BRILLIANT CLASSICS

(CD) THE RECORDER SONATAS
Handel's sonatas for recorder were composed in the years 1724-6. What is remarkable is that he found the time to concentrate on such work at a time when his operas were in great demand in London: this is the period of Scipione and Agrippina. The young composer was the toast of the town, and had become a naturalised Englishman having followed his old employer the Elector of Hanover, Georg to London. Georg became King George I, and Georg Frideric Handel became George Frederick Handel. It will come as no surprise that the sonatas contain a lo...
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(CD) OBOE SONATAS
Sonata in G minor FXIII No.5 RV28 Sonata in C FXV No.3 RV48 Sonata in B flat FXII No.16 RV34 Sonata in G minor FXV No.9 RV51 Sonata in C minor FXV No.2 RV53 Sonata in G minor FXVI No.10 RV58, from Il pastor fido Op.13 No.6 by Chedeville, once attributed to Vivaldi ENSEMBLE J.M. ANCIUTI Paolo Pollastri: baroque oboe Gaetano Nasillo: cello Alberto Guerra: baroque bassoon Giovanna Losco: harpsichord...
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(CD) PATRIE!
In the 19th century, Paris consolidated its position as the leading city of opera. Composers from Germany (Meyerbeer, Paer and Wagner, who famously had a very unhappy time there) and Italy (Rossini, Verdi, Spontini, Cimarosa and Cherubini) worked there alongside native composers, vying for public favour in the years following the French Revolution. Opera was performed in Paris's major theatres (the Opera, Opera-Comique, Theatre-Lyrique and Theatre-Italien) and divided into two varieties -- serious works on heroic themes and lighter works b...
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(CD) 6 CONCERTOS "LA CETRA" - CONCERTO IN D MINOR FOR OBOE AND STRINGS
Marcello's Oboe Concerto is one of the best-loved and most performed works in the instrument's repertoire. Originally written in C minor, it is heard here in its D minor transcription by J.S. Bach, who clearly appreciated the work's special qualities. With its astonishingly sophisticated use of melody and harmony for its time, its lyrical and graceful outer movements and the exquisitely beautiful central Adagio that has made it so famous, this work is widely regarded as Marcello's finest masterpiece (if, indeed, it was composed by Marcello...
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(2-CD) COMPLETE GUITAR MUSIC
Villa-Lobos is perhaps best known for his large scale and exotic orchestral works, but he had a passion for the guitar that went back to his youth, and on which he was a masterful performer. Listeners who know the large orchestral works such as Choros Nos.9 and 12 will be surprised that this group of works -- Choros, (which numbered 14 in all, and are all based on Brazilian folk music) started with a work for solo guitar -- no.1 is included on CD2 of this set. His output for guitar is slim, but of good quality, and it suffers little from t...
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(2CD) STRING QUINTETS VOL.IX
[CD1] 1. String Quintet No. 1 in F, Op. 28, G. 307 for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos: I. Allegro giusto 2. String Quintet No. 1 in F, Op. 28, G. 307 for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos: II. Larghetto 3. String Quintet No. 1 in F, Op. 28, G. 307 for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos: III. Minuetto - Trio 4. String Quintet No. 1 in F, Op. 28, G. 307 for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos: IV. Finale: Allegro 5. String Quintet No. 2 in A, Op. 28, G. 308 for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos: I. Allegro vivace 6. String Quintet No. 2 in A, Op. 28, G. 3...
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(2CD) STRING QUINTETS Op.29, VOL. X
Luigi Boccherini spent his early life in the service of the authorities of his hometown of Lucca, in Tuscany, though his talent as a cellist and composer often saw him travel abroad with his family at this young age. Settling in Spain in 1770, he spent the next 15 years of his life in the service of the Infante Luis Antonio Jaime of Bourbon. The String Quintets Op.29 for two violins, viola and two cellos were composed for the Infante in 1779 and represent a peak in Boccherini's output, both for the magic of their texture and their great fo...
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(CD) TCHAIKOVSKY: THE NUTCRACKER SUITE, SAINT-SAENS: CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS
This release features two of the most famous compositions in Western music history, though not quite as the listener knows them. As with many canonic works over the course of time, Saint-Saens's Carnival of the Animals and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite have been boldly reimagined here for organ 4-hands; transcribed by Alexander Darr, these pieces find inventive solutions to the challenges of colour and texture posed by the originals, and yet are respectful of the range and potential of the instrument. A matter of intrinsic creativity, th...
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(CD) NOCTURNE
Nocturne is a unique concept album of romantic and meditative guitar music, with works selected and performed by acclaimed Brazilian guitarist Flavio Apro. Also an accomplished teacher, producer, researcher and arranger, Apro studied guitar with Monina Tavora - who in turn was a student of the legendary guitarist Andr?s Segovia. Tavora, who died in August 2011, had a profound influence on Flavio Apro, who says "her teaching changed the way I thought about music forever". Nocturne is a fitting and poignant tribute to this inspirational teac...
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(CD) CAFE 1930
It had previously been said that in Argentina 'everything can change except the Tango'. And then there was Astor Piazzolla, who revolutionised this genre in the mid-20th century. Creating a new genre that would become known as the Nuevo Tango, Piazzolla added influences of jazz and classical music to create his spell-binding music. The Histoire du Tango, the first work to be feature on this compilation, is a tribute to the development of the Tango, including movements such as 'Bordel 1900' and 'Nightclub 1960'. Originally written for flute...
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(2CD) BARDEN-KLANGE
In his day Caspar Joseph Mertz (b.1806) was one of the most sought-after musicians in Europe, the court guitarist of Empress Carolina Augusta whose performances (together with his wife Josephine Plantin on piano) became famous throughout Austria, Hungary and Germany. Today he is best remembered for the successful Barden-Klange (Bardic Sounds), a cycle in which the guitar language of his time was enhanced to a stylistic expressiveness that parted sharply from contemporary works and which was more closely associated with the new, evocative a...
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(2CD) DANCES, NOCTURNES, ETUDES
Here's another recording dedicated to the music of Caspar Joseph Mertz, the court guitarist of Empress Carolina Augusta whose performances became famous throughout Austria, Hungary and Germany during the 1800s, making him one of the most sought-after musicians in 19th-century Europe. Today he is best remembered for the successful Barden-Klange (Bardic Sounds), the focus of 94773; here we have a chance to become acquainted with a great many other works he composed for six-string guitar. A fertile melodic style prevails throughout, with the ...
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(CD) MUSIC FOR VIOLA AND GUITAR
Although best remembered for his eccentric personality and extraordinary playing, Niccolo Paganini was also an excellent composer. Indeed, he was a man of two halves: the consummate performer who stunned (and shocked) concert halls with his sheer virtuosity, and the thoughtful musician who composed intimate chamber music for domestic settings. It is this second Paganini that is the focus of this release, which features two specially transcribed works for viola and guitar (originally for violin) alongside one of the composer's original work...
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(3-CD SET) SVIATOSLAV RICHTER PLAYS BEETHOVEN
Did Richter give more concerts than any other pianist of the 20th century? It's certainly possible. He shunned the high life and lights to set up a festival in a barn in southwest France; to drag himself across the plains and mountains of Soviet Russia, playing Hindemith and more to audiences who likely had never even heard a piano -- as well as getting in six hours of practice. Such was his appetite for making music, and his scorn for the merry-go-round of record companies and ritzy recitals. This release focuses on his mastery of Beethov...
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(CD) OVERTURES FOR ORGAN FOUR HANDS
Although usually performed by large orchestras, this new release brings the overture - an introduction to an opera, ballet, suite or oratorio - to the organ, in innovative arrangements for four hands. The transcription of orchestral material onto the keyboard has proved popular throughout history, as it brought celebrated concert hall music to more intimate, domestic venues. Arrangements for two players became more fashionable during the second half of the 19th century, through virtuoso pianists such as Max Reger and Franz Liszt. On this r...
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(2CD) LES PECHEURS DE PERLES
Parisian composer Georges Bizet was enrolled in the Consevatoire at the age of nine and won a premier prix in solfege within six months of his arrival. He later received prizes for his skill as a pianist, gaining particular renown for his sight-reading, and won the coveted Prix de Rome in 1857. At this time, opera theatres in Paris were reluctant to stage new works rather than the established classics, meaning that Bizet's operas did not achieve much success during his lifetime, despite the fact that today two of his operas are considered ...
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(2CD) THE COMPLETE PIANO MUSIC
Today Richard Wagner is best known for his extraordinary operas; any success in other domains was dwarfed by these compositional feats in the world of musical theatre. But Wagner's piano works can be seen to be just as important in understanding the evolution of his style and musical thought, and thus the development of this dominating figure of the 19th century. The collection brings together Wagner's entire output for solo piano. The earliest sonata on the recording is the Piano Sonata in B flat, which shows evidence of Wagner's music ed...
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(2CD) SYMPHONIES Nos. 1-3
It seems strange that such a celebrated composer as Alexander Borodin actually spent much of his life as a distinguished research chemist. While working as a professor in Chemistry at the University of St Petersburg in 1862, Borodin met pivotal composer Mily Balakirev, who encouraged him to explore the musical world, and began to tutor him in harmony and counterpoint. The rest, as they say, is history. The First Symphony is notable for the rhythmic interest of the first movement and the lively second movement, which shows the influence of ...
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(3-CD SET) THE COMPLETE SONATAS (VOLUME 5)
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) was one of the most influential pianist composers of the late classical period. A friend of Beethoven, the teacher of John Field, and rival to Mozart as a piano virtuoso. He was also a publisher and a piano manufacturer. His upbringing was unconventional to say the least -- his family 'sold' him to an English nobleman Peter Beckford, who took him to his country estate in Dorset where he received the education of a young Englishman, and taught music to the daughters of the Beckford family. Clementi eventually move...
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(2CD) PIANO MUSIC
When Einaudi burst onto the classical music scene some 20 years ago, critics were at first unsure how to react. What to make of a composer who has arguably broken through the boundaries of traditional classical music, forging his own path and attracting millions of fans? How to classify his soothing, peaceful, stunningly beautiful compositions? No one could have foreseen the astonishing precedent Einaudi has set, having had an important role in bringing classical music into the mainstream and at the same time asking us to forget our tradit...
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