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W. A. MOZART
The Ultimate Mozart Opera Album [2 CD set] Herbert Lippert, Bo Skovhus, John Dickie, Helen Kwon, and other Naxos recording artists [ Naxos Opera / 2 CD - released 10/Dec/2010 ] This marvellous selection reveals Mozart's astonishing gift for laying bare the inner lives of the many beloved characters from his most famous operas, whether embroiled in farce or defying fate. |
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WAGNER
Siegfried (complete opera recorded in 1999) Het Muziektheater Amsterdam / Heinz Kruse / Graham Clark / John Brocheler / Henk Smit / Carsten Stabell / Anne Gjevang / Hartmut Haenchen (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 3 DVD - released 19/Jun/2006 ] G :- "This Siegfried definitely had me hooked from beginning to end" (MusicWeb July 2006) |
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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 |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos 15, 24, 25, 27 Idil Biret (piano) / London Mozart Players, Worthing Symphony Orchestra, John Gibbons [ Naxos Idil Biret Concerto Edition / 2 CD - released 10/Jun/2019 ] This release features the 7th and 8th volumes in the Naxos Idil Biret Concerto Edition. "Miss Biret was soloist in an entrancing performance of Mozart's concerto K. 482 with the Halle Orchestra conducted by Mlle Nadia Boulanger. The variety of her... |
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PURCELL / HUMFREY
My Beloved Spake : Anthems by Henry Purcell & Pelham Humfrey Iestyn Davies, James Gilchrist, David Stout & Neal Davies / Choir of St John's College, Cambridge & St John's Sinfonia, Andrew Nethsingha [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "Nethsingha juxtaposes such relatively unfamiliar fare with masterpieces including O Sing unto the Lord. He is a committed custodian of the Oxbridge choral tradition, as are his fine soloists" (Sunday Times) |
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KALEVI AHO
Aho: Concerto, Quintet & Contrapunctus Ismo Eskelinen (guitar) Ilkka Puputti (horn) / Lapland Chamber Orchestra, John Storgårds [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 12/Jul/2024 ] Although the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho is best known as a symphonist, his constantly expanding catalogue includes numerous concertos as well as countless chamber works and arrangements of works by other composers. This album brings together works... |
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ITZHAK PERLMAN
Itzhak Perlman - A Portrait [2 CD set] Itzhak Perlman (violin) with Andre Previn, Samuel Sanders, John Toll, Daniel Barenboim & Bernard Haitinkl [ EMI Classics / 2 CD - released 1/Dec/2012 ] Itzhak Perlman radiates a generosity of spirit that is reflected as much in the richness of his interpretations as in the irresistible exuberance of his virtuosity. This survey of his supreme achievement as a violinist embraces complete concertos by... |
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Jack DeJohnette (Drums, Piano, Organ) with John Abercrombie (guitars)
Pictures [ ECM Records / CD - released 1/Jan/2000 ] |
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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. |
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EDWARD ELGAR / LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Elgar: Cello Concerto / Beethoven: The Ghost... Jacqueline du Pre in Portrait Jacqueline du Pre (cello) / Daniel Barenboim / Pinchas Zukerman / Sir John Barbirolli / Philharmonia Orchestra [ Opus Arte / BBC DVD / DVD - released 1/Sep/2004 ] Jacqueline du Pré's extraordinary career was cut cruelly short by illness in 1973 when she was only 28 years old. When she died 14 years later, she remained as vibrant a figure in the public mind as she had been at the pinnacle of her career. |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
A Jacqueline du Pre Recital Jacqueline du Pre (cello) with Gerald Moore (piano), Oslan Ellis (harp), Roy Jesson (organ) & John Williams (guitar) [ Warner Classics Original Jacket Reissues / CD - released 20/Oct/2017 ] The tragedy of du Pré's brief career is still fresh in the public memory and can be summarised here. She was born in Oxford on 26 January 1945 into a middle-class family in which music was important: her mother was a fine pianist and a gifted teacher. |
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EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Cello Concerto / Sea Pictures / Overture: Cockaigne Jacqueline Du Pre (cello) Dame Janet Baker (mezzo) / London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics Original Jacket Reissues / CD - released 22/Aug/2015 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE 100 GREATEST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME |
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PER NORGARD / KAIJA SAARIAHO
Remembering - Nørgård & Saariaho: Cello Concertos Jakob Kullberg (cello), BBC Philharmonic, Michael Francis, John Storgards, Sinfonia Varsovia, Szymon Bywalec [ BIS / CD - released 3/Sep/2021 ] "[Nørgård and Kullberg's] partnership reflects an intensity of vision on both sides, and a sense of creative adventure that's mirrored by Kullberg's further pairing with Finnish composer, Kaija Saariaho…Throughout, the orchestral support is sterling" |
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HANDEL / VIVALDI / PURCELL
Dido's Lament - Famous Baroque Arias John-Mark Ainsley / Gillian Fisher / Michael George / James Bowman / Robert King / King's Consort [ ALTO / CD - released 1/Jun/2010 ] Essential Baroque arias with period instrument accompaniment |
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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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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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HANDEL
Judas Maccabaeus (Complete oratorio) (Special price) Janet Baker / John Shirley-Quirk / Felicity Palmer / English Chamber Orchestra, Charles Mackerras [ DG Archiv / 3 CD - released 13/Apr/2006 ] "The orchestral group and continuo sound splendidly crisp. Ryland Davies and John Shirley-Quirk are most stylish, while both Felicity Palmer and Janet Baker crown the whole set with glorious singing...the recording quality is outstanding." (***... |
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MAURICE RAVEL / HECTOR BERLIOZ
Ravel: Sheherazade / Berlioz: Les Nuits d'ete [recorded in 1967] Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano) / New Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli [ Warner Classics Original Jacket Reissues / CD - released 10/Feb/2019 ] A classic recording of a classic pairing of French song cycles. Composed some 60 years apart, Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été and Ravel's Shéhérazade both visit romantic, mysterious and exotic locations, evoking a wealth of moods and sensations. Janet... |
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BEETHOVEN
Mass in C major Janice Watson (soprano); Jean Rigby (mezzo); John Mark Ainsley (tenor); Gwynne Howell (bass) / Corydon Singers and Orchestra / Matthew Best [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 1/Sep/2007 ] "The performance of the Mass is as good as any modern instrument version I've heard and I'm delighted that it's been restored to the catalogue" (MusicWeb April 2007) |
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WILLIAM MATHIAS
Mathias: Choral Music St John's Voices, The Gentlemen of St John's, Graham Walker [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Jan/2020 ] "The whole programme is thoughtfully chosen, superbly executed, beautifully recorded - and, best of all, hugely enjoyable." Choir & Organ |