ica classics
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Vladimir Ashkenazy plays Schubert & Schumann
22 June 1987, Studio A, Glasgow
Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)
This is a monumental performance [of the Wanderer] and brings together sensitive phrasing and formidable technical skill...the camera-work is well-judged, with a variety of close-up and panning... — More…
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At his finest, in Till Eulenspiegel, Michael Tilson Thomas proves an ideal narrator...This is no merely an intellectual analysis but a gripping exposition of how a masterpiece can satisfyingly... — More…
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Garrick Ohlsson plays Chopin, Brahms & Liszt
Garrick Ohlsson (piano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, James Loughran
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Some of the most expert playing here comes in the Beethoven Symphonies, in which strings demonstrate effortless synchronisation and winds pass phrases between one another seamlessly....[Munch]... — More…
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Observing Wand at the head of the Fifth is like seeing an elderly man in love; virtually every phrase inspires a prior response...The BBC Symphony Orchestra deliver magnificently and the performance... — More…
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Hérold: La Fille mal gardée
Nadia Nerina (Lise), David Blair (Colas), Stanley Holden (Widow Simone), Leslie Edwards (Thomas) & Alexander Grant (Alain)
The Covent Garden Orchestra, John Lanchbery
Featuring the original cast of Ashton's heart-warming romance, this 1962 black and white film is a treasure. Nerina and Blair are sprightly, and there's a touch of genius to Grant's Alain. — More…
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Leonard Bernstein conducts Stravinsky & Sibelius
Fairfield Halls, Croydon, London, 27 November 1966
London Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Thrilling performances from 1966. The Rite generates tremendous tension, while the Sibelius is liked for drama and lyricism. No wonder Bernstein starts as Jekyll and finishes looking like Hyde. — More…
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Michael Tilson Thomas conducts Ives, Sibelius & Wagner
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas
This vintage music-making, captured in slightly faded colour, limited camera angles (big on music stands) and sound officially described as 'enhanced mono', is well worth exploring. — More…
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Sir Georg Solti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra
2 February 1985, Royal Festival Hall, London
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Captured in satisfyingly full-blooded 'enhanced mono' sound (with just an occasional patch of pre- and post-echo) both symphonies receive top-class advocacy...What an enviably secure and commandingly... — More…