Classical Music

Tchaikovsky's Symphonies are strangely not included in Kubelik's discography. This Album proposes a rare live recording with the same quality as that of a studio. Kubelík was the sixth of the eight sons of the distinguished Czech violinist Jan Kubelík and the Hungarian-born Countess Marianne Csaky-Szell. Between 1921 and 1929 he studied the orchestral repertoire daily by playing four-hand piano arrangements with his uncle František Kubelík, prompting this comment from his father in 1926: ‘He could realise great things. He is eleven, plays splendidly violin, piano, sight-reading scores and has a good knowledge of the orchestra. Some time ago he had a look to one of my orchestral works and asked me to add a horn to a particular part: he was right!’ He entered the Prague Conservatory in 1929 where for the next four years he studied piano, violin and composition. The present release showcases Kubelik with the Weiner Philharmonic, as they perform Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, and 6, as well as Romeo and Juliet. The original recordings were made in 1960 and 1955.

For all those for whom the heavy Wagnerian voices are too much, OehmsClassics presents a treat with the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra and General Music Director Sebastian Weigle - selected orchestral music from the Ring of the Nibelung, tactfully cut together. Some singers can also be briefly heard during excerpts, so as not to endanger the authenticity of the live impression. A compact hour you won't want to miss!

The sylloge proposed in this album contains five quartets belonging to different years. Each of them has been composed on the basis of common formal characteristics, but each of them develops its own peculiarities too. The variety of musical choices, the different traditions, solutions and combinations in these quartets shows how Donizetti conceives the quartet form as a compositional workshop. The Mitja Quartet was founded in 2008 by four musicians from Naples, Cosenza, Potenza and La Serena (Chile). The ensemble was formed in the most prestigious academies in Europe (the Fiesole Music School, the European Academy of the Quartet of Florence, the W. Stauffer Academy of Cremona, the Pro Quartet Academy of Paris, the Jeunesse Musicale Deutschland of Weikersheim, the International Piano Academy Incontri col Maestro of Imola), studying with internationally renowned musicians and ensembles, such as the Artemis Quartet, the Alban Berg Quartet, the Casals Quartet, the Kuss Quartet, the Cremona Quartet, Antonello Farulli , Andrea Nannoni and Alfred Brendel. Important Scholarships have been recognized at Mitja by the Fiesole Music School and the Pro Quartet of Paris.”

In the course of the eight recordings released by Alpha, the Orchester Wiener Akademie, conducted by Martin Haselb�ck, has accomplished it's objective of recording the complete Beethoven symphonies on period instruments, in the very venues where they were premiered, scrupulously respecting the orchestral forces of 200 years ago. The symphonies take us back to nineteenth-century Vienna for a tour of the Lobkowitz, Hofburg and Niederosterreich palaces, as well as the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Theater in der Josefstadt.

Giuseppe Verdi's second opera Un giorno di regno is one of the composer's least known works. The premiere in Milan in 1840 was a failure, which Verdi said was due to his own personal circumstances: During the creative process two of his children and his first wife died within two months. Despite the rather weak libretto, the stage work has its merits and captivates, for example, with fresh, catchy melodies that, although they cannot deny the influence of Rossini and Donizetti, are by no means imitative. Only in this opera does Verdi combine his renowned depth of musical characterization with the turbulent entanglements of opera buffa. Un giorno di regno offers an especially light-hearted Verdi experience. This recording of the two-at opera was taken live and features Cappella Aquileia, the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, and conductor Marcus Bosch alongside a stunning list of soloists.

2000 release. The Nutcracker Christmas Eve narrated by Prunella Scales with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Michael Halasz & the Moscow Symphony Orchestra conducted by Igor Golovschin.

To this day, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is one of the most popular pieces of classical music in the world. But what is it about this global hit? The film charts the success of the symphony around the globe and encounters passionate amateur musicians and musical personalities. Watch as Greek conductor Teodor Currentzis works on Beethoven’s Ninth with his ensemble, MusicAeterna. Follow Chinese composer and Oscar winner Tan Dun as he creates a new composition inspired by the great Beethoven symphony. Experience the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as they play the Ninth. Visit a favela in Brazil, where Beethovens’s music helps people get off the streets. Be amazed as a choir of 10,000 in Japan sings the final chorus of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with great enthusiasm. Learn how Paul Whittaker helps make Beethoven accessible for deaf people. And find out how British DJ Gabriel Prokofiev performs a symphonic remix of Beethoven’s Ninth.

Newly released as part of the Archipel Desert Island Collection, this disc captures in concert one of the two greatest and most important of Russian pianists to emerge from the Soviet Union after WWII, Emil Gilels (1916-85). + From a March, 1963 Milan concert comes Chopin’s First Concerto and the Schubert/Kabalevsky re-imagined Fantasy in F minor, D940, an orchestrated version written specially for Gilels. + Also to be heard is a live 1951 performance from Firenze of Mozart’s C minor sonata, K457.

PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
APPROX RUN TIME: 199 Mins
SOUND: DTS SURROUND / LPCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: English/French/German/Spanish/Italian/Dutch
NO OF DISCS: 2

Robert Lloyd, Rolando Villazón, Amanda Roocroft, Dwayne Croft, Jaakko Ryhänen, Giorgio Giuseppini, Violeta Urmana
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / De Nederlandse Opera Chorus
Riccardo Chailly / Stage Director Willy Decker

Includes:
*Illustrated Synopsis and Cast Gallery. *Introduction to the opera including interviews with Robert Lloyd, Rolando Villazón, Amanda Roocroft, Violeta Urmana, Riccardo Chailly and Willy Decker.

In this majestic production of Verdi’s Don Carlo, Riccardo Chailly’s qualities as a Verdi conductor are brilliantly displayed in the dramatic precision and transparent instrumental detail he draws from both orchestra and cast. Willy Decker directs a wonderful piece of stagecraft, letting the tragedy unwind with minimal, yet telling, interventions.

The drama takes place in the mausoleum of Filippo II’s Escorial, where the tombs of countless generations of Spanish royalty line the walls. Filippo’s confrontation with Il grande inquisitore – which takes place over his own coffin, its resting place in the wall ready and waiting – is chillingly symbolic, as are the feet of the giant crucifix that hangs over Don Carlo as he sees his life sacrificed by his father.

R E V I E W S




This Don Carlo uses the four-act version of 1884, which is described in an interview extra on the first DVD as intended by Verdi to be more comprehensible than the original five-act version. That is debatable, to say the least, since the composer’s stated reasons for producing that revision (the third of four) were to make its length more manageable on stage and to improve the relation of music and text. Like many another fan of Don Carlo , I admit to a strong affection for both of the two longer editions: the 1867 French version and the 1886 Modena one (or “1884 with many of the great French bits stuck back in”). But that’s for listening, when the more late Verdi you’ve got, the better matters get, and you can take breaks at will for as long as you wish. If it comes to viewing a performance of Don Carlo , the wear-and-tear on the soloists has to be taken into account; and I’m more than willing to watch the 1884 edition.


So this Don Carlo lacks the monumental length that some critics (ignoring developments north of the Alps) complained about when the original French version of the opera appeared. But what is not done musically and temporally, stage designer Willy Decker accomplished here visually and vertically. His re-envisioned Crypt of the Kings in El Escorial features a huge, circular stone vault, with square, identical slate-colored wall plates piled seven high and 12 long to mark the burial slots of previous rulers. Towards the back of the stage is the lower shaft of an enormous cross: Christ’s down-turned toe is 12 feet above the singers, while the knee of the carved figure, at the top of the stage, is perhaps another 12 feet above. This unholy alliance of the Bauhaus and Symbolism is intended to convey the harsh, impersonal nature of religion at the royal court and the way in which it dwarfs the personality and reforming ambitions of Don Carlo. It succeeds beautifully, and remains the centerpiece of the production with the addition of minimal props.


While Decker’s visuals are impressive and his blocking effective, I’m less thrilled with his attempts at dramatic reinterpretation. For example, there’s an elaborate dumb show in the opening orchestral prelude of Philip II’s abusing Don Carlo to enforce religious conformity. When the latter attempts to kiss his father’s ring, Philip grabs Don Carlo’s hand in a painful, pincerlike grip, forcing the boy instead to slowly cross himself. Shortly afterwards, Don Carlo is grasped by the back of the neck and pushed down to the ground before the huge cross already discussed. This muddles matters right at the start by placing one of the opera’s victims, Philip, in the role of its only victor, the Grand Inquisitor. Who is the enforcer of dogma at the court and who bows his will to that dogma in the end?


The cast is variable, but generally very fine. Roberto Villazón is exceptional as Don Carlo, with just the right mix of lustrous metal in his attractively light tenor. His is also one of the most detailed assumptions of the title role, attentive to score markings and giving us the half-mad prince with poor impulse control in all his glory. Dwayne Croft is his match, using his lyrical baritone and fine phrasing to great effect (for example) at the start of the act III quartet. Robert Lloyd’s Philip II suffers at this stage of his career from a slight beat whenever he puts significant pressure on the voice, though he manages this by discreetly shortening some phrases. His Philip remains a shrewdly judged assumption of the role, more impressive for the sum of its parts than specific moments.


Amanda Roocroft may have been under the weather when they filmed this live performance (or series of performances—we are never told whether the recording was a one-shot or compiled over several nights), for her attractive soprano is marred by a wobble that regularly disturbs the musical line during the first act. Later, this problem retreats only to loudly sung high notes. Violeta Urmana similarly improves as the production continues. She has difficulty moving her large, dark voice in her act I song, slurring the repeated minor seconds, but does a fine job in act III’s “O don fatale.” Marisca Mulder is a vocally pert and attractive Tebaldo; and if Jaakko Ryhänen lacks the tonal blackness to make the most of his part as the Grand Inquisitor, he makes up for it by accuracy, strong breath support, and excellent acting. Chailly conducts his soloists sympathetically, if with only moderate energy.


Though recorded in 2004, the only audio format supplied here is LPCM Stereo. Visuals are 16:9 anamorphic, and subtitles are available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch. The extras alluded to above include a plot synopsis and single pictures for each member of the cast, both of these features being as dull as they sound. The filmed interview is less interesting for its verbal content, which is often trivial, than for its succession of images showing the cast rehearsing and the stage under construction.


In sum, this is an intense, monochromatic, successful production of Don Carlo , sporting interesting ideas about stage design, and possessing performances by Villazón and Croft that are among the finest I’ve seen and heard. Don’t let the price hike for two DVDs throw you off its purchase.


FANFARE: Barry Brenesal

Classical Music

Although the standard classical string octet repertoire includes giants such as Mendelssohn and Shostakovich - both of whom were advocates of the rich sound of this combination of instruments - forgotten compositions for string octet are still waiting to be rediscovered in the music archives. One such work is the rarely performed and, until now, previously unrecorded double quartet Novoselye (House-warming) by the Russian violinist and composer Nikolay Afanasyev (1821-1898). While hardly anyone knows his name today, that in no way detracts from the quality of his music. The double quartet Novoselye was premiered in St Petersburg in 1886. It is clearly a work by a talented composer with a vast knowledge of string instruments, one who is not averse to a polyphonic style. The composition is especially rich in musical innovation with an abundance of tuneful, folk-like melodies and a hint of melancholy, which lends an unmistakable Russianness to the slow movement. Add to this the vibrant Scherzo, and you have a composition that is festive, high-spirited and virtuosic, as well as melancholic and musically challenging. The octet was intended as a birthday present for the violinist and conductor Eduard Rietz (1802-1832), who certainly must have prized the virtuoso first violin part. All eight instruments are on an equal footing and work together in perfect harmony. Indeed, were a listener not to know that the work was scored for string octet, he or she might well think of a symphony orchestra. Mendelssohn himself called attention to this sound effect upon publishing this early work in 1832, remarking that all instruments were to play 'in the style of a symphony', taking into account all dynamic contrasts. The composer's nuanced, delicate compositional style and his Romantic, lyrical and tuneful melodies make the octet one of the most frequently performed works of it's kind.

News of the death of Nikolai Rubinstein came as a great blow for Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky decided to dedicate a piece of music to his late friend - not a classical work for choir or orchestra but one for piano trio. The memory of Rubinstein evidently enraptured him to the extent that he burst all dimensions with his his monumental Trio Op. 50, which encompasses all range of emotion and presents a musical and technical challenge to any piano trio. The Swiss Piano Trio, founded in 1998 with Martin Lucas Staub (piano), Angela Golubeva (violin) and Sebastien Singer (cello) has won numerous prizes at international competitions, including the International Chamber Music Competition Caltanissetta in Italy and the Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria.

Classical Music

Paul Badura-Skoda is not only a world renowned pianist, but is also a Schubert expert. For this release, Badura-Skoda presents Schubert’s Sonata in D major D 850 “Gastein Sonata”, and 3 Klavierstucke D 946. This is Badura-Skoda’s 13th CD with GENUIN.

Chamber Avenue, another album in Marcin Wadolowski’s discography released under the umbrella of the DUX record label, is a combination of chamber sound with the freedom of jazz improvisation. For Marcin Wadolowski, the album is a tribute to great artists whose lives were strongly associated with music and who gave him so many emotions and the most beautiful sounds. It is also a bow to the classical guitar, whose sound he loves and hears on a daily basis. This album is an original combination of purely classical and strictly jazz inspirations. The album contains both arrangements of known and highly regarded pieces (including by Fryderyk Chopin) and ingenious works dedicated to distinguished guitarists and composers.

This is Volume 1 in what will be the complete organ works of Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937). In this series, five magnificent Aeolian-Skinner and E.M. Skinner instruments render Widor symphonies and other works with an "American Classic" accent. Joby Bell clearly loves these works, and proves to be an ideal performer for them. Organist Joby Bell brings to his performances a contagious affability and a keen sensitivity toward increasing an audience's appreciation for organ music. His recital programming demonstrates a varied and interesting repertoire, always enhanced by illuminating program notes designed to embrace all audiences. His acclaimed blog deals with a comprehensive range of organ-related topics including teaching philosophies, recital preparation, church music, and professional concerns.

An exciting souvenir of an historic occasion.

The late nineteenth century opera-goer would expect as a matter of course that Les Huguenots would be included in any self-respecting operatic season. Although Bernard Shaw (as Corno di Bassetto) pokes fun at it, it is affectionate fun. Listening to these discs, whatever their shortcomings, one can understand why it held the stage for so long. It would be foolish to make comparisons with other large-scale operas concerned with the interface of public and private concerns by, say, Verdi or Berlioz, but it is effective and thoughtfully constructed and has moments of real grandeur and pathos. Alas, live performances now are far too rare which makes the availability of recordings all the more important as a way towards appreciating the work.

The only score I possess is that of the Italian version edited by Sullivan and Pittman, and I am unclear to what extent that represents the composer’s intentions. A pencil note in my copy indicates with some asperity that the performance was finished at the end of Act 4 by “Harris Italian Opera” (Covent Garden) on 27 October 1882, showing that a need to cut it has been felt for a very long time. As far as I am aware the opera has only once been recorded anywhere near complete, but that version, issued by Decca in 1970, does not appear to be available at present. Certainly it had some serious defects, notably the casting of Raoul, but it also had the immense virtue of avoiding harmful cuts and of the choice of Joan Sutherland as Queen Marguerite. The present version also has the latter virtue – her stunning vocal presence still undimmed twenty years later – but makes very extensive cuts in just about every number, somewhat surprisingly as both versions are conducted by Richard Bonynge. The result is that the new version is certainly shorter but less effective in building up tension or realising the scale of the work as a whole. There is nonetheless, for the most part, a real sense of the excitement of a live performance; something lacking for much of the earlier and more complete set. Indeed it is the understandable presence of such excitement that is the main reason for issuing this set as it comprises Dame Joan’s final stage performance. The audience is clearly aware of the historical importance of the occasion and applauds her whenever it gets a chance.

It would be understandable if the rest of the cast felt that they were merely supporting a star’s farewell appearance, but that would not be sufficient for an opera which notoriously requires seven star singers. It does not really get them here although all concerned sound thoroughly involved despite the various moments with the kind of errors that occur normally in live performances. Anson Austin as Raoul and Amanda Thane as Valentine give gallant and exciting if occasionally inaccurate performances of what must be exceptionally difficult roles. The other leading roles are adequately sung if without the kind of especial distinction that they really require. The chorus and orchestra, and especially the latter, make the most of their opportunities, with some very lovely solo playing in the many opportunities given by Meyerbeer’s wonderfully imaginative scoring, one of his main virtues as a composer.

The presentation of the set is frankly poor, with little more than a couple of pictures of the occasion and a very brief synopsis. If text and translation are not to be included much more than this is needed to help the listener unfamiliar with the work. I understand that a DVD is also available. I have not seen it but would imagine that it would provide a better souvenir of the occasion and also give a better idea of the opera and what is happening in it, especially if subtitles are available. The present set remains nonetheless a record of an important occasion, when the retirement of one of Australia’s greatest artistes was saluted by her fellow countrymen with a performance by her national opera company in a world famous building. Understandably after lengthy applause the set ends with speeches of congratulation and Dame Joan’s singing of “Home, sweet home”. There was not a dry eye in the house, I am sure, and even many years after the event in my own (sweet) home listening to this was a memorably moving experience. This is not the recording of Les Huguenots of which I dream but it is an exciting souvenir of an historic occasion.

-- John Sheppard, MusicWeb International

I hope that Anton Kuerti's 2003 remakes of Beethoven's last three sonatas will spur him on to re-record the other 29, for these new versions are infinitely superior to his 1974/75 recordings. The pianist remains thoroughly devoted to microscopic detail and grand clarification, but his compulsive drive and raspy surface style have considerably mellowed, while his soft playing has gained body and luminescence. To sample Kuerti's newly found serenity and flow in this music, listen to his spacious parsing of Op. 109's rhapsodic introductory movement and to his patiently unfolding trills in that sonata's third movement variations and in Op. 111's Arietta, and notice how he builds Op. 110's long-lined Adagio ma non troppo from the bottom up. His rubatos in the latter sonata's Fugue no longer seem artificially tacked on but rather are organically integrated into the music's visionary path. His basic measured tempos for Op. 111, once static and fussy, now emerge as all of one piece. It goes without saying that these works are amply served via recordings from Schnabel to Serkin and Kempff to Kempf, with Hungerford, Goode, Pollini, and Richter for good measure. To this august roster we easily can add the veteran Kuerti. [4/6/2004] --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

This new release features a recording from the world premiere performance of the opera in Metzingen Stadthalle, Bad Urach, Germany, October 4th, 2002. The opera is set in Venice in 1727. In the house of Marcello, a musician and poet, two of his pupils Rosana and Faustina wait for their teacher who is late for their singing lesson. Marcello at last arrives, apologizes, and announces that instead of their lessons he wants them to sing for a guest of his, the famous composer Adolph Hasse, from Germany. Rosana sings first: a sad song about unrequited love. Hasse praises her warmly for singing from the heart, whereas Marcello is just puzzled by her sudden ability to find the correct tone. Faustina immediately recognizes that Rosana is singing about her love for Marcello and is irritated that he cannot see it himself. She then sings a joyful song about a nightingale, which leaves both Hasse and Marcello captivated. Hasse expresses his profound admiration for Marcello and she invites him to accompany her to a party that evening. Faustina is preparing for the evening and her thoughts turn to Hasse, and she realizes that she loves him. Hasse has quietly arrived and, overhearing her soliloquy, immediately tells Faustina that he has fallen in love with her too. Marcello, masked, arrives and stands outside Faustina’s rooms, consumed with love for her and intending to sing her a serenade. He hears the gondola bearing Faustina and Hasse approaching, and jealously listens to their loving conversation. Hiding while they enter her apartment, he vows revenge on Hasse. Marcello wants to pick a quarrel and both men draw their swords. Faustina, who has heard the commotion outside, opens her balcony window, sees the events below and collapses with a scream. Hasse leaves, telling Marcello that he may keep his life as a pledge of their friendship…

The Dvorak Requiem is a major requiem mass that is far too seldom heard. One of the reasons is doubtless it's sheer scale: a work scored for large forces running typically about 95 to 100 minutes. This is a major work that deserves to be heard far more often. Established in 1956, the Philharmonic "Mihail Jora" of Bacau, Romania, today gathers a group of approximately 70 musicians, of which the best are the chamber orchestra "Tescana", the members of the renowned "Trio Syrinx". (Dorel Baicu - flute, Adrian Petrescu - oboe, Pavel Ionescu - bassoon). The repertoire of the orchestra contains parts of symphonic music, vocal-orchestral and chamber, a great variety of periods and musical styles: Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism, Romanticism and Contemporary. Apart from the weekly concerts, the Philharmonic organizes several national festivals: "Orpheus of Moldova", "The days of contemporary music", "The workshop of young composers".

As a master student of Arnold Schönberg, Walter Goehr was particularly fond of New Music, but as a conductor he devoted himself to compositions from previous centuries. The present recording of a concert from 1955 with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which he recorded with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, documents that he did this very successfully. Goehr was born in Berlin, but, being a Jewish man, he was forced to seek employment outside of Germany after working for Berlin Radio in 1932. He was invited to become music director for the Gramophone Company, and thus moved to London. It was during this time he conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the premiere recording of Bizet’s Symphony in C. He was in high demand as a guest conductor for orchestras all across Europe, including the ensemble heard in this historic recording.

The members of Trio Imàge stumbled upon this score by chance and were thrilled to incorporate it into their repertoire: “This early work of a mostly forgotten composer nevertheless features a series of astounding, imaginative ideas and innovations: this music is brimming with youthful emotion and lively virtuosity, along with interspersed elements of Vienna folklore and a vague presentiment of decades of terror looming on the horizon.” A current representative of the same tendency is the young accordionist, dancer, arranger, and composer Marek Dyakov, who, in his works, combines folklore elements with jazz harmonies and classical means of expression. Perperikoana belongs to Ancient Bulgarian Legends, a four-part cycle dedicated to Trio Imàge. The piece displays strong associations with the music of the Rhodope Mountains, home of the Perperikon, an ancient sacred rocky hill: the landscapes of that beautiful region, with their great variety, find their echo in the piece’s polyphonic structure. The title also contains a personal dedication to Ana, Dyakov’s wife.

Classical Music

The two Brahms Sonatas for Viola and Piano are unquestionably two of the greatest chamber works for viola. Here we have the addition of a great arrangement for viola and piano of the Brahms Sonata for Cello & Piano in E minor, Op. 38. Violinist Manchin Zhang and pianist Albert Tiu are ideal performers for this literature. Zhang Manchin is Principal Violist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. She was formerly the first Asian player and youngest member in the history of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) when she was appointed Assistant Principal Viola by music director Neeme Järvi in 1994. Zhang has worked closely with conductors and soloists such as Claudio Abbado, Lorin Mazel, Simon Rattle, Zubin Metha, Michael Tilson Thomas Isaac Stern Yo-Yo Ma, Pinchas Zukerman Gil Shaham, Midori, and Emanuel Ax. During her tenure at the DSO, she was a resident artist at the Interlochen Center for the Arts a member of the DSO Chamber Music Ensemble and DSO String Quartet, and a participant and performer of the Chamber Music Festival at Blue Lake in Great Michigan area. Albert Tiu is the Associate Professor of Piano at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore, he studied with Jerome Lowenthal at the Juilliard School, with Michael Lewin at Boston Conservatory, and with Nita Abrogar-Quinto and Nelly Castro in the Philippines. A recipient of Juilliard’s William Petschek Award and a prizewinner of competitions in Calgary (Honens), Helsinki (Maj Lind) and Santander (Paloma O’Shea), he won the First Prize and two concerto prizes in the 1996 UNISA International Piano Competition in Pretoria, South Africa.

Classical Music

Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied. It is often referred to as the Ring Cycle, Wagner's Ring, or simply The Ring. Wagner wrote the libretto and music over the course of about twenty-six years, from 1848 to 1874. The four parts that constitute the Ring cycle are, in sequence, Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried and finally, Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods). This production, featuring the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and the Den Jyske Operas Kor conducted by Francesco Cristofoli was recorded live on September 6, 1987.

Critics, conductors and colleagues agree that Franco Bordoni’s voice, accent and interpretation constitute Verdi at his most noble. Which is hardly surprising given the singer’s awe of the composer and approach to his art. Bordoni had all the technique he needed to exploit to the full his voice’s volume, texture with its wealth of harmonics and two octave range with no uneven spots. The timbre and color of his voice made him the perfect dramatic baritone, a voice that saw its owner through years of unflagging, full-on performances.

This year, we celebrate the thirty-year conducting career of Neeme Järvi with Chandos records, as well as the conductor’s own seventy-fifth birthday. Chandos marks the occasion with this two-disc set of highlights, featuring a varied selection of concert hall rarities and core classics, along with some popular showpieces and examples of Järvi’s championing of Estonian and American music. Gramophone said of his recently concluded Halvorsen series, “Järvis finds in the music a drama and pathos that might come as a revelation even to the composer.”