Precursor to the Baroque era, the Renaissance period in music is generally placed around 1430-1600. This collection brings together both ‘learned’ as well as ‘dance’ music and interspersing the two forms on this compilation encapsulates the spirit of this rich period, stretching from anonymous compositions to the late works of William Byrd with their close […]
A delightful collection of some of the most famous of Vivaldi’s Guitar Concertos. Many of these are transcriptions of lute works with some in unique arrangements for four guitars or guitars with strings. Los Romeros are, of course, a legendary family of guitarists so the recording is self-recommending.
Collectors’ ears will prick-up at the inclusion of the Bavarian Radio/Sir Colin Davis recording of a chorus from ‘Messiah’, otherwise unavailable.
Quartetto Italiano made critically-acclaimed recordings of the complete string quartets of Mozart and Haydn. The group recorded almost exclusively for Philips Classics, leaving a legacy admired for its insight and technical brilliance. Two of Haydn’s and one of Mozart’s nicknamed compositions are here offered as a single album.
Newly mastered from the original tapes and released on Decca for the first time, this Maag release couples the familiar ‘Posthorn Serenade’ with the lesser known D major, KV 203.
Barry Tuckwell has recorded the Mozart Horn Concertos several times as soloist and soloist/conductor. The first and third of the Horn Concertos marked his recording debut and in notes he has written for this CD – a stunning new remaster from original tapes, catching the spatial depth of Kingsway Hall and the mellowness yet clarity […]
Some of Mozart’s lesser known symphonies are integrated for this Mozart/Maag release with mono recordings of Nos. 28, 29, 34 (among the earliest of Maag’s Decca recordings) coupled with stereo recordings of Symphony No. 32 and the delectable ‘Serenata Notturna’. Everywhere, style, finesse and charm are evident in these performances.
This coupling presents Heinrich Schiff and Colin Davis’s mellow reading of Dvorák’s Cello Concerto, recorded in 1980, with Dorati’s earlier 1959 Concertgebouw traversal of the ‘New World’ Symphony – a veritable fire and brimstone reading of this popular work. Both works were recorded in the fabled Concertgebouw’s main hall.
Appearing on CD for the first time, Lamberto Gardelli’s Pizzetti recording has been one of the most venerated in the Decca catalogue, not only because the music is comparatively rare but because the recording is true state-of-the-art. The music has Gallic charm and a Stravinskian sense of razor-sharp wit, not to mention a fascinating storyline […]
Following many requests for a reissue of Ashkenazy’s Philharmonia recording of Tchaikovsky’s programmatic ‘Manfred Symphony’, many listeners will be delighted to have his searing portrayal available again. It is coupled with the little-known ‘Élégie’ which was incorporated into Tchaikovsky’s incidental music for ‘Hamlet’.
Rich and ripe readings of Mozart’s two piano quartets from Georg Solti and the Melos Quartett, in which the conductor takes time off from his podium duties to return to the keyboard – where, in fact, his whole career began. Recorded a year apart, these readings have both thrust and warmth and are made available […]
Returning to the catalogue, at budget price for the first time, is the delicious recording by Marriner and the Academy of Scandinavian works. The ‘Holberg Suite’ was recorded in 1970 whereas the rest of the program was taped seven years later. All of the recordings were made in the stunning Kingsway Hall acoustic.
