Prices shown exclude VAT. (UK tax is not payable for deliveries to United States.) See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Leonard Bernstein: Historic Broadcasts 1946-1961
Bartók: | Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta, BB 114, Sz. 106 | Beethoven: | Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral' - Ode to joy (excerpt) Irma Gonzales (soprano), Nan Merriman (mezzo), Raoul Jobin (tenor), Nicola Moscona (bass) Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 | Bernstein: | Symphony No. 2 'The Age of Anxiety' | Chávez: | Symphony No. 4: ‘Sinfonía Romántica' | Copland: | Preamble (For a Solemn Occasion) Laurence Olivier (narrator) Symphony No. 2 'Short Symphony' Billy the Kid | Diamond: | Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in C sharp Symphony No. 8 | Fine: | Serious Song | Harris, Roy: | American Creed | Mahler: | Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection' rehearsal and performance Adele Addison (soprano), Nan Merriman (mezzo) Ich atmet' einen linden Duft (Rückert-Lieder) Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (Rückert-Lieder) Das irdische Leben (Des Knaben Wunderhorn) Um Mitternacht (Rückert-Lieder) | Piston: | Concerto for Orchestra | Ravel: | Piano Concerto in G major rehearsal and performance | Schumann: | Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61 | Shostakovich: | Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60 'Leningrad' rehearsal and performance United Nations March Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 | Stravinsky: | The Rite of Spring | Weill, K: | The Threepenny Opera |
and rehearsal excerpts of Turangalila & Mozart Piano Concerto No. 15
When it was announced that Leonard Bernstein was the become the new conductor of the New York Philharmonic in November 1957, Claudia Cassidy in the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote that it was “no great surprise” but injected a note of caution: “wish him luck, because no one needs it more than the musical director of a symphony orchestra.” It turned out to be an inspired appointment. This set demonstrates what it was in about his music making and his personality that led the New York Philharmonic’s directors to choose him. It includes extensive recorded documentation of Bernstein’s career up to the time of his nomination in New York, mostly in live performances and rehearsal segments, working on music ranging from Mozart to Messiaen. Bernstein’s work after his appointment to the NYP is represented in this set by performances of American music given as part of his “Survey of American Music” in the 1958–9 season (Fine, Harris and Piston), along with Copland in 1957 and Diamond in 1961; the 1959 recording sessions for two of his favourite twentieth-century classics (Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony and Copland’s Billy the Kid) which show conductor and orchestra at their most efficient and effective; and hitherto unpublished live performances of music by Bartók, Beethoven, Chávez, and Mahler. “Excitement? Charisma? Sweat? Here in plenty. But there is also meticulous musicianship, particularly on view in some of the set’s most precious documents...Speeds hurtle; the heart races; the spine tingles...you’re holding history in your hand.” The Times, 12th April 2013 ***** | 
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| |  | The Art of Chailly
Bartók: | Concerto for Orchestra, BB 123, Sz.116 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73 (complete ballet) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Laurenscantorij Choir | Berg: | Piano Sonata, Op. 1 orch. Theo Verbey Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Berio: | Orchestral transcriptions Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi | Bruckner: | Symphony No. 7 in E Major Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin | Debussy: | Sarabande orch. Ravel Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Danse in E major orch. Ravel Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Dvorak: | Carnival Overture, Op. 92 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 'From the New World' Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Gershwin: | Rhapsody in Blue version for two pianos and orchestra Katia and Marielle Labeque (pianos) Cleveland Orchestra Lullaby for Strings Cleveland Orchestra An American in Paris, tone poem Cleveland Orchestra Cuban Overture Cleveland Orchestra | Mahler: | Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor Peter Masseurs (trumpet), Jakob Slagter (horn) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Mendelssohn: | Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 'Scottish' Gewandhausorchester Piano Concerto No. 3 in E minor (1842/44) Roberto Prosseda (piano) Gewandhausorchester Hebrides Overture, Op. 26 Gewandhausorchester Sketch (Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 "Scottish") orch. Christian Voss Gewandhausorchester | Messiaen: | Turangalîla Symphony Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano), Takashi Harada (ondes Martinot) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Mussorgsky: | Pictures at an Exhibition Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Ravel: | Boléro Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Rossini: | Guillaume Tell Overture Giuseppe Laffranchini (cello solo) Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala Il Signor Bruschino Overture Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala Overture: Bianca e Falliero Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala Il barbiere di Siviglia Overture Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala Armida Overture Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala Semiramide Overture Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala L'inganno felice Overture Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala Matilde di Shabran Overture Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala Overture: Demetrio e Polibio Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala La gazza ladra Overture Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala | Schoenberg: | Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin 5 orchestral pieces, Op. 16 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Shostakovich: | Moscow-Cheryomushki - Suite from the operetta, Op. 105 Philadelphia Orchestra Ballet Suite No. 5 from 'The Bolt' Op. 27a Philadelphia Orchestra The Gadfly - excerpts from the film music, Op. 97 Erez Ofer (solo violin) Philadelphia Orchestra | Stravinsky: | Petrushka (1947 version) Jacques Zoon (flute), Peter Masseurs (trumpet), Ruud van der Brink (piano) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Pulcinella Anna Caterina Antonacci (soprano), Pietro Ballo (tenor), William Shimell (bass) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Tchaikovsky: | Romeo & Juliet - Fantasy Overture Cleveland Orchestra Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32 Cleveland Orchestra Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 Wiener Philharmoniker | Varèse: | Tuning up Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amériques Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Poème Electronique Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Arcana Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Nocturnal Sarah Leonard (soprano) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Men of the Prague Philharmonic Choir Un grand sommeil noir Mireille Delunsch (soprano) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Webern: | Passacaglia for Orchestra, Op. 1 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra |
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| | Decca - 4806774 (CD - 16 discs) Normally: $65.50 Special: $52.25 |
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| |  | The Edge of Light
Gloria Cheng (piano) Members of the Calder Quartet Grammy® Award-winner Gloria Cheng brings an exquisite array of touch to this programme which couples the first mature works of Olivier Messiaen with the darkly radiant music of Kaija Saariaho. The Calder Quartet joins Ms. Cheng for Saariaho's 2003 trio 'Je sens un deuxième coeur' and Messiaen's 'Pièce pour piano et quatuor à cordes'. Saariaho attended this first recording of her ‘Ballade’ and ‘Prelude’. "This album portrays the connections I perceived between, as Peter Sellars describes in his liner notes, 'these most feminine works in Messiaen's entire catalogue,' and the deeply expressive, passionate music of Kaija Saariaho. I am thrilled to have the Calder Quartet, with whom I've joyfully collaborated for many years, join me in this endeavor." - GLORIA CHENG “One of our most gratifying Messiaen pianists...she phrased with warmth and made the piano resound in a way that made Messiaen irresistible.” Los Angeles Times “Gloria Cheng is a celebrity: an invaluable new-music advocate and a preferred collaborator of composers like Pierre Boulez and Esa-Pekka Salonen.” New York Times “one of the heroes of the new-music world, an energetic and imaginative artist whose tastes range widely across the contemporary landscape.” San Francisco Chronicle “A third composer hovers, ghost-like, in pianist Cheng's beguiling recital with the Calder Quartet. Listen to Messaien's glassy chords and Saariaho's cool rhapsodies and you can almost hear him...Debussy is the daddy. Exquisitely shaped playing and bold musicianship in a compelling, haunting disc.” The Independent, 24th February 2013 ***** “By pairing [Messiaen's Préludes] with a Prelude and Ballade by Kaija Saariaho, Gloria Cheng points to family resemblances, and joins the Calders for Saariaho’s uncharacteristically open-hearted Je sens un deuxième coeur.” Financial Times, 9th March 2013 *** “[Cheng's] long association with Messiaen's music bears fruit in a fluid approach to the early Preludes...With Cheng's fine touch paramount in first recordings of Saariaho's Prelude and Ballade, this disc is unlikely to gather dust.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 ***** “the affinities [between the two composers] are powerful, and they make for a revealing disc. Cheng brings plenty of idiomatic colour to bear on Messiaen's early Preludes” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013 | 
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| |  | refractions: Choral Works by Valen, Berg, Messiaen & Webern
Berit Norbakken Solset (soprano) Det Norske Solistkor, KORK & Members of the Oslo Sinfonietta, Grete Pedersen Music in the early 20th century did pass from one medium to another, from late Romanticism into an unknown future. Refractions allows the listener to sample this transition through the choral music of four very different composers. “an unusually diverse and unhackneyed 20th-century programme.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013 | 
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| |  | La Folie Française
Excerpts from works by Bizet, Alkan, Gounod, Franck, Chabrier, Lalo, Chausson, Massenet, Satie, Severac, Debussy, Indy, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, Dukas, Roussel, Wiener, Ravel, Duparc, Hahn, Boulez, Dutilleux, Messiaen, Milhaud, Poulenc and Koechlin
La folie française is an odyssey of the French classical composers from the 19th Century (Georges Bizet, César Franck…) to nowadays (Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux…), as well as the golden age (Satie, Debussy, Ravel or Saint-Saëns), reflecting the concert’s programme. It’s a great opportunity to hear such masterpieces of this prolific period in the history of music as “La Mer” by Debussy, Bizet’s “Carmen suite”, the “Bolero”, two “Gnossiennes”, “L’Apprenti sorcier” by Paul Dukas (best known for being used in Fantasia’s soundtrack), César Franck’s violin sonata… and the more unusual Oboe sonata by Charles Koechlin, d’Indy’s “Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français”, and works by Chausson and Séverac. French melodies by Massenet, Duparc and Hahn, jazzy classical pieces of Darius Milhaud and Jean Wiéner, and great symphonic works by Poulenc and Roussel complete this compilation of 64 tracks and over 5 hours of music, all served by the greatest performers: Samson François, Michel Plasson, Jean Martinon, Alexandre Tharaud, Georges Prêtre, Anne Queffélec, Augustin Dumay, etc | 
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| |  | Anthology of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Volume 7 - (2000-2010)
Adès: | Asyla Daniel Harding | Beethoven: | Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral' Krassimira Stoyanova (soprano), Marianne Cornetti (mezzo), Robert Dean Smith (tenor), Franz-Josef Selig (bass) Mariss Jansons | Berio: | Rendering Heinz Holliger | Brahms: | Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 Herbert Blomstedt | Britten: | Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20 Stefan Asbury | Bruckner: | Symphony No. 8 in C minor Zubin Mehta | Busoni: | Berceuse élégiaque, Op. 42 Ed Spanjaard | Debussy: | La Mer Bernard Haitink | Diepenbrock: | Elektra - symphonic suite Waltraud Meier (mezzo), Robert Dean Smith (tenor), Marcel Reijans (tenor), Juha Uusitalo (bass-baritone), Jan-Hendrik Rootering (bass-baritone), Johan Leysen (speaker) Claus Peter Flor | Dutilleux: | Tout un monde lointain (Concerto for cello and orchestra) Godfried Hoogeveen (cello) Yan Pascal Tortelier | Escher: | Musique pour l’esprit en deuil Bernard Haitink | Haydn: | Symphony No. 97 in C major Nikolaus Harnoncourt | Hindemith: | Konzertmusik, Op. 50 for strings & brass Kurt Masur | Janacek: | Jealousy (original prelude to Jenufa) Sir Mark Elder Taras Bulba Sir Mark Elder | Keulen: | Fünf tragische Lieder Detlef Roth (baritone) Lothar Zagrosek | Lutoslawski: | Piano Concerto Lars Vogt (piano) Daniel Harding | Mahler: | Das Lied von der Erde Anna Larsson (contralto), Robert Dean Smith (tenor) Fabio Luisi | Martinu: | Les Fresques de Piero della Francesca, H. 352 Leonard Slatkin | Messiaen: | Les Offrandes oubliées (1930) George Benjamin | Mozart: | Symphony No. 41 in C major, K551 'Jupiter' Ivan Fischer | Nas: | No reason to panic David Robertson | Prokofiev: | Autumnal sketch, Op. 8 David Robertson | Ravel: | Daphnis et Chloé - Suite No. 2 Mariss Jansons | Rihm: | Marsyas, rhapsody for trumpet with percussion & orchestra Reinhold Friedrich (trumpet), Gustavo Gimeno (percussion) George Benjamin | Schat: | Symphony No. 3, Op.45 'Gamelan' Hans Vonk | Schubert: | Symphony No. 3 in D major, D200 Ivan Fischer | Schumann: | Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61 Kurt Masur | Shostakovich: | Symphony No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 113 'Babi Yar' Sergei Leiferkus (baritone) Kurt Masur | Sibelius: | Pohjola's Daughter, Op. 49 Sir Colin Davis Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82 Paavo Berglund | Strauss, R: | Sinfonia Domestica, Op. 53 Lorin Maazel Der Rosenkavalier - Suite Mariss Jansons | Stravinsky: | Oedipus Rex Riccardo Chailly Violin Concerto in D Alexander Kerr (violin) Riccardo Chailly | Szymanowski: | Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 35 Vesko Eschkenazy (violin) Sir Mark Elder | Verbey: | Lied for trombone and orchestra Jorgen van Rijen (trombone) Markus Stenz | Webern: | Six Pieces for Orchestra Op. 6 Pierre Boulez | Zuidam: | Adam-Interludes Ingo Metzmacher |
This seventh installment of the Anthology of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (2000- 2010) covers a period in the orchestra's history largely characterised by changing perspectives in a new century. Indeed, it was in 2004 that Riccardo Chailly relinquished his position as chief conductor after a 16-year-long tenure, whereupon the orchestra managed to forge what would be a long-term relationship with the renowned maestro Mariss Jansons. A specialist in Romantic, and particularly Italian, opera repertoire, Chailly was also an advocate of the modern classics and of contemporary music. His collaboration with the RCO resulted in internationally acclaimed recordings of works by such composers as Varese, Stravinsky and Berio. The Latvian maestro Jansons, a passionate orchestral conductor particularly of the late Romantic repertoire, shifted the orchestra's focus more towards Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss and Shostakovich, invariably endeavouring to strike a careful balance between clarity of form and aesthetics. In addition, Jansons successfully continued the tradition of high-profile co-productions between the RCO and De Nederlandse Opera with performances of Shostakovich's 'Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District' and Tchaikovsky's 'Yevgeny Onegin'. The orchestra itself also underwent changes. A generation of orchestral players, including the illustrious principal wind instrumentalists who had laid the foundations for the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, retired and were succeeded by a group of outstanding young musicians, most of them hailing from outside the Netherlands, resulting in a growing internationalisation of the RCO. There were also changes in the orchestra's business and artistic management and its concert programming policy also saw a shift in direction. The 'Picasso/Rembrandt formula' was retired to make way for the new A Series, featuring more firmly embedded contemporary, often Dutch, repertoire. The launch of the orchestra's own in-house record label, RCO Live, breathed new life into its rich recording tradition. The identity of a modern, 21st-century orchestra would be further bolstered by the RCO's active online presence, its own Web channel, effective use of social media, and the successful digital platform RCO Universe, a novelty in the orchestral world. This CD box set constitutes the final volume of the Anthology of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, a musical journey through time in seven installments, each made up of fourteen CDs of live concert recordings. Drawing on the wealth of recordings in the Dutch public broadcasting network archives, the compilers set out to create a colourful historical overview and sound mosaic whilst doing justice to the unique history of the orchestra from 1935, the year from which its oldest surviving radio recording dates. Repertoire, performance, conductors, soloists and recording quality were the criteria which, in the proper interrelationships, proved to be decisive. Working to document such a vast musical legacy has been a privilege, the compilers having been aware that the making of choices brings with it the duty to showcase as many aspects of this rich history as possible. The compilers wish to dedicate this series to all the musicians who have been part of the orchestra over the past 125 years. It is hoped that all seven volumes will be re-released as a 'superbox' to celebrate the RCO's anniversary. “throughout this set it's the astonishing consistency of the orchestral playing that is most vivid...regardless of the conductor or the repertoire, the depth and eloquence of the strings, the quick-witted brilliance of the woodwind and the rounded security of the brass are unfailing.” The Guardian, 3rd January 2013 ***** “Anyone who has been collecting this series will certainly want this latest addition, for the unusual repertoire as much as for the performances … the live sound is tremendous.” International Record Review, February 2013 | 
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| |  | Amy, Darasse & Messiaen: Works for Organ
François Espinasse (organ) Quintette de Cuivres | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | A Year with Jesus ChristGloria, Miserere, Stabat Mater, Magnificat, Requiem
Music by Clérambault, Vivaldi, Poulenc, JS Bach, CPE Bach, Pergolesi, Mozart, Fauré, Tavener, Allegri, Holst, Verdi, Messiaen and Dunstaple.
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| |  | 100 Best Chamber Music
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