SCHIERBECK
Fête galante Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Michael Shønwandt [ Dacapo / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 15/Oct/2013 ] Dalliance, deceit and dastardly blackmail are all in the air at the rococo palace of Versailles, where the Danish composer Poul Schierbeck's only opera Fête Galante unfolds its colourful plot. |
HODDINOTT / WILBY / HOROVITZ / KARL JENKINS
The Symphonic Euphonium David Childs (euphonium) / BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Bramwell Tovey [ Chandos / CD - released 15/Dec/2014 ] For many years since its invention in 1843, the euphonium was only to be heard in ensembles, but recent decades have seen a dramatic increase in the popularity of the euphonium as a solo instrument. Today, David Childs leads the way as the world's... |
LEPO SUMERA
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1998/99); Musica profana (1997); Symphony No.6 (2000) David Geringas (cello) / Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paavo Jarvi [ BIS / CD - released 23/Jun/2003 ] The complete symphonic output of this fascinating composer, who in 2000 died at the age of 50, has been documented. |
GUBAIDULINA
The Canticle of the Sun by St Francis of Assisi (1997); Hommage a Marina Tsvetayeva (1984) David Geringas (cello) Percussionists of Danish National Symphony Orchestra / Danish National Choir / Stefan Parkman [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 12/Nov/2003 ] Sofia Gubaidulina is one of the word's most famous living composers and her music has a tremendous worldwide following. |
LENNOX & MICHAEL BERKELEY
Berkeley, Lennox & Michael-Symphony No 1; Serenade; Horn Concerto; Coronach David Pyatt, horn, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 22/Aug/2002 ] "Lennox Berkeley and his son Michael represent two of the brightest stars in 20th-Century British music and Chandos has found excellent advocates for their compositions in Richard Hickox and the BBC National orchestra of Wales." ***** Five Stars BBC... |
LISZT
Piano Concertos / Totentanz / etc [2 CD set] Denis Matsuev (piano) / Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev [ Sony Music / 2 CD - released 1/Mar/2012 ] |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique / Harold en Italie / Overtures Donald McInnes (viola) / Orchestre National de France, Leonard Bernstein / London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn [ EMI Double Forte / 2 CD - released 16/Jun/1999 ] "This is excellent...The French orchestra plays beautifully for Bernstein...the most interesting performance of the symphony now on record" (Gramophone on Symphonie fantastique) |
ELGAR
Violin Concerto in B minor Op 61 / Cockaigne Overture Dong-Suk Kang (violin) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adrian Leaper (conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 26/Jan/2008 ] "Dung-Suk Kang plays the work with insight and understanding, as if he had been brought up on the slopes of the Malvern Hills" - Gramophone |
JEAN SIBELIUS / EDWARD ELGAR
Sibelius/Elgar: Violin Concertos Dong-Suk Kang (violin) / Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Adrian Leaper (conductor) [ Naxos / CD - released 29/Oct/2005 ] "even if it were at full price it would feature quite high in the current lists" - Penguin Guide |
JOHN ADAMS
Adams: Naive and Sentimental Music / Absolute Jest Doric String Quartet, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Peter Oundjian [ Chandos Classics SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Jul/2018 ] "...a magnificent reading of Naïve and Sentimental Music…with the balance of pace and introspection skilfully managed by Oundjian." Recording of the Month BBC Music July 2018 |
IGOR BORODIN
Borodin: Prince Igor (complete opera recorded in 1955) Dragomir Ninkovich, Biserka Cvejic, Melanie Bugarinovich, Dragutin Petrovich, Dushan Popovich / Belgrade National Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Oskar Dano [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 3 CD - released 1/Mar/2019 ] "Popović strikes me as an excellent baritone, a muscular sound with ringing top notes. His is one of the best Prince Igors on disc - heroic and noble...Bugarinović has a dark, almost contralto-ish tone and no Slavic wobble" Gramophone Editor's Choice |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS / FRANCIS POULENC
Saint-Saëns: Le carnaval des animaux [The Carnival of the Animals] / Poulenc: Double Concerto Alex Vizorek (voice) Duo Jatekok (pianos) / Orchestre National de Lille; Lucie Leguay; [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 27/Aug/2021 ] Alex Vizorek revisits Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals. The French composer never imagined that his bestiary would become one of the most famous works in musical history, a staple repertory piece on a par with Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. |
TARIK O'REGAN
O'Regan: Mata Hari (complete ballet recorded in 2016) BLU-RAY Dutch National Ballet / Anna Tsygankova & Matthew Rowe / Matthew rowe (cond) [ EuroArts Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Apr/2017 ] The turbulent life of the Dutch spy and dancer Mata Hari is at the heart of this large-scale ballet production by Dutch National Ballet. As the exotic, mysterious Mata Hari, she became one of the most famous dancers of her day.. |
Dutch National Ballet (ballet company), Hans van Manen, Reiner E. Moritz
Moving To Music (a Film By Reiner E. Moritz) & Hommage à Hans van Manen (metaforen; Adagio Hammerklavier; Frank Bridge Variations) [ Naxos / Blu-ray - released 11/Oct/2024 ] Guided by his idol George Balanchine, Hans van Manen has striven all his life to create meaning in his choreography. |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV / JOBY TALBOT
Two Ballet Favourites by Christophen Wheeldon: Prokofiev: Cinderella / Talbot: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Recorded 2011 & 2012) BLU-RAY Dutch National Ballet / Royal Opera House / Anna Tsygankova, Matthew Golding, Lauren Cuthbertson, Sergei Polunin / Ermanno Florio & Barry Wordsworth ( [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 15/Oct/2017 ] "Lauren Cuthbertson, as Alice, is excellent, her every movement suggesting the actions and emotions of this curious, spirited pre-adolescent...Christopher Wheeldon's choreography is very imaginative and fitting for every character" MusicWeb on Alice |
TCHAIKOVSKY
The Sleeping Beauty (complete ballet recorded in 2004) The Dutch National Ballet / Sir Peter Wright / Marius Petipa / Philip Prowse / Sofiane Sylve / Gael Lambiotte [ Opus Arte / Kultur / 2 DVD - released 1/Apr/2009 ] G :- Tchaikovsky and Petipa's timeless ballet - acknowledged to be the most pure and demanding piece in the classic romantic repertoire - brings out Petipa's rich dance vocabulary with the sparkling virtuosity a superb performance needs. |
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG
Schoenberg: Gurrelieder (Complete 'opera' recorded in 2016) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / Burkhard Fritz, Emily Magee, Anna Larsson, Markus Marquard / Marc Albrecht (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Mar/2017 ] Begun in the year 1900, amidst the art nouveau curlicues of Klimt and the Jugendstil, Schönberg's grand cantata is written in a lush, late-romantic style indebted to Wagner and Mahler and pre-dating his pioneering atonal works. This setting of the... |
STEFANO LANDI
Landi: Morte d'Orfeo (complete opera recorded in 2018) Dutch National Opera / Cecilia Molinari, Renato Dolcini, Alexander Miminoshvili, Gaia Petrone / Christophe Rousset, conductor [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 20/May/2020 ] Stefano Landi wrote the operas La morte d'Orfeo (1619) and Il Sant'Alessio (1632), as well as masses, psalms, madrigals and arias. He was maestro di cappella in Padua and Rome, and later a singer in the Sistine Chapel. |
STEFANO LANDI
Landi: Morte d'Orfeo (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / Cecilia Molinari, Renato Dolcini, Alexander Miminoshvili, Gaia Petrone / Christophe Rousset, conductor [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/May/2020 ] La morte d'Orfeo is regarded as the first Roman-style secular opera and is considered a milestone in the development of the genre opera as a whole. The substantial ensemble numbers are typical of the Roman opera style. |
ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK
Humperdinck: Konigskinder [The King's Children] (complete opera recorded in 2022) Dutch National Opera / Daniel Behle, Olga Kulchynska, Josef Wagner, Doris Soffel / Marc Albrecht (cond) [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 11/Aug/2023 ] Hänsel und Gretel brought Humperdinck worldwide fame but his tragic fairy storybrought Humperdinck worldwide fame but his tragic fairy story KönigskinderKönigskinder ('The King's Children') offers a stark contrast to it and has only begun to be... |