This collection of five of Brahms’s chamber music masterpieces includes four with piano and all of these feature the supreme artistry of András Schiff. Both the quintets – for clarinet and for piano – are included; the recording of the Clarinet Quintet with Peter Schmidl and members of the New Vienna Octet, receives its first release […]

George London was born in Montreal, Canada; when he was fifteen the family moved to the United States. His original surname was Burnstein (he also used Burnson for a time) and his forebears were from Širvintos in Lithuania. He began his singing studies in Los Angeles and by the 1940s was touring with a trio […]

Among the many Heldentenoren spoken of in glowing terms, perhaps none has been so unfairly neglected as Jess Thomas. Full-throated and resplendent, not a hint of strain, an amazing array of colours in the voice (from sotto voce to overpowering), he possessed an artistry that was not only a thrill in the theatre but that […]

On this album, Ben Heppner – recognised as one of the world’s leading Heldentenors – features a selection of the finest excerpts for tenor voice from Wagner’s ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’. Tracing the life of Wagner’s ultimate hero, Siegfried, from his father Siegmund (‘Die Walküre’) to Siegfried’s youth (‘Siegfried’) and death (‘Götterdämmerung’), the album features famous […]

Astrid Varnay (1918–2006) was born in Sweden of Hungarian heritage and raised in America. She went on to become one of the most sought-after dramatic sopranos of the 20th century and one of the best-known Wagnerian heroic sopranos of her generation. Her voice was often praised for its seemingly limitless upper register. On this generously […]

Mendelssohn’s Octet, Op. 20 occupies a proud place in the history of works by indecently young composers; it is doubtful whether even such prodigies as Mozart and Schubert produced such an extended, mature work at the age of sixteen. Moreover, one of its movements granted the composer the honour of having an adjective named after […]

Arne’s Eight Harpsichord Sonatas was Christopher Hogwod’s first record for L’Oiseau-Lyre and this reissue marks its first international CD release. Whereas Arne’s career lay primarily in the theatre (his melodic gifts ensured success not only in Italianate opera but in masque and pantomime as well), an appointment in 1754 as composer to the Vauxhall Gardens […]

The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is one of the most important collections of keyboard music of the 16th century. Recorded to accompany the Folio Society’s publication, ‘Music at Court’ (also written by Christopher Hogwood), this collection was imaginatively distributed to the Society’s members, together with suitable vintages to accompany the literary titles. To suit the music – […]

One of the key recordings ever made of French court music, this seminal recording returns to the catalogue, now with each item and/or movement individually indexed. The offerings encompass both suites and cantatas. The music – written both for and around the court life of Versailles (1697 – 1747) –  is sophisticated and elegant, taking […]

Weber’s operas surface reasonably regularly in opera companies’ repertoire around the world as do his Clarinet Concertos and Clarinet Quintet. So it is a joy to welcome to CD for the first time, a recording of his songs, specifically selected for reissue by Christopher Hogwood. It was recorded with the young Martyn Hill in 1976 […]

Tchaikovsky’s First Quartet, Borodin’s Second and Shostakovich’s Eighth are three of the finest quartets in the Russian repertory. They reveal that Russian composers were hardly less at home in the relatively private medium of the string quartet than when writing for the more spectacular full symphony orchestra. Both the Tchaikovsky and the Borodin have received […]

While Richard Bonynge has long been associated with opera, particularly with that of the Bel Canto age, he has been one of the most active revivers and conductors of ballet in the 20th and 21st centuries. His recordings of the major Romantic classical ballet scores have been critically acclaimed but he has also been responsible for making […]