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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Sir Georg Solti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra2 February 1985, Royal Festival Hall, London
‘Georg Solti is the hero of the British archive releases produced by ICA Classics.’ (Diapason) In October 2012 music-lovers celebrated the centenary year of ‘one of the world’s greatest conductors’ (The Independent). This concert – a rare gem from the BBC archives – shows Sir Georg Solti at the height of his powers with his favourite orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, of which he was music director from 1969 to 1991, in an alliance that was revered among audiences and critics alike. Released for the first time on DVD, this concert is the last in Sir Georg Solti and his beloved CSO’s European tour in 1985. The Chicago Tribune wrote in January of that year, ‘He (Solti) and the CSO are firmly established as the most leonine team in symphonic music today, and that team has had everyone roaring from Stockholm to Zurich.’ Solti himself wrote: ‘My term as musical director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was the happiest time in my professional life.’ The programme on this DVD features Mozart’s Symphony No.39, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.4, and an encore of Fêtes from Debussy’s Nocturnes – all performed with the flair, passion and majestic artistry for which Solti was famed. His interpretation of Mozart has been hailed as arguably one of the greatest in history. ‘There are certain composers on whose work Solti has stamped his mark with a distinction that has never been equalled, nor probably ever will be, so that his conduit of their intentions has become integral to the experience of listening to them.’ (The Observer) The booklet note for this release is written by Humphrey Burton, who directed the cameras for the BBC at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the 2 February 1985 – the concert from which this DVD is taken. His first-hand, unique insight and behind-the-scenes information provide a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of the concert, the CSO and the maestro. Sound format: Enhanced Mono DVD format: NTSC Picture format: 4:3 Running time: 83’ Subtitles: n/a Menu languages: English Booklet languages: E/F/G Region code: 0 Territory Restrictions: None | 
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| |  | Debussy: Chamber Music with Winds
Debussy: | Syrinx for solo flute Vincent Lucas (flute) Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune Vincent Lucas (flute), Emmanuele Strosser (piano) Trois Nocturnes: Fêtes arr Joachin Joussel Eric Aubier (piano), Pascal Gallet (piano) Rhapsody for clarinet & piano (or orchestra), L. 116 'Première rapsodie' Philippe Berrod (clarinet), Claire Desert (piano) Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp Vincent Lucas (flute), Lise Berthaud (viola), Marie-Pierre Langlamet (harp) Rhapsody for alto saxophone & piano (or orchestra), L. 98 Nicolas Prost (saxophone), Marie-Pierre Langlamet (harp) Danses sacrée et profane Marie-Pierre Langlamet (harp) Berlin Philharmonic String Ensemble Cello Sonata arr. for cello and harp Ludwig Quandt (cello), Marie-Pierre Langlamet (harp) Syrinx for solo flute trans. for trumpet Eric Aubier (trumpet) |
This collection presents Debussy’s compositions from 1891- 1915 in a totally new light. Chamber versions of works such as Prélude l’après midi d’un faune and Danses sacrées et profane are a revelation, particularly in the hands of such excellent musicians. “Solid performances” BBC Music Magazine, October 2012 *** “this enterprising disc, with both new and original versions of Debussy's chamber works, suggests that transcriptions are worth a try in this Debussy anniversary year, when one inervitably looks for new insights in the composer's many familiar works.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2012 “It’s certainly odd to hear Fêtes...rendered by trumpet and piano (a transcription by Joachim Jousse), but the pinpoint sonority adds an interesting analytical dimension...Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune played by a flautist and pianist, on the other hand, sounds as natural as anything by this great aesthete of a composer ever could...All very beguiling.” Sunday Times, 29th July 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Europa Konzert from Lisbon 2003incl. EuroArts & Idéale Audience Catalogue 2012
Recorded live at the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Lisbon, 1 May 2003 Maria João Pires is one of the most sought-after Mozart pianists. Berliner Philharmoniker – one of the best orchestras in the world. Pierre Boulez enjoys excellent reputation as one of the greatest Bartók conductors ever. Spectacular location – World Heritage Site ‘Mosteiro dos Jerónimos’ – an impressive monastery built in the early 16th century Bonus: A Portrait of Lisbon • Behind-the-Scenes Picture Gallery Including the EuroArts & Idéale Audience Catalogue - this catalogue brings together two prestigious audio-visual production companies: EuroArts in Germany and Idéale Audience in France. We are proud to present over 350 DVDs and Blu-ray Discs and look forward to up to 50 new releases in 2012. Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9 Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 Languages: English, German, French Running time: 120 mins (Performance & Bonus) German FSK: 0 “[Pires] demonstrates impeccable classical restraint in the Mozart concerto, though not without power and drama. The orchestra accompanies her perfectly well, but Boulez is hardly in his element.” MusicWeb International, May 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Balade Impressionniste
Eric Aubier (trumpet) & Pascal Gallet (piano) Eric Aubier has chosen works linked to the impressionist representation of the world. He includes arrangements of well known works by Mussorgsky, Debussy, Fauré, Ravel, Chabrier Ibert and Saint-Saens. The CD is beautifully presented with its own mini impressionist gallery. | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Pierre Boulez
Booklet Notes:Tracklisting in English, French, German. This first DVD release of Boulez' most famous interpretations is a must-have! His ground breaking Debussy interpretations Nocturnes: Fêtes Jeux - Poème dansé and Images freed Debussy from cliché. Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (1913) and Schoenberg's Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene (1930) confirmed Boulez as the authority on 20th century music. A composer himself, Boulez conducts with precision and a deep understanding of the sound worlds of the composers: he "thinks music". Includes film footage of Boulez' conducting Images and working on Fêtes Jeux. "Pierre Boulez is arguably the most influential, and controversial, figure in the world of music today. Boulez is known as the young Turk of post-war avant-garde composition who has steadily transformed himself into one of the most authoritative interpreters of standard 19th and 20th-century music." The Guardian “These concerts, spanning 30 years, show Boulez's consistency in achieving precision, colour and clarity. The Debussy and Schoenberg performances are classics, the Stravinsky too civilised.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2009 **** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Emil Gilels: Early Recordings Volume 1All tracks recorded in the USSR, 1935-1951
Debussy: | Clair de Lune (from Suite Bergamasque) Trois Nocturnes: Fêtes arr. Borwick | Godowsky: | Renaissance - No. 12, Gigue in E (Loeillet) | Mendelssohn: | Scherzo in E minor, Op. 16 No. 2 Song without Words, Op. 38 No. 6 in A flat major 'Duetto' Song without Words, Op. 38 No. 6 in A flat major 'Duetto' | Mozart: | Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K457 | Rameau: | La villageoise Le rappel des oiseaux | Ravel: | Le Tombeau de Couperin: Prelude Le Tombeau de Couperin: Forlane Le Tombeau de Couperin: Toccata | Schumann: | Toccata in C major, Op. 7 Traumes Wirren (Fantasiestucke, Op. 12 No. 7) Der Kontrabandiste, Op. 74 No. 10 arr. C. Tausig | Smetana: | Czech Dances, Book 1, No. 2 Polka in A minor Polka in F major |
Emil Gilels was one of the greatest Russian pianists of the twentieth century, born in Odessa in 1916. The recordings on this first disc of his early recordings, made in the USSR, come from the first stage of Gilels’s career and include his first known recordings from1935. Leopold Godowsky’s arrangement of the Gigue by Jean-Baptiste Loeillet immediately shows the immense power the nineteen-year old Gilels had at the keyboard. His playing, especially in his youth, was fiery, volatile and exciting, and even late in his career it still retained grandeur and sweep of a great master in the Russian tradition. “Gilels had a sense of grandeur tempered by discipline and respect for the text….strong and massive without being harsh…. A fine pianist.” BBC Music Magazine “Here was a real artist, and a real communicator.” BBC Music Magazine “Here, in performance after performance, is the sort of playing that made Rubinstein, on hearing the teenage Gilels in Russia, exclaim, 'if that boy ever comes to America I might as well pack my bags and retire'. Even in dated sound an 'elemental virtuoso gift' and a 'sonority rich in noble metal' are omnipresent. And whether you hear Gilels in his exquisite Rameau, the thunderous brilliance of his Godowsky or in the way his decorations in Smetana's A minor Polka shimmer like the beating of a hummingbird's wings, you will hear a nonpareil pianism. True, in years to come Gilels would find greater depth than his enviably spruce and immaculately turned Mozart conveys, but even here the playing is of an aristocratic distinction and finesse.
All in all these performances is a reminder of this grandest of musical titans. Ward Marston's transfers come up excellently and special thanks go to Judith Rayner for the loan of discs from her priceless collection.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “…here, in performance after performance, is the sort of playing that made Rubinstein, on hearing the teenage Gilels in Russia, exclaim, "if that boy ever comes to America I might as well pack my bags and retire".” Gramophone Magazine, February 2009 “these are now the transfers of choice for this body of recordings” MusicWeb International | | | (also available to download from $8.75) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Prokofiev: Peter & the Wolf
This is a very important record for collectors of great orchestral interpretations, in that it reveals aspects of the great Hungarian-born but naturalised American conductor Fritz Reiner which have rarely been made available on disc before. There are two major highlights on this CD – Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’ with the magnificent tenor Lauritz Melchior adopting a new role on disc as narrator, and an early war-time performance of Shostakovich’s epic Sixth Symphony with the Phlharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York. This very well-filled CD is completed by a brilliant performance of Mozart’s ‘Impresario’ Overture, and masterly accounts of the March from Tchaikovsky’s First Orchestral Suite, Debussy’s Fetes from his three Nocturnes and a beautifully transcription by Lucien Caillet of Bach’s ‘Little’ Fugue in G minor – the last three with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Excellent sound. Live recordings 1943-57 | | | Usually despatched in 8 - 10 working days. |
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| |  | The Very Best of Debussy
| | | (also available to download from $10.75) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Europa-Konzert from Lisbon
“Maria João Pires was spellbinding. In Mozart's anguished Andantino, the tension was almost unbearable. Since Clara Haskil, I cannot remember playing of such intimacy, tenderness, and simplicity.” The Independent | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Classics At The Pops
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