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Wagner: Tannhäuser, WWV 70

Bayreuther Festspielorchester

Opera - Released July 29, 2004 | Orfeo

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Gloire Immortelle !

Hervé Niquet

Classical - Released November 17, 2023 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

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Eternity

Herbert Schuch

Classical - Released March 22, 2024 | naïve

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Cellopera

Ophélie Gaillard

Opera - Released March 5, 2021 | Aparté

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Cellists rarely think of themselves as "prima donnas", and yet this is Ophélie Gaillard's gambit on this album, which is perhaps a questionable choice. The answer may be found on the cover showing the cellist opening the heavy red curtain of an opera stage with an amused look. It's a hint at the fact that it takes a good dose of courage and nerve to tackle the greatest pages of the operatic repertoire, from Don Giovanni to the operetta Toi, c'est moi, via the hits of Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini (E lucevan le stelle!!!), but also Tchaikovsky (Lenski's great aria in Eugene Onegin) or the famous O! du mein Holder from Wagner's Tannhäuser. During a rehearsal of Don Giovanni at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the solo cello of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra suddenly had to replace an absent singer, under the direction of Daniel Harding. It was at that moment that Ophélie Gaillard developed the idea of this original programme of operatic arias without words. © François Hudry/Qobuz
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Nicolas de Grigny, Nicolas Lebègue: Écrire le temps

Nicolas Bucher

Classical - Released March 20, 2020 | HORTUS

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Festival International de Piano de La Roque d'Anthéron: 36e édition

Zhu Xiao-Mei

Classical - Released July 15, 2016 | Mirare

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Swing from Paris

Les Pommes de la douche

Jazz - Released February 21, 2008 | Le Chant du Monde

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Berlioz: Les nuits d'été - Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder - Mahler: Rückert-Lieder

Marie-Nicole Lemieux

Art Songs, Mélodies & Lieder - Released February 1, 2001 | Cypres

Booklet Distinctions 5 de Diapason
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Wagner: Siegfried, WWV 86C

Simon O´Neill

Opera - Released September 22, 2023 | BR-Klassik

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Taken from several live performances at the Gasteig in Munich in early 2023, this recording of Wagner's Siegfried made classical best-seller charts later that year. It is part of a series that began in 2016, intending to record the entire Ring Cycle live. The recordings have all been successful, and this is testimony to the skills of conductor Simon Rattle. There are conductors' Wagner performances, and there are singers' Wagner performances. This is the former. The Bavarian Radio Symphony seizes the listener's attention from the opening bell, and the energy never flags. There is nothing objectionable about the singers, but few of them will stick in one's head. The exception, perhaps, is soprano Anja Kampe as Brunnhilde (and Danae Kontora as the Voice of the Forest Bird); Kampe, of course, doesn't enter until the end, but at that point, everything comes together for a really thrilling conclusion of "radiant love, laughing death." Although these were live performances, they might just as well have been made in a studio; Bavarian Radio's engineering in its hometown is superbly detailed, and the audience discipline is awesome (no applause or other crowd noise of any kind is retained). There is a liveliness to Rattle's Wagner that sets it apart from performances in the German tradition, and it is fully on display in this recording.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Wagner: Siegfried

Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra

Classical - Released January 1, 1984 | Decca Music Group Ltd.

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Corelli & Quentin: Flute Sonatas

Anna Besson

Classical - Released January 26, 2024 | Alpha Classics

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or
The music on this album comes from the first generation of the flute's existence as a solo instrument. Its status grew rapidly, and by the late 1730s, a Paris publisher saw money in issuing six violin-and-keyboard sonatas by Arcangelo Corelli in flute arrangements. These are rendered here by Baroque flutist Anna Besson and a pair of other crack young historically oriented players, and they are quite energetic, retaining the virtuosity of the original violin works. The major news here, though, is the group of pieces by French composer Jean-Baptiste Quentin (ca. 1690-ca. 1742), a younger follower of Corelli. These have never been recorded before, and they are fascinating. Quentin, like Corelli, was a violinist, and Quentin probably followed Corelli's French publisher in writing violin music that would work on the flute as well. Certainly, the figuration and the melodic content owe something to Corelli, and the movements have Italianate titles, mostly tempo indications, rather than following French practice. Yet there is something quite French about them, coming from the ornamentation and from the peculiar graceful sentimentality in the melodies. It is a really unusual mix, and the album is worth one's money or time for these alone, in addition to the fact that it exposes some excellent young Baroque players in lively, sparkling performances.© James Manheim /TiVo
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From Afar

Víkingur Ólafsson

Classical - Released October 7, 2022 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

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"From Afar" is a new album full of beautiful arrangements recorded on two pianos with the repertoire mirrored on both grand piano and upright piano. Inspired by a meeting with the iconic Hungarian composer György Kurtág, this album is a musical response with music from: Kurtág, J. S. Bach, Brahms, W. A. Mozart, Adès, Schumann, Birgisson or Kaldalóns. With beautifully evocative titles & forgotten melodies, Víkingur Ólafsson creates a thread of stories within a bigger structure: nature, home, childhood, family. © Deutsche Grammophon
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Pancrace Royer: Surprising Royer, Orchestral Suites

Les Talens Lyriques

Symphonic Music - Released May 5, 2023 | Aparté

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Beyond the neglect of French Baroque music in general, it is a bit hard to understand why composer Pancrace Royer was almost completely unknown until Christophe Rousset came along to champion him, first in harpsichord music and now, with these suites of music drawn from operas, in orchestral music. In the 18th century, Royer was quite well known and admired among others by Rameau, whose music he helped along considerably. Royer certainly inhabited Rameau's stylistic world, but from the evidence here, his music is distinctive and merits the adjective "surprising" that Rousset has attached to it. It is colorful, given to unexpected turns of harmony, and vivid in its evocation of the exotic scenes of French opera. Sample the "Air pour les turcs" ("Air for the Turks") from Zaïde, reine de Grenade, with its crackling percussion. Royer challenged his orchestra with virtuoso ensemble writing in the likes of the "Premier et second tambourins" from Almasis, and Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques step up with precise, vigorous readings that one imagines would have made the composer overjoyed. The inclusion of two alternate versions for movements from Zaïde is also unusual and gives insight into the compositional thinking of the day. Essential for specialists and enthusiasts interested in the French Baroque, this album is a lot of fun for anyone, with only overdone church sound detracting from the overall effect. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Strauss: Ein Heldenleben - Mahler: Rückert-Lieder

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal

Classical - Released March 15, 2024 | PentaTone

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The Strauss and Mahler works on this 2024 release are both relatively often recorded, and listeners may have been surprised to see the album show up on classical best-seller lists in the spring of that year. There is the consideration that Rafael Payare and his abundant Afro are landing on many lists of acts to watch, and he shows signs of jelling with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in the Richard Strauss autobiographical tone poem Ein Heldenleben. Hear the superb solo work from violinist Andrew Wan in the third movement, representing Strauss' wife, Pauline de Ahna, but the big news here, and what is probably drawing buyers, is the other work on the album, Mahler's Rückert-Lieder, which receive a revelatory performance from soprano Sonya Yoncheva. It is a distinctly different flavor from the usual Wagnerian sound, adding operatic emotionalism to Um Mitternacht and the gorgeous finale, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen. Yoncheva was an inspired choice, whether by Payare or someone else, and the album is worth time and money for her alone. The PentaTone label adds nicely transparent sound from the Maison Symphonique de Montréal to the mix.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Fauré: Requiem - Poulenc: Figure Humaine - Debussy: 3 Chansons

Mathieu Romano

Masses, Passions, Requiems - Released March 1, 2019 | Aparté

Hi-Res Booklet Distinctions 4F de Télérama
Fauré's Requiem, “funeral lullaby” written for enjoyment as the composer put it, has a unique place in history. It's soft, simple and modest poetry conveys moments of gentle contemplation and moving expressiveness which are entrusted to both the choir and the two soloists. With his Ensemble Aedes and the orchestra Les Siècles, Mathieu Romano is committed to render a Requiem faithful to its first performance. We hear thus the score in its original 1893 orchestration, where the organ plays a great role, and where Latin is pronounced in the French way as it used to be. The clearest articulation of the Ensemble Aedes then perfectly fits Éluard’s Figure humaine set to music by Francis Poulenc. We have never heard these sublime poems sung with such intelligibility before! Finally, the three Songs by Debussy elegantly close the album. Here again, the quality and clarity of the voices are stunning. Artistic director and founder of Ensemble Aedes has established himself as a magician of voices in a cappella scores. And voices ideally melt with the strings of Les Siècles under his baton. A 100% French cast in a 100% French music disc for a triple rediscovery. Essential! © Aparté
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Ravel: Concertos pour piano - Mélodies

Cédric Tiberghien

Concertos - Released May 20, 2022 | harmonia mundi

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Utilising to the full the unique timbres of their period instruments alongside a superb Pleyel piano of 1892, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles explore some of Ravel’s major works. With Cédric Tiberghien and Stéphane Degout, two of the finest specialists in this repertory, this recording provides an opportunity to hear many aspects of his colourful, kaleidoscopic world, from the youthful Pavane to the testamentary cycle Don Quichotte à Dulcinée. © harmonia mundi
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Folk Songs

Magdalena Kožená

Mélodies - Released October 13, 2023 | PentaTone

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Magdalena Kožená has recorded folk songs before, but this 2023 release, which landed on classical best-seller charts in the autumn of that year, is perhaps her definitive statement on the subject. She is teamed with her husband, Simon Rattle, as conductor, leading the nonpareil Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. However, what is most impressive is the program and the way it shows Kožená to be capable of handling a large variety of material. Kožená completely avoids folk songs of her native Czech culture. Instead, she offers folk-influenced material by Bartók, Berio, Ravel, and Xavier Montsalvatge, exploring the various meanings folk songs might have in the non-nationalist musical culture of the 20th century. The results are fascinating, and Kožená succeeds in shifting numerous gears over the course of the album. Sample her belted Berio song "a la femminisca," or, for that matter, her expert retroflex r's in "Black is the colour of my true love's hair," or "I wonder as I wander." Berio's populist take on folk music is one approach Kožená adopts; Ravel's, using Greek vernacular music as just a moderate flavoring of his own style in the Cinq mélodies populaires grecques, is another. Sample her absolutely luminous Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques from that set. Kožená ranges from fully competent to absolutely entrancing in this set of folkish songs, which are both fresh in conception and beautifully executed. An unusually satisfying release.© James Manheim /TiVo