The name Anthony Collins (1893-1963) probably doesn’t mean a great deal to the majority of younger collectors but for quite a few serious Sibelius aficionados his 1950s Decca recordings hold cult status. Collins’s readings possess a red-blooded fervour and thrusting energy to which many will rightly respond.
The second volume of Anthony Collins’s Sibelius cycle for Decca, expertly remastered for this reissue, brings the final three symphonies plus all the shorter works of Sibelius from Collins. As a bonus, Thomas Jensen’s Karelia Suite, trim, taut and vivid, brings the set to a blazing finish.
Eduard van Beinum was quite a Sibelius pioneer and collected here are his complete Sibelius recordings for Decca and Philips. The set also marks the first appearance on CD of his Violin Concerto in a 1952 performance by Jan Damen (a former leader of the Concertgebouw) and the London Philharmonic. A collector’s haven, this 2CD […]
Tom Krause, the celebrated Finnish baritone, recorded Sibelius songs for Decca twice. These early 1960s recordings are among the most sought-after of Decca recordings and both the all-Sibelius as well as the Sibelius/Strauss LPs that he made are combined here on a single disc. The voice is fresh, youthful and hedonistic and for those unfamiliar […]
If you think you know these pieces, then listen again! Stokowski, the magician, sprinkles star-dust over the ‘Nutcracker’ and gives the orchestra a jolly old workout in a couple of places. The ‘Serenade’ has been considered one of the best ever recorded and the ‘Capriccio Italien’ is brazenly sunlit. The recordings, originally issued on Philips’ […]
Charles Mackerras’ grand readings of the Elgar symphonies, magnificently recorded, make a welcome return to the catalogue.
Angela Hewitt – a familiar visitor to Australia and a highly represented recording artist (she has recorded the complete Bach keyboard works for Hyperion) – made this, an early recording, for Deutsche Grammophon upon winning the 1985 Toronto International Bach Piano Competition. They are natural, unforced and beautifully-turned performances of some of Bach’s most popular […]
Following a litany of requests, Dorati’s supreme recording of Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite is reissued on Eloquence together with the original coupling of Robert Russell Bennett’s swaggering and masterly orchestral synthesis from ‘Porgy and Bess’. As a bonus, Howard Hanson’s bright Mercury recording of Grofé’s ‘Mississippi Suite’ fills out this reissue.
Reissued to mark Colin Davis’s 80th birthday, this sublime Philips recording of ‘Dido and Aeneas’ makes a welcome return to the catalogue. The honeyed sound of its protagonists – Josephine Veasey (whom Colin Davis also chose as the Dido for his recording of Berlioz’s ‘Les Troyens’) and John Shirley-Quirk – is offset by a chaste-sounding Helen […]
Charles Mackerras’s warm and voluble Elgar recordings bring one of the most stirring ‘Enigmas’ on record, a reflective yet resolute Cello Concerto and a disc of pieces of music inspired by childhood. A very young Bryn Terfel is a highlight on the ‘Starlight Express’ songs.
As a follow-up to the best selling Deutsche Grammophon disc of Gregorian Chant (DG Eloquence 457 2932), this reissue returns a sublime Philips recording of Byzantine Chant to the catalogue.
Britten’s stately and clear-sighted readings of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos begin a program that continues with a group of rarities. Much requested and finally available on CD, is the complete 1953 Opening Concert of the Aldeburgh Festival in which Britten and Imogen Holst shared the conducting honours. In addition to the anthems (in which the soloists […]
