The Music Pages | February 2007

Cat. No.: 475 8227
Barcode: 0028947582274
Label: Decca 2CD
Release Date: 3 February

SIR CHARLES MACKERRAS | JANACEK: Jenufa

ARTISTS

Elisabeth Soderstrom – Jenufa
Wieslav Ochman – Laca
Eva Randová – Kostelnicka
Petr Dvorsky – Steva
Lucia Popp – Karolka
Wiener Philharmoniker
Wiener Staatsopernchor
Sir Charles Mackerras

TRACK LISTING

JANACEK: Jenufa

At mid-price for the first time!

This release is part of the definitive cycle of Janacek's operas under Sir Charles Mackerras, featuring a superb realisation of the eponymous heroine by Swedish soprano Elisabeth Söderström.

The Decca recordings of the operas of Leos Janacek are without question definitive recordings of these remarkable music dramas. Sir Charles Mackerras was the central figure in bringing these powerfully intense operas to the attention of the wider world and to this day he remains the master interpreter of this searingly emotional music.

'a performance from Mackerras and his team which is both deeply sympathetic and strongly dramatic.' (Rosette for outstanding recording) The Penguin Guide to Opera on Compact Disc


	Cat. No.: 475 8227 Barcode: 0028947582274 Label: Decca 2CD Release Date: 3 February			SIR CHARLES MACKERRAS \| JANACEK: Jenufa ARTISTS Elisabeth Soderstrom – Jenufa Wieslav Ochman – Laca Eva Randová – Kostelnicka Petr Dvorsky – Steva Lucia Popp – Karolka Wiener Philharmoniker Wiener Staatsopernchor Sir Charles Mackerras TRACK LISTING JANACEK: Jenufa At mid-price for the first time! This release is part of the definitive cycle of Janacek's operas under Sir Charles Mackerras, featuring a superb realisation of the eponymous heroine by Swedish soprano Elisabeth Söderström. The Decca recordings of the operas of Leos Janacek are without question definitive recordings of these remarkable music dramas. Sir Charles Mackerras was the central figure in bringing these powerfully intense operas to the attention of the wider world and to this day he remains the master interpreter of this searingly emotional music. 'a performance from Mackerras and his team which is both deeply sympathetic and strongly dramatic.' (Rosette for outstanding recording) The Penguin Guide to Opera on Compact Disc RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8231 Barcode: 0028947582311 Label: Decca 2CD Release Date: 3 February			BIRGIT NILSSON · SIR GEORG SOLTI \| R. STRAUSS: Elektra ARTISTS Birgit Nilsson – Elektra Regina Resnik – Klytämnestra Marie Collier – Chrysothemis Gerhard Stolze – Aegist Tom Krause – Orest Wiener Philharmoniker Sir Georg Solti TRACK LISTING R. STRAUSS: Elektra For the first time at mid-price, one of the greatest recordings of all-time! The great Swedish dramatic soprano Birgit Nilsson began singing the demanding title role of Strauss' opera shortly before this recording was made in 1966 - and reigned supreme in the role until her retirement from the operatic stage. This recording - a truly legendary set - has been definitive for almost forty years. The music of Richard Strauss was a constant feature of Sir Georg Solti's appearances in the concert hall and in the opera house and he recorded six of Strauss's operas for Decca, starting with Arabella in 1967 through to the release of Die Frau ohne Schatten in 1992. It was with the 1962 recording of Salome with Birgit Nilsson in the title role that Solti and The Vienna Philharmonic scored a resounding success [also available in Decca Originals on 475 7528] and and the same forces assembled again in Vienna's Sofiensaal in 1967 to record Strauss's great expressionistic drama Elektra. 'It is one great strength of the new Decca set, though only one, that the opera is performed quite complete ... Strauss's score is fantastically rich in musical detail of all kinds and Solti lavishes care and insight on every conceivable aspect of it ... the onus of the performance falls firmly on Birgit Nilsson and she carries it as if it were all in a day's work ... this is an amazing impersonation.' Gramophone November 1967 RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8234 Barcode: 0028947582342 Label: Decca 2CD Slimline Release Date: 3 February			ANDRÁS SCHIFF \| J.S. BACH: Partitas ARTISTS András Schiff, piano TRACK LISTING J.S. BACH: Partita No.1 in B flat major, BWV 825 Partita No.2 in C minor, BWV 826 Partita No.6 in E minor, BWC 830 Partita No.3 in A minor, BWV 827 Partita No.4 in D major BWV 828 Partita No.5 in G major, BWV 829 First time at mid-price. Classic Bach interpretations from András Schiff. András Schiff's Bach recordings are regularly recommended choices for collectors wanting Bach performances on the modern piano and his recordings continue to sell strongly. His acclaimed recording of the Goldberg Variations has already appeared in 'Decca Originals' and his interpretation of the 6 Partitas now appears in the series and at mid-price for the first time. 'Schiff is a most persuasive advocate of Bach on the piano ... the freshness of his rubato and the sparkle of his ornamentation are always winning ... the sound is outstandingly fine'. The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs (1996 edition) RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8240 Barcode: 0028947582403 Label: Decca 2CD Release Date: 3 February			HERBERT VON KARAJAN \| VERDI: Aida ARTISTS Renata Tebaldi – Aida Carlo Bergonzi – Radamès Giulietta Simionato – Amneris Cornell MacNeil – Amonasro Arnold Van Mill – Ramfis Fernando Corena – Il re Wiener Philharmoniker Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Herbert von Karajan TRACK LISTING VERDI: Aida A legendary grand opera recording and a sonic spectacular! Karajan's first stereo Aida with Renata Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi and Giulietta Simionato leading a superb cast. Herbert Von Karajan's first (stereo) recording of Verdi's great Egyptian opera is a truly spectacular sonic experience. A trio of great singers lead the cast, with Renata Tebaldi in glorious voice as the slave Aida, Bergonzi giving a superb demonstration of Verdian style and Simionato close to ideal as the jealous princess Amneris. The recording has long been famous, not just for the performances but also as an example of spectacular engineering and recording flair, creating a uniquely involving sound-world for an opera which ranges from intimate conversation to massive choral spectacle. '...unrivalled for many years for its spectacle in this most stereophonic of operas...helped by having a Viennese orchestra and chorus, rather than an Italian one that was determined to do things in a 'traditional' manner, but most important of all is the musicianship and musical teamwork of his soloists. Bergonzi in particular emerges here as a model among tenors, with a rare feeling for the shaping of phrases and attention to detail...Tebaldi's interpretation of the part of Aida is well known and much loved. Her creamy tone colour rides beautifully over the phrases and she too acquires a new depth of imagination.' The Penguin Guide to Opera on Compact Disc RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8243 Barcode: 0028947582434 Label: Decca 2CD Release Date: 3 February			RÉGINE CRESPIN \| Prima Donna in Paris ARTISTS Régine Crespin, soprano L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Wiener Volksopernorchester* Alain Lombardª Georges Sebastian TRACK LISTING GLUCK: Cette nuit ... O toi qui prolongeas mes joursª ( Iphigénie en Tauride ) BERLIOZ: D'amour l'ardente flame* (Romance de Marguerite) ( La Damnation de Faust ) GOUNOD: Où suis-je? ... O ma lyre immortelleª ( Sapho ) SAINT-SAËNS: Tra, la, la, la ... "Fiorentinelle!"ª (La Chanson de Scozzone) ( Ascanio ) MASSENET: Werther! ... Werther! ... Qui m'aurait ditª (Air des Lettres) ( Werther ) MASSENET: Va! Laisse couler mes larmes* ( Werther ) MASSENET: Ah! mon courage m'abandonne!... Seigneur Dieu* ( Werther ) BIZET: La voilà! ... Quand je vous aimerai? ... L'amour est un oiseau rebelleª (Habanera) · Près des remparts de Séville* (Seguidilla) ( Carmen ) OFFENBACH: Portez armes Vous aimez le danger... Ah! que j'aime les militaires!ª ( La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein* ) OFFENBACH: On me nomme Hélène la blonde ... dis-moi Vénusª ( La Belle Hélène ) OFFENBACH: Tu n'es pas beau ... je t'adore, brigandª · O mon cher amant, je te jureª (air de lettre) · Ah! quel dîner je viens de faireª ( La Périchole ) HAHN: Moi je m'appelle...ª · Y'a des arbres ... C'est sa banlieue* ( Ciboulette ) CHRISTINÉ: Ah! cher monsieur, excusez-moi* ( Phi-Phi ) MESSAGER: J'ai deux amantsª ( L'Amour masqué* ) O. STRAUS: Saison d'Amourª · Je ne suis pasª · Je t'aimeª( Les Trois Valses ) First CD release of the complete programme. A great Parisian prima donna celebrates her predecessors and Decca reissues this tribute in time for the patrician soprano's 80th birthday on 23rd March 2007. French soprano Régine Crespin was born in Marseilles on 23 March 1927 and established herself as one of the greatest interpreters of French opera and operetta in the post- World War II era. This collection covers 150 years of French opera and operetta and first appeared in 1972. It and was conceived as a tribute to a number of distinguished Parisian prima donnas and Crespin brings all her artistry to bear in her performances of music that ranges from arias of great nobility to operetta numbers of sparkling wit and charm. 'Singing which is pure delight, whether in the swagger of Offenbach's 'Ah! que j'aime les militaires' (a phrase rattled out faster than you would think possible) to the thirties cabaret number from Strauss' Les Trois valses ... Crespin is superb in the Périchole waltz ...I am sure she enjoyed herself enormously, and on any count she stands very high in the list of Parisian prima donnas celebrated in this set ... she has been splendidly served by her accompanists, not to mention the recording engineers.' Gramophone July 1972 RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8319 Barcode: 0028947583196 Label: Decca 2CD Release Date: 3 February			VARIOUS ARTISTS \| J. STRAUSS: Die Fledermaus ARTISTS Hilde Gueden – Rosalinde Erika Köth – Adele Waldemar Kmentt – Eisenstein Giuseppe Zampieri – Alfred Walter Berry – Falke Regina Resnik – Prinz Orlofsky Eberhard Wächter – Frank guests in gala cabaret Birgit Nilsson Renata Tebaldi Dame Joan Sutherland Leontyne Price Teresa Berganza Jussi Björling Fernando Corena Ettore Bastianini Giulietta Simionato Ljuba Welitsch Wiener Staatsopernchor Wiener Philharmoniker Herbert von Karajan TRACK LISTING J. STRAUSS II: Die Fledermaus Including gala sequence At mid-price for the first time! A truly legendary 1960 recording of a sparkling Strauss classic, including a star-studded 'Gala Cabaret' featuring some of the finest singers of all time. Karajan's recording of the Waltz King's ever-popular Viennese comedy has long been a glory of the Decca opera catalogue. The cast of operetta favourites is led by sopranos Hilde Gueden as Rosalinde and Erika Köth as the maid Adele. 'The sound is sparklingly clear,...The performance of the opera itself has all the sparkle one could ask for...and the Decca recording is scintillating in its clarity.' The Penguin Guide to Opera on Compact Disc RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8225 Barcode: 0028947582250 Label: Decca CD Release Date: 3 February			HERBERT VON KARAJAN \| HOLST: The Planets \| R. STRAUSS: Don Juan ARTISTS Wiener Philharmoniker Herbert vonKarajan TRACK LISTING HOLST: The Planets R. STRAUSS: Don Juan, Op.20 At the time Karajan made his first recording of The Planets in 1961 the work was still very much the property of English orchestras and conductors such as Sir Adrian Boult and Sir Malcolm Sargent. There can be little doubt that this recording with Karajan and Viennese forces went a very long way in helping secure a place in the international repertory for Holst's masterpiece. The reviews greeting the original release of the LP of The Planets were unanimous in their praise for the recording: 'I found this an enormously exciting performance of The Planets ... Karajan gives an absolutely splendid performance, breathing new life into the music ... and it is just so welcome to see how finely this music comes up in the hands of a ... different conductor of such gifts ... this is a performance to be heard ... Karajan has brought a new excitement to this music ... I do hope he is playing it to his audiences in Vienna.' Gramophone May 1962 RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8226 Barcode: 0028947582267 Label: Decca CD Release Date: 3 February			SIR GEORG SOLTI \| ELGAR: Symphony No. 1 \| In the South ARTISTS London Philharmonic Orchestra Sir Georg Solti TRACK LISTING ELGAR: In The South 'Alassio', Op.50 Symphony No.1 in A flat major, Op.55 Sir Georg Solti recorded a number of works by Elgar with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and his highly-praised accounts of Symphonies 1 & 2 have continued to be strong recommendations since their original LP release over twenty years ago. Symphony No.1 was first released on LP in 1972 and is now coupled with Elgar's tone-poem In the South 'Alassio'. Solti was the first conductor of international stature outside the Elgar 'tradition' to perform and record the two Elgar Symphonies and in his preparation for concerts and recordings made a careful study of the composer's own recordings of the works. 'Solti has grasped more firmly than any conductor of the work [Symphony No.1] since Elgar himself the two crucial matters; that the 'motto' theme must always be given movement and lift for all its 'nobilmente'; and that the varied metronomic pulses called for in the score must be drawn together through an expression of some terseness - the indulgences will take care of themselves ... Solti's record is a deeply moving experience ... Solti has given us above all is an Elgar we can share with others.' Gramophone August 1972 RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8230 Barcode: 0028947582304 Label: Decca CD Release Date: 3 February			SIR GEORG SOLTI \| MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 ARTISTS Chicago Symphony Orchestra Sir Georg Solti TRACK LISTING MAHLER: Symphony No.1 in D major Solti, the great Mahlerian, in a famous Chicago Symphony Orchestra recording from 1983, in spectacular digital Decca sound. Mahler Symphonies were a regular part of Solti's concert repertory throughout much of his career and when he was appointed Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1969 he embarked on a complete cycle of the nine symphonies for Decca (starting with Symphony No.5). Solti recorded this account of Symphony No.1 with Chicago in 1983 (twenty years after his first recording of the work with the London Symphony Orchestra) and the new digital recording was very enthusiastically received: 'The reading and the playing remain as persuasive as ever ... [Solti] has dropped back the pace of the scherzo a notch or two with beguiling effect; the reading is now all one could ask for... the strings are first-rate in the 'Wayfarer' music ... the new version has a clear edge in both playing and recording in the symphony's peroration ... the Chicago players give Solti everything he asks for in sonority, power, and rhythmic attack ... as an interpreter of this symphony Solti has lost little of his old flair and insight.' Gramophone October 1984 RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8237 Barcode: 0028947582373 Label: Decca CD Release Date: 3 February			SIR NEVILLE MARRINER \| BARBER \| IVES \| COPLAND ARTISTS Celia Nicklin, oboe & cor anglais Michael Laird, trumpet Academy of St Martin in the Fields Neville Marriner TRACK LISTING BARBER: Adagio for Strings, Op.11 IVES: Symphony No.3 'The Camp Meeting' COPLAND: Quiet City for cor anglais, trumpet and strings COWELL: Hymn and Fuguing tiune No.10 for oboe and strings CRESTON: A Rumour At mid-price for the first time, a welcome return to the catalogue of this celebration of American music, both favourites and rarities. Originally released as an LP on the Argo label in 1976 this programme of American classics for chamber orchestra was the Academy of St Martin in the Fields' contribution to the celebration of the Bicentennial of the United States of America in July 1976. The record was very enthusiastically received when first released and quickly established itself as a classic Academy/Marriner album: 'Few anthologies find room for a symphony; but this one does, and in doing so offers us a very good one, Ives's Third: three gently affectionate movements (for once no jokes, no revolutions) ... it is music of great charm, and given exactly that quality in the continuously eloquent performance of Neville Marriner's Academy... there is also playing of the very first order in Barber's Adagio, with an intensity of string tone at the climax hardly to be believed possible with the number of players likely involved. The Copland is splendid too, trumpet and cor anglais exceptionally well balanced with each other - projecting their solos with a long-lined beauty matching that of the string players. Creston's A Rumour is in a sense a party piece for the orchestra... perhaps in this little piece Creston has produced the record's second triumph of good nature; hardly comparable in scope with the Ives, but an effective one nevertheless. Its performance and recording are of an equal standard to that of the whole disc: impeccable.' Gramophone July 1976 RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8238 Barcode: 0028947582380 Label: Decca CD Release Date: 3 February			VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY \| RACHMANINOV: Preludes ARTISTS Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano TRACK LISTING RACHMANINOV: Prelude in C sharp minor, Op.3 No.2 10 Preludes, Op.23 13 Preludes, Op.32 The definitive recordings by the supreme Rachmaninov pianist, celebrating his 70 th birthday on July 6, 2007. The music of Sergei Rachmaninov has been central to Vladimir Ashkenazy's repertory both as a pianist and a conductor, and it was with his first recording of Rachmaninov's mighty Third Piano Concerto (with the London Symphony Orchestra and Anatole Fistoulari) that he began his exclusive association as a pianist with Decca in March 1963! Over the past 40 years Ashkenazy has recorded two complete cycles of the Rachmaninov Concertos and most of the composer's solo piano works including the Etudes-Tableaux, Second Sonata (Original version), the works for two pianos (with André Previn) and piano duet (with Vovka Ashkenazy) and a selection of transcriptions. As conductor Ashkenazy has made mighly-acclaimed recordings of Rachmaninov's Symphonies and The Isle of the Dead, Symphonic Dances and The Bells. Ashkenazy's recording of the complete Preludes first appeared in 1976 and was very warmly received: 'Perhaps what strikes home most of all is the sheer aristocracy of his playing ... everything is beautifully moulded and proportioned, beautifully balanced and blended. The sonority he draws from the instrument is poetry itself, as for instance the liquid stream of Op.23 Nos.8 & 9. His effortlessly strong, brilliant technique is of course an enormous asset in bolder challenges like Op.23 No.2 ... at all times his pliable phrasing suggests acute susceptibility, yet sentiment never degenerates into sentimentality and nothing would have pleased Rachmaninov more than that. The C sharp minor Prelude is so often murdered that it is a revelation to hear it done with such a fine blend of the imperious and the mysterious; it emerges here as a little masterpiece.' Gramophone February 1976 RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8239 Barcode: 0028947582397 Label: Decca CD Release Date: 3 February			MSTISLAV ROSTROPOVICH · BENJAMIN BRITTEN SCHUBERT \| SCHUMANN \| DEBUSSY ARTISTS Mstislav Rostropovich, cello Benjamin Britten, piano TRACK LISTING SCHUBERT: Sonata for arpeggione and piano, D821 SCHUMANN: Fünf Stücke im Volkston, Op.102 DEBUSSY: Sonata for cello and piano A legendary Decca chamber music recording, marking the 80 th birthday of Mstislav Rostropovich on 27th March 2007. 'On every count this is a triumphant record ... it offers us Rostropovich's own superb playing ... admirably partnered by Britten (who shows himself an outstanding chamber music pianist by any standards)... a splendid performance of the Debussy Sonata ... technically too, the recording is impeccable ... The Schumann - a slight work which, in other hands, can be rather humdrum - gives us the opportunity of admiring the cellist's ravishing cantabile and his finesse of rubato and of tonal gradation... the Debussy is notable for its sensitivity, fluidity and fantasy, and for the remarkable rapport which evidently exists between these two artists: the finale in particular drew forth a spontaneous cry of 'Bravo!' from me ... supremely beautiful playing from both cellist and pianist, with never a dead note in even the most incidental bit of figuration [Schubert] ... the engineering is superb: the sound is glorious, and so true to life that if you shut your eyes you can imagine the players in your own room.' Gramophone January 1962 & October 1970 RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8246 Barcode: 0028947582465 Label: Decca CD Release Date: 3 February			ITZHAK PERLMAN · BARRY TUCKWELL · VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY BRAHMS \| FRANCK: Chamber Music ARTISTS Itzhak Perlman, violin Barry Tuckwell, horn Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano TRACK LISTING FRANCK: Sonata for violin and piano in A major BRAHMS: Trio for violin, horn and piano in E flat major, Op.40 'Perlman is among the sweetest of violinists, as Ashkenazy is among the most fluent of pianists; in this work the combination is a formidable one ... an absolutely equal partnership between violin and piano ... a ... successful balance in the recording which seems to me to be ideal... Perlman and Ashkenazy have chosen to invite Barry Tuckwell to join them in the Brahms Horn Trio ... here again is a very successful performance ... Tuckwell shaping every horn phrase as if it were the only one in the whole of music (and, in passing, as if just playing the horn itself were no technical problem at all).' Gramophone May 1969 RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8403 Barcode: 0028947584032 Label: Decca CD Release Date: 3 February			KARL BÖHM \| BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4 ARTISTS Wiener Philharmoniker Karl Böhm TRACK LISTING BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4 in E flat major 'Romantic' Karl Böhm recorded Bruckner's Third and Fourth Symphonies in Vienna for Decca and both are highly-acclaimed performances which are frequently recommended as top choices for these works- especially Symphony No.4: '... the superlative Böhm who has been hiding his light under a bushel in recent years as a Bruckner conductor. This interpretation is really breathtaking in its unhurried majesty, about as broad as can be from start to finish (slow movement, scherzo and all) since Böhm ... has the rare gift of being able to sustain the broadest tempi convincingly and magisterially.' Gramophone RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8247 Barcode: 0028947582472 Label: Philips CD Release Date: 3 February			ALFRED BRENDEL \| LISZT: Sonata & other piano works ARTISTS Alfred Brendel, piano TRACK LISTING LISZT: Funérailles Sonata in B minor Trübe Wolken (Nuages gris) Klavierstück in F sharp major, S192 No.3 En rêve - Nocturne Richard Wagner - Venezia Brendel plays Liszt's great sonata on this Gramophone awarding recording. Throughout his career the great Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel has always been a champion of the music of the Hungarian composer and showman of the piano - Franz Liszt. Composed in 1853 the great Liszt B minor Sonata is regarded as a pinnacle of pianistic complexity and presents the kinds of technical and artistic challenges in which Brendel is shown to greatest advantage. What makes this classic recording even more remarkable is that the performance is presented with the warmth of the famous Philips piano sound, revealing every nuance of Brendel's breathtakingly virtuosic performance. RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8248 Barcode: 0028947582489 Label: Philips CD Release Date: 3 February			PEPE ROMERO · NEVILLE MARRINER \| RODRIGO: Concierto \| Fantasia ARTISTS Pepe Romero, guitar Augustín Leon Ara, violin Christine Pendrill, cor anglais Academy of St Martin in the Fields Sir Neville Marriner TRACK LISTING RODRIGO: Concierto de Aranjuez Fantasía para un gentilhombre Cançoneta for violin and string orchestra Trois petites pièces for guitar A classic Rodrigo recording, featuring his two most popular concertante works - at mid-price for the first time. RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8260 Barcode: 0028947582601 Label: Philips CD Release Date: 3 February			MITSUKO UCHIDA \| SCHUMANN: Carnival \| Kreisleriana ARTISTS Mitsuko Uchida, piano TRACK LISTING SCHUMANN: Kreisleriana, Op.16 Carnaval, Op.9 *At mid-price for the first time, Uchida's only Schumann recording returns to the catalogue. Her recording of Carnaval* was voted best recording of this work by BBC Music.** Mitsuko Uchida is most closely associated with the music of Mozart, Schubert and, more recently, Beethoven; This recording from 1985 is still her only recording of music by Schumann and it includes the composer's most popular solo piano works. Unavailable for some time, the disc was greeted with great critical acclaim when first released: 'I have the impression that her aim was to make them wholly and uniquely her own ... much of what we hear is as refreshingly imaginative as it is pianistically exemplary ... she relishes the fantasy and caprice of Carnaval with an arrestingly vivid immediacy of characterization.' Gramophone May 1995 RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8249 Barcode: 0028947582496 Label: Philips 2CD Release Date: 3 February			SIR NEVILLE MARRINER \| ROSSINI: Il Turco in Italia ARTISTS Sumi Jo – Fiorilla Simone Alaimo – Selim Enrico Fissore – Geronio Raúl Gimnez – Narciso Academy of StMartin in the Fields Sir Neville Marriner TRACK LISTING ROSSINI: Il Turco in Italia A welcome return to the catalogue, this recording is part of Sir Neville Marriner's outstanding series of Rossini operas with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Coloratura soprano star Sumi Jo leads a cast of bel canto specialists in Rossini's sparkling comedy of marriage, infidelity and forgiveness. 'What seals the success of the Philips set is the playing of the St.Martin's Academy under Sir Neville Marriner, consistently crisper and lighter than their predecessors, wittily bringing out the light and shade in Rossini's score...a most welcome follow-up to Marriner's excellent set of the Barber.' The Penguin Guide to Opera on Compact Disc RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8252 Barcode: 0028947582526 Label: Philips 3CD Release Date: 3 February			QUARTETTO ITALIANO \| BEETHOVEN: Early String Quartets ARTISTS Quartetto Italiano TRACK LISTING BEETHOVEN: String Quartets, Op.18 Definitive recordings of Beethoven's early string quartets. '....superbly stylish...The latest Philips remastering is most impressive' Penguin Guide to Compact Discs RETURN TO THE TOP

	Cat. No.: 475 8256 Barcode: 0028947582564 Label: Philips 3CD Release Date: 3 February			SIR JOHN ELIOT GARDINER \| HANDEL: Saul ARTISTS Alistair Miles – Saul Derek Lee Ragin – David John Mark Ainsley – Jonathan Donna Brown – Merab Lynne Dawson – Michal Monteverdi Choir English Baroque Soloists John Eliot Gardiner TRACK LISTING HANDEL: Saul At mid-price for the first time, this is a multi award-winning recording from Sir John Eliot Gardiner. John Eliot Gardiner's ground-breaking recordings of Handel's great biblical oratorios are as fresh and vibrant today as when they were first recorded. This recording of Saul - one of the most operatic of the oratorios - follows the Originals release of Solomon and features a superb cast of Handelians including countertenor Derek Lee Ragin in the central role of David. The biblical drama is heightened by the live recording, made at the Handel Festival in the German town of Göttingen in 1989. '...it is not likely to be surpassed on disc for a long time.' The Penguin Guide to Opera on Compact Disc RETURN TO THE TOP