A marvelous collection of 'rarities'. Selected by producer Gary Hickling from archival radio performances and studio 'test pressings.' Included are 10 previously unreleased recordings. All selections superbly restored in 2013 by Lani Spahr Includes a bonus CD-ROM featuring discographical information, liner notes, photos, texts and translations!

Classical Music

Classical Music

2013 digital restoration from recently discovered broadcast transcription discs.

Classical Music

Pianist, scholar and pedagogue Paul Badura-Skoda may best be known to the music loving public at large as an exponent of the Viennese classics. In fact, Badura-Skoda's lengthy career covers far more musical ground than he is usually given credit for, from his awesome teenage prowess as an accordion virtuoso to the flamenco-inspired flair he brought to Frank Martin's Fantasie, a work written especially for Badura-Skoda. In January 2005, we heard Badura-Skoda in an intimate, semi-private recital in New York, where the 77-year-old pianist covered a wide repertoire range with consummate authority and still-impressive technical command, notably in a shimmering, intense performance of Ravel's Ondine from Gaspard de la nuit. A selection of Chopin short pieces proved no less idiomatic, and served to remind US this composer also has preoccupied Badura-Skoda for a long time. Chopin also figures in the pianist's uncommonly large and wide-ranging discography of more than 200 releases, including the present 1971-5 studio recordings, all but one piece being released now for the first time.

Classical Music

12 Etudes, Op. 10; 12 Etudes, Op. 25; Trois Nouvelles Etudes. Juana Zayas, pianist. Two recordings; the first (1983 & 1999) acclaimed as the best Etudes ever recorded by two leading reviewers; the second is a new digital recording issued for the first time. Total time per CD: 63:51 + 69.03.

Claudio Monteverdis Orfeo, premiered in February 1607, is the oldest opera still in repertoire today. The work fell into oblivion for more than three centuries, and it was only in 1927 that the first printed score was reprinted in a facsimile edition. But while the score gave fairly clear directions to vocalists, it lacked specificity in notating the instrumental parts, leaving many vital choices, including what instruments to use, up to the performers. A number of late-Romantic versions followed, but it was only in 1943 that Paul Hindemith published his thoroughly researched score which attempted to reconstruct the style and instrumentation of Monteverdi's first performance.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

A superbly recorded new version of this cycle. Tilney is internationally known for his harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano playing, with many solo recordings on DG (Archive), EMI Electrola, Decca, Hyperion, Dorian, Doremi and CBC SM 5000. This is a superb recording of a new version of this cycle.

Classical Music

Classical Music