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Debussy, Ravel: String Quartets

April 29, 2016

Time and again these performances of two haunting French chamber works have been voted as the best in the catalogue. These elegant, suave performances now reappear on Eloquence.

Homage to Fritz Kreisler

April 29, 2016

The first CD release of a recording that was a legend in its lifetime. Campoli was, besides his many concert-platform accomplishments, a salon violinist of the first rank and naturally this easy ability to switch between the two domains gave him the edge over many other violinists of his day in this charming repertoire. When […]

The Best of Hollywood

April 29, 2016

John Mauceri made several Philips recordings of music from the movies, often music with the strong flavour of Hollywood. This collection extracts some of the best of those moments and ranges from quiet and introspective – try the Elgarian ‘Jurassic Park‘ excerpt or the romantic ‘Cinema Paradiso’ – to thrilling, spatial and scary: ‘Star Wars, King […]

R. Strauss: Orchestral Songs; Tod und Verklärung

April 29, 2016

Lovers of Richard Strauss’ music have long considered the Jerusalem disc of orchestral songs a ‘must-have’ in their collection. They are sheerly glorious – as is the ‘heldentenor’ of Siegfried Jerusalem. They are now reissued with Haitink’s searing account of ‘Death and Transfiguration’.

Bach, Handel: Sacred Arias

April 29, 2016

The Dutch contralto, Aafje Heynis, had a dark, rich, altogether unique voice and the story of her discovery in a Holland recovering from the ravages of World War II, told in the booklet notes, is heart-warming indeed… as is this collection put together from several of her recordings. Seven Bach and six Handel arias make […]

Chopin: Complete Études

April 29, 2016

Chopin raised the pedagogic ‘study’ (étude) to entirely new levels with his Opp. 10 and 25. Virtuoso studies, testing the technique of any pianist, they are also incredibly poetic works. Here they are unforgettably played by Nikita Magaloff. The ‘Trois Nouvelles Études’, three tiny gems that were posthumously published, complete this oeuvre.

Latin American Classics

April 29, 2016

This CD, originally issued on the newly-relaunched Argo label in the 1990s, now reappears on Australian Eloquence. As a demonstration disc of orchestral music, it is supreme. But it’s also interesting for its breadth of repertoire and its inclusion of many lesser-known orchestral works. For lovers of sultry, seductive and even angry Latin American music, […]

Paganini (arr. Schumann): 24 Caprices, Op. 1

April 29, 2016

The fearsomely, devilishly virtuosic Caprices of Paganini represent a technical and artistic Mount Everest for the violin. No. 24 has been popularly used as a basis of sets of variations by Liszt, Rachmaninov, Lutoslawski, Blacher and many others. Here, the Caprices are performed in the unusual arrangement for violin and piano, made by Schumann. They […]

Haydn: Piano Trios – Vol. 2

April 29, 2016

These wonderful performances of Haydn’s Piano Trios – eight in all, across the two volumes – have long been unavailable.