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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Mitropoulos in Minneapolis (1940-1946)
Celebrating the performances generated from the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra under Dmitri Mitropoulos, this budget reissue set is available at a special price. | 
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| |  | Celibidache conducts Tchaikovsky & Franck
Celibidache focused very much on concert performances rather than recordings. He aimed to make his concerts “transcendental experiences”. | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Pascal Rogé plays Franck & Bartók
Both Pascal Rogé and Lorin Maazel were one of the mainstays of the Decca roster for several years, the former famed for the clarity of his vision in much French music, the latter recording vast tracts of repertoire with both, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra, in often white-hot performances. The Franck Symphony blazes away, with both conviction and sonic distinction. Its original LP coupling, the Variations symphoniques, receives its first international release on CD. And Bartók’s ‘Opus 1’, his Rhapsody for piano and orchestra, which, although a juvenile work, was performed by Bartók all the way through his piano-playing career. It was recorded by Rogé as a companion to his thrilling recordings of the Bartók concertos with Weller and the LPO. “incisiveness and clarity” Gramophone Magazine (Franck: Symphony) “The delicacy of [Rogé’s] playing in the slow section, is most beautiful in its cool clarity” Gramophone Magazine (Franck: Variations symphoniques) “With the help of vivid and brilliant Decca recording (Kingsway Hall the venue) Rogé and Weller present a colourful and strong reading, bringing out the Lisztian echoes” Gramophone Magazine (Bartók: Rhapsody) “The orchestral playing [in the Symphony] is crisp and polished and the performances are exciting … In the Variations Pascal Rogé shows himself to be particularly sensitive to dynamic shadings and reveals a fine blend of intelligence and technique. … Brilliant recording” Penguin Guide (Franck) | | | (Sorry, download not available in your country) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Charles Munch conducts Wagner, Franck & Fauré
Access to the publicly broadcast BSO concerts from this era has been extremely difficult even for researchers. This series of DVDs will make these performances available for the first time since they were broadcast. Munch launched the BSO into television in 1955. He was an immensely popular conductor and well suited to being filmed. This material represents some of the earliest televised concerts with the Boston Symphony and Charles Munch, and has been restored using the greatest care and state-of-the-art techniques. It is of exceptional musical interest and historical value. ‘Munch handles the Wagner in a masterly, memorable and deeply human manner, with great depth of tone and feeling.’ (Richard Dyer). Fauré’s Pelléas and Mélisande is quintessentially French, repertoire for which Munch was best known – his recordings of French repertoire remain a permanent standard of reference. The Fauré was performed by Munch and the BSO no fewer than 23 times between 1947 and 1966, and according to the announcer, Bill Pierce, proceeds like ‘well-bred discourse’. 1DVD Sound format: LCPM mono Picture format: 4:3 Running time: 70’ Subtitles: n/a Menu languages: English Booklet languages: E/F/G Region code: 0 Territory Restrictions: None “Munch was noted for his performances of French music and the [Franck] is treasure indeed...searing, warm-blooded and slightly brisker than Monteux's benchmark recording made the same year with the Chicago Symphony.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2011 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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“A mixed bag of masterpieces, with a tame performance of the Symphony, a fine account of the Piano Quintet, a serviceable Variations symphoniques and Dumay and Collard quixotic in the Violin Sonata.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2007 *** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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“In the wrong hands both the Franck Symphony and its younger brother by Chausson can sound stiffjointed. Not here. Marek Janowski draws on all his operatic experience to make the melodic lines live and sing. Everything has shape and colour, but these frequent dark undertows are never allowed to wallow in sentimentality. Best of all is the way Janowski responds to the variety of harmonic tension in both works: the more chromatic a chord, the more space he tends to give it without ever obstructing the flow… they make a tremendous impact when required, balanced by warm-toned pianissimos. I have no doubt that the power and refinement of this recording should bring it a wide audience.” Roger Nichols (BBC Music Magazine Orchestral Choice Jan-07)  BBC Music Magazine
Orchestral Choice - January 2007 |
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| |  | Lorin Maazel conducts Mendelssohn & Franck
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Thirteen years after his memorable recording of the first version of the Fauré Requiem - an intimate version first performed by the composer in 1892, at Saint-Gervais in Paris - Philippe Herreweghe here conducts the 1901 version for full orchestra commissioned by Fauré's publisher for performance in large concert halls. Fauré said of this masterpiece: 'My Requiem was composed for nothing... for pleasure, if I may say so!' “Philippe Herreweghe's earlier recording of the Fauré Requiem (also Harmonia Mundi) used Jean-Michel Nectoux's edition of the original 1891 'chamber' score. This is the familiar 1901 version, with its full if curious orchestration, but in other respects this is a more 'authentic' reading than the earlier one. Period instruments are used, gut strings giving the sound a gentle luminescence, and instead of an organ Fauré's permitted alternative, a large harmonium, adds a reedy quality to the wind scoring.
A shade more controversially, the work is sung in 'Gallican' Latin – 'Pié Zhesü' instead of 'Pie Yesou', 'Lüx perpétüa', and so on. Together with the other period details it makes the work sound distinctly Gallic: an admirable antidote to the Anglicised or even Anglicanised Fauré presented by the archetypally English cathedral and college choirs that have so often recorded it. Both soloists are excellent, Herreweghe's tempos are a little more alert than before and the recording is splendidly ample.
Alongside gut strings the big advantage of a period orchestra in Franck is the beautifully smooth sound of the horns. The overall sound is more transparent than usual, and Franck's reputation for dense over-scoring seems more than ever unjustified. It's a fine and idiomatic performance and hugely enjoyable. A fascinating coupling, strongly recommended.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Franck: Symphony in D minor & Symphonic Variations
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Gramophone Awards 2011
Gramophone Magazine