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RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Golden Cockerel (complete opera) Nikolai Stoilov, Lyubomir Borourov, Emil Ugrinov / Sofia National Orchestra, Dimiter Manolov [ Brilliant Classics Opera Collection / 2 CD - released 1/Jan/2013 ] Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky‐Korsakov showed musical promise as a child, but the pursuit of a Naval career meant that much of his grounding in musical theory was gained in between various tours of duty. |
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BIZET / BREINER
Bizet / Breiner: Carmen Concerto For Guitar and Orchestra Norbert Kraft, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra [ Naxos / CD - released 26/Jul/1999 ] "The performances seem excellent. Kraft is a sensitive, colorful guitarist, and the arranger seems a more than competent conductor." Fanfare |
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PER NORGARD
Frostsalme Danish National Choir/DR, Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen, Stefan Parkman [ Chandos / CD - released 16/Sep/2002 ] |
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VAGN HOLMBOE
Concertos (Incl Piano Concerto No 1) Noriko Ogawa (piano) Martin Frost (clarinet) Gordon Hunt (oboe) / Aalborg Symphony Orchestra / Owain Arwel Hughes (cond) / Danish National Opera Choir [ BIS / CD - released 1/Feb/2005 ] "A well-packed disc with a nice balance struck between the concertos and a rarely encountered choral-orchestral work." - MusicWeb Feb 2005 |
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CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione di Poppea (complete opera recorded in 2010) Norwegian National Opera / Birgitte Christensen, Jacek Laszczkowski, Tim Mead, Marita Sølberg / Alessandro de Marchi [ EuroArts DVD / DVD Box Set - released 20/Jun/2017 ] "There is, though, some truly terrific singing here. Birgitte Christiansen (Poppea) is an amazingly assured musical presence, who can colour her voice to fit every occasion. Jacek Laszczkowski (Nero) is expressively menacing and lascivious by turn" |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: La Boheme (complete opera recorded in 2012) Norwegian National Opera / Diego Torre, Marita Salberg, Vasily Ladyuk, Jennifer Rowley / The Norwegian National Opera Orchestra, Eivind Gullberg [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 10/Jun/2022 ] Who among us doesn't already have a personal relationship to La Bohème? Probably a deep and intimate one: this opera, perhaps more than any other, strikes a chord that resonates in us where we are most sensitive. Puccini, one could say, was the... |
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GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: La Boheme (complete opera recorded in 2012) BLU-RAY Norwegian National Opera / Diego Torre, Marita Salberg, Vasily Ladyuk, Jennifer Rowley / The Norwegian National Opera Orchestra, Eivind Gullberg [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 10/Jun/2022 ] 'The cast's singing is clearly invigorated by these fresh staging ideas… Tenor Diego Torre has a wonderfully robust high C; soprano Marita Sølberg is a stylistically Italianate as any Mimì I've ever heard.' Gramophone |
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CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: 3 x Poppea - L'Incoronazione di Poppea (complete operas recorded in 1993, 2010 & 2013) Norwegian National Opera with Birgitte Christensen, Jacek Laszczkowski / Concerto Koln, Rene Jacobs / Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Eric Gauthier, Anneleen R [ EuroArts DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 2/Feb/2018 ] Three different approaches to the enigmatic mistress of Roman Emperor Nero - in one box: watch Poppea in two contrasting opera productions plus as a futuristic ballet performance. Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea Orchestra of the Norwegian... |
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BENJAMIN BRITTEN / ELIZABETH POSTON
Britten: A Ceremony of Carols / Poston: An English Day Book NYCoS National Girls Choir, Christopher Bell [ Signum / CD - released 20/Sep/2010 ] "The voices are rich-toned, well-balanced and powered by developing teenage musculature...The singers' Scottish brogue suits the antique poetry" ClassicFM |
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BENET CASABLANCAS
The Dark Backward of Time / 3 Epigrams / Postlude / Love Poem Ofelia Sala (soprano) / Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra / Salvador Mas-Conde [ Naxos Spanish Classics / CD - released 1/Aug/2010 ] Expressive power, meticulous virtuosity and a refined musical language combining the traditional and the avant garde have made Benet Casablancas one of today's most widely recognised Spanish composers. |
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DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 'Babi Yar' Oleg Tsibulko (bass) / Russian National Orchestra, Kirill Karabits [ Pentatone / CD - released 14/Aug/2020 ] "This beautifully engineered studio recording under Kirill Karabits has all the necessary adrenaline to keep the listener fully engaged." BBC |
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SAINT-SAENS / TCHAIKOVSKY / VERDI / BERLIOZ / de FALLA / MOUSSORGSKY / etc
Olga Borodina: Portrait Olga Borodina (mezzo) / Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Orchestra of Welsh National Opera / etc [ Philips Portrait of an Artist / 2 CD - released 10/Jun/2006 ] "A mezzo-soprano is usually a woman with a tragic past, a tragic life - strong women, wilful women, and these roles have strengthened me as a character" (Olga Borodina) |
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RACHMANINOV / GRECHANINOV / TCHAIKOVSKY
Vespers (All-Night Vigil) / Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom [5 CD set] Olga Borusene (Sop) Yuri Korinnyk (Tenor) Mykhaylo Tyshchenko (Tenor) / The National Academic Choir of Ukraine Dumka. / Valery Polyansky [ Brilliant Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2011 ] "If only for the sake of the Liturgy, buy it!! " (MusicWeb Sept 2002) |
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RACHMANINOV
Vespers Op 37 Olga Borusene, Yuri Korinnyk, Mykhaylo Tyshchenko / The National Academic Choir of the Ukraine 'Dumka' [ Brilliant Classics Musica Sacra / CD - released 1/Sep/2009 ] Rachmaninoff was not a great churchgoer, and in fact had stopped going completely by the time he composed his Vespers, and his other great a cappella work, the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom op.31. Nevertheless, he retained a love for and interest in... |
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LUTOSLAWSKI
Twenty Polish Christmas Carols / etc Olga Pasichnyk, Jadwiga Rappé / Polish Radio Chorus, Kraców, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice), Antoni Wit [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Apr/2012 ] "The faster carols have the same sort of energy and modality that you find in Kodály… it's a lovely collection of pieces for dipping into, and they're affectionately performed and recorded." (BBC Music) |
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WITOLD LUTOSLAWSKI
Orchestral Works Volume 6 (Incls 'Symphony No. 1' & 'Silesian Triptych') Olga Pasiecznik (Soprano) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Antoni Wit [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Jun/2008 ] "...not only a sizzling account of the First Symphony, but a fine performance of the late song-sequence Chantefleurs et Chantefables." - Gramophone Critics' choice 1999(Arnold Whittall) |
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MARK BOWDEN
Bowden: Sudden Light Oliver Coates (cello), Julian Warburton (percussion), Hyeyoon Park (violin), Huw Watkins (piano), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Grant Llewellyn (co [ NMC / CD - released 16/Jan/2017 ] "the systems Bowden sets up [in Sudden Light] generate climaxes of great power, and his confidence in handling such large orchestral forces is unmistakable." The Guardian |
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CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saëns: Complete Symphonies Olivier Latry (organ) / Orchestre National de France, Cristian Mǎcelaru [ Warner Classics / 2 CD - released 26/Nov/2021 ] In a release that marks the centenary of Camille Saint-Saëns' death in December 1921, the Orchestre National de France, conducted by its music director Cristian Măcelaru, performs the composer's five symphonies. |
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JULES MASSENET
Massenet: Thérèse (complete opera) Nora Gubisch, Charles Castronovo, Étienne Dupuis, François Lis Opera National Montpellier / Opéra national Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon, Alain Alt [ Bru Zane Ediciones Singulares / CD/Book - released 20/May/2013 ] "The scale is small, the plot thin, but the opera has its moments: one of them is the flowing 'O Therese, regarde', sensitively phrased by Etienne Dupuis. Nora Gubisch and Charles Castronovo are splendid" Gramophone |
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WAGNER
Lohengrin (recorded live at the Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden in 2006) Opera National de Lyon / Klaus Florian Vogt, Solveig Kringelborn, Hans-Peter Konig, Waltraud Meier / Tom Fox / Roman Trekel / Kent Nagano (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 3 DVD - released 6/Dec/2006 ] G :- "Very highly recommended for those not allergic to updated Wagner" (MusicWeb May 2007) |