The first CD release of these recordings of showpieces for solo instruments and orchestra. All of the pieces are performed by the gifted members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic with the exception of the Bloch piece, one of Mehta’s earliest Decca recordings in which the solo cellist is János Starker. Here are spirited recordings of Haydn’s […]
One could be forgiven for being more surprised that sacred music does not account for a more substantial proportion of Vivaldi’s life’s work, especially in view of his having been ordained a priest. The music on this disc, however, presents the ‘other’ side of Vivaldi which in recent years has been gaining increasing popularity thanks […]
Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ and I Musici go hand in hand, so much so, that the ensemble has recorded this collection of concertos repeatedly over the years. This is one of the very finest of their recordings and is coupled with two further violin concertos by Vivaldi, performed with the same stylish panache.
The sequence of Italian operas on this recording take us from the birth of opera at the end of the sixteenth century to the first flowerings of the Classical period nearly 200 years later. The extraordinary power and agility of Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s voice comes fully into its own on this recording, allowing for a richness […]
A collection of music for strings, including the first complete appearance of a rare LP by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and Rudolf Barshai of music by Bartók (one of the most invigorating “Divertimento” recordings ever made). Vivaldi is coupled with a selection of gleaming ‘Visions Fugitives’ (arranged by Barshai from Prokofiev’s piano pieces) and the […]
Being born in Romania and surrounded from childhood by folk melodies and fiery popular dance music certainly helps in forming an inspired musician, provided the talent is there. In the case of the exceptionally gifted Gheorghe Zamfir, who was born to a family of vine-growers in 1941 in Gaiesti near Bucharest, these fortunate circumstances led […]
The stylish sweetness that Marriner and his Academy bring to Vivaldi have a place of their own in the pantheon of Vivaldi recordings. And these eight concertos amply testify this in their breezy melodiousness and sharpness of attack.
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.
An old-world interpretation of Baroque sonatas and concert pieces which shine and shimmer in Grumiaux’s telling interpretations.
The partnership of Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is possibly the most recorded of all partnerships in recorded classical music. This collection brings together three of their very first recordings: ‘A Recital’, ‘A Second Recital’ and ‘Italian Concertos’, the three LPs receiving their first complete release on CD. The first […]
The partnership of Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is possibly the most recorded of all partnerships in recorded classical music. This collection brings together three of their earliest concerto recordings: ‘Baroque Trumpet Concertos, ‘Recital for Strings and ‘18th Century Flute Concertos’, the three LPs receiving their first complete release on CD. […]
