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Presenting Montserrat Caballé

Montserrat Caballé

Classical - Released January 1, 1966 | RCA Red Seal

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Diva Eterna

Montserrat Caballé

Classical - Released October 4, 2019 | Sony Classical - Sony Music

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Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia

Dame Joan Sutherland

Classical - Released January 1, 1978 | Decca Music Group Ltd.

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Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia, A. 41 (Live)

Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini

Opera - Released March 19, 2021 | Dynamic

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Donizetti: Dalinda

Orchester der Berliner Operngruppe

Opera - Released March 15, 2024 | Oehms Classics

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Thalberg: Piano Works

Francesco Nicolosi

Classical - Released May 14, 2021 | Naxos

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Britten: Peter Grimes, Op. 33

Edward Gardner

Opera - Released September 1, 2020 | Chandos

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Gramophone: Recording of the Month
‘The burly Aussie tenor is now even more identified with this ill-fated protagonist than Peter Pears, the first Grimes. And everywhere Skelton has sung the part, whether at English National Opera, the Proms, the Edinburgh festival or now on this international tour of a concert staging mounted by the Bergen Philharmonic, the conductor has been Edward Gardner. Theirs is one of the great musical partnerships, and they continue to find compelling new depths in this tragic masterpiece.’ – Richard Morrison (The Times) This studio recording was made following the acclaimed production at Grieghallen, in Bergen, in 2019 (repeated in Oslo and London and reviewed above). Luxuriant playing from the Bergen Philharmonic and a stellar cast under the assured direction of Edward Gardner make this a recording to treasure. © Chandos
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Psyché

Christophe Rousset

Classical - Released January 13, 2023 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

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Monologues - Scenes and songs by Donizetti, Rossini, Respighi, etc.

Anna Bonitatibus

Classical - Released April 21, 2023 | Prospero Classical

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Masquerade Suite; The Comedians; Capriccio italien; Capriccio espagnol

Kirill Kondrashin

Classical - Released December 1, 1998 | Living Stereo

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Handel: Giulio Cesare, HWV 17

Alan Curtis

Classical - Released November 20, 2012 | naïve

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Gramophone Editor's Choice
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Bernstein, Barber, Crawford & Ives: Americans

James Gaffigan

Symphonies - Released May 28, 2021 | harmonia mundi

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Vivid testimony to the multifaceted partnership of James Gaffigan and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, their latest release invites us to explore the conductor’s American roots, from the most mischievous (Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story) to the spiritual (Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 3, based on his works for solo organ). With dramatically potent dissonances, Ruth Crawford’s Andante for Strings casts a spell in the form of a hypnotic and restless nocturne, while Samuel Barber’s boldly athletic Toccata for Organ and Orchestra reveals a rarely heard aspect of this well-known master. An electrifying performance! © harmonia mundi
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Donizetti & Bellini: Allegro io son

Lawrence Brownlee

Opera - Released September 9, 2016 | Delos

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Mio caro Händel

Simone Kermes

Classical - Released February 8, 2019 | Sony Classical

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While the German soprano follows in the footsteps of Cecilia Bartoli, her virtuoso voice separates her fans from the purists who prefer a less fanciful vocal-line. This long-awaited new album from Simone Kermes shows off her masterful voice in almost every register and there is no sign of the excessiveness for which she has previously been criticised. Typically referred to as a “Ba-rock” star, some people are irritated by her gestures and extreme theatrics during her concerts, but those mannerisms are long forgotten here in the absence of any images. The title of the album, “Mio caro Händel”, says a lot about the affinity Simone Kermes feels with the Saxon composer. She has selected his most popular pieces, such as Ombra mai fù(Largo of Love), Piangeró la sorte mia(I will lament my fate) and Lascia ch’io pianga(Let me weep), along with some much less well-known pieces, which are some of the most wonderful revelations and rare musical gems on the album. The singer recorded this testimony of love to Händel in Berlin’s famous Jesus-Christus-Kirche in 2018 accompanied by Amici Veneziani, an ensemble put together especially for her which mostly comprises of German musicians and is led by Russian violinist Boris Begelman. As a great traveller who went all over Europe, this captures Händel’s European spirit perfectly. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, SV 325

Hana Blažíková

Opera - Released October 26, 2018 | SDG

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Gramophone: Recording of the Month
Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria by Monteverdi poses a lot of problems for modern performers. There exists no definitive manuscript – although one may doubt how much people bothered back then with "definitive" versions of works which were re-written from one performance to the other, depending on the singers and instrumentalists that were on hand, the tastes of this or that star, the diktat of the Church – and the only copy dating from the composer's time, discovered in Vienna in 1881, is incomplete. When we try and compare this manuscript with different copies of the libretto which are still around today, the difficulties only increase. For this recording by Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists, recorded live at concerts in September 2017, the decision was taken to fill in everything that could be filled in with a few passages borrowed from earlier works by Monteverdi. The Return of Ulysses dates from 1640, when Monteverdi was 74 years old, so there was a lot to choose from for these fillers. This version is almost certainly the closest approximation we have to the original yet, the singers have worked hard to give the most accurate reproduction possible of the vocal inflections demanded by the various formats employed by Monteverdi. These inflections are often very declamatory and sometimes sung to the fullest. The recitations and the melodies, the ensembles and the choirs: everything is treated with the utmost care and the effort put into contrast and clarity only enhances the quality of this recording. A magnificent rendition. © SM/Qobuz
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Parry: Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, Blest Pair of Sirens

London Mozart Players

Choral Music (Choirs) - Released September 8, 2023 | Chandos

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Gramophone: Recording of the Month
Hubert Parry's Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, from 1880, here receives its world-recorded premiere. Perhaps recording companies thought there wouldn't be much of a market for a heavy 19th century choral work with, it must be said, a ponderous text by Percy Bysshe Shelley (Prometheus was a play intended to be read, not performed, just to give an idea). How wrong they were. This release made classical best-seller lists in the summer of 2023, and it is altogether enjoyable. At the time, Parry was under the spell of Wagner, whom he traveled to Bayreuth to meet. That influence certainly shows up in Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, with its basically declamatory text, partly through-composed music, wind-and-brass-heavy orchestration, and splashes of chromaticism. Yet what is remarkable is that the music does not come off as an imitation of Wagner at all. Rather, it uses elements of his style to match a specific kind of English literary text. The work gradually disappeared, but it would be surprising if Elgar, whom it clearly prefigures, did not know it well. The performances here are luminous, with William Vann using the lighter-than-expected London Mozart Players to create transparent textures against which he can set the substantial voices of Sarah Fox, Sarah Connolly, and other soloists. Parry did write some shorter pieces that remain in the repertory; one of these, Blest Pair of Sirens, is included here as a finale. However, the Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound are the main news here, and this performance, showing how this kind of thing should be done, may generate a new life for the work. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Herrmann: Suite from Wuthering Heights, Echoes for Strings

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Opera - Released June 30, 2023 | Chandos

Hi-Res Booklet
Many film composers wrote classical works in an idiom sharply different from that of their film scores, but with Bernard Herrmann, the difference is much smaller. Then again, his film music itself was more "classical" to begin with. His scores are largely devoid of the big themes and jazz and popular influences that marked the work of many of his contemporaries, especially later in his career. Instead, he built his scores out of obsessive gestures that were a perfect match for the films of Alfred Hitchcock, his most frequent collaborator. He wrote one opera, Wuthering Heights, that was completed in 1951 and, indeed, quoted some of his earlier scores and spawned passages in later ones. It is a gigantic work, filling four LPs when Herrmann recorded it in 1965, and this condensation and arrangement by Hans Sørensen is welcome. He strips the cast down to just Cathy and Heathcliff, with newcomer Keri Fuge and veteran Roderick Williams holding up well through overheated music that evokes Emily Brontë's novel nicely. There is also an orchestral version, again arranged by Sørensen, of Herrmann's 1965 string quartet Echoes; the arrangement works fine inasmuch as his writing was quite orchestral-sounding in the original quartet. The Singapore Symphony, under conductor Mario Venzago in Wuthering Heights and Joshua Tan in Echoes, sounds fabulous, and Venzago was an inspired choice here, with a sure touch for dramatic music. Herrmann fans will be delighted with this, and listeners looking for a chance to sample his opera will find the album ideal. It landed on classical best-seller lists in the summer of 2023, testifying to growing interest in Herrmann's music. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

John Williams

Film Soundtracks - Released December 18, 2019 | Walt Disney Records

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We all know married couples who have been together for decades that stand the test of time and remain the perfect match. Well, John Williams and Star Wars have been together for 42 years! Out of the twelve films of the series, only 2 were soundtracked by people other than Steven Spielberg’s favourite composer (he was replaced by Kevin Kiner for The Clone Wars in 2008 and by Michael Giacchino for 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). This rare sort of intimate relationship between a composer and their subject matter allows for a thorough use of leitmotif, a technique especially used in Star Wars. After so many years spent working with them, certain melodic phrases that characterise a particular person or decor eventually gain varying degrees of complexity and subtlety. This is the case with Rey’s Theme, which aficionados may or may not recognise in certain scenes of The Rise of Skywalker. For John Williams’ “ultimate contribution” to the Star Wars franchise, he has cleverly and covertly brought together all the themes associated with the main characters of the saga onto this soundtrack, from Leia to Yoda via Darth Vader. In some scenes, Williams’ attitude appears to be that of an old friend who is rejoicing at the prospect of going back to characters that you may have lost track of over the years. Case in point: Lando Calrissian (played by Billy Dee Williams and who appeared for the first time in Episode V in 1980) makes his return, to the sound of a particularly joyous melody. This kind of friendly nod to fans lends the film a certain kind of humanity, where many would have considered it the product of pure consumerism. Of course, the majestic (Destiny of a Jedi), epic (Battle of the Resistance) and lyrical (The Force is With You) atmosphere reigns supreme and defines the essential dynamic of this music so iconic in today’s pop culture. This ninth film of the saga is a finale of sorts for John Williams, but The Rise of Skywalker also presented him with an unexpected debut: at 87 years old, he appears for the first time in one of the films with a cameo as Oma Tres, the bartender on planet Kijimi! © Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz
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Purcell: The Fairy Queen, 1692

Gabrieli Consort

Classical - Released April 10, 2020 | Signum Records

Hi-Res Booklet
Purcell’s The Fairy Queen is based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a play not frequently performed in the late 17th century, nor very well regarded (“the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life” – Samuel Pepys’ diary, 1662). Despite this, the play would go on to work well within an opera, as the characters of Pyramus and Thisbe could conjure up singing and dancing accomplices. Purcell’s masterful composition, Gabrieli’s first-class performance, and McCreesh’s superb interpretation demonstrate why their recordings are seen as some of the best in classical music today. Gabrieli are world-renowned interpreters of great vocal and instrumental repertoire, from the Renaissance to the present day. Founded by Paul McCreesh in 1982, Gabrieli have both outgrown and remained true to their original identity: whilst the ensemble’s repertoire has expanded beyond any expectation, McCreesh’s ever-questioning spirit, expressive musicianship and a healthy degree of iconoclasm remain constant and are reflected in the ensemble’s dynamic performances. Gabrieli’s repertoire includes major works of the oratorio tradition, virtuosic a cappella programmes and mould-breaking reconstructions of music for historical events. Above all, Gabrieli aims to create thought-provoking performances which stand out from the crowd. © Signum Records
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Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Original Broadway Cast of Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Musical Theatre - Released August 30, 2019 | House of Iona - RCA Records

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