Alicia de Larrocha’s magisterial, sonorous, even coruscating performance of Liszt’s B minor Sonata is here preceded by altogether more genteel repertoire from the 19th century – pairs of pieces by Grieg and Mendelssohn. A rarity – making its first appearance on CD internationally – is Grieg’s only solo piano sonata which was written in eleven days […]
In an edition of several releases on Eloquence devoted to the artistry of the great Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha’s Decca recordings, comes the first release on CD of her recording with David Zinman, of Mozart’s delectable A major Concerto KV 414. Coupled exactly as per the original LP (SXL 6952), this release offers up […]
This collection brings together all of Alicia de Larrocha’s Schubert recordings for Decca on a single disc with her 1978 account of the A major Sonata, D.664 released internationally on CD for the first time. Opening with one of the most sheerly perfect melodies which Larrocha plays with the utmost elegance, the major work on […]
An iconic record, this collection of two well-known (Debussy, Ravel) and two rarities (Roussel, Ropartz) of the chamber music repertoire was issued in both its LP and CD incarnations to great acclaim. It was recorded in the unusually spacious acoustic of Walthamstow Assembly Hall and its late producer, Ray Minshull, provides an amusing recollection of […]
This collection includes all of Alicia de Larrocha’s analogue Bach solo recordings for Decca. Two suites and the ‘Italian Concerto’ form the backbone of this release but there are also three Bach transcriptions – two by Harriet Cohen and the mighty Chaconne by Busoni (the 1973 recording; Larrocha recorded it a second time in 1986). […]
Hidden gems of the chamber music repertoire. The Fitzwilliam String Quartet’s sublime recordings of the string quartets of Sibelius and Delius are released on CD for the first time, coupled with Delius’s little cello masterpiece – his Sonata in one movement. Alan George of the Fitzwilliam Quartet provides the liner notes for the two pieces […]
An intriguing, evocative and exotic recital in which Janet Baker joins The Melos Ensemble for a journey through some of the twentieth century’s most alluring French compositions for voice and chamber ensemble.
There have been many recordings of the Brahms symphonies but few have the passion, vitality and drive of István Kertész’s Vienna Philharmonic cycle. This 4CD collection brings together all of Kertész’s Brahms recordings for Decca. The two Serenades were recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra. His Wiener Philharmoniker Brahms cycle began in May 1964 with […]
When these recordings were made (in the 1960s), Schoenberg’s music was comparatively rare on record. It represented then, the typical daring of both this ensemble and of the L’Oiseau-Lyre label for which it was originally recorded. In the extended Schoenberg Serenade, the ensemble was joined for one of the movements by baritone, John Carol Case. […]
James Levine assembled a cast of stars for his 1989 recording of Donizetti’s opera of potions and passions. Luciano Pavarotti (on loan from Decca) reprised the role he had recorded in July 1970 alongside Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge and his voice was noted to be ‘just as pure and steady’ as it was nearly […]
Some of Dvořák’s most popular orchestral works – his two sets of Slavonic Dances as well as lesser-known ones (Legends, Miniatures, Prague Waltzes and the B major Notturno) – were all recorded for Philips in stunning sound by Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. The Slavonic Dances were critically acclaimed when they first appeared […]
Solti’s 1956 recordings of the Tchaikovsky Second and Fifth symphonies included on this collection are his only recordings of them. He never recorded a complete cycle, although, in the 1970s he recorded the Fifth and Sixth with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Both symphonies were recorded with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra. The story behind his recording […]
