These performances of three of Debussy’s major orchestral works are simply staggering. Rarely have the half-lights and luminosity of these three works – generously offered on a single CD – been better captured in performance. Ephemeral is the word for van Beinum’s interpretations and the CD also boasts one of the sexiest ‘Sirènes’ on record!
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 […]
Aromatherapy, the quiet moments of classical music. And the first volume, Music for Relaxation, offers a miscellany of classical pieces from piano (the first movement of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata) to orchestral music by Grieg, Elgar and Borodin.
An iconic record, this collection of two well-known (Debussy, Ravel) and two rarities (Roussel, Ropartz) of the chamber music repertoire was issued in both its LP and CD incarnations to great acclaim. It was recorded in the unusually spacious acoustic of Walthamstow Assembly Hall and its late producer, Ray Minshull, provides an amusing recollection of […]
Time and again these performances of two haunting French chamber works have been voted as the best in the catalogue. These elegant, suave performances now reappear on Eloquence.
This volume of Debussy’s dramatic works and ballet music is dedicated, by and large, to ‘rarities’ by the composer. Few of Debussy’s works have divided critical opinion more than ‘Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien’, banned as it was by the Archbishop of Paris six days before its premiere. The beautiful, rarefied ‘Six Épigraphes Antiques’ were […]
From some of the best Debussy recordings in the DG catalogue, this collection brings together some of the most popular pieces by this composer in tranquil, gleaming performances.
From the magical fairy-tale world of Red Riding Hood in Ravel’s ‘Mother Goose’, through the langurous haze of an afternoon in Debussy’s ‘Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune’, to the scintillating Spanish rhythms of ‘Rapsodie Espagnole’ and the black-and-white of both ‘En blanc et noir’ as well as the Stravinsky Sonata, this legendary piano duo partnership delivers […]
One of Riccardo Chailly’s first recordings with the Concertgebouw, reissued at super-budget price and marking the conductor’s glorious tenure with this magnificent orchestra, this disc provides a fascinating picture of Ravel the Orchestrator. For those after thrilling recordings of ‘Bolero’ and ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ this is a self-recommending recording but the rare gems by […]
The Boston Symphony Chamber Players made a few critically-acclaimed recordings for Deutsche Grammophon in the 1970s, among them the Second Viennese School’s reworkings of Strauss waltzes. Drawn from players of the Boston Symphony, with Michael Tilson Thomas as pianist (here in the two string sonatas) the playing is febrile, alert and atmospheric. This collection brings […]
This generously compiled CD brings together two great sopranos – Hildegard Behrens and Elly Ameling – in ravishing French music for the voice and orchestra. The entire Ameling/de Waart recording (Ravel, Duparc, Debussy) is coupled with the Berlioz cycle, the former making a welcome return to the catalogue after a long absence and showcasing the […]
One day in 1891, General Meredith Reid appeared unexpectedly at the doorstep of Claude Debussy. Because the composer spoke little English and Reid spoke no French at all, it took a hastily obtained interpreter to sort out exactly what it was that the august General wanted from the composer. It turned out that the General […]
