Several legendary but long-unavailable recordings freshly remastered in a comprehensive ‘original covers’ set of Ruggiero Ricci’s recordings for American Decca during the 1960s. With definitive accounts of the Tchaikovsky Concerto and the Paganini Caprices recorded in 1950, Ruggiero Ricci became established as a Decca artist in the early days of LP. A decade later he […]
A tribute to the late Ida Haendel, comprising her complete Decca Recordings (1940–1997), newly remastered, as well as her performances at the 1982 Huberman Festival. Lavishly illustrated, Original Jackets, Limited Edition. On her death in July 2020, obituaries worldwide paid glowing tributes to the effervescence of the violinist Ida Haendel, in both her playing and […]
A trumpet and organ spectacular: three original Argo and DG albums on a generous, newly compiled 2-CD set. In Baroque works generally, the trumpet is always accompanied by drums both of these instruments having strong associations with military music. The organ, on the other hand, is primarily associated with the church and it is within […]
‘In every way the most transcendentally gifted young piano student I have heard in the last 25 years’ was Percy Grainger’s pronouncement of the young Eileen Joyce (1908–1991) when he first heard her play in 1926. From the goldfields in Western Australia whose capital city is the most remote in the world, Joyce defied incongruous and […]
Is nothing sacred? The Cambridge Buskers bring their madcap humour to the greats of classical music – everything from the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ and the ‘1812 Overture’ to Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ and the ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’! And not forgetting Beethoven’s Nine Symphonies in under four minutes… This 4CD set brings together the pair’s most famous albums, released […]
For all the popularity and reinvention that now surrounds Antonio Vivaldi’s collected violin concertos known as ‘The Four Seasons’, it is difficult to believe there was a time when they were completely unknown. Like Vivaldi himself, whose once lofty reputation fell into complete obscurity following his death in Vienna in 1741, ‘The Four Seasons’ travelled […]
A showcase of some of Vivaldi’s most popular concertos for wind instruments. From the many hundreds of concertos he wrote, the selection represented here, features some of his most lyrical and most energetic. Needless to say, the performances are classics of their kind. I Musici’s Vivaldi recordings over several years for Philips, from which these performances […]
A rare foray for Ansermet into the Baroque era. Henri Helaerts and Roger Reversy were principal winds with the Suisse Romande and their solo work appears in many an orchestral work in his recordings. For this collection of Baroque concertos, Helaerts is soloist in two Vivaldi Bassoon Concertos recorded 16 years apart – in 1952 […]
Three delightfully breezy concertos by Vivaldi are the centrepiece of this collection which begins with the familiar A major concerto of Giulani and ends with the beguiling 17-minute sonata by Paganini.
A feast of Baroque favourites including the popular Albinoni, Handel and Pachelbel miniatures plus four complete concertos. These are performed with warmth and virtuosity by two very fine ensembles.
Aromatherapy, the quiet moments of classical music. And the seventh volume, Reflections in the Water, is the ultimate tranquility! Water is a force of nature that inspired composers to some of their most languid compositions, from the Baroque (Handel’s Water Music written for a royal party held on a barge) to Impressionistic (the aqueous ripples and shimmer […]
Amongst the most pioneering of Baroque music ensembles, the legendary I Musici made literally hundreds of recordings of the Italian Baroque for Philips, some recorded several times in their long career. Amongst the most celebrated is their recording of ‘Vivaldi’s Op. 10 Flute Concertos’ with Severino Gazzelloni as soloist. It’s a recording that’s seldom been […]
