Beethoven Brahms Bruckner Schubert

Beethoven Brahms Bruckner Schubert

I needed another set of Beethoven Symphony recordings about as much as I needed another Brahms set, not to mention Bruckner or Schubert. But running across the Gunter Wand Great Recordings box set, who could resist? A 28 CD set in a large LP size box, with a really nice booklet, and under $35, so on order it went. My recordings from Wand were quite sparse to my surprise, mainly some of his later live Bruckner recordings, but I enjoyed those…

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Virtuosi: A Collection

Virtuosi: A Collection

Back in 1985 the Smithsonian Institute published a 7 LP collection names “Virtuosi’, collecting great recordings from the dawn of electrical processes to the days before stereo.

Fasch Orchestral Music

Fasch Orchestral Music

A contemporary of Bach and Telemann, Johann Friedrich Fasch is a lesser known German composer. His major claim to fame is turning down a position at Leipzig, for which the post was eventually by Bach. Tempesta di Mare’ has recorded a set of his works on Chandos, and the results are charming. While the style fits in the Baroque suite categories, the works are original with a familiar sound. Definitely a nice diversion to listening to the Brandenburg Concertos for…

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Thomas Tallis

Thomas Tallis

Sometimes, it is easy to miss the works of a famous composer. While I have some selections of Thomas Tallis’ choral works on various compilations, I never delved too deep into some of his works. Big mistake, talk about some beautiful music. I have been listening to several Tallis CDs, one by the Tallis Scholars and one by Magnificat. Besides wonderful performances, the sound is excellent and I cannot recommend these albums enough for anyone wanting to explore early choral…

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Scarlatti and Horowitz

Scarlatti and Horowitz

Domenico Scarlatti’s works for keyboard were originally composed for the harpsichord, but never mind that. Horowitz’s piano brings out these works in the best possible way. Others have recorded many of the 500+ Scarlatti works, but none match this collection.  

Deller Consort Christmas

Deller Consort Christmas

Alfred Deller and the Deller Consort recorded 4 Christmas theme albums for the Bach Guild / Vanguard in the 50’s and 60’s: ‘The Holly and the Ivy’,’Hark Ye Shepherds’,’Carols And Motets For The Nativity’ and ‘Carols and Motets of Medieval Europe’. The Bach Guild has released a Christmas Big Box as a download, and it includes all 4 albums, plus other works at http://amzn.to/1yKcXQx . The MP3 download contains over 13 hours of music, and at the almost free price of 99 cents….

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