6 New Decca and Philips Originals

“The immediacy and precise placing are thrilling...Solti gives a magnificent reading of the score, crisp, dramatic and direct. Vocally, the set is held together by the unforgettable singing of Neidlinger as Alberich...An outstanding achievement” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ****

“All credit to Decca for capturing in vivid digital sound, well-balanced, and with the audience rarely intrusive (except of course in the vociferous applause), the performances given in gala concerts earlier this year [1981] … with Horne giving a dazzling display [in La donna del lago] … still superbly agile, and with gloriously tough chest tone … in the Masnadieri aria … [Sutherland’s] agility remains amazing, and commandingly at the end she prolongs her trill so long that the orchestra has to wait and the audience too seems to catch a breath before the launching of the ringing, absolutely true and steady top C. The real point of the collection lies in the ensembles, most of them with all three singers … choice rarities include the Ernani trio (starting the concert) with Horne taking the baritone role, as Alboni evidently did at Covent Garden in 1847. It makes a splendid item, with Horne’s chest tones again magnificent … the Norma trio is interesting in that Pavarotti has yet to be persuaded to sing the role of Pollione … Sutherland is at her finest too. The Otello duet brings treasure with another role which as yet Pavarotti refuses to tackle in the opera house … the firmness and heroic power certainly have one thirsting for more … Sutherland first sang Desdemona at Covent Garden in 1957 … she has been singing the role again in Australia recently. I don’t wonder; because the voice, though mature for Desdemona … rides the phrases gloriously and “Amen risponda” is treated with sweet expansiveness. A flaw or two is inevitable in live performances … what matters is the vigour and realism of live communication and, with the help of digital sound, there is no lack of that.” Gramophone Magazine

“A real meeting of minds, these CDs capture perfectly the insight and poetry that de Larrocha brings to this quintessentially Hispanic music, and Decca's warm but not oppressively close recording is ideal.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2008 *****

“In her digital Decca version, Alicia de Larrocha brings an altogether beguiling charm and character to these rewarding miniature tone-poems and makes light of their sometimes fiendish technical difficulties. The recording is among the most successful of piano sounds Decca has achieved” Penguin Guide

“Schiff often takes a very individual view of particular preludes and fugues, but his unexpected readings regularly win one over long before the end. Consistently he translates this music into pianistic terms, and his voyage of discovery through this supreme keyboard collection is the more riveting as the piano is an easier instrument to listen to over long periods. First-rate sound” Penguin Guide

“Solti's reading is tough, strong and brilliant...Among the men, Stuart Burrows is especially impressive, with stylish and rich-toned singing...and Hermann Prey rounds out the character of Papageno with intelligent pointing of words.” Penguin Guide, 2010 **

“John Eliot Gardiner’s recording was made live at the Göttingen Festival in 1988 … the exhilaration and intensity of the performance come over vividly, with superb singing from both chorus and an almost ideal line-up of soloists … as for the Monteverdi Choir, their clarity, incisiveness and beauty are a constant delight.” Penguin Guide