Long regarded as the quintessential interpretation of the most popular and best-loved symphony ever written, this performance of the Fifth has everything: passion, precision, drama, lyric beauty, and a coiled fury in the first movement that sets your pulse racing from the very first note. Carlos Kleiber has made very few recordings in his distinguished career, but almost all are special. If you ...
As one of the UK's leading opera singers, bass-baritone Bryn Terfel is known and universally admired for his recordings and live performances. He has, however, taken time out to head back to Wales and record a disc of songs and hymns from his homeland. To quote "Cymru Fach", "There's a place for the whole of her in my heart, dearest Wales. Each mountain, each valley, each river, dearest Wales. ...
Don't be put off by the relatively low playing time of this issue (52'30). Presented in such intense terms as this, to follow the Quartet for the End of Time with anything at all would be simply inappropriate. The four instrumentalists (all soloists in their own right) seem to come together to present a vision at one with Messiaen's intentions. This piece demands that its interpreters can ...