A newly remastered, richly documented set celebrating the art of a Spanish Beethoven specialist recorded at the peak of his powers in the late 1950s. Born in Zaragoza in 1905, Eduardo del Pueyo left Spain in 1920 to enter the Paris Conservatoire but rejected the teaching of Marguerite Long outright. In thrall to Beethoven’s genius […]
A new, well-filled single CD anthology of Decca and Philips song recordings made by a leading French lyric soprano of the 1950s. This recital showcases the vivacious, versatile French lyric soprano, Janine Micheau (1914–1976). Three great 20th-century masters of orchestration are featured – Britten (‘Les Illuminations’), Ravel (Shéh’razade’) and Debussy (‘La Damoiselle élue’) – along […]
The complete Philips recital recordings of a leading French baritone of the postwar era. The tessitura of Maurane’s fine voice with a pleasant low register and clear, fluent top notes like a tenor’s, places him in that splendid line of French baryton-Martin, named after the early 19th-century singer, Jean-Blaise Martin. More modern exponents include Pierre […]
Belgian violinist, Arthur Grumiaux, brings his sublime artistry to four French compositions from the nineteenth century, some inspired by aspects of Spain, including Lalo’s five-movement ‘Symphonie espagnole’ and Ravel’s spicy ‘Tzigane’.
Two of Bizet’s most popular suites here directed with piquancy and spice by Igor Markevitch.
Saint-Saëns’s complete piano concertos on a 2CD Eloquence set presents some truly rare recordings – Campanella’s of the Fourth and Tagliaferro’s of the Fifth. And while the second is oft-played, this set gives the listener an opportunity to discover the lesser known First and Third. Also included is the first release on CD of ‘Wedding […]
Three glorious Grumiaux concerto recordings on one generously-filled CD.
Verdi’s mighty operatic Requiem and Fauré’s more demure offering are stablemates in this collection of rare recordings of these masterpieces. Reissues of Paul van Kempen’s recordings on Eloquence have been garnering great critical plaudits and this is the first international release on CD of his recording of the Verdi, made for Philips in 1955 and […]
‘If I were condemned to hear only one voice for the remainder of my life I think it might well be hers. If I wanted to be charmed, to laugh or cry I would find her the perfect companion. In her singing … we hear someone whose every utterance bespeaks natural sincerity and truthful feeling’ […]
In the vast vacuum left by Arturo Toscanini’s retirement and death, French conductors were prominent among those who dominated the orchestral scene, especially in America. One of the most gifted was Jean Francisque-Étienne Martinon (1910–1976). His complete recordings for Deutsche Grammophon (as both conductor and composer) are here collected for the first time. Conscripted into […]
Jean Martinon’s career in the recording studio got under way after World War II when, in 1947–48, he and the London Philharmonic Orchestra recorded music by Mozart, Ravel, Tchaikovsky and Chabrier. Between then and April 1960 he recorded extensively for Decca. Brilliant as many of these recordings are, they have completely overshadowed the parallel legacy […]
