, Paul Janes [ Naxos / CD - released 9/Apr/2021 ] Edward Gregson's career has followed two parallel paths, one to the top tier of music education and the other towards the international reputation he now enjoys as a composer. This representative selection is Gregson's own and spans more than half a... |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Epiphany at St Paul's St Paul's Cathedral Choir, Huw Williams (organ), John Scott (conductor) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 10/Oct/2011 ] 'Hurrah for John Scott and St Paul's, who with this wonderful CD remind all how glorious the Epiphany repertoire is. Let us rejoice at the richness of this programme' (Organists' Review) |
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WILLIAM CROFT
Te Deum & Burial Service St Paul's Cathedral Choir / The Parley of Instruments / John Scott (director) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 4/Oct/2005 ] 'This is choral singing of the highest quality' - Choir & Organ |
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RACHMANINOV / PROKOFIEV
Cello sonatas Julian Steckel (cello) & Paul Rivinius (piano) [ Oehms Classics / CD - released 1/Apr/2013 ] Julian Steckel won first prize at the international ARD competition in 2010 where he also won the audience prize |
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MICHAEL WILLIAMS / ALAN RIACH
The Prodigal Child - A Chamber Opera Stephanie Acraman / Joanne Cole-Rosser / Paul Whelan / Ogen Plus [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 1/Sep/2006 ] Michael Williams' chamber opera in three scenes to a libretto by Alan Riach explores three souls in crisis - the setting is New Zealand but the story is universal. |
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ROBIN STEVENS
Stevens: Orchestral Music Vol. 3 Katherine Bryan (flute), Paul Silverthorne (viola), Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Paul Mann (conductor) [ Toccata Classics / CD - released 3/Jul/2026 ] The compositional career of Robin Stevens (1958-2026), Welsh-born and Manchester-based, was divided into two periods, separated by a period of illness. The first produced mainly chamber music and works for the church that employed him; restored to... |
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TARIK O'REGAN
Acallam na Senorach (Tales of the Elders) Stewart French (guitar) / National Chamber Choir of Ireland, Paul Hillier [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 12/Dec/2011 ] "Led by Paul Hillier, the National Chamber Choir of Ireland negotiates dissonance and harmony with drama and nobility, never endangering the piece through pomposity - a delicate balance aided by the sparseness of the guitar." (The Independent) |
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BRITTEN
Choral Edition Vol. 2 - Missa Brevis / Ceremony of Carols / Festival Te Deum Susan Drake (harp) / Andrew Lumsden (organ) / The Finzi Singers / Paul Spicer [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 20/Feb/2011 ] Finzi Singers, Paul Spicer |