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MENDELSSOHN
Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4 Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra / Ireland National Symphony Orch bestra / Bramall (conductor), Seifried (conductor) [ Naxos Super Budget Series / CD - released 30/Jun/2008 ] "The Naxos performance is an attractive, alert one, well recorded." - Penguin Guide |
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MENDELSSOHN
Symphony No. 3 / A Midsummer Night's Dream (excerpts) Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra / Ireland National Symphony Orchestra / Bramall (conductor), Seifried (conductor) [ Naxos Super Budget Series / CD - released 30/Jun/2008 ] "A performance that gains in tautness as it progresses." - Guardian (UK) |
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BALLET FAVOURITES
Ballet Favourites (excerpts from Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Sylvia, Romeo & Juliet, etc) Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Kosice / Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra [ Naxos Super Budget Series / CD - released 30/Jun/2008 ] "Tough, tight playing... what an exhilarating performance by Mogrelia. Very fine recording and reproduction of what is a very difficult selection of music." - CLASSIC CD (on the Prokofiev) |
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SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Aleko / The Miserly Knight / Francesca da Rimini (excerpts) Sofia National Opera Chorus / Sofia National Opera Orchestra / Nayden Todorov (Conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 9/Sep/2006 ] "Another Naxos opera triumph. An intelligent and valuable concept. All performed with passion and commitment." (MusicWeb Sept 2006) |
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LEON MINKUS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Minkus: Paquita / La Bayadere (ballets) Sofia National Opera Orchestra, Boris Spassov [ Capriccio / CD - released 12/Dec/1995 ] "This is a wonderful recording of music of the under-rated Minkus (and a few others), a way to often neglected composer of some of the most famous works of ballet." (Amazon.com) |
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MINKUS
Don Quixote (Complete Ballet) Sofia National Opera Orchestra / Nayden Todorov (conductor) [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 20/Jan/2004 ] Léon Minkus was born Alois Ludwig Minkus in 1826 in Vienna, where he is presumed to have studied. A violinist, conductor and composer, he was said to be of Hungarian origin, although by ancestry of Russian or Polish derivation. |
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NICOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Rimsky-Korsakov: The Snow Maiden [Snegurochka] (complete opera recorded in 1957) Sofiya Jankovic, Militza Miladinovich, Valeria Heybalova, Biserka Cvejic, Lubitza Versaykoun / Belgrade National Opera , Kreshimir Baranovich [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Feb/2019 ] 'The sound is amazingly smooth and clear, and the stereo spread even in those experimental days is really first rate.' - Opera magazine, August 1974 |
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BLOCH / SHOSTAKOVICH / CASALS
Sol Gabetta - Prayer Sol Gabetta (cello) / Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Orchestre National de Lyon, Cello Ensemble of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta [ Sony Classics / CD - released 20/Mar/2017 ] "Wit, aristocratic poise and elegance; mercurial shifts of mood, intensity and lightness of touch in near miraculous balance." The Herald on Sol Gabetta |
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PETROS PETRIDIS
Petridis: Saint Paul Soloists / Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Byron Fidetzis [ Naxos / 2 CD - released 21/Jun/2024 ] Petros Petridis was one of the leading composers of the Greek National School. In Saint Paul he sought to combine the polyphonic approach of Byzantine music with the form of the oratorio. The libretto follows the Acts of the Apostles with fourteen... |
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SCHNITTKE
Symphonies Nos 0 - 9 Soloists & Choirs / Cape Philharmonic Orchestra / BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Stockholm Sinfonietta / Gothenburg Symphony / etc [ BIS / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2009 ] BIS is proud to present the only available collection of the complete symphonies by Alfred Schnittke. The recordings, part of the Schnittke Edition begun in 1987, have been brought together in a 6-CD boxed set, which includes an initiated essay by... |
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GILBERT and SULLIVAN
G & S: H.M.S. Pinafore (Complete Operetta) Richard Suart, Thomas Allen, Rebecca Evans, Donald Adams / Welsh National Opera, Charles MacKerras [ Telarc Records / CD - released 7/Jul/2000 ] "Richard Suart is an excellent as Sir Joseph and Donald Adams is well cast (as usual) as Deadeye. It's great to have the women's chorus actually sounding 'out at sea' in Act One." Mel@Marbecks |
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FRANZ XAVIER GRUBER
Gruber: Ukrainian Christmas Solomiya Ivakhiv Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Serhii Khorovets [ Naxos / CD - released 8/Nov/2024 ] Ukraine has a long and vibrant tradition of Christmas carols, whose melodies and meaning - now, more than ever - hold an important place in the hearts of the country's people. Some carols date back centuries and cover a wide variety of themes, but... |
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WAGNER / HANDEL / MENDELSSOHN / VIVALDI / PARRY / RUTTER / WIDOR / etc
101 Wedding Stephen Cleobury (organ), The Michael Laird Brass Ensemble, The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, The National Philharmonic Orchestra, etc [ Decca / 6 CD Box Set - released 14/Jul/2014 ] For many people their Wedding will be the most important day of their lives and choosing the right music is an important element in the making of the special day. |
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SAMUEL BARBER
Eternal Barber (Incls 'Adagio for Strings') Stephen Prutsman, Daniel Pollack (pianos) / Ormond College Choir / Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Oct/2008 ] Samuel Barber is widely known for his famous Adagio for Strings, the slow movement of a string quartet he wrote in 1936. Born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1910, he was one of the first students at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where he... |
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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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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos 1 - 5 Stewart Goodyear (piano) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Andrew Constantine [ Orchid / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/2020 ] "Glorious, life-embracing performances, very well recorded; surely a high point of the composer's birthday year (or any other, for that matter)." MusicWeb Recommended May 2020 |
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CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saens: Music for Wind Instruments Stéphane Lemelin (piano) / Canada's National Arts Centre Wind Quintet [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Mar/2011 ] "The unifying feature of this programme is the excellently judged piano playing of Stéphane Lemelin, who adds a discerning range of colour and spirit to the performances" Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice - March 2011 |
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RICHARD STRAUSS
Don Quixote / Romance for cello & orchestra in F major Alexander Rudin (cello) / Ireland National Symphony Orchestra, Gerhard Markson [ naxos / CD - released 25/Apr/2010 ] "The Naxos sound, too, is commendable for its smooth reliability...comfortable listening...now that I think about it, that's quite a bargain itself!" - John Puccio Sensible Sound August/September 2001 |
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MENDELSSOHN
Paulus (St Paul) Op.36 Susan Gritton / Jean Rigby / Barry Banks / Peter Coleman-Wright / BBC National Chorus & Orchestra of Wales / Richard Hickox [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 1/May/2009 ] 'Another superb performance from Hickox, who gets a quartet of tremendous soloists and a first-rate orchestra and chorus… One of this year's musts.' (Cathedral Music) |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Rodelinda (complete opera) Joan Sutherland, Alicia Nafe, Curtis Rayam, Isobel Buchanan / Welsh National Opera Orchestra, Richard Bonynge [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2019 ] "[The recorded sound] is vivid, rather spacious … Dame Joan Sutherland produces generous quantities of golden tone … Nafé does ['Dove sei'] very beautifully, gently yet with firm, well-formed tone." gramophone |