Has there ever been a more quicksilver version of the ‘Trout Quintet’? We doubt it! Ingrid Haebler’s effortless pianism and Artur Grumiaux’s airy playing are a match made in heaven. As is the combination of Jack Brymer and the Allegri Quartet in one of Mozart’s most sublime pieces, the Clarinet Quintet in A major.
Highlights from the dream-cast recording of ‘Così’, with the ultimate Mozart orchestra, ‘the VPO’, at the helm under the direction of Böhm – one of the most perceptive Mozarteans of our time.
Three of Respighi’s most colourful and popular orchestral works in truly legendary performances. Both ‘Pines’ and ‘Fountains’ are massive orchestral scores evoking the named sights of Rome. ‘The Birds’ is based on music by Respighi’s Baroque predecessors and is a delightful, tuneful evocation of an earlier time in gleaming orchestrations.
With its beautiful slow movement, ‘Adagietto’, used in the film ‘Death in Venice’, this symphony achieved immortality and the widest listening public. But the rest of it too is wonderful stuff – dramatic, searing, thrilling. This is also one of its most dramatic performances and a benchmark in the discography of this work.
Sir Adrian Boult made some pioneering Decca recordings, among them symphonies and other orchestral works of Vaughan Williams. Having had first-hand experience of the composer, his recordings have an authority in our age that is virtually unequalled. The music on this CD contrasts Blake’s visions of darkness in ‘Job’ with the hilarious ‘Wasps Suite’, with […]
The ubiquitous Pachelbel Canon starts off this delightful collection of Baroque favourites. Three virtual one-hit wonders – Pachelbel, Albinoni, Boccherini – meet Mozart’s dad, the reputedly sour-puss Leopold, who here, takes off his wig and summons a collection of toys to partake in the Haydn-attributed ‘Toy Symphony’.
Karl Böhm and Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ were synonymous in the world of opera and this is the first of two studio recordings he made of the work together with soloists who were star performers at the Vienna State Opera at the time. All the favourite arias, duets and choruses are included.
Although Sutherland and Bonynge gave many memorable performances of ‘The Merry Widow’ on stage, they never recorded it completely. However, this recording – sung in English – offers a choice collection of the opera’s ‘greatest hits’, including ‘Vilja’, the famous waltz and some of the big scenes in the operetta.
A brilliant collection of some of Tchaikovsky’s most moving and most exciting moments. Continuing Eloquence’s popular ‘Best Of’ series – ideal for the newcomer.
A magnificent tribute to one of the world’s most panoramic cities from the masters of Venetian Renaissance – Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, respectively, father and son. This collection includes brass fanfares and choral music, resplendently sung and played.
A sprightly recording of Respighi’s wonderful tapestry of Rossini’s music for the ballet stage is coupled with some of the most gorgeous orchestral playing you’ll ever hear in the Chopin/Douglas ‘Les Sylphides’. And to finish off, a much-popularised recording of the ‘Meditation from Thaïs’ – from a young Nigel Kennedy!
The famous ‘Shine’ piano concerto – No. 3 – now appears at budget price in this very romantic performance from one of Decca’s star pianists, Alicia de Larrocha. The coupling is the no-less-difficult and wildly exciting Piano Concerto No. 1 from Peter Katin.
