Romanticist and classicist, modernist and conservative, the violinist Joseph Szigeti defied classification. His wide repertoire ranged from Bach to Bartók and beyond, and he played it all with skill and understanding, becoming known as ‘the thinking man’s virtuoso’. His distinctively Hungarian portamenti and wide vibrato gave his playing a singing, breathing, easeful quality worlds away […]

On two days in October 2016, Russian pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy and Australian cellist Catherine Hewgill went into the studio to make their first recording together. An all-Russian program, it features the Cello Sonatas of Shostakovich and Prokofiev with the added pendant of the Rachmaninov Vocalise in an arrangement by American cellist Leonard Rose. […]

A kaleidoscopic collection of orchestral Prokofiev in the 1950s, as recorded by Decca engineers in London, Paris and Copenhagen, featuring both rarities and classics. Once upon a time Peter and the Wolf was the best known of them, with six recordings to its credit in the days before LP. On this Kingsway Hall recording from […]

The early recordings of a keyboard lioness, long unavailable and new to CD. Not generally given to extravagant effusions, William Glock (Controller of Radio 3 and the BBC Proms in the 1970s) had no doubt: ‘There is no one who plays the piano better in the world than she does. There is no one with […]

A generous compilation of short pieces either recorded individually or extracted from the Decca discography of Ernest Ansermet. Included is a complete ten-inch LP of encores entitled ‘Orchestral Favourites’ and containing pieces by Falla, Chabrier, Mussorgsky and Debussy. This dates from October 1955, near the beginning of Decca’s stereo catalogue whereas the rest of the […]

A newly compiled, generous, 4CD collection of high-octane Russian orchestral masterpieces, celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the firebrand musicianship of Dutch maestro Edo de Waart. ‘In my profession,’ remarked Edo de Waart in a 1990 interview, ‘you need the affrontery to believe you have an alternative with something to say […]

What could be more fun than discovering the colours of classical music by visiting a zoo? A menagerie of birds and beasts come to life on this delightful collection – a perfect way to introduce to the wonderful world of classical music.  

Russian music was always a fundamental part of Ansermet’s vast repertoire. Of course, he spent seven years as conductor with the famous Ballets Russes during a particularly glorious period for the company. Formed in 1907 by Serge Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes brought a breath of fresh air to artistic creativity at the beginning of the […]

Founded in 1937, the annual Queen Elisabeth Competition for violin and piano is still the best-known such event organised in Belgium and is considered among the best and most demanding in the world. Following in the footsteps of his fellow countryman, Emil Gilels who won first prize for piano in 1938, Mikhail Faerman stunned both […]

‘From Melba to Sutherland: Australian Singers on Record’ is the first-ever comprehensive survey of the recordings of Australia’s greatest singers – in a unique, new, 4CD set from Decca, complete with biographies of each of the 80 artists, rare photographs, all contained within a 68-page booklet. Why has there been such an extraordinary procession of […]

So perennial are the texts and music for ‘Peter and the Wolf’ and ‘The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ that many a celebrity has recorded it. Both works have drawn some of the most famous actors, including Meryl Streep and here, a young Sean Connery (in 1966). It was vividly recorded for Decca’s Phase 4 […]

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’.