Capriccio (1987)

Few singers have fused words and music as eloquently as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and few sopranos have proved more radiant in Strauss. All this makes her the ideal protagonist in the composer’s final opera, his ingenious and engaging ‘conversation piece’ on artistic themes. Schwarzkopf is joined by a cast of superlative stature and style and by a conductor intimately identified with the works of Strauss, Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Max Pommer, sometimes called one of the few remaining "Old World" conductors, first drew attention for his interpretations of the works of J.S. Bach and other Baroque composers. But since the 1980s he has explored a much broader range of repertory, taking in compositions by contemporary Finnish composers Einojuhani Rautavaara and Kalevi Aho, as well as more traditional fare by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, and even Weill. Pommer, more than most first – rank conductors, has devoted much of his career to teaching, as well as to conducting university ensembles

This is a gem of a recording with flawless and assured musicianship and a wonderful pure, warm sound. Includes many hard to find works and one of the finest recordings of the Bach double violin concerto. Stanley Ritchie and Jaap Schroder are two giants in the field of baroque violin performance and scholarship but in this album they also display an inspired musicality. This is a must have recording for devotees of baroque music.

This is another sensational performance of Saint-Säens’ Oratorio de Noël. If this ain’t a masterpiece, it’s so damned close. The singers and choir are stellar. The Dresden Philharmonic brings more of a symphonic strength to Opus 12 than its French counterpart: being the man I am, I appreciate this. Perhaps ‘Expectants expectavi Dominum’ is more seductively sung in the French version but there ain’t much between them.

Some of Stephen Hough’s most exquisite recordings come from his collaborations with EMI and Virgin Classics during this early period, offering a taste of the pianist’s impeccable touch, his musical and intellectual rigor, and his fondness for the short showpieces that filled late 19th-century salons and peppered the 78 rpm records of golden-age pianists. In the two all-Liszt recitals, Stephen Hough is also in his element, creating atmospheric colors, with notes flowing like streams of pearls, shaping and magnifying the dramatic depth of these works. From Mozart to Schumann, Brahms to Britten, looking back at the great virtuoso tradition while looking forward through his own arrangements, Stephen Hough presents, through these early recordings, a fascinating portrait of a young artist whose brilliant, artistic intellect and appetite for creativity remains unmatched today.

It may be rash to claim that the French pianist Monique Haas (1909-1987) never made a bad recording, but you won't find one among her complete DG sessions. Dating from the late 1940s up to 1965, the recordings have been transferred from scratch, and they sound remarkably well for their respective vintages. The repertoire is diverse and unhackneyed, ranging from Mozart piano duets (with Heinz Schröter) and K. 449 and K. 488 concertos, rare Haydn gems (the E-flat Arietta with Variations and the Fantasia in C major), and the Stravinsky Capriccio, to Hindemith's Concert Music for piano, brass and harps (with the composer conducting), and a substantial sonata by Marcel Mihalovici (the pianist's husband) featuring violinist Max Rostal.