Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Slovak-born composer and conductor Peter Breiner has received considerable international acclaim for his adaptations, and his Tchaikovsky arrangements are particularly impressive examples of his art. He has already arranged The Seasons (8.553510) and Songs (8.555332) but here he turns to opera. With deftness and subtlety he has taken motifs from Tchaikovsky’s first opera Voyevoda to craft six richly scored movements, two of which have rôles for solo strings. The Queen of Spades was composed in 1890 and Breiner’s selections fully explore the music’s romance and drama in their new form.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Verdi: Falstaff (Live)

Donizetti: La favorita (Live)

Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72

CARMEN: SIMIONATO-GEDDA-GÜDEN-

Triple Feature.

Verdi: Aïda (Recorded Live 1960)

Maria Callas in Paris (Live)

Kienzl: Der Kuhreigen, Op. 85 [Recorded 1951]

Madama Butterfly (Recorded Live 1959)

Donizetti: Il Pigmalione (Recorded Live 1960)

The only Verdi recording in an otherwise admirable but unduly foreshortened discography due to his premature passing in 1956 at age 65, this 1951 I Vespri Siciliani – uncut and issued in very good sound – from Firenze, Italy, is one of the best recordings of this opera available. The cast, including leading baritone Enzo Mascherini (1910-81), a young Maria Callas near the very start of her career, and legendary bass Boris Cristoff, perform under the great conductor Kleiber (father of Carlos) conducting the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra and Chorus.

This release features legendary performances by Placido Domingo, Ying Huang, Andrea Rost, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eva Marton, Marcelo Alavarez and others.

Classical Music

This selection features narration written by Thomson Smillie and narrated by David Timson. Excerpts from the Naxos recording of "La Bohème" (Naxos 8-660003/4) are used in this recording to illustrate passages from Smillies's text.

Opera Explained: GLUCK - Orfeo ed Euridice (Smillie)

Joan Sutherland is known for her great recordings made during the sixties of Donizetti and Bellini alongside powerhouse Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Sutherland, however, had other remarkable stage partners. Among them was Alfedo Kraus. This live recording was made in San Francisco in 1966. The partnership of Alfredo Kraus and Joan Sutherland in this opera is a matchless experience, and makes listeners realize the formidable performing needs of the Italian Romantic Opera.

Classical Music