Belgian violinist, Arthur Grumiaux, brings his sublime artistry to four French compositions from the nineteenth century, some inspired by aspects of Spain, including Lalo’s five-movement ‘Symphonie espagnole’ and Ravel’s spicy ‘Tzigane’.
Some of the most legendary recordings of these highly popular works for violin by Mendelssohn, Saint-Saens and Bruch, together on a single CD.
Outrageously entertaining and sumptuously recorded, this CD brings together two perennial children’s favourites and couples them with a generous selection (with chamber orchestra) of nursery rhymes with the ever-popular Kenneth McKellar. Beatrice Lillie’s narrations are a hoot and this is one of those rare recordings which uses Ogden Nash’s verses for ‘Carnival of the Animals’.
Two magnificent French symphonies coupled on one disc. The Bizet is a light-hearted early work and this delectable recording by Haitink and the Concertgebouw has too long been out of the catalogue. Its sentiments aren’t that far removed from ‘Jeux d’enfants‘ (Children’s Games) – an orchestration of selected pieces from the piano-duet suite of the […]
As he explains in his liner notes for this CD, Lynn Harrell uses the voice as his point of departure for this collection of encores. They are largely reflective pieces with a bit of fun such as the unfairly forgotten Glazunov ‘Spanish Serenade’ thrown in for good measure. And this once popular disc now makes […]
Saint-Saëns’s complete piano concertos on a 2CD Eloquence set presents some truly rare recordings – Campanella’s of the Fourth and Tagliaferro’s of the Fifth. And while the second is oft-played, this set gives the listener an opportunity to discover the lesser known First and Third. Also included is the first release on CD of ‘Wedding […]
Three glorious Grumiaux concerto recordings on one generously-filled CD.
Ruggiero Ricci is in his element in these virtuoso concertos and showpieces, with both the Tchaikovsky Concerto (with Sargent) and the Scherzo plus the Sibelius Violin Concerto, being released internationally on CD for the first time. The perceptive booklet notes by Tully Potter include a biography of Ricci and (sometimes wry!) comments by the violinist […]
The Ernest Ansermet Legacy on Decca Eloquence has garnered much critical acclaim from around the world and the more recent batch of releases includes his beautifully graded accounts of all the Saint-Saëns recordings he made for Decca. The ‘Organ Symphony’ dates from 1962 and ten years earlier, Ansermet and the SRO recorded the two other […]
The music on this pair of CDs falls into one of two categories: ballet music from an opera, or ballet music that was not originally intended for dancing at all, but that was subsequently adapted for that purpose. (The exception is Don Quixote, a full-length ballet with an original score.) Many famous conductors had unusual […]
The recorded legacy of Albert Wolff is one of the most sought-after by collectors. Of Dutch parentage, but born in Paris, Wolff was something of a polymath: pianist, organist, conductor, composer, and had a long career in recording studios beginning in 1920. His first recordings for Decca, starting in the summer of 1951, were a […]
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 […]
