{"title":"Family Orchestral Favorites","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"french-orchestral-favourites","title":"French Orchestral Favourites","description":"Since relaunching Sinfonia of London in 2018, John Wilson's hand-picked orchestra has attracted the highest critical acclaim from both national and international press, performed at the BBC Proms every year since 2021 (their live début), and made their international début at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam in 2025. Regularly touring in the UK, they have also released 25 albums (this is the 26th), covering a wide range of repertoire, including works by Korngold, Respighi, Ravel, Strauss, Rachmaninoff, Britten, Walton, Bliss, and Rodgers \u0026amp; Hammerstein. The album opens with Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice, followed by Debussy's Clair de lune (orchestrated by John Wilson). Chabrier's Joyeuse Marche and Ravel's Une Barque sur l'océan (orchestrated by their composers) are followed by Saint-Saëns' symphonic poem Danse macabre. The programme ends with all of the movements from Bizet's two Carmen Suites, but in John Wilson's preferred order!","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":45985701658858,"sku":"0095115537923","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4495235-3532821.jpg?v=1786660266"},{"product_id":"ravel-orchestral-works","title":"Ravel: Orchestral Works \/ Wilson, Sinfonia of London","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShortlisted for the Gramophone Awards!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFollowing their second BBC Music Magazine Award (for Respighi’s Roman Trilogy) and universal praise for their first concert (at the BBC Proms in 2021), Sinfonia of London and John Wilson turn to the orchestral works of Ravel for this their 6th studio album. Not only an outstanding pianist and one of France’s greatest composers, Maurice Ravel is acclaimed as one of the greatest orchestrators of all time. His unique ability to conjure the widest possible range of colors and textures from the orchestral palette is amply demonstrated on this album. The program opens with La Valse, conceived as a snapshot of 1850’s Vienna. The continuous sequence of waltzes becomes increasingly insistent until the sound is almost utterly overwhelming. Other ballets also feature – Ma Mère L’Oye (Mother goose) and the infamous Boléro, both recorded here for the first time in their original versions. Ravel’s orchestrations of his own own piano works complete the program: Valses nobles et sentimentales, Pavane pour une infante défunte and Alborada del gracioso, which demonstrates both Ravel’s fascination with Spanish sounds and culture, and the sheer virtuosity of orchestral playing from the Sinfonia of London.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat really shines here is the illumination of so many coloristic permutations, sounding for all the world as if Ravel had just in this moment heard them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-- Gramophone (\u003cstrong\u003eEditor's Choice\u003c\/strong\u003e, March 2022)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46012554248426,"sku":"095115528020","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4046065-2790221.jpg?v=1786664088"},{"product_id":"handel-water-music-hwv-348-350-music-180358","title":"Handel: Water Music Hwv 348-350, Music For The Royal Fireworks Hwv 351 \/ Guglielmo, L'arte Dell'arco","description":"This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e These are exceptionally well-played renditions of works that have had perhaps more attention--in almost every shape, size, and instrumental configuration imaginable--than any other 18th-century orchestral music. Crisp, clean, snappy articulation, rich-toned horns, bright trumpets, mellifluous strings and winds, and ideal, unhurried tempos and well-balanced ensemble sound makes for a very satisfying hour-plus concert.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The period-instrument Italian orchestra (unusual to hear in this music!) is very ably led by Federico Guglielmo, who chose to follow recommendations recently asserted by Christopher Hogwood particularly regarding performing order of the 22 individual pieces that make up the suites in D, G, and F. This means that instead of the traditional divisions into suites, we hear one compilation of all the movements, beginning with the F major (which is ordered exactly the way it is in my old Eulenburg pocket score from 1973) and continuing with a mixture of the G major and D major movements. Unless you've got a particular movement sequence firmly stuck in your consciousness and you can't jar it loose, L'Arte dell'Arco's program order won't bother you at all. What may bother you, however, is an annoying clicking\/clacking noise that in a couple of places disrupts the otherwise demonstration-quality sound (most notable on tracks 7 and 8).\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Nevertheless, the highlights are many, including some very lovely ornamentation by the solo flute in the G major Menuet, exciting brass playing throughout, and a Fireworks Overture that's as rousing and artfully executed as you'll ever hear. This is a release that manages to make a memorable impression in a very crowded field--a significant achievement, and an imposing calling-card for this fine orchestra.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e --David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"CPO","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":46025335996650,"sku":"761203731220","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1379219_f669e913-aba9-4818-96c0-c978960399fd.jpg?v=1786766785"},{"product_id":"rossini-overtures-schippers-bernstein-szell-ormandy-262099","title":"Rossini: Overtures \/ Schippers, Bernstein, Szell, Ormandy","description":"This release features the overtures of the Barber of Seville, Semiramide, William Tell, Il Turco in Italia, Tancredi, and more.","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027675304170,"sku":"074646265321","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4318232-3139853.jpg?v=1786637367"},{"product_id":"debussy-jeux-nocturnes-prelude","title":"DEBUSSY: JEUX. NOCTURNES, PRELUDE","description":"A century after his death on 25 March 1918, many harmonia mundi artists were eager to pay tribute to Claude Debussy, the magician of melody and timbre, the great 'colourist' and father of modern music. With the musicians of Les Siecles, we have the opportunity to discover on period instruments the original colors of such key works as Jeux and the Nocturnes.","brand":"HARMONIA MUNDI","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46130304647402,"sku":"3149020954294","price":22.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4396020-3311611.jpg?v=1786774762"}],"url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/family-orchestral-favorites.oembed","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}