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BIZET
The Pearl Fishers (Highlights in English) Rebecca Evans (soprano) Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Barry Banks (tenor) / Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra / Brad Cohen [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Sep/2008 ] 'It was Rebecca Evans's Gretel, who took the honours. Spinning out radiant lines of delicious purity, she made it hard to see how the role could be sung better' The Times |
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PUCCINI
Tosca (highlights from the complete opera) Renata Tebaldi, Monaco del Monaco, George London / St Cecilia, Rome, Francesco Molinari-Pradel [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 16/Nov/2014 ] Highlights from the classic recording |
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VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Symphony No. 5 (rec 1952) / Dona Nobis Pacem (rec 1936) Renee Flynn, Roy Henderson / BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vaughan Williams [ Somm / CD - released 10/Sep/2008 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2008 - Historic Archive - "…a reading which combines noble breadth, songful rapture and glowing sincerity" (Gramophone) |
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WILLIAM WALTON
Walton: Facade - An Entertainment Richard Baker (narrator), Susana Walton (narrator), City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 1/Jul/2002 ] -The lighter side of William Walton |
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EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Cello Concerto / In The South / Elegy for Strings Robert Cohen (cello) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Norma del Mar [ EMI Classics for Pleasure / CD - released 1/Nov/1980 ] Recorded in the Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London - January 1980 & January 1978 |
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JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Symphony No. 3 in C major / Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82 (1928, 1932) Robert Kajanus / London Symphony Orchestra / Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra [ Naxos Historial Kajanus conducts Sibelius Vol 3 / CD - released 13/Feb/2013 ] Sibelius said of Kajanus that "there are none who have gone deeper and given [my symphonies] more feeling and beauty" |
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PHILIP GLASS
Glass: Violin Concerto No. 2 'The American Four Seasons' Robert McDuffie (violin) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Marin Alsop [ Orange Mountain Music / CD - released 24/Feb/2011 ] "McDuffie responds to Glass's trademark arpeggios and harmonic cycles - embedded, methinks, with sly references to Vivaldi - with an energetic verve that suggests he really believes this is the most important music on the planet; likewise, Alsop's LP |
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VAUGHAN WILLIAMS / BUTTERWORTH / GURNEY / FINZI
Flowers of the Field Roderick Williams (baritone) & Jeremy Irons (speaker) / City of London Choir & London Mozart Players, Hilary Davan Wetton [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Dec/2014 ] "To mark Remembrance Day this disc collects works by English composers affected by the first world war. Unlike their compatriot poets, the composers responded with uniformly elegiac feelings." (Financial Times) |
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KENNETH FUCHS
Falling Man Roderick Williams (baritone) / London Symphony Orchestra / Jo Ann Falletta (Conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Sep/2014 ] Kenneth Fuchs, one of America's leading composers, deepens his bond with conductor JoAnn Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra with this superb recording of vocal music featuring baritone Roderick Williams. The new works include Falling Man, a... |
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VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Symphonies Nos 6 & 8 / Nocturne Roderick Williams (baritone) / London Symphony Orchestra / Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 7/Sep/2003 ] 'Finally, there's a real treat: the first recording of a recently discovered Nocturne, an intensely moving setting of Walt Whitman's 'Whispers of Heavenly Death' composed in 1908. It's evocatively sung here by Roderick Williams.' (BBC Music Magazine) |
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SIR LENNOX BERKELEY
A Dinner Engagement, Op. 45 (An Opera in Two Scenes, Libretto by Paul Dehn) Roderick Williams, Yvonne Kenny, Claire Rutter, Jean Rigby, Anne Collins, Robin Leggate, Blake Fischer / City of London Sinfonia / Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 6/Jul/2004 ] "A long-neglected British opera at last makes a sparkling début on record" Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine Sept 2004 |
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GERALD FINZI
Grand Fantasia & Toccata / Eclogue / Nocturne / etc. Rodney Friend (solo violin) London Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Boult (conductor, Peter Katin (piano) New Philharmonia Orchestra, Vernon Handley (co [ Lyrita / CD - released 12/Apr/2007 ] "Superb sound and Diana McVeagh's astute notes cap a mandatory purchase for lovers of the English muse, and of course for Finzi lovers in particular." (MusicWeb Recording of the Month Oct 2007) |
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SIR MICHAEL TIPPETT
Tippett: Midsummer Marriage (complete opera) Robert Murray, Rachel Nicholls, Ashley Riches, Toby Spence / London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, Edward Gardner [ LPO / 3 CD Box Set - released 23/Sep/2022 ] "Gardner's is more than warmly recommended as both reminder of and entrée to Tippett's achievement." Gramophone Awards 2023 WINNER - Opera |
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HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Grande Messe des Morts [Requiem Mass] Ronald Dowd (tenor) / Wandsworth School Boys Choir / London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus / Sir Colin Davis [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 10/Aug/2008 ] "AT LONG LAST! WE GET TO HEAR THE FIRST REALLY GOOD RECORDING OF THE BERLIOZ REQUIEM THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE HEARD!!!" (SA-CD.net *****) |
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VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
A Cotswold Romance / The Death of Tintagiles Rosa Mannion / Thomas Randle / London Symphony Orchestra / Richard Hickox [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Aug/2012 ] 'Richard Hickox directs a vivid performance [of A Cotswold Romance] with splendid support from his assembled forces. Although not major works, these are notable additions to the catalogue, and the performances could hardly be better' BBC ***** |
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SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Complete Symphonies (plus Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition & Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet) Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edo de Waart [ Decca ABC Australian Eloquence / 4 CD Box Set - released 5/Aug/2018 ] A newly compiled, generous 4CD collection of high-octane Russian orchestral masterpieces, celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the firebrand musicianship of Dutch maestro Edo de Waart. |
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ELGAR
Enigma Variations / Cockaigne Overture / Pomp and Circumstance Marches 1 - 5 (recorded 1926-33) Royal Albert Hall Orchestra / London Symphony Orchestra / BBC Symphony Orchestra / Edward Elgar [ Naxos Historical Elgar Conducts Elgar / CD - released 26/Feb/2011 ] "No one has conducted Elgar better than Elgar himself. The daringly fast tempos, the transparency of texture, flexibility of phrasing and sheer spring in the attack that he calls out of players he knew well, are the absolute benchmarks for how this... |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Top 100 Favourite Classical Melodies [5 CD set] Royal Philharmonic, London Baroque Ensemble, Choir of St. John's College Cambridge, Consort of London and others [ Brilliant Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Sep/2010 ] This set is newly compiled, choosing the 100 very best tracks in the best available performances, including London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Carl Davis, London Baroque Ensemble, Choir of St. John's College Cambridge,... |
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PIERSON / RAWSTHORNE / MORGAN / ARNOLD / etc
Premieres & Encores Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / London Philharmonic Orchestra / London Syphony Orchestra / Vernon Handley / John Pritchard / Nicholas Braithwaite [ Lyrita / CD - released 18/Jan/2008 ] In the Britain, Scandinavia and the Netherlands edition of the Twentieth Century Composers series, Humphrey Searle commented on Alan Rawsthorne: "I feel that his contribution to English music is as important as that of any composer working in England... |
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VAUGHAN WILLIAMS / MOZART / HANDEL / VERDI / ROSSINI / KHACHATURIAN / etc
Classics for Pleasure Volume 2 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / London Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Boult / John Ogdon (piano) / Barry Tuckwell (horn) / etc [ EMI Classics for Pleasure / CD - released 2/Feb/1983 ] The perfect introduction to the classics from the vast EMI catalogue |