JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Symphony No 1 / Karelia Suite / Swan of Tuonela / Finlandia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Alexander Gibson [ ALTO / CD - released 10/Nov/2012 ] "Gibson was a much under-recorded conductor, so this reissue of his tight-reined, yet sweepingly intense way with early Sibelius is especially welcome. The RPO responds to him in classy style." (BBC Music) |
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Symphony No. 5 & Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Andre Previn [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 7/Mar/2004 ] "Previn in a noble view...and gives both satisfaction and pleasure...the recording capturing faithfully the contrasting layers of string sound." -Gramaphone |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Symphony No. 5 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Andre Previn, conductor [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 22/Sep/2003 ] Telarc Classics - Top quality recordings at mid-price. |
DANIEL JONES
Symphony No.6 / Symphony No.9 / The Country Beyond the Stars Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra / Sir Charles Groves & Bryden Thomson [ Lyrita / CD - released 30/Aug/2008 ] "I have no doubt that there are those who will find this disc (or at the very least parts of it) nothing short of revelatory." (MusicWeb March 2004) |
SCHUBERT / DVORAK
Death and the Maiden / American (Quartets scored for string orchestra) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Charles Rosekrans [ Telarc SACD / SACD - released 25/Aug/2003 ] On Hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) format, presented in full 5.1 surround sound! PLAYABLE ON ANY CD SYSTEM |
JODY TALBOT
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Austin [ Signum / CD - released 17/Mar/2013 ] The Royal Ballet's 2011 production of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was their first full-scale commission in 20 years and was instantly acclaimed as a classic. |
ERNEST BLOCH
Symphony in E flat major Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Dalia Atlas [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Jun/2014 ] This program includes some of the least known masterpieces from Ernest Bloch's nearly 30 works for orchestra. Macbeth: Two Symphonic Interludes is an intoxicating and passionate distillation of Shakespeare's powerful drama. In Memoriam is a brief... |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Symphony No.4. / Capriccio Italien Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Daniele Gatti [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/May/2009 ] "Daniele Gatti's music directorship of the Royal Philharmonic is generally considered to be the finest thing to happen to the orchestra in years. Just how far he's managed to turn them into a force to be reckoned with can be gauged by this powerhouse... |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Symphonies Nos 4, 5 & 6 / Romeo & Juliet / Capriccio italien / Serenade for Strings Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Daniele Gatti [ Harmonia Mundi / 3 CD - released 1/Nov/2010 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1851-1900) - "The performance is magnetic; Gatti has the full measure of Tchaikovsky's white-heat inspiration. Altogether an excellent recommendation." The Gramophone on the Pathetique. |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Symphony No.5. / Romeo & Juliet Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Daniele Gatti [ Harmonia Mundi SACD / SACD - released 11/Apr/2004 ] "Gatti strips away layers of accrued misreadings of the scores and instead unearths tempos and dynamics as originally stipulated by the composer. Wonderful." Andrew Clarke, The Independent, 7-13 February 2004, ***** - On Hybrid Super Audio CD... |
KARA KARAYEV
The Seven Beauties & The Path of Thunder Ballet Suites Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky [ Naxos / CD - released 5/Feb/2014 ] Kara Karayev was one of Dmitry Shostakovich's most distinguished pupils. Karayev absorbed his teacher's influence, binding it to his own distinctive use of native Azerbaijani folk melodies and harmonies to produce music in an eclectic range of genres |
RESPIGHI
Symphonic Poems (Incls 'Pines of Rome') Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Enrique Batiz [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Aug/2007 ] "played to the hilt and recorded with enough amplitude to arouse the hard of hearing" - CD Review (USA) |
RACHMANINOV
Symphonic Dances / The Isle of the Dead Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Enrique Batiz (Conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 2/Apr/2006 ] In this symphonic poem Rachmaninov makes constant use of fragments of the traditional plainchant Dies irae, a hymn that for centuries had formed part of the Catholic Requiem Mass and had inevitable associations with death in the minds of its hearers |
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 5 / Sonata No. 29 (orch. Weingartner) (rec 1930, 1933) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Felix Weingartner [ Naxos Historical Great Conductors / CD - released 1/Jun/2007 ] The Hammerklavier transcription was transferred mainly from U.S. Columbia “Viva-Tonal” pressings with the exception of two sides that came from first edition laminated English Columbias (including the second movement, which has a pronounced swish on... |
SIBELIUS
Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Halle Orchestra / Sir John Barbirolli [ Testament / CD - released 1/May/2010 ] "Barbirolli's October 1962 account of the Second Symphony with the RPO… finds Sir John at his inspirational best in a reading which marries outsize but never wilful temperament to edge-of-seat spontaneity and keen poetic instinct." (Gramophone) |
XIAOGANG YE
Symphony No. 3, 'Chu' The Last Paradise Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hila Plitmann (soprano), Cho-Liang Lin (violin) [ BIS / CD - released 22/Apr/2016 ] Born in 1955, Xiaogang Ye is regarded as one of China's leading contemporary composers. For three decades his works have drawn attention both in the West and in the Far East, through performances by ensembles including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra... |
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / John Tavener
Plays John Tavener [ CD ] |
RESPIGHI
Pines of Rome / Fountains of Rome / Roman Festivals Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Josep Caballé-Domenech [ Onyx / CD - released 28/Sep/2011 ] "surely, once in a while, we should indulge in this outrageous music, especially in these highly charged and glossy performances." (The Sunday Times) |
CHRISTOPHER GUNNING
Christopher Gunning: Symphony No. 5 & String Quartet No. 1 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Juno String Quartet / Christopher Gunning (conductor) [ Signum / CD - released 4/Jun/2021 ] Christopher Gunning's Symphony No. 5 was composed during 2009 and was the composer's most ambitious to date, in four extended movements. There is no strict programme, but the music moves through several phases which could be said to correspond to... |
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... |