VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Be My Love: A Tribute to Mario Lanza Joseph Calleja (tenor) / BBC Concert Orchestra, Steven Mercurio [ Decca Music Group / CD - released 23/Aug/2012 ] "It's an unashamedly populist collection, Calleja rolling the Rs of "Granada" and "Arrivederci, Roma" with obvious relish in arrangements replete with castanets and trilling mandolins." (The Independent) |
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER / ALAN AYCKBOURN
Webber: By Jeeves Malcolm Sinclair & Steven Pacey / Original London Cast [ Really Useful Records / CD - released 7/Jun/1996 ] By Jeeves is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and lyrics and book by Alan Ayckbourn. It is based on the series of novels and short stories by P. G. Wodehouse that centre around the character of Bertie Wooster and his valet, Jeeves. |
ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Cello Concertos Steven Isserlis (cello) / Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Harding [ Hyperion / CD - released 10/Sep/2013 ] Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine October 2013 |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: The Collector's Edition Nikolai Lugansky, Martha Argerich, Yefim Bronfman, Michael Beroff, Steven Isserlis, Borodin Quartet, Truks Monk, Andre Previn, Mstislav Rostropovich [ Erato / Warner Classics / 36 CD Box Set - released 31/Mar/2023 ] March 2023 marks the 70th anniversary of death of Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953). A Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, he made a part of his career in "the west", moving to the United States and France after the 1917 Revolution. |
TCHAIKOVSKY / TALBOT / PROKOFIEV / JOHN LANCHBERY
Ballet For Children: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Peter & the Wolf / The Nutcracker / Tales of Beatrix Potter Royal Ballet / Miyako Yoshida, Steven McRae, Victoria Hewitt, Ricardo Cervera, Gary Avis, Edward Watson, Zenaida Yanowsky, etc [ Opus Arte DVD / 4 DVD Box Set - released 15/Dec/2013 ] 'One of the very best seasonal treats for children and adults alike, the Royal Ballet's Nutcracker is a handsome, magical, thoroughly traditional rendering of ETA Hoffmann's immortal if deeply strange story.' Sunday Express on Nutcracker |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Classic Ballets: Swan Lake / Nutcracker / Sleeping Beauty (recorded 2006-2009) Royal Ballet / Marialela Nunez, Thiago Soares, Alina Cojocaru, Federico Bonelli, Miyako Yoshida, Steven McRae / Valery Ovsyanikov, Koen Kessels [ Opus Arte DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2013 ] This special collection brings together three acclaimed Royal Ballet performances of Tchaikovsky's celebrated masterpieces. The tragic and gloriously romantic Swan Lake features compelling dancing from Marianela Nuñez and Thiago Soares, while an... |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV / DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Prokofiev / Shostakovich: Cello Concertos Steven Isserlis (cello) / Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Apr/2015 ] BBC Music Magazine Awards 2016 Finalist - Concerto |
JOHN TAVENER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tavener: The Protecting Veil (complete) / The Last Sleep of the Virgin) Steven Isserlis (cello) / London Symphony Orchestra, Gennadi Rhozdestvensky / Chilingirian Quartet [ Virgin Classics / CD - released 20/Feb/2009 ] "The Isserlis/Rozhdestvensky pioneering version of Tavener's Protecting Veil hardly needs any recommendation from me." (Gramophone) |
EDWARD ELGAR / WILLIAM WALTON
Elgar / Walton: Cello Concertos Steven Isserlis (cello) / Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Harding [ Hyperion / CD - released 15/Feb/2016 ] "This mesmerising meditation couldn't be in better hands" BBC Music Magazine Instrumental Choice March 2016 |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH / DMITRY KABALEVSKY
Shostakovich & Kabalevsky: Cello Sonatas (with works by Prokofiev) Steven Isserlis (cello), Olli Mustonen (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Feb/2019 ] "This is an excellent performance, one which I will be enjoying regularly in the years to come. The recorded sound is also excellent as are the booklet notes by Steven Isserlis, who sets the scene well in his essay." Recommended Recording MusicWeb |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Early and late piano pieces Steven Osborne (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 28/Oct/2022 ] A programme which bridges Debussy's first work for piano (the 'Danse bohémienne', from 1880) and his last ('Les soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon', from 1917). Steven Osborne is equally responsive to the very different musical moods of both. |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Études & Pour le piano Steven Osborne (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 3/Nov/2023 ] "Time and again there were details that tickled the ear with their freshness, revealing as if for the first time the anarchic brilliance of Debussy's vision." Gramophone recording of the Month Dec 2023 |
JOHN TAVENER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Part - Tavener - Gorecki Various artists including Steven Isserlis, Vasari Singers conducted by Jeremy Backhouse, Winchester Cathedral Choir conducted by David Hill. etc [ EMI Classics for Pleasure / Warner Classics / CD - released 2/Feb/2000 ] The perfect introduction to the choral music of these 20th Century composers. |
CHARLES-VALENTIN ALKAN / FREDERIC CHOPIN
Alkan / Chopin: Cello Sonatas Alban Gerhardt (cello) Steven Osborne (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 20/Oct/2008 ] "This is a magnificent performance: the tiny Largo is a particular gem. Pellucidly clean and clear engineering completes a remarkably fine disc that never once deviates from the highest artistic standards on offer today. You'll love it." (10/10... |
MAXIMILIAN STEINBERG
Steinberg: Passion Week (1923) The Clarion Choir, Steven Fox [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Dec/2016 ] Best Choral Performance - Grammy Nomination 2017 |
TRADITIONAL
Transeamus (English Carols and Motets) David James (countertenor), Rogers Covey-Crump, Steven Harrold (tenor), Gordon Jones (baritone) / The Hilliard Ensemble [ ECM Records / CD - released 1/Nov/2014 ] Having recorded more than twenty albums for ECM since the mid-80s, The Hilliard Ensemble caps its discography before retirement (at the end of 2014) with a final release: 'Transeamus', a collection of polyphony - in two, three and four parts - from... |
JOHN DOWLAND
Dowland: Flow My Tears-Lute Songs Dorothy Linell (lute), Steven Rickards (counter-tenor) [ Naxos Early Music / CD - released 10/Nov/2012 ] Originally recorded at Fordham Town Hall, New York City, in March and October, 1995 |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Complete Viola Quintets Vol 1 Guarneri Quartet, with Ida Kavafian & Steven Tenenbom (violas) [ RCA Victor Red Seal / CD - released 1/Jun/1988 ] Recorded live at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
MANCINI / GERSHWIN
Music For Peter Gunn / Gershwin By Grofé Harmonie Ensemble New York, Steven Richman [ Harmonia Mundi with complete catalogue / 2 CD - released 8/Jan/2016 ] "a fascinating and hugely enjoyable disc." (BBC Music) |
TCHAIKOVSKY / ELLINGTON / STRAYHORN
The Nutcracker Suites Harmonie Ensemble New York, Steven Richman [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 26/Oct/2013 ] Reviving the art of "swinging the classics", Steven Richman and the Harmonie Ensemble/New York present two different versions of the beloved Nutcracker Suite side by side on the same album for the first time: the Tchaikovsky original of 1892,... |