The Silver Violin

“Benedetti’s latest album has lots to commend it...Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony provide full-blooded backing. Extracts from two Shostakovich film scores are indecently enjoyable” --The Arts Desk, 27th October 2012

“her broadly romantic approach and genuine affection for this Hollywood-inspired concerto shine out...Benedetti is joined by star accordionist Ksenija Sidorova in a show-stopping performance which will have you on your feet! The warm acoustic of the Decca recording comes in appropriate widescreen sound.” --Gramophone Magazine, November 2012

“Benedetti decorates this repertoire with gleaming high-register pirouettes, plus vibrato throbs and hesitations that never descend into schmaltz...Such good taste is a pleasure, though her discretion can make the music paler than necessary.” The Times, 24th August 2012 ***

“The lush, romantic sound of Hollywood – 1930s to the present – suits her well” The Observer, 26th August 2012

“Benedetti's decision to place [the Concerto] in this particular context actually serves to enhance its musical stature. Certainly her performance is beautifully honed with a particularly atmospheric account of the central Andante...she has an instinctive grasp of the ebb and flow of Korngold's melodic lines and avoids the obvious temptation of becoming overtly mannered in order to intensify the musical expression.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2012 ****

The Best Of...

When she was only five, Anne-Sophie Mutter already had just a single wish: to play the violin. It wasn`t long before she was being showered with prizes and awards. No lesser figure Herbert von Karajan took her under his wing and paved the way for her unprecedented solo career, and today this charismatic artist is one of the undisputed stars of the international music scene.

Poème

"Akiko Suwanai, a tall, imposing violinist of striking stage presence, raised her bow for a sombre, intense descent of notes at the start: this was big-boned, noble playing, with its rhythmic life taut and rigorous.“ --The Times

"Suwanai belongs to those artists who strive for clarity above all. Her playing is pure sound, pure energy.” --chweinfurter Tagesblatt, April 2010

“Her sound is large and powerful, the phrases… are elegant and of effortless simplicity." --Classic Toulouse, October 2009

Favourite Adagios

Favourite Adagios offers a great selection of soothing and calming music. Together with well-known repertoire that everyone loves there are also a few hidden gems to add variety and interest.

Featuring Barbirolli, Karajan, Marriner, Previn, Sawallisch, Stokowski

Romantic Violin Concertos

Romantic violin concertos by Felix Mendelssohn, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms & Max Bruch. Emmy Vershey, Vladimir Spivakov, Borika van den Booren & Ilya Grubert plays violin. Recorded in 2002.

Romantic Flute Concertos

Wind instruments have for long been of particular importance to French composers. Romantic Flute Concertos includes works by Fauré, Ravel, Saint-Säens, and the less familiar Jules Mouquet, with the piccolo polka Le merle blanc by Damaré, following a unique original edition for full orchestra discovered by Marc Grauwels in the cellars of the Brussels Music Library. The collection opens with a Concertante by Mendelssohn's friend, the virtuoso pianist Moscheles, succeeded by a Concertino, and early work of Donizetti.

Romantic Flute Concertos

France and the flute are inseparably associated. The connection is nothing new, but one with clear historical roots. It was at the beginning of the eighteenth Century that nearly all instruments began to undergo rapid technical development. This set in train an evolution that was to continue well into the next century, the technical changes leading to a marked increase in expressive potential. Instrumental music naturally underwent a similar development.

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Rimsky-Korsakov: Golden Cockerel Suite, May Night Overture, Etc

"In these days of big boxes, DG really ought to gather together everything Markevitch did and issue it as a set. He was a genius, and his recordings with the Lamoureux Orchestra, especially, combine interpretive brilliance with a classic French instrumental style that no longer exists. They are irreplaceable, and the playing here is amazing. Rimsky-Korsakov’s music demands just the sort of diamond-like precision and clarity that was Markevitch’s stock in trade as a conductor.

There are more raucous, more traditionally Russian versions of The Golden Cockerel Suite available (Järvi’s for example), but none that point up the music’s anticipations of Stravinsky so compellingly. Both here and in the May Night Overture, Rimsky-Korsakov becomes a prophetically modern master.

Markevitch recorded Francesca da Rimini for Philips with the New Philharmonia (Philips), but that performance, good as it is, doesn’t compare to this one in terms of spontaneity and sheer ferocity. I think many listeners in the English speaking world were brainwashed into thinking that performances with British or American orchestras enjoyed a natural superiority in head to head comparison with French orchestras, which were often described as inherently second rate. That was just nationalist propaganda. Compare the coda of Francesca in Markevitch’s two peformances (sound clips), and judge for yourself which orchestra delivers maximum ferocity at a blazingly quick tempo. This is one of the great Francescas, a work that so often suffers both live and on disc.

The rest of the program is just plain delightful. In the Steppes of Central Asia benefits from those characterful French woodwinds, Ruslan and Lyudmila from the kind of disciplined ensemble that makes the tempo sound quicker than it actually is, while Liadov’s From the Apocalypse makes a brilliant encore. DG’s 1959/60 sonics still sound amazingly fine, and suit the performances ideally. This is a great collection–78 minutes of fabulous, inimitable music-making." --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Famous Classical Trumpet Concertos

“This is probably the finest single collection of trumpet concertos in the catalogue. When it first appeared in 1987 (the Hummel and Haydn have since been recoupled with a later set as listed here) it created overnight a new star in the firmament of trumpeters.

The two finest concertos for the trumpet are undoubtedly those of Haydn and Hummel, and Hardenberger plays them here with a combination of sparkling bravura and stylish elegance that are altogether irresistible.

Hardenberger opens with the famous Hummel Concerto, played in E major rather than the usual E flat, which makes the work sound bolder and brighter than usual. 

The finale with its crisp articulation, fantastic tonguing and tight trills, displays a genial easy bravura, yet overflows with energy and high spirits. Marriner and his Academy accompany with characteristic finesse and warmth, with the lilting dotted rhythms of the first movement of the Hummel, seductively jaunty. The lovely Andante of the Haydn is no less beguiling, and both finales display a highspirited exuberance and an easy bravura which make the listener smile with pleasure.

The recording gives him the most vivid realism and presence, but it's a pity that the orchestral backcloth is so reverberant; otherwise the sound is very natural. A superb disc.” --The Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2010

Bohemian Rhapsodies

The sound Philips has captured is vibrant and extremely detailed. The solo instrument's distinctive color and richness of tone--it is a Guarneri del Gesú--come right across, while the orchestra's playing is captured with great accuracy and clarity. They play pretty well, too.

Adagio · Music for Relaxation

This individual compilation taps into the spiritual mind and soul of relaxation. "Adagio" refers to the meaning "at ease," and this particular album exudes many moods in song for an alluring sonic adventure. Twelve selections of some of classical music's most innovating composers and musicians are included -- Albinoni, Mozart, Debussy, Grieg, Handel, Bach, Mussorgsky, Barber, Saint-Säens, Schmidt, Rodrigo and Khachaturian.

Favourite Harp Concertos

Favourite Harp Concertos by Handel, Mozart, Eichner,
Boieldieu, Villa-Lobos, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Rodrigo

Ursula Hilleger, Osian Ellis, Annie Challan, Catherine Michel, Hubert Barwasher.
I Musici, London Symphony Orchestra, Antiqua-Musica-Orchestra
Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
Sir Colin Davis, Marcel Couraud, Antonio de Almeida.

Relax: The World's Most Beautiful Music

Music For The Soul - 36 Tracks

The modern world seems to constantly be getting more and more hectic, with more and more things going on around us all at once. This 2-CD set from EMI Classics is meant to remind people that there is more to life than the daily hustle and bustle, that sometimes it's good to just sit back and just not do anything for a little while--to relax a little.

These 36 tracks represent the most soothing, meditative, transcendently beautiful music ever produced, encouraging listeners to pause from the distractions of the world and turn inward, shutting off the computer, TV, cell phone, and so on. Timeless treasures such as Pachelbel's Canon in D, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21, Dvorˇák's New World Symphony Largo, and more uplift and restore, leaving the listener refreshed and ready to face the world with renewed energy! 

Recuerdos

 

In recuerdos (Memories) we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the birth of the great Spanish guitarist Narciso Yepes (1927-1997), the "master of the 10-string guitar", with acclaimed recordings of three popular concertos and wide range of solo repertoire. Included are two extended works by Telemann and Fernando Sor that are appearing on CD for the first time.

En Recuerdos celebramos el 80º aniversario del nacimiento del gran guitarrita español Narciso Yepes (1927-1997), el "maestro de la guitarra de 10 cuerdas", con aclamadas grabaciones de tres famosos conciertos y una gran variedad de repertorio a solo. Se incluyen dos extensas obras de Telemann y Fernando Sor que aparecen por primera vez en CD.

Latin American Orchestral Works

“All the pieces are performed with great conviction and receive vibrant recordings full of vim and vigour as befits their lively character. Chandos's sound is typically rich and clear.” --Gramophone, November 2011

“...Castagna’s excellence in this repertoire is not surprising. What might surprise some, though, is how idiomatic the German orchestra is. ...At no point sis I feel that the music’s full potential was not being realised.  Fine ... engineering lets the music’s colours some forward. As the days get shorter in the northern hemisphere, ‘Fiesta Criolla’ will keep the spirits  up!” --International Record Review, November 2011

“... the Württemberg musicians play as though they had never experienced a day under 85°F in their lives. Typically full  Chandos sound  helps to make this enjoyable, good hearted disc a winner.! --Fanafare, November/December 2011

"This is a rather good collection, varied and stimulating, with conductor and orchestra doing the music proud ... with maestro Castagna clearly having a bent for the music of South America (he himself is Argentinean) and this is his fifth Chandos release of this type of thing. He is clearly in his element and takes his Baden-Württemberg musicians flying along, too. The recording is vivid ... Musically, there is a great deal of pleasure to be found here fun, sentiment, siestas and fiestas." --classicalsource.com 

Souvenirs

This is an engaging collection of small popular oboe pieces, with a couple of surprises, very ably performed by Diana with Sinfonia Australis. Pleasantly dreamy music for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

A ravishing collection of oboe adagios performed by the divine Diana Doherty. 

The Academy-By Request

Sir Neville Marriner proves himself a master of classical music. Once you hear this CD, you will insert it time and time again. Are you blue? Play this and within minutes you'll be happy. Are you happy? Play this and within seconds you'll be happier. The only conflict i have is deciding which is my favorite piece. The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, directed by one of Music just doesn't get any better. I understand it's now "out of print", so get it now! --Robert G. Sanderson

From Russia with Music

It is quite enjoyable to hear the National Philharmonic of Russia performing compositions by the country's musical heroes, and Vladimir Spivakov does a first-rate job of conducting. The first treat is Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Three Wonders," a march from the opera Tsar Sultan, which is beautiful, sparkly, and simply wondrous in the high registers. The flute and harp passage is ethereal, the strings are vast and singing, and each nuance of feeling is conveyed.

The much beloved fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet is Tchaikovsky's contribution to the album. The music builds in urgency, with fast passages played with great energy and vigor, and there is much emotion, as is fitting for the tale of the star-crossed lovers. The famous love theme is first heard in the low strings in a most elegant and restrained fashion, but when it returns it is full and lush: one can hear all the details, like the triplets under the strings. The string instruments play with perfect attacks and they are full of punch when necessary.

This is an orchestra that is perfect and precise with its timing, but its artistry is what captures the listener. Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, are each unique. The first features violently bowed passages and very 20th-century harmonies, while the second is a lovely waltz with more interesting tonalities than 19th century waltzes in its lush orchestration. The orchestra's sense of timing and tension within the lines here is superb. The third dance is moody yet bright at the beginning, and the piece has a fairytale-like quality, a rather programmatic feel. The concluding work is Three Russian Songs for Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 41, and Rachmaninov truly gets wonderful colors out of the orchestra that complement the voices.

Particularly enjoyable are the very modern-sounding string melody and harmonies in the first song, and the almost reverential quality of the second song: there is none of Rachmaninov's over-the-top Romanticism here. The last song is haunting with a march-like, militaristic feel; brief and austere, there are echoes of Carmina Burana not likely to escape the listener. Spivakov and his orchestra give a marvelous performance. The treble is certainly favored on this recording, which is sometimes advantageous and sometimes not. Another criticism of the recording quality is that the sound is rendered a bit flat, needing more ring or reverb. --allmusic.com

Stokowski · Encores

Matthias Bamert and the BBC Philharmonic follow up their defiantly successful disc of Stokowski's opulent Bach arrangements with this mixed bag of 15 items, six of them new to disc, again showing what a master of sound quality the cunning old maestro was. 

Battle Music

The tour brings Beethoven’s musical celebration of Wellington’s victorious campaign in Spain, Liszt’s Battle of the Huns and a Georgian war march by Ippolitov-Ivanov. The tour ends with two military works by Rimsky-Korsakov, King Dodon on the Battlefield, from his last opera, The Golden Cockerel, and The Massacre at Kerzhenets from The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh.

Tutti! Orchestral Sampler [MP3 test]

"The Minnesota Orchestra is superb. Recording quality has to be heard to be believed!" --David Denton, Yorkshire Post PERFORMANCE ***** RECORDING *****

"Stunning audiophile sonics ... the clarity, transparency, and firm definition of individual orchestral timbres are unequaled in my listening experience." --Lawrence A. Johnson, Fanfare