VIVALDI
Amor Profano: Vivaldi Opera Arias Simone Kermes (soprano) / Venice Baroque Orchestra / Andrea Marcon [ Archiv / CD - released 1/Mar/2008 ] "An object lesson in putting together a Baroque opera arias recital disc." Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine May 2008) |
BEETHOVEN
Symphonies 6 & 8 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 14/Jul/2014 ] "flexible, warmly played, beautifully detailed." (Arkivmusic) |
FRITZ KREISLER
Hommage to Fritz Kreisler - 22 favourite miniatures Alfred Campoli (violin) Eric Gritton (piano) and Norihko Wada (piano) [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 25/May/2005 ] "Campoli's performances are full of flair" (Penguin Guide) |
GASPARINI / MARCELLO / PASQUINI / SCARLATTI / etc
Arcadia Andreas Scholl (counter-tenor) Accademia Byzantina, Dantone [ Decca Records / CD - released 8/Dec/2003 ] "Scholl is the star in this elegant collection of lesser-known music about rural love" Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine (March 2004) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Requiem Anja Harteros, Elina Garanca, Jonas Kaufmann, Rene Pape / Orchestra e coro del Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Daniel Barenboim [ Decca DVD / DVD - released 30/Aug/2013 ] "Even without a fully Italianate instrument, Kaufmann's honeyed, warm tone makes him exceptional in Verdi." (The Telegraph) |
W. A. MOZART
Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro] (Complete opera) Anna Netrebko, Christine Schafer, Bo Skovhus, Dorothea Raschmann / Wiener Philharmoniker, Nikolaus Harnoncourt [ Deutsche Grammophon / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Jul/2007 ] 'This Marriage of Figaro should go down in history as departing director Peter Ruzicka's greatest Salzburg achievement...four hours of perfection.' |
VERDI
Anna Netrebko sings Verdi - DELUX EDITION Anna Netrebko (soprano) / Orchestra Teatro Regio Torino, Gianandrea Noseda [ Deutsche Grammophon CD & DVD / CD/DVD - released 16/Aug/2013 ] "her soprano now offers darker colours and greater weight than it ever did before...she makes every heroine leap before us, fully alive, each widely different from the other...Along the way we also get some of Netrebko's slippery flights of coloratur |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Der Rosenkavalier (Complete Opera) Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnes Baltsa, Janet Perry & Kurt Moll / Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon Opera! / 3 CD - released 1/May/2012 ] "underrated. It has strong vocal performances...and it's gloriously played by the Vienna Philharmonic...this is a set well worth having alongside more fleet-footed versions." (International Record Review) |
J.S. BACH
Arias Anne Sofie Von Otter (mezzo-soprano) with guests / Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen [ Deutsche Grammophon Archiv / CD - released 27/Apr/2009 ] Born to sing J.S.Bach, Anne Sofie von Otter brings elegant style, richness of voice, and career-long commitment to Baroque music to this glorious recording of alto and soprano arias she herself selected. |
BENNY ANDERSSON / BJORN ULVAEUS
I let the music speak: A celebration of the music of ABBA Anne-Sofie von Otter (soprano) Benny Andersson (piano) / Fleshquartet and others [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 16/Aug/2006 ] Anne Sofie von Otter's present album was born from her passion for the music of Benny Andersson - a long-standing admiration that dates back more than two decades. |
WAGNER
Parsifal (complete opera recorded in 2013) Bayerischen Staatsoper / Johan Botha, Michaela Schuster, Wolfgang Koch, Stephen Millings / Staatskapelle Dresden, Christian Thielemann [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 4/Aug/2013 ] "The singing cast are very fine and, like his players, seem to have studied with their conductor in Goodall-like detail. Both Grail scenes are fully staged, rather than just stood and sung and are almost unbearably moving" (Gramophone) |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake / Nutcracker / Sleeping Beauty (Ballet Suites) Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich. [ Deutsche Grammophon The Originals / CD - released 5/May/2001 ] 'Rostropovich's trypich of Tchaikovsky ballets is very special. The remastering, always outstanding. Now approaches demonstration standard. 69 minutes of sheer joy.' - Rosette (highest rating) Penguin Guide |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 1-5 (Complete) / Sinfonia Concertante Carmignola Giuliano (violin) / Orchestra Mozart (on period instruments) / Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon Archiv / 2 CD - released 18/Aug/2008 ] Gramophone Award Finalist 2009: Concerto - "Mozart-conducting and interpretation are in the realms of greatness." |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Semele (complete opera recorded in 2007) Zurich Opera / Cecilia Bartoli, Liliana Nikiteanu, Birgit Remmert, Isabel Rey / William Christie (cond) [ Decca Music Group DVD / 2 DVD - released 12/Mar/2009 ] G - "Sung dazzlingly, "Myself I shall adore" was one of many high points in Bartoli's stunning performance, her first operatic role in a language other than Italian…The wonderfully intimate Zurich Opera House allows every detail of her performance... |
The Coldstream Guards
The Pride of the Nation (Deluxe Edition CD & DVD) [ Decca Music Group / 2 CD/DVD - released 14/Apr/2011 ] A CD+DVD set which features stirring anthems and hymns, and showcases the best music from the best military band, from the Queen's own Guard. |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Impromptus [complete] Daniel Barenboim (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon Galleria / CD - released 14/Jul/2014 ] Barenboim has received many awards and prizes, including an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, France's Légion d'honneur both as a Commander and Grand Officier, the German Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz and Willy Brandt Award,... |
HANDEL
Ultimate Handel: Includes Water Music Suites, Concerto grosso in B flat & Messiah [selection] Daniel Chorzempa (Organ) Concerto Amsterdam / The Brandenburg Consort / David Hill / Gillian Fisher (Soprano) / Academy of St Martin in the Fields / e [ Decca Budget Boxes / 5 CD - released 22/May/2007 ] 5 CDs in presentation slip case at SUPER-BUDGET price. An outstanding collection of Handel Favourites. Great value gift purchase. |
FREDE GROFE
Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite / Mississippi Suite (with Gershwin-Porgy and Bess Symphonic Picture) Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati / Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, Howard Hanson [ Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Nov/2007 ] "never more beautifully recorded … the performance is totally memorable and the sound quite superb" [Porgy and Bess] Penguin Guide to CDs |
STRAVINSKY
Le sacre du printemps / Symphony in Three Movements / Agon Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Vladimir Ashkenazy [ Decca 20th Century / CD - released 4/Jun/2012 ] "The engineering is consistently fine. Worth considering, then, even if most collectors will have alternatives, for The Rite at the very least." (Arkivmusic.com) |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
Gilbert & sullivan: The Gondoliers (Complete with dialogue) D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with Gillian Knight; Thomas Round; John Reed / New Symphony Orchestra / Godfrey [ Decca Records / 2 CD - released 1/Apr/2003 ] Isidore Godfrey's conducting is vividly alive and Decca provided a large and excellent orchestra. The solo singing throughout is consistently good. Thomas Round sings Take A Pair Of Sparkling Eyes very well indeed. *** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo Guide. |