DELIBES
Coppelia (complete ballet recorded in 2001) Charline Giezendanner / Mathieu Ganio / Pierre Lacotte / École De Danse And Opéra National De Paris / David Coleman [ Arthaus Musik DVD / DVD - released 1/Jul/2011 ] On the programme this evening is Coppélia, or the girl with the enamel eyes by Léo Delibes. The excitement among the girls is great because today they will be performing in the (reproduced) scenery and costumes which at the premiere on 25 May 1870... |
JANACEK
Katya Kabanova (complete opera sung in English) Cheryl Barker (soprano) Gwynne Howell (bass) Kathleen Wilkinson (mezzo) Owen Webb (baritone) / Welsh National Opera Chorus & Orchestra / Carlo Rizzi [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 1/Oct/2007 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD FINALIST 2008 - Opera - 'This English-language performance captures the visceral impact of Janacek's great tragedy with unerring immediacy. Vividly recorded with magnificent orchestral playing, the drama is delivered with a... |
GEORGE DYSON
Quo Vadis: a cycle of poems Cheryl Barker (soprano) Jean Rigby (mezzo-soprano) Philip Langridge (tenor) / BBC National Chorus of Wales ; BBC National Orchestra of Wales ; Richar [ Chandos Classics / 2 CD - released 26/May/2003 ] 'All four soloists are in superb voice, each of them strong, firm and characterful; and both choruses sing with fresh, incandescent tone... the result will delight all devotees of the English choral tradition.' - Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine... |
JANACEK
The Makropulos Case (complete opera in English) Cheryl Barker (soprano) Neal Davies (bass-baritone) John Graham-Hall (tenor) / English National Opera / Sir Charles Mackerras [ Chandos / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/2007 ] "This electrifying performance has been captured in sound that is exceptionally clear and full-bodied, and it also has great immediacy. I very much welcome a recording in English." (International Record Review March 2007) |
ANDERSON / COPLAND / CORIGLIANO / IVES / SCHUMAN / etc
Leonard Slatkin - The American Collection Evelyn Glennie (percussion), Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf (narrator) Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin [ RCA Red Seal / Sony Music Masters / 13 CD Box Set - released 25/Apr/2018 ] "It is certainly one of the best symphonies by an American composer, possibly one of the greatest symphonies of the 20th century." [Corigliano Symphony 1] |
MAURICE RAVEL
Ravel: L'enfant et les sortilèges & Ma Mère l'Oye Choeur Britten, Jeune Choeur symphonique, Maitrise de l'Opera National de Lyon & Orchestre National de Lyon, Leonard Slatkin [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Oct/2015 ] Ravel's opera L'Enfant et les sortilèges captures an imaginative child's world in which the creatures and objects around him come to life. |
RAVEL
Complete orchestral works (Incls Daphnis et Chloa, Alborada del Gracioso & Pictures at an Exhibition [Mussorgsky orch. Ravel]) (Rec 1987-88) Choeur et Orchestre National de France. Eliahu Inbal [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD - released 18/Aug/2005 ] "The recordings were made by Yoshiharu Kawaguchi who clearly espoused the then new digital medium for its ability to portray the merest breath through to stunning ear-assaulting climaxes." (MusicWeb Oct 2003) |
FRANCIS POULENC
Poulenc: Organ Concerto / Concert champêtre Philippe Lefebvre (organ) Elisabeth Chojnacka (harpsichord) / Lille National Orchestra, Jean-Claude Casadesus [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Jun/2016 ] "The wind and percussion of the Lille orchestra get a chance to demonstrate their quality in accomplished playing of the spry dances of the Suitefrançaise. This is an eminently recommendable disc." (Gramophone Classucal Music Guide) |
CHAUSSON / RAVEL / HONEGGER / DEBUSSY / FAURE
French Violin Masterpieces Christian Ferras (violin) Pierre Barbizet (piano) / Belgian National Orchestra [ Decca Legends / CD - released 1/Nov/2002 ] "..the remastering has done justice to the recordings and the memory of a fine artist." (Amazon.co.uk) |
FRANK MARTIN / KAZIMIERZ SEROCKI / ERNEST BLOCH / JAN SANDSTROM
A Trombone Odyssey Christian Lindberg (trombone) / Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Leif Segerstam [ BIS / CD - released 1/Feb/1992 ] "Lindberg has added another rung to the ladder." (American Record Guide) |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Op. 35; Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor Op. 23 Christian Tetzlaff (violin) Nikolai Lugansky (piano) / Russian National Orchestra. Kent Nagano [ Pentatone SACD / SACD - released 6/Jul/2005 ] "In Multi Channel you can feel the sound waves reverberating through the hall!" ---SA-CD.net |
Chœur de Radio France, Maîtrise de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Solistes de l'Orchestre National de France
Thierry Escaich: Cris [ Formations musicales de Radio France / CD - released 12/Mar/2021 ] For its 28th edition in 2018, the Festival Présences of Radio France paid tribute to Thierry Escaich -one of the greatest French living composers. Composer, but also organist and improviser, Thierry Escaich does not dissociate the three aspects of... |
LAVAILLAT
La Petite Danseuse De Degas Clairemarie Osta / Dorothée Gilbert / Mathieu Ganio / Corps De Ballet & Orchestre De L'Opéra National De Paris / Koen Kessels [ ArtHaus Musik DVD / DVD - released 8/Aug/2011 ] "An inspired and visually ravishing creation. This ballet deserves to go from success to success." (Recording of the Month MusicWeb Aug 2011) |
GUSTAV HOLST
Holst-The Planets / Mystic Trumpeter Clare Rutter, soprano / RSNO Ladies Chorus / Royal Scottish National Orchestra / David Lloyd-Jones, conductor [ Naxos SACD / SACD - released 2/Apr/2004 ] On Hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) format, presented in full 5.1 surround sound! PLAYABLE ON ANY CD SYSTEM - The Royal Scottish National Orchestra is considered to be one of the UK's leading symphony orchestras. Formed in 1891 as the Scottish... |
GERSHWIN / BERNSTEIN / RODGERS / MORTIER
Summertime: Music For Clarinet Quartet The Clarinet Quartet Of The Belgian National Orchestra [ NAXOS / CD ] Terence Thompson's witty jazz suite City Scenes starts with a light-hearted Stroll in the City, delicately sketched. Blowing the Blues provides a leisurely interlude, before the cheerful and lively Hot Potato Boogie, a blues derivative, with its... |
MICHAEL DAUGHERTY
Daugherty: Rapture-concerto for percussion & orchestra / An American Abroad / Jasper Colin Currie (percussion) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Marin Alsop [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 1/Aug/2008 ] "Colin Currie is a brilliant British percussionist, and Marin Alsop leads performances that seem well rehearsed and committed. Torke fans will want this, especially for the two tone poems, I'm sure." - Stephen Ellis, Fanfare |
ZDENEK FIBICH
Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (Incls 'Symphony No 1') Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Marek Štilec [ Naxos / CD - released 16/Apr/2013 ] Zdenĕk Fibich's career overlapped those of his countrymen Smetana and Dvořak, but his music remained poised between the twin poles of Czech Nationalism and the New German School. |
ZDENEK FIBICH
Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 (Incls 'Othello, Op. 6') Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Marek Štilec [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] "The recordings are agreeably detailed and with plenty of dynamic contrast. All who are already friends of Ma Vlast and the Dvorak late tone-poems will want to hear this and can expect to find new friends." (MusicWeb July 2014) |
ZDENEK FIBICH
Orchestral Works, Vol. 4 Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Marek Štilec [ Naxos / CD - released 20/Dec/2014 ] This fourth volume in the first complete recording of the orchestral works of Zdeněk Fibich features shorter orchestral works and occasional pieces for theatre projects. They include the evocative overture A Night at Karlštejn Castle, the... |
ZDENEK FIBICH
Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 (Incls 'Symphony No 2') Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Marek Štilec, with Irvin Venyš (clarinet) [ Naxos / CD - released 16/Apr/2014 ] "Major works like the cycle of three melodramas Hippodamia show [Fibich] to be a writer of no mean accomplishment, who despite his early death by no means deserves to be overshadowed by his contemporaries Smetana and Dvořák. Indeed those who enjoy th |