rmo

A fine transfer of Flagstad’s farewell to the Metropolitan in a performance of great dignity [RMo]

A performance suffused with the Russian spirit, technically and sonically proficient, aesthetically satisfying [RMo]

A solid, “safe” account, hobbled by a dull, listless opening movement [RMo]

A gramophone stereo classic from the 50s is given yet more lustre by this splendid remastering [RMo]

Great sound, conducting, choral singing and orchestral playing, but only one principal singer who really comes up to scratch [RMo]

A fine performance even if it does not quite displace my established favourites [RMo]

(Déjà Review) One of the most sheerly beautiful and instantly recognisable mezzos of the last fifty years [RMo]

(Déjà Review) This goes straight to the top of my list of favourite Chopin CDs [RMo]

A more grateful acoustic. a more varied sonic palette and a more propulsive manner incline me to prefer Schaller’s arrangement over Giesen’s [RMo]

Superb engineering and wonderful playing hobbled by Thielemann’s reluctance to sacrifice beauty of sound to emotional release [RMo]

Supposedly hitherto hidden treasures from the vaults turn out to be something of a let-down [RMo]

A crisp, clean realisation of the specific soundworld of Bruckner’s music, culminating in a finale of epic power [RMo]

Lovers of great Lieder singing should have this in their collection [RMo]

Period-style performances of poise and panache on a modern piano [RMo]

A disappointingly bland and flaccid Rite of Spring balanced by a far more compelling Firebird [RMo]

A reissue of an imperishable “classic of the gramophone” – the greatest music of its genre in the best of 60s stereo sound [RMo]

Revitalised sound permits us to re-appreciate the manifest virtues of this recording, despite its flaws [RMo]

Superbly remastered, a second-rank Donizetti opera blighted by Poggi’s unattractive contribution [RMo]

A fine survey of the Lachrimae with rather more verve and better balance than other options [RMo]

A fresh, well-drilled young choir has bitten off more than it can chew here [RMo]

A survey by Ralph Moore

For me, the two outer tracks alone make this anthology of final scenes compulsory [RMo]

Exotically scored but melodically diffuse, this melodrama is given the best possible advocacy [RMo]

Vividly recorded and handsomely played accounts of two great, but challenging, symphonies [RMo]