STRAUSS, R.: Symphony No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 12

Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2

Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 4 "Tragic" and Symphony in C major "Grand Duo" are superbly performed by the Failioni Orchestra of Budapest, under the direction of Michael Halasz. Both are part of a complete cycle of symphonies recorded for the Naxos label by this lesser known but excellent eastern European chamber orchestra. The Symphony No. 4, composed by Schubert in 1816, is performed with great warmth, passion, and dramatic gravitas. Schubert originally composed the "Grand Duo" in 1824 as a piano sonata for four hands. The Symphony in C is a mid-nineteenth century orchestration of the "Grand Duo" sonata by the great 19th century violinist Josef Joachim. Again, Halasz and the Failioni Orchestra completely and flawlessly capture the grand scale and sense of drama of this Schubert masterpiece.

These recordings are also available on MiniDisc 7.550328.

Mahler: Symphony No. 9

This release features the Rapsodia Cubana with Thomas Tirino on piano. Accompanying him is the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Includes work(s) by various composers. Ensemble: Elora Festival Singers. Conductor: Noel Edison. Soloist: Michael Bloss.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

1987 release with highlights from his famous ballets. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) performed by the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra recorded at Concert Hall of the Slovak Philahrmonic June 20-25, 1987 & Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra recorded at Concert Hall of the Czecho-Slovak Radio in Bratislava October 13-20, 1987 conducted by Michael Halasz & Ondrej Lenard. The music of Tchaikovsky, in spite of the reservations of contemporaries at home and abroad, must seem to US both essentially Russian and firmly in the West European tradition. In Vienna the critic Eduard Hanslick was able to complain of the "trivial Cossack cheer" of the finale of the Violin Concerto, but in Russia Tchaikovsky never went far enough to please the self-appointed leader of musical nationalists, Balakirev. While by no means a miniaturist, he nevertheless excelled in his mastery of the smaller forms necessary in ballet, writing music that displayed his remarkable gifts of melody and skill in orchestration.

This 1987 Naxos CD has the Nutcracker and Swan Lake suites, but omits the Sleeping Beauty. The Slovak Philharmonic, directed by Michael Halasz, excels on the rather longer Swan Lake suite, with some nice playing in the brass and a lovely duet between solo violinist Josef Bogacz and an unnamed cellist. The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (op. 71). The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was given it's première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on Sunday, December 18, 1892, on a double-bill with Tchaikovsky's opera, Iolanta. Swan Lake Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875-76. The scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales[a] and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger. The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Although it is presented in many different versions, most ballet companies base their staging's both choreographically and musically on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet on 15 January 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre's chief conductor and composer Riccardo Drigo.

ROSSINI: Overtures

PURCELL: Full Anthems / Music on the Death of Queen Mary

The complete performance of "Magic Flute" from which these excerpts were taken are available as Naxos 8-660030/1.

W.A. Mozart: Complete Works for Horn and Orchestra

REVIEWS:
BBC Music (3/98, p.72) - Performance: 3 (out of 5), Sound: 3 (out of 5) - "Liszt's symphonic poems call for performances that blend flamboyance and exalted lyricism - or, in other words, that revel in Romantic empathy....Fortunately, Michael Halász and the New Zealand Symphony offer real performances rather than unimaginative run-throughs....The orchestra...plays with considerable fire in extrovert passages..."

REVIEWS:
BBC Music (6/98, p.67) - Performance: 3 (out of 5), Sound: 4 (out of 5) - "...the exquisite and atmospheric miniatures that make up the Mozariaan 'Masques et bergamasques' and the incidental music for 'Pelléas et Mélisande'....feel ever fresh....The 'Shylock' suite....contains beautiful moments and Lynda Russell's pure, light voice suits the style very well..."

SCARLATTI, D.: Keyboard Sonatas (Complete), Vol. 2

Classical Music

Over 75 minutes of the great Czech composer's most well-known works are represented here on Naxos, the budget classical CD leader. These are all modern, digital recordings taken from their catalog