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Sir Colin Davis conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and a stellar cast of soloists in a concert performance of Weber’s eerily fantastical opera, 'Der Freischütz'. 'Der Freischütz' is heralded as one of the cornerstones of Romantic opera, drawing on traditional German folk tunes and elements of Romanticism for the first time in the history of opera. The evocative and colourful orchestration is particularly impressive in the '‘Wolf’s Glen’ scene: often considered the most gruesomely expressive rendering of evil to be found in a musical score! All three main soloists are well established on LSO Live: Opera News declared the Verdi Requiem (LSO00683), featuring Christine Brewer, as "one of the finest recordings the work has ever received". Sally Matthews, who has performed regularly with Sir Colin Davis, was praised in her role in Haydn's 'Creation' (LSO0628). Simon O’Neill’s previous appearance on the label, in the title role of Verdi's 'Otello' (LSO0700) saw much critical acclaim, and confirmation that "he is the best heroic tenor to emerge over the last decade" The Telegraph. “The joys of the performance lie in the way the acoustical demands of the work have been met” Financial Times, 11th May 2013 “Over the decades, Davis’s tempi have become more measured, but the Wolf’s Glen scene still has spook factor aplenty...Chorus and orchestra are the stars here.” Sunday Times, 12th May 2013 “a moving testament to the late Sir Colin Davis, as well as a thrilling performance in its own right...The chorus, especially in the Wolf's Glen, enthralls, as does the orchestra, rising to every challenge, urgent or lyrical, heroic or poetic. Davis, as ever, balances unrushed tempi with moments of raw excitement and aural extravagance” The Observer, 11th May 2013 “the love [Davis] felt toward Der Freischütz can be felt in almost every bar...there is nothing galumphing here, and the LSO make themselves happily rustic whenever the music swings that way...The vocal cast? Always decent, sometimes compelling.” The Times, 10th May 2013 **** | 
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Jon Vickers (Grimes), Heather Harper (Ellen), Jonathan Summers (Balstrode), Elizabeth Bainbridge (Auntie), Teresa Cahill (First Niece), Anne Pashley (Second Niece), John Dobson (Bob Boles), Forbes Robinson (Swallow), Patricia Payne (Mrs Sedley), John Lanigan (Horace Adams), Thomas Allen (Ned Keene), Richard Van Allan (Hobson) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Colin Davis “the cast is fine and the tension cumulative” BBC Music Magazine, July 2011 *** “Sir Colin Davis takes a fundamentally darker, tougher view of Peter Grimes than the composer himself. Jon Vickers's powerful, heroic interpretation sheds keen new light on what arguably remains the greatest of Britten's operas...A genuine bargain.” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition *** “Convincingly dark reading from Covent Garden” The Times, 10th May 2013 |
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Sir Colin Davis is a revered Berlioz expert and his LSO live Berlioz recordings have been one of the most widely acclaimed series’ of classical recordings of recent years and collected numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards for Les Troyens. The release of the monumental Grande Messe des morts marks the completion of this cycle and further confirms Sir Colin’s status as one of the greatest living conductors of Berlioz’s music. Recorded in St Paul’s Cathedral, a fitting acoustic for the work, the London Symphony Orchestra opened the 50th anniversary of the City of London Festival with the requiem, joined by English lyric tenor Barry Banks and two of London’s finest choirs, the London Symphony Chorus and London Philharmonic Choir. Grand Messe des Morts is a popular Berlioz creation, yet remains a rare and special treat. A requiem whose text derives from the traditional Latin Requiem Mass, it was composed, uniquely, by a man with no firm religious belief. Throughout the piece there is an extreme variation of dynamics. Poignant, reflective music is contrasted with four blazing brass ensembles, ensuring a very powerful and grand listening experience. “The two concerts in Saint Paul’s Cathedral in June 2012 upon which this recording is based were colossal events. I attended the first of them and have rarely been so moved by the magnificence of stately music superbly rendered. LSO Live has captured the moment with remarkable fidelity.” classicalsource.com “The orchestral playing is superb throughout...Sir Colin Davis, too, is in a class apart as a Berlioz interpreter and this performance simply confirms that. This is, from start to finish, magnificent. It’s astonishing to think that when this recording was made he was a few weeks shy of his eighty-fifth birthday for there is no want of energy here...Berlioz found in Sir Colin Davis a champion beyond compare.” MusicWeb International, 18th April 2013 “the enigmatic rising phrases that launch the work continue to reverberate hauntingly in the surrounding silences, and the tone of the combined LSO and LPO choirs — singing beautifully and bringing out the music’s profound sadness — is wonderfully enhanced. Colin Davis fits the work to the conditions with a master hand. Memorable.” Sunday Times, 17th March 2013 “Sir Colin Davis’s grip on the score is as sure as it ever was, the massed choral forces coordinated with unerring precision. He’s always had an ear for Berlioz’s quirky sense of orchestral colour...Barry Banks is excellent...This is an essential purchase” The Arts Desk, 20th April 2013 |
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| |  | Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
With this eagerly awaited recording of Symphonies 2 & 3, Sir Colin Davis completes his enlightening Nielsen symphony cycle. The first title in the series, Symphonies Nos.4 & 5, was Editor's Choice in Gramophone and Orchestral Choice of the Month in BBC Music Magazine. The second, with Symphonies 1 & 6 was awarded CD of the Week in the Sunday Times. Nielsen's second symphony was inspired by a naïve but vivid painting representing the four temperaments of the human personality. Adopting these defining characters for each of the symphony's movements Nielsen realised a sonic depiction of emotion. His third symphony, the most openly Danish of his symphonies, portrays spaciousness, power and vitality and is considered his greatest international achievement. “Davis approaches both works with driving energy...this recording is an exhilarating display of the life-force at full blast in both composer and conductor.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 **** “This third and final CD from the series reminds us why Davis is so attuned to Nielsen: the music’s Beethovenian conflict brings out the visceral dynamism in his personality. The opening and closing movements of these two symphonies bristle with vitality, and even in the slower music...Davis finds metaphysical fire and majesty, reinforced by the London Symphony Orchestra’s meaty tone.” Financial Times, 9th February 2013 **** “The LSO responds with relish … Davis’s readings are a notable achievement, and one can only admire his having taken on a major cycle this late in his career” International Record Review, March 2013 “with this set he establishes himself as a Nielsenian of the first rank...Uplifting, inspired stuff.” Sunday Times, 3rd March 2013 “There’s none of the angst and anger that came later in Nielsen’s work, but plenty of rugged, boisterous, quirky and sometimes beautifully rustic music, which the London Symphony Orchestra deliver with a terrific punch in these concert recordings.” The Times, 9th February 2013 **** |
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| |  | Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1 & 2
“Davis and the BBC Symphony Orchestra provide superbly incisive support for Kovacevich who delivers musically insightful accounts of the solo parts.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2012 **** | | | (Sorry, download not available in your country) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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“Britten's devastating master-opera is graced with a performance to match, with stellar playing and a mesmerising tour de force each from Robert Tear's Quint and Helen Donath's Governess.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2012 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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José Carreras (Riccardo), Montserrat Caballé (Amelia), Ingvar Wixell (Renato), Patricia Payne (Ulrica), Sona Ghazarian (Oscar), Jonathan Summers (Silvano), Robert Lloyd (Samuele), Gwynne Howell (Tom), Robin Leggate (Un Giudice) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Colin Davis “Colin Davis's Verdi is always a slow burn, but when it catches fire it blazes. The Act III finale here has rarely been bettered. Carreras and Caballe are at the top of their game.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2013 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Best of Vesselina Kasarova
Bellini: | Arresta! Qual mesto suon echeggia? (from I Capuleti) Ramon Vargas (tenor) Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Roberto Abbado | Bizet: | L'amour est un oiseau rebelle 'Habanera' (from Carmen) Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Giuliano Carella | Gluck: | Che faro' senza Euridice? (from Orfeo ed Euridice) Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Friedrich Haider | Handel: | Bella sorge la speranza (Arianna in Creta) Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis Sento brillar nel sen (from Il Pastor Fido) Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis | Mozart: | Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio (from Le nozze di Figaro) Staatskapelle Dresden, Sir Colin Davis Già dagli occhi il velo è tolto (from Mitridate, rè di Ponto) Staatskapelle Dresden, Sir Colin Davis Il Tenero Momento (from Lucio Silla) Staatskapelle Dresden, Sir Colin Davis | Offenbach: | Bonjour, Monsieur, je suis la bonne (from Pomme d'api) Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Ulf Schirmer Ah! quel dîner je viens de faire (from La Perichole) Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Ulf Schirmer | Rossini: | Ah, vieni, nel tuo sangue (from Otello) Juan Diego Florez (tenor) Arthur Fagen | Schubert: | Auf dem Wasser zu singen, D774 Friedrich Haider (piano) | Thomas, Ambroise: | Connais-tu le pays (from Mignon) Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Frederic Chaslin | Verdi: | O don fatale (from Don Carlo) Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Giuliano Carella |
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“the pacing of each tableau vivant is handled so superbly by Sir Colin that there is not a single moment of longueur...The casting polarizes this Werther and this Charlotte. Jose Carreras is very much a Werther of action rather than of dream, of impetuous self-destruction rather than of brooding lyricism...von Stade's performance can hardly be faulted. Her voice is the very incarnation of Charlotte's essential simplicity of character” Gramophone Magazine, February 1987 | | | (Sorry, download not available in your country) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Brian Asawa (Oberon), Sylvia McNair (Tytania), Brian Bannatyne-Scott (Theseus), Hilary Summers (Hippolyta), John Mark Ainsley (Lysander), Paul Whelan (Demetrius), Janice Watson (Helena), Ruby Philogene (Hermia), Robert Lloyd (Bottom), Gwynne Howell (Quince), Ian Bostridge (Flute), Stephen Richardson (Snug), Neal Davies (Starveling), Mark Tucker (Snout) London Symphony Orchestra, New London Children's Choir, Sir Colin Davis “Scintillating pace and quality, with Brian Asawa's classy Oberon and Robert Lloyd's Bottom outstanding. Sylvia McNair's Tytania is beautiful but mannered.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2012 **** “Everything is heard with great clarity, the sensuousness of Britten's ravishing score, with all its mysterious harmonies and sonorities, is fully realized, action and reaction among the singers are keenly heard...Another plus for the new set is the casting of the lovers with young singers in their early prime.” Gramophone Magazine, December 1996 | | | (Sorry, download not available in your country) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Gramophone Magazine