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MARCEL DUPRE
Dupre: Organ Music John Scott (St Paul's Cathedral organ) [ Hyperion Dyad / CD - released 25/Sep/2006 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - 'The whole presentation is masterly - superb playing and superb engineering' (Gramophone) |
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John Williams
O.S.T.Star Wars:phantom Menace [ Sony / CD - released 12/Apr/1999 ] |
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COLE PORTER
Cole Porter in Hollywood John Wilson Orchestra, with Anna-Jane Casey, Kim Criswell, Matthew Ford, Sarah Fox, Richard Morrison [ Warner Classics / CD - released 10/Nov/2014 ] Cole Porter is one of the best-known and most prolific composers from the world of twentieth-century jazz, having written over 800 songs, often for the Hollywood stars of his day. His dizzying wordplay combines with a sound redolent of dazzling... |
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J. S. BACH
Bach: St. John Passion (complete oratorio recorded in 1986) Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Stephen Varcoe, Cornelius Hauptmann, Nancy Argenta / The Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner [ Deutsche Grammophon Archiv / 2 CD Box Set - released 10/Apr/2000 ] "Gardiner conducts an exhilarating performance. Speeds are regularly on the fast side but, characteristically, he consistently keeps a spring in their rhythm. Chorales are treated in contrasted ways." Penguin Guide |
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HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Les Troyens (complete opera) Joyce DiDonato, Michael Spyres, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Stéphane Degout / Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, John Nelson [ Erato Classics / 4 CD/DVD Box Set - released 15/Nov/2017 ] "Nelson drives the drama with unforced tempos but ample theatrical vitality and grandeur…Joyce DiDonato sings Dido with characteristic security and expressiveness." BBC Music Magazine Awards 2018 WINNER - Opera |
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Julian Bream, Eduardo Fernandes, Alexandre Lagoya, John Williams, Gonan Sollscher, etc
Guitar Adagios-Over 155 minutes of smooth guitar classics [ Decca Double / 2 CD - released 25/Jun/2004 ] Over 155 minutes of smooth guitar classics |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Partenope, HWV 27 (complete opera) Karina Gauvin, Philippe Jaroussky, John Mark Ainsley, Teresa Iervolino / Il Pomo d'Oro, Riccardo Minasi [ Erato / Virgin Records / 3 CD Box Set - released 5/Nov/2015 ] Handel's sparkling opera Partenope reunites Erato' star countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and the captivating Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin, who both made such an impact in the Erato recording of Steffani's rediscovered opera Niobe, released in early... |
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PURCELL
The Complete Odes and Welcome Songs James Bowman (countertenor) John Mark Ainsley (tenor) Michael George (bass) Gillian Fisher (soprano) / The King's Consort / Robert King [ Hyperion Purcell Complete Edition / 8 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2010 ] 'Every disc is such a treasure-house of wonderful invention that the whole set must be an irresistable temptation' (BBC Music Magazine Top 1000 CDs Guide) |
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GEORGE GERSHWIN / COLE PORTER / IRVING BERLIN
Kiss Me Kate - The Best of Broadway Musical Kiri te Kanawa, Kim Criswell, Thomas Hampson, Chris Groenendaal / Ambrosian Chorus, London Sinfonietta, John McClinn [ Warner Classics Inspiration / CD - released 9/Sep/2016 ] Brought together here are 20 of the loveliest songs from great musicals by songwriting legends George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin - bursting with irresistible groove and infectious swing. |
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SHAKESPEARE
Great Shakespeare Speeches Lawrence Olivier / John Gielgud / Marlon Brando / Alec Guinness / Arnold Moss [ Regis / CD - released 28/Nov/2007 ] He could speak William Shakespeare's lines as naturally as if he were "actually thinking them", said English playwright Charles C. Bennett, who met Laurence Olivier in 1927. One of Olivier's earliest successes as a Shakespearean actor on the London... |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Theodora (complete oratorio) Lisette Oropesa, Joyce DiDonato, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, Michael Spyres, John Chest / Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Erato / 3 CD Box Set - released 18/Nov/2022 ] BBC Music Magazine Award Nomination 2023 - Choral |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Semele (complete opera recorded in 2019) BLU-RAY Louise Alder, Hugo Hymas, Lucile Richardot / Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ EuroArts Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 29/Jan/2021 ] In Spring 2019, the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, led by John Eliot Gardiner, presented a critically-acclaimed European tour of Handel's opera 'Semele', including Alexandra Palace Theatre in London. |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
The Pavarotti & Friends Collection [8 concerts on 4 DVDs] Luciano Pavarotti (tenor) with Andrea Bocelli, George Michael, Elton John, The Spice Girls, Jon Bon Jovi, Stevie Wonder, Liza Minnelli, Ricky Martin [ Decca DVD / 4 DVD Box Set - released 30/Sep/2005 ] Luciano Pavarotti gives an historic concert in a historic setting. This thrilling program was filmed live in Beijing during his tour of the people's Republic of China in 1986. Now audiences everywhere can enjoy the magic and majesty that is... |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Messiah (Complete oratorio) Lucy Crowe (soprano), Alex Potter (counter-tenor), Michael Spyres (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass), The English Concert & Choir, John Nelson [ Erato CDs + DVD / 3 CD/DVD - released 24/Nov/2023 ] The American conductor John Nelson, especially famed for his interpretations of Berlioz, conducted Handel's most celebrated oratorio at Coventry Cathedral in the heart of England in November 2022. |
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CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK
Gluck: Orphee et Eurydice (Complete opera recorded in 2000) Theatre Musical de Paris / Magdalena Kozena, Madeline Bender, Patricia Petibon / Monteverdi Choir / English Baroque Soloists / Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ Warner Classics DVD / DVD - released 10/Oct/2009 ] When the historic Theatre du Chatelet in Paris re-opened after a period of extensive refurbishment, the first two productions mounted in the theatre were Gluck's Alceste and Orphée et Eurydice. |
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W.A. MOZART
Complete Piano Concertos Malcom Bilson (forte-piano) / English Baroque Soloists / John Eliot Gardiner [ DG Collector's Edition / 9 CD - released 23/Jun/2000 ] 1001 Classical recordings to hear before you die (1761-1800) - "Bilson is an artist of excellent music judgement and good taste, and his survey is the only one at present available on the fortepiano. For the most part, there is little to quarrel... |
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FREDERICK DELIUS
Delius: Orchestral & Choral Works / A Village Romeo & Juliet / Songs Maureen Forrester, John Cameron, Dora Labbette / Beecham Choral Society, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Beecham [ Warner Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 1/Mar/2017 ] "A record to treasure. The greatest recordings made in stereo by the greatest British conductor at the peak of his career." - Gramophone |
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MAX RICHTER
Richter: Three Worlds: Music From Woolf Works Max Richter, Louisa Fuller, Natalia Bonner, John Metcalfe, Ian Burdge, Chris Worsey [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 3/Feb/2017 ] Max Richter explores time and memory in his latest Deutsche Grammophon album, Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works Virginia Woolf's sharp eye for the detail of life guided her work as a writer, its presence felt in everything from pioneering... |
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MAX RICHTER
Richter: The Blue Notebooks Max Richter (piano), with Louisa Fuller, Natalia Bonner (violins), Chris Worsey, Philip Sheppard (cellos), John Metcalfe (viola) with Tilda Swinton [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 8/Jun/2018 ] A 15th anniversary reissue of Max Richter's masterpiece The Blue Notebooks. Released in 2004, the album was written and recorded in 2003 in response to the US invasion of Iraq. It's become one of the most iconic pieces of classical and protest music... |
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GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: La donna del lago (complete opera recorded in 2015) Metropolitan Opera / Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Florez, Daniela Barcellona, John Osborn / Michele Mariotti (cond) [ Erato DVD / 2 DVD - released 10/Dec/2015 ] The Metropolitan Opera give this live performance of Rossini's work based on the poem by Sir Walter Scott, with Joyce DiDonato as Elena, the lady of the lake, who loves the heroic Malcolm (Daniela Barcellona). |