Borodin Verdi Rossini Mozart Bizet Beethoven: Famous Overtures I (1995)

There isn't exactly a shortage of Rossini overture recordings on the market, but there are surprisingly few of them done on period instruments in historically informed performances. For the past couple of decades the two leading contenders in this specialized field have been Roy Goodman's recording with the Hanover Band, reissued here by Newton Classics, and Roger Norrington's renditions with the London Classical Players on EMI (now Warner Classics). Of the two, Norrington is probably the more refined, more cultured, but I've never been entirely sure that was what every prospective buyer of a period-instruments recording wanted. Goodman's accounts appear just as well played but a bit more rustic and bucolic. It's good to have them back in this mid-priced release.

A celebration of the Royal Philharmonic Society's 175th Season as 'An Evening with the Philharmonic' with music from concerts recreating original programmes between 1813 and 1837.

The wisdom of experience and the infirmities of age lie perhaps too heavy on the Borodin Quartet's set of Beethoven's early quartets. There is no denying that the Borodin know exactly what to do with the music. Their balances are exemplary, their tempos are ideal, and their phrasing is supremely expressive. And there is no denying that the Borodin love deeply every note of the music.

The performance of Leonore Overture No. 3 tells you what to expect: the wonderfully flowing introduction, organically related to the tempo of the ensuing allegro, establishes a chamber-music-like balance between strings and winds. Brass and timpani cut through clearly, but never forcefully. The main body of the movement is fleet and graceful, yet also lacking in rhetorical emphasis and the kind of grandeur that many listeners prefer. David Zinman clearly takes his cues from the period-instrument crowd, but he also takes advantage of modern timbral smoothness to achieve singularly beautiful results. While you may not like the comparative dearth of weight, there’s no question that the orchestra fully realizes his approach, and it is excellently recorded to boot.

Mozart, of course, is probably the archetypal musical prodigy, paraded around Europe, playing, improvising and composing from the ridiculously early age of about four. It used to be thought that Leopold might have done much of his son's early composing, as well as his publicity, but it's clear that even infantile Mozart is streets ahead of his father - witness the latter's supremely facile 'Toy Symphony'. Easier to overlook are the prodigious talents of Franz Schubert. It is astonishing to think that so accomplished a work as 'The Trout' was written when he was a mere 22.

Philip Gossett calls this 'a Rossinian curio cabinet'. 'A banquet made with leftovers from the Rossini kitchen' would do as well. Whatever the analogy, the art is as much in the assembling of the materials as in the materials themselves. The most familiar music – gleanings from Zelmira, Armida and La donna del lago – is to be found in the very first item, the overture to the Rossinian pastiche Robert Bruce, assembled for the Paris Opéra in 1846 by the composer Louis Niedermeyer. The other orchestral items are all echt-Rossini.

Stern’s well known strengths in Brahms, as evidenced in his studio recordings, are reprised here. He plays with a communicative classicism that embraces romanticised rubati - which elongates but never breaks the line - and which vests the music sometimes with a heartbreaking sense of pathos…The orchestra remains rather bluff…But never mind, it’s Stern’s show and Wöss accompanies admirably.

Masters of Classical Music is an informative and captivating guide to twenty of the most important works in music history. Outtakes from the original scores within the documentaries, assist the viewer by making it easier to follow the music and to overall comprehend the structure of the works. The viewer will travel back in time to experience the birth places of these compositions and will thereby gain insight into the lives of the composers whilst receiving a thorough introduction to the works.

Michael Jackson's double-disc HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I is a monumental achievement of ego. Titled "HIStory Begins," the first disc is a collection of his post-Motown hits, featuring some of the greatest music in pop history, including "Billie Jean," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Beat It," and "Rock with You." It leaves some hits out – including the number ones "Say Say Say" and "Dirty Diana" – yet it's filled with enough prime material to be thoroughly intoxicating…