Lorin Maazel’s recording of the Coq d’Or Suite is considered one of the glories of the fabled Decca Sound and was first reissued on CD as part of Decca’s ‘Legends’ series. This set marks the first international release on CD of his recording of the composer’s Arabian Nights ‘fantasy’, Scheherazade as well as the Capriccio […]

For thirty years, from 1960 to 1990, Nicolai Ghiaurov was an indispensable figure on the international operatic scene. His voluminous base, incisive delivery and imposing presence meant that he was in demand in every centre of opera. His range of roles stretched from Mozart and Rossini through to Verdi and Puccini and many parts in […]

Jesús López-Cobos’s scintillating and sonically thrilling Decca recordings of Spanish music are here represented with music both Spanish and Spanish-influenced. Scenes and Dances from Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat, Chabrier’s picture-postcard essay España and two works by Turina (one meditative, the other more extrovert) form the Spanish contingent of this orchestral recital, while Rimsky-Korsakov’s technicolour Capriccio […]

In his most famous orchestral composition, ‘Scheherazade’, Rimsky-Korsakov, like Beethoven in his ‘Pastoral’ Symphony before him, was more interested in evoking feelings and impressions than in spoon-feeding listeners a pre-digested program. So the titles he provided for its four movements were indicative rather than based on particular stories from the ‘Arabian Nights’. Pierre Monteux’s recording, […]