Alexander Gibson

Collins Classics is your home for the best in Classical music. Here you can find the entire repackaged and remastered catalogue of works from London’s most renowned orchestras including the London Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra and Consort of London. Covering a wide range of quintessential masterpieces ranging from Bach and Britten through to Shostakovich and Sibelius, the works of Collins Classics play an undeniably important role in the preservation of Classical history.

First launched by EMI UK in 1988, The Classic Experience took the Britain by storm, riding high in the UK charts alongside the top rock and pop albums of the day. The recently launched CD format was just beginning to take-off and there was a new hunger for discovery of great classical music amongst the mass market. Three more volumes appeared over the following years making it one of the most successful classical compilation series of all time. The album covers were a particular point of interest, featuring specially commissioned artworks which includes visual references from the music featured on the discs. Listeners would spend hours searching the cover artwork looking to recognise the smallest of details! To mark the 25th anniversary of the launch of this series, all four volumes are brought together into one attractive 8CD clamshell box set.

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra In the decades since its founding, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra has earned a reputation as a distinguished ensemble with an extensive concert schedule, wide-ranging repertoire, and a significant representation on recordings. In 2021, the orchestra was heard on the album Xiaogang Ye: Winter, as well as a recording of Mozart Concertos, backing Francesca Dego. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra is the direct descendant of the Scottish Orchestra, founded in Glasgow in 1891. Throughout its first 40 years, the Scottish Orchestra had a series of principal conductors, beginning with George Henschel from 1893 until 1895. In 1933, while the orchestra – along with the rest of the world – was facing financial difficulties, subscribers and patrons kept the ensemble afloat. That year, John Barbirolli assumed the post of principal conductor; since that time, the orchestra has been helmed by many well-known conductors, including George Szell, Walter Süsskind, and Alexander Gibson (the first Scot to lead the ensemble and the longest-tenured), among others.

Alexander Gibson conducts the Royal Opera House Orchestra, Covent Garden, performing ballet music from Charles Gounod's "Faust" and Georges Bizet's "Carmen Suite".

Héloïse Werner’s first album, Phrases, was received ecstatically. For her second, she wanted to create a programme with a cohesive narrative arc – a journey, but one that the listener can take in their own time and their own way. For it, she has assembled a group of musicians who both share in her concept but also bring to the project their own varied musical personalities to complement Héloïse’s own distinctive voice.

Héloïse Werner’s first album, Phrases, was received ecstatically. For her second, she wanted to create a programme with a cohesive narrative arc – a journey, but one that the listener can take in their own time and their own way. For it, she has assembled a group of musicians who both share in her concept but also bring to the project their own varied musical personalities to complement Héloïse’s own distinctive voice.

Fantastic Voyage follows 2011 s hugely-successful Jazz Noire collection by letting the same team return to those sleazy dives and bars, this time homing in on the dope, drink and dubious characters to provide a vivid picture of high-seeking low life between the 1930s and 1950s. The music on Drink Up Light Up! evokes that time when orchestras swelled, brass sections exploded like fireworks and blues dripped off piano keys onto booze- and tear-stained barroom floors, staggering cast including names like the Reefer Man and Snuff Dippin Mama, but the themes are just as relevant to today s recession-hit climate: the desire to escape by getting high (and the often unfavourable repercussions on relationships).