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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Claudio Abbado conducts Prokofiev, Berg & TchaikovskyLucerne Festival at Easter 2010
Five years after first conducting the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra in their Venezuelan home, Claudio Abbado continues his commitment to this stunning ensemble in this first joint audiovisual concert recording. Prokofiev’s extrovert Scythian Suite is a gift for the boundless energy of these young players, while the intricacy and anguish of Berg’s Lulu-Suite are an Abbado speciality, with soprano Anna Prohaska, in her Lucerne Festival debut, singing the heroine’s dazzling statement of self-justification. The concert ends with an impassioned account of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique, his final symphony, one of the most moving works in music history. Picture Format DVD: NTSC 16:9 Sound Formats DVD: Dolby Digital 5.1., DTS 5.1, PCM Stereo, Region Code: 0 (worldwide) Booklet notes: Songtexts in German Running Time: 111:45 Disc Format: DVD 9 FSK: 0 “It's amazing the way Abbado brings the melodic writing to the fore in the very different worlds of the Prokofiev and the Berg Lulu Suite, crowned by Anna Prohaska's meaningful characterisation...As for Tchaikovsky's Pathétique, I challenge you to sit unshaken through the way Abbado nurtures string tone, body and vibrato from his Latin players.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***** “Aided by superb camera work, we see him, gaunt but energised, bringing sophistication and élan to Prokofiev’s monster canvas, conjuring magic and fragrance from the Berg and driving the Pathétique to the edge of the abyss.” Financial Times, 14th January 2011 **** “It's scintillatingly communicative. Some of the players are noticeably a touch nervous; it makes the Tchaikovsky grippingly heartfelt while the Berg...has an edgy quality that really brings it alive...Watching Abbado's response to these young Latinos, and vice-versa, reminds you of those transcendental human qualities music has...I can't imagine there being a more engaging audio-visual recording of [these works]” Classic FM Magazine, March 2011 **** “the combination of [Abbado's] sophisticated ear for sonority with the band's raw energy and sheer strength in numbers make for some terrific music-making...his exquisite touch is evident throughout in what is obviously a meticulously prepared account as well as a suitably emotive one...[Prohaska] is marvellous.” International Record Review, April 2011  BBC Music Magazine
DVD Choice - January 2011 |
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| |  | Discovery Edition
The Discovery Edition - 1CD highlights album featuring the 'greatest hits' from the world's most famous ballet, performed by the world's greatest orchestra | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Pierre Monteux with the Boston Symphony Orchestra10 stereo concerts from the 1958 & 1959 Seasons
Beethoven: | Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133 orch.Weingartner; 10th January 1958 The Creatures of Prometheus Overture, Op. 43 Recorded 9th August 1958 Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 Recorded 9th August 1958 Berl Senofsky (violin) Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b Recorded 9th August 1958 Fidelio Overture Op. 72c Recorded 8th August 1959 Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 'Pastoral' Recorded 8th August 1959 Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 Recorded 8th August 1959 | Brahms: | Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 10th January 1958 Leonid Kogan (violin) Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 20th July 1958 Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15 Recorded 20th July 1958 Leon Fleisher (piano) Tragic Overture, Op. 81 Recorded 19th July 1959 Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 Recorded 24th July 1959 Isaac Stern (violin) Chorale Preludes (11), Op. 122 arr. Thomson; recorded 24th July 1959 | Debussy: | Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien - Fragments symphoniques 10th January 1958 Trois Nocturnes Recorded 25th July 1958 Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune Recorded 19th July 1959 | Glinka: | Ruslan & Lyudmila Overture Recorded 25th July 1958 | Hindemith: | Nobilissima Visione Recorded 19th July 1959 | Indy: | Symphony on a French Mountain Song Op. 25 Recorded 19th July 1959 Nicole Henriot-Schweitzer (piano) | Mendelssohn: | Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 'Italian' Recorded 1st August 1959 Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 Recorded 1st August 1959 Rudolf Serkin (piano) | Milhaud: | Les Eumenides: Prelude to Act 3 Recorded 25th July 1958 | Ravel: | La Valse 25th July 1958 | Respighi: | Passacaglia in do minore di Giovanni Sebastiano Bach Recorded 24th July 1959 | Rimsky Korsakov: | Le Coq d'Or: Introduction & Cortège de noces Recorded 19th July 1959 | Schumann: | Manfred Overture, Op. 115 Recorded 1st August 1959 Introduction & Allegro appassionato in G major, Op. 92 Recorded 1st August 1959 Rudolf Serkin (piano) | Strauss, R: | Tod und Verklärung, Op. 24 10th January 1958 Don Juan, Op. 20 24th July 1959 Don Quixote, Op. 35 Recorded 23rd January 1959 Samuel Mayes (cello), Joseph de Pasquale (viola) | Stravinsky: | Three Movements from Petrushka Recorded 20th July 1958 | Tchaikovsky: | Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 Recorded 25th July 1958 Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 Recorded 19th July 1959 | Wagner: | Mild und leise 'Isolde's Liebestod' (from Tristan und Isolde): orchestral version 1st August 1959 Parsifal: Prelude to Act 1 Ich sah das Kind an seiner Mutter Brust (from Parsifal) Margaret Harshaw (soprano) Lohengrin: Prelude to Act 1 Einsam in trüben Tagen (from Lohengrin) Margaret Harshaw (soprano) Rienzi Overture Der fliegende Holländer: Overture Johohoe! Traft ihr das Schiff im Meere an 'Senta's Ballad' (from Der fliegende Holländer) Margaret Harshaw (soprano) Siegfried: Waldweben Dich, teure Halle (from Tannhauser) Margaret Harshaw (soprano) Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries Recorded 3rd August 1958 |
These are never-before-released Monteux live performances in state of the art digital restorations. The set includes works by Beethoven, Brahms, Glinka, Hindemith, Mendelssohn, Milhaud, Schumann, R. Strauss of which there are no studio recordings with Monteux. Soloists include Stern and Serkin. | | | (also available to download from $66.00) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Tchaikovsky & Liszt: First Piano Concertos
Alice Sara Ott follows up the complete Chopin Waltzes – her highly successful international debut – with her first concerto recording on Deutsche Grammophon. The young artist presents two of the greatest hits in the repertoire: Tchaikovsky’s and Liszt’s First Piano Concertos. Alice Sara Ott recorded this partly live (Tchaikovsky) album in her home town of Munich with the superb Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Thomas Hengelbrock, known as a modern interpreter with strong ideas (and a strong work ethic). Alice says about the Tchaikovsky: “This piece is a revolution for me. It actually contains very different perspectives on life: the melancholy and gloomy, the majestic and, then again, the bright and light, lyrical and soaring. In any case it’s a challenge. A physical one, of course, but, in the end, really a mental one.” A challenge she has mastered, as the Süddeutsche Zeitung confirmed: “In the midst of Tchaikovsky’s avalanche of notes, Ott somehow manages to tease out the quiet passages, and with great poise to make room for lyricism and gently grazing the keys for a dreamy but distinct play of colours.” The two concertos in this album are works that have accompanied Alice Sara Ott since her early youth. She played the Liszt before an audience the first time when she was 14 and the Tchaikovsky at 17. She has an intense relationship with both works, something clearly audible in the 21-year-old pianist’s vivid interpretations. “Ott's muscular performance of the Tchaikovsky is tumultuous, relentless, inventive - utterly brilliant, in fact. And conductor Thomas Hengelbrock bolsters her view as he stokes the dramatic rhetoric and projects bold orchestral colours....Ott's youthful energy is a useful antidote to stodgy, old-school Tchaikovsky” Classic FM Magazine, November 2010 ***** “What makes these performances stand out is Ott's thoughtful approach to both concertos, eschewing empty display and bringing weight, detail and a range of colours to the solo parts. These bring their own rewards.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2010 “Having demonstrated her command of the delicate intimacies and melodious melancholy of Chopin on this year's recording of his Complete Waltzes, Alice Sara Ott here goes to the opposite extreme, hammering out the melodramatic opening chords of Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No 1 in B flat minor", then riding its waves of emotion with a firm hand” The Independent, 8th October 2010 *** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 & Nutcracker Suite
“As I have often felt with Rozhdestvensky's recordings, their warm, easy spontaneity...suggests sessions where the aim was to communicate immediately and warmly in a near equivalent to live performance” Gramophone Magazine | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Ikon Volume 2
Balakirev: | Da molchit vsyakaya plot 'Let all mortal flesh keep silence' | Chesnokov: | Salvation is Created, Op. 25 No. 5 Da ispravitsya molitva moya 'Let my prayer arise' Dukh Tvoy blagiy 'Let thy good spirit', Op. 25, No. 10 Bless the Lord, O my soul, Op. 40 No. 1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, Op. 25 No. 6 Ne imamï inïya pomoshchi 'We have no other help', Op. 25, No. 8 O Tebe raduetsya 'All of creation rejoices in you', Op, 15, No. 11 | Cui: | Pesn' Presvyatïya Bogoroditsï 'Song of the Most Holy Theotokos' 'Magnificat', Op. 93 | Golovanov: | Otche nash 'Our Father', Op. 9, No. 3 | Grechaninov: | Vecheri Tvoeya taynïya 'Of thy mystical supper', Op. 58, No. 7 | Kalinnikov, Viktor: | Priidite, poklonimsya 'Come, let us worship', Op. 11 Tebe poem 'We hymn thee', Op. 7 Bogoroditse Devo 'Rejoice, O Virgin', Op. 17 Tebe poem 'We hymn thee', Op. 2 | Kastalsky: | Svete tikhiy 'Radiant Light', Op. 73 | Rachmaninov: | Bogorodice Devo | Rimsky Korsakov: | Otche nash 'Our Father', Op. 22, No. 7 | Shvedov: | Kheruvimskaya pesn 'The Cherubic Hymn', Op. 13 Trisviatoye 'The Thrice-Holy', Op. 7 | Tchaikovsky: | Priidite, poklonimsya 'Come, let us worship' | Tolstiakov: | Blagoslovi dushe moya, Ghospoda (Bless the Lord, O My Soul) |
In 1997, The Holst Singers and Stephen Layton produced a disc that immediately became a cult classic and a best-seller. ‘Ikon’, a selection of great Russian choral music from the 19th century, dazzled with its grand, opulent beauty. Now the same forces return with Ikon II. Many of the works recorded here are by composers whose names will not be familiar – but the extraordinary quality of the music is unmistakable and immediately enthralling. “Performing with insight and commendable Russian sonority, the Holst Singers have cast their net wide in this survey of Orthodox Church music.” The Telegraph, 5th October 2010 **** “Those wary of an English choir's sensibilities in music almost from another planet should head stright to Tolstiakov's Blagoslovi and Rimsky-Korsakov's Our Father for blissful reassurance of authenticity” Classic FM Magazine, December 2010 ***** “for those not drawn to this disc by their own Orthodox faith there is still plenty to value in documentary terms...the programme is scrupulously prepared, with excellent pronunciation, idiomatic timbres and a fine fusion of ardent communication and sensitive shaping.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2010 “Layton's preparation of his singers has obviously been extraordinarily thorough: the intonation is faultless across all the registers here, diction is clear and the choral sound is beautifully homogenized - there doesn't seem to be a weak voice anywhere. Nor is there a weak piece: all 22 items blaze with devout passion.” International Record Review, November 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | An Evening with Renée FlemingRecorded live at Waldbühne, Berlin, 2010
The Waldbühne in Berlin, one of the most appealing outdoor amphitheatres on the European continent, is the home of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s summer concerts. With over 20,000 attendances, these are some of the most popular classical music concerts in the world. This year the Berliner Philharmoniker play under the baton of Ion Marin, one of the most exciting conductors on today’s musical scene. They welcome "America's Beautiful Voice", Grammy Award winning soprano Renée Fleming, who has a devoted international following wherever she appears. Her career has been built on success across a wide range of musical styles, but she is best-known for her excellence in opera worldwide. The device of the evening was “Night of Love”- the most beautiful Opera Arias in combination with atmospheric instrumental pieces. Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9 Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 Booklet notes: English, German, French Subtitles: English, German, French Running time: 130 mins FSK: 0 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Nov 2009
Larissa Diadkova (Solokha), Maxim Mikhailov (The Devil), Vladimir Matorin (Chub), John Upperton (Panas), Olga Guryakova (Oxana), Vsevolod Grivnov (Vakula), Alexander Vassiliev (Pan Golova),Viacheslav Voynarovskiy (The Schoolmaster), Olga Sabadoch (Odark), Changhan Lim (Wood Goblin), Andrew Macnair (Echo), Sergei Leiferkus (His Highness), Jeremy White (Master of Ceremonies) & Mara Galeazzi & Gary Avis (Principal Dancers) Dancers of The Royal Ballet & Orchestra of The Royal Opera House, Alexander Polianichko (conductor) & Francesca Zambello (stage director) Choreography: Alastair Marriott. Based on Gogol’s fantastical and comic story of the Devil’s antics on Christmas Eve, this magical blend of opera and ballet is brought to vivid life in Francesca Zambello’s colourful production. Magnificent set designs (Mikhail Mokrov) and costumes (Tatiana Noginova), and an excellent, largely Russian cast provide authenticity. Splendid dancing by The Royal Ballet and Cossack dancers completes the spectacle. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound. “It’s pretty as a picture, no question – an animated pop-up book of naïve and colourful charm.” Independent “…this expensive-looking production that combines the forces of the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet…” The Guardian Extra features: Introducing Cherevichki by Francesca Zambello Cast & Characters Staging Gogol's world Running time 154mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS digital Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES “[Mokrov's designs] positively glow with snowy Russian colour and charm...Polianichko makes an affectionate case for the score” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2010 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Tchaikovsky: Symphonies 4, 5 & 6 ‘Pathétique’
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| |  | Truls Mørk plays Tchaikovsky & Dvorak
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