HBDirect Classical Music News

Jewels in July - Sale Highlights From HBDirect

2009-07-14T12:48:00.004-04:00

Highlights From Our Current Sale

The twelve labels that are currently on sale at HBDirect have some great new releases that we had to share with you! In addition to the titles here, you can visit our sales page or click any logo in this newsletter to browse a label's complete catalog.

The Romantic Piano Concerto Continues: Benedict & Macfarren

"There are few pianists who can dust off this repertoire and give it sparkle such as can Howard Shelley, a veteran of more than half a dozen previous releases in the series, and that's exactly what he does here in a disc made up entirely of first recordings... A worthy addition to the series" -MusicalCriticism.com

Released Today & Just $8.99

Songs of Scotland / McLaughlin, Martineau
18th Century Keyboard Concertos / Paul Nicholson
The Spirits of England & France, Vol. 2 / Gothic Voices
Click Here to Browse Hyperion's Catalog

The Brahms Complete Edition

Own the most distinguished Brahms Edition that will likely ever be produced! Not only does it feature amazing works but it also includes some of Deutsche Grammophon's greatest recordings. The set is presented in a handsome cube with a lid, and the CDs are in individual card sleeves.

New From DG!

Bellini: Norma / Levine, Sills, Verrett, Plishka
Verdi - Great Operas from La Scala - 21 CDs for $50.98
Verdi: Falstaff / Levine/Met, Horne, Freni, Bonney (DVD)
Browse All Deutsche Grammophon Titles

Rosetti's Horn Concertos

"This is truly enjoyable music that can withstand focused listening but also serves well as - dare I say it - background music... Everything - music, performances, sound - about this Rosetti disc is compelling." -FanFare Magazine

$5.99 on Arte Nova

Schumann: The Violin Sonatas / Beikircher, Koehlen
Chopin: Sonatas, Waltzes, Nocturne / Ricardo Castro
Brahms: Sonata, Waltzes, Scherzo / Matthias Kirschnereit
The Arte Nova Catalog

Sale Highlights

Four DVD Labels on Sale!
Fricsay - Remembering Ferenc Fricsay, Music Transfigured
Arena Di Verona: Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Aida
Dvorak: Rusalka / Conlon/Paris Opera, Fleming, Diadkova
More DVDs on Sale

BBC Legends
Cherkassky Plays Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky
Brahms, Schubert: Lieder / Fischer-Dieskau, Richter, Britten
Beethoven, Dvorák: Violin Concertos / Suk, Sargent
All BBC Legends on Sale!

Hungaroton on Sale
Bartók: Solo Piano Vol 3 - For Children / Kocsis
Le Menu de Saint-Philibert: 6 Cantatas
Crusell: Clarinet Quartets / Laszlo Horváth, Dumas String Trio
Browse Hungaroton

New From Oehms Classics
Fauré, Ravel, Hersant: Piano Trios with Trio Cérès
Corelli à la Mode / Stefan Temmingh, Olga Watts
Pianist Benjamin Moser plays Prokofiev & Rachmaninov
Browse the Oehms Catalog

New on Urania
Stravinsky: L'Oiseau de Feu, Apollon musagète
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, Piano Concerto in G, etc / Toscanini, Benny Goodman
Ravel, Hindemith, Stravinsky, Dukas / Guido Cantelli
Browse All Urania Titles

Music & Arts
Bach & his Forerunners - Couperin, Frescobaldi, Gabrieli / Colin Tilney
A treasury of Russian Romantic Piano / Nadejda Vlaeva
Mozart: Piano Concerto no 10, 14 & 23 / Grante, Sieberer
The Music & Arts Catalog

From La Scala to Heaven, a Weekend Sale at HBDirect

2009-07-10T10:51:00.007-04:00

A DG, Decca & Philips Sale Weekend!

With new releases from Maria João Pires, The Sixteen and a new Verdi Opera box set, we just had to put Deutsche Grammophon, Decca and Philips on sale this weekend. We could only fit a fraction of the great titles from these labels in this newsletter, so be sure to click a logo and explore a label's complete catalog. This sale will end Monday at Midnight!

Verdi at La Scala

Here is a fabulous Verdi package: eight great operas recorded between 1961 and 1981 by DG at La Scala, Milan, the spiritual home of Italian opera. The world's leading singers and conductors of the time provide an irresistible entrée into Verdi's world of drama and passion. This is a Limited Edition set so don't wait!

New Box Sets on Sale This Weekend

Brahms - Complete Edition - $2.15 per Disc
Sviatoslav Richter - Pianist of the Century - 9 CDs for $46.48
Haydn: 7 London Symphonies / Abbado - 4 CDs for $21.23

The Sixteen's New Heaven

"This new album is another one of their delightful excursions, this time focusing on the music of the Anglican church from Victorian times to the present day... Christophers breathes new life into pieces that have for too long been ossified in memories of uncomfortable pews and smells of wood polish. His ensemble, The Sixteen, are as always outstanding." -MusicalCriticism.com

New Vocal Releases

Celeste Aida - The Verdi Album / Luciano Pavarotti
Bel Canto - Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini / Garanca, Abbado
Handel - Rolando Villazón, McCreesh, Gabrieli Players
Magdalena Kozena - Songs my Mother taught me

Maria João Pires plays Chopin

"Throughout, Pires' playing is exemplary. Her technique is impeccable... Most important is Pires' uncanny ability to use phrasing and rubato without compromising the underlying rhythmic pulse of the music." -All Music Guide

Piano Albums From DG & Decca

Schnittke: Concerto for Piano; Shostakovich: Piano Conerto, Dances, etc / Israela Margalit, Donald Barra
Brahms: Works for 4 Hands / Israela & Ilann Margalit
Chopin, Scriabin and Liszt: Sonatas & Etudes / Yuja Wang

Sale Highlights

Complete Operas on Sale!
Bellini: Norma / Levine, Sills, Verrett, Plishka - 7/21 Release
Handel: Ezio / Curtis, Prina, Hallenberg, Giustiniani, Gauvin, Andersen
Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi / Luisi, Netrebko, Garanca
Handel: Alcina / Curtis, Gauvin, DiDonato, Beaumont, Cherici

DVDs From DG & Decca
Verdi: Falstaff / Levine/Met, Freni, Bonney, Horne
Handel: Semele / Christie/La Scintilla, Bartoli, Nikiteanu
Wagner: Das Rheingold / Schonwandt/Royal Danish Opera
Browse All DG DVDs
Browse All Decca DVDs
Browse Blu-Rays on DG
Browse Blu-Rays on Decca

Heritage Masters
Wagner: Das Rheingold / Solti, Flagstad, London
R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier / Kleiber, Reining, Gueden, Jurinac, Weber, Poell
Brahms: Piano Concertos / Curzon, Szell, Knappertsbusch
Puccini: Madama Butterfly / Serafin, Tebaldi, Bergonzi
Stravinsky: Symphonies / Ernest Ansermet, Suisse Romande Orch
Mozart: Don Giovanni / Krips, Siepi, Dermota, Corena, Danco

Decca's Adagios
Ballet Adagios - New!
Flute Adagios
Guitar Adagios
Vivaldi Adagios
Chopin Adagios
Mozart Adagios
Cello Adagios
Choral Adagios
Peaceful Adagios
Midnight Adagios

HBDirect Recommends... Great American Orchestras

2009-07-08T15:15:00.004-04:00

HBDirect Recommends...Great American Orchestras

Great ensembles, great maestros, and great performers make for great recordings. Here is a brief overview of some of the best recordings of America's greatest orchestras.

New York Philharmonic

Copland: El Salón México, Clarinet Concerto, etc / Bernstein, Drucker
"An astonishing performance of the Clarinet Concerto...(Bernstein) conducts Copland works as if they were his own compositions, so assimilated into his blood and bones that the line dividing composer and conductor becomes indistinct...("El Salón México") capped off the night, receiving a witty, hip-wiggling reading from Mr. Bernstein." - NY Times 10/21/89

More from the NY Philharmonic

Barber / Thomas Schippers
Brahms: German Requiem, Alto Rhapsody / Walter
Mahler: Symphony no 7 / Bernstein
Ravel: Bolero, La Valse, etc / Boulez
Browse All NY Philharmonic Titles

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Sibelius: The Complete Symphonies Vol 2 / Sir Coling Davis
"This is Sibelius playing with a strong and loyal following: the Boston orchestra have a really alluring sound in this music and Davis is totally in his element." - Gramophone

More from the BSO

Berlioz: Harold in Italy, Overtures / Munch, Primrose
Copland: Appalachian Spring, The Tender Land, etc / Copland
Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Ibert / Munch (also in SA Hybrid).
Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande, Dolly, etc / Ozawa
Browse All BSO Titles

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Mahler: Symphony no 8 / Solti
"Solti's famous (1971) Mahler Eighth is outstanding in every way, extrovert in display but full of dark implications, and this is one of his finest Mahler records. - Penguin Guide (4 stars)

More from the CSO

Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, etc / Reiner
(also available in SA Hybrid format).
Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Ein Heldenleben / Reiner
(also available in SA Hybrid format).
Bartók, Hindemith & Varèse / Martinon
Wagner: Overtures and Preludes Vol 2 / Barenboim
Explore "CSO Resound", the CSO's own label
Browse All CSO Titles

More...

Philadelphia Orchestra
Rachmaninoff - The 4 Piano Concertos / Rachmaninoff, Ormandy
Mahler: Symphony no 1 / Muti
Tchaikovsky: Symphony no 6, etc / Eschenbach
Saint-Saëns: Symphony no 3 / Ormandy
Browse all Philadelphia Orchestra Titles

Cleveland Orchestra
Beethoven: The Piano Concertos / Fleischer, Szell
Mahler: Symphony no 4 / Szell
Dvorák: Symphonies 7, 8 & 9, etc / Dohnányi
Debussy: La Mer, Nocturnes, etc / Boulez
Browse all Cleveland Orchestra Titles

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Barber: Vanessa / Mitropoulos
Puccini: Manon Lescaut / Levine
Rossini: The Barber of Seville / Leinsdorf
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen / Levine
Browse all Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Titles

Not Least...
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Detroit Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
St. Louis Symphony

Currently On Sale at HBDirect

All 62,728 Classical Titles on Sale at HBDirect!

2009-07-03T14:44:00.005-04:00

All Classical Titles On Sale For Independence Day!

For the first time ever all 62,728 classical titles at HBDirect are on sale! You can also click here for details on how you can get a Free CD with your order. Both offers are only valid through Monday at Midnight so don't miss it!

Weber Symphonies on BIS

"Jean-Jacques Kantorow inspires the splendid Tapiola Sinfonietta to performances here which fairly crackle with electricity... Sonically, the music is presented in sharply-focussed immediacy which allows every nuance of the brilliant playing and unanimity of ensemble to come across... with such committed performances as these it is pure pleasure." -SA-CD.net

New on BIS

Mark Wigglesworth conducts Shostakovich: Symphony no 4
Remembrance: Schoenberg, Bernstein, Bloch with Neschling
Miklós Spányi plays CPE Bach Keyboard Concertos, Vol. 17

Songs of Lennox Berkeley

"Allows the listener a delicious opportunity to reflect on the long career of Sir Lennox and the astonishing artists with whom he mixed throughout his life... the album is beautifully presented and recorded with [Chando's] characteristic clarity and depth of field, all of which really captures the enjoyment of these artists in their performances." -MusicalCriticism.com

Just Released From Chandos

Monteverdi Series Vol 3 - Sweet Torment / I Fagiolini
Smetana: Orchestral Works Vol 2 / Noseda, BBC PO
Rota: Symphony no 1 & 2 / Conti, Filarmonica '900

Discover Zemlinksy's Lieder

The rediscovery of the music of Zemlinsky over the past 30 years has been one of the great success stories of 20th-century music. With performances by Anne Sofie von Otter, Barbara Bonney and more, this 2CD set contains a substantial number of Zemlinsky's Lieder, from the early Op.2 up to the late songs from his period of exile in the US in the late 1930s.

$6.49 Each From Brilliant Classics

Bach Family Motets / Brown, Clare College Choir
Gilardino: Transcendentia (Studies for Guitar) / Porqueddu
Rutter: Gloria; Bernstein: Chichester Psalms / Brown

A Rare Soprano in a Rare Opera

Few recordings exist of the sensational artistry of Spanish soprano Angeles Gulin (1939-2002), whose enormous, dark voice was said to have set the crystal chandeliers rattling at La Fenice in Venice.

More From Opera D'oro

Donizetti: Belisario / Gavazzeni, Zaccaria, Taddei
Donizetti: Maria Padilla / Montgomery, Price
Hindemith: Cardillac / Keilberth, Fischer-Dieskau, Kirschstein

Sale Highlights

New Opera on DVD
Dvorak: Rusalka / Conlon, Fleming
Monteverdi: L'Orfeo / Christe/Arts Florissants
Verdi: Falstaff / Levine/Met, Freni, Horne, Bonney
Strauss: Elektra / Abbado/Vienna State, Marton
Browse All DVDs
Browse All Blu-Ray Discs

Chamber Music
Beethoven: String Quartets no. 8 & 9 / Quartetto Italiano - SACD on Pentatone
Saint-Saëns: Piano Quartets / Mozart Piano Quartet
Volckmar: Trios & Quartets / Arte Ensemble
Mozart, Beethoven: Quintets for Piano & Winds / Würtz, Netherlands Wind Ensemble
Saint-Saëns: Oboe Sonata; Fauré / Mayer, Wisniewska
Browse All Chamber Music

Symphonies!
Haydn: Complete Symphonies / Antal Dorati - $1.88 per CD!
Mahler: Symphony no 6 / Zinman, Zürich Tonhalle Orch.
L. Mozart: Musical Sleighride, Toy Symphony / Stadlmair, Munich Chamber Orchestra
Prokofiev: Symphony no 1-7 / Weller, LSO - 4 CDs for $18.99
Nielsen: Symphony no 4 & 5 / Schonwandt, Danish NSO

New Piano Music
Martinu: Piano Music Vol 6 / Koukl
Sviatoslav Richter - Pianist of the Century - 9 CDs $46.48
Prokofiev: Piano Concertos no 2 & 3 / Kissin, Ashkenazy
Chopin: Piano Sonata, Fantasie, Mazurkas, Nocturnes / Laplante
Mozart: Piano Concerti no 9 & 14, Piano Sonata no 8 / Brendel
Tchaikovsky Concertos 1 & 3 / Idil Biret
The Legendary Russian Pianists - 25 CDs!
Browse All Piano Albums

Vocal Albums
Ebstorf Convent / Volkhardt, Devotio moderna - New in the Luneburg Heath Series!
Fischer-Dieskau sings Brahms & Schubert with Richter & Britten
Beethoven & Wagner / Kirsten Flagstad, Clemens Krauss
Dowland, Campion, etc. / James Bowman, Robert Spencer
Tragédiennes Vol 2 - Gens, Rousset, Les Talen Lyriques
Browse All Vocal Music

12 Complete Labels on Sale at HBDirect!

2009-06-30T13:13:00.005-04:00

A New Sale Has Begun at HBDirect!

At HBDirect.com we're putting twelve complete labels on sale! You can Click Here to visit our sales page or click any logo in this newsletter to browse a label's complete catalog.

Superlative Suk & Sargent

"By releasing these superlative accounts in this, the year in which Josef Suk turns eighty, the BBC has found an ideally appropriate way of honouring one of the Czech Republic's - and, indeed, the world's - greatest living musicians. We, as lovers of classical music, are most fortunate to be the beneficiaries. Be sure not to miss out." -MusicalCriticism.com

Fresh From the BBC Archives

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Brahms & Schubert Lieder with Richter & Britten
Shura Cherkassky plays Mendelssohn, Schubert, etc.
Sir Adrian Boult conducts Vaughan Williams, Handley, Bax
Click Here to Browse All BBC Legends

Renée Fleming in Rusalka

"Fleming is not just a strong lyric soprano, but arguably the reigning diva de nos jours, and the poster girl of the Met's 2008-09 season. She gave a heart breaking account of the title role, in wonderfully fresh voice that seemed to bend to her will without any apparent technical effort or calculation. Her Song to the Moon, almost an entrance aria, was remarkable for pliant phrasing and beautifully finished lines that demonstrated her magnificent breath control." -MusicalCriticism.com

New DVDs on Sale This Month!

Grigory Sokolov Live in Paris / Beethoven, Vardapet
Opera Exclusive: Arena Di Verona - Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Aida with Oren, Santi, Alvarez, Raimondi, Cedolins
More DVDs on Sale This Month

Corelli à la Mode

"It is superbly musical, virtuosic, fresh and full of light and shade, I thoroughly recommend that you listen to this talented artist. Olga Watts is a splendid harpsichordist, their musical interaction is stunning." -ClassicFM
"This is a most enjoyable and highly entertaining disc which I recommend to every lover of baroque music, whether they like the recorder or not." -musica-dei-donum.net

New Releases From Oehms Classics

Fauré, Ravel, Hersant: Piano Trios with Trio Cérès
Michael Korstick plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Vol 6
Pianist Benjamin Moser plays Prokofiev & Rachmaninov
Browse the Oehms Catalog

Sale Highlights

7/14/09 Hyperion Releases
Songs of Scotland / McLaughlin, Martineau, Frayling-Cork
Weiner: Violin Sonatas / Shaham, Erez
Romantic Piano Concerto Vol 48 - Benedict, Macfarren / Shelley
More From Hyperion!

New From DG!
Maria Joao Pires plays Chopin
Bach: Goldberg Variations / Caitrin Finch
Verdi - Great Operas from La Scala - 21 CDs for $50.98
All Deutsche Grammophon

Arte Nova
Rosetti: Horn Concertos / Baborak, Moesus
Brahms: Piano Sonata, Waltzes, Scherzo / Matthias Kirschnereit
Schumann: The Violin Sonatas / Beikircher, Koehlen
All Arte Nova on Sale!

Hungaroton on Sale
Bartók: Solo Piano Vol 3 - For Children / Kocsis
Le Menu de Saint-Philibert: 6 Cantatas
Crusell: Clarinet Quartets / Laszlo Horváth, Dumas String Trio
Browse Hungaroton

Expanded Sale & Free CD at HBDirect!

2009-06-26T13:06:00.002-04:00

Naxos, Chandos & Cedille Sale!

We're adding Cedille to our monthly Naxos & Chandos Sale! All three labels, encompassing over 5,000 titles, will be on sale through Monday at Midnight. We'll also include a Free CD with any internet order of $35 or more! You can Click Here for details and to view the list of free titles or click a logo below to browse a label's catalog.

Quint Plays Korngold

"Quint turns in one of the most appealing, least "sticky" performances of Korngold's Violin Concerto yet recorded.... there is urgency along with passion, and a wonderful lightness in passagework that sustains the melodic thread even in the sections containing multiple stopping--and there are a lot of them... Definitely recommended." -Classics Today

You Won't Want To Miss These!

Martucci: Orchestral Music Vol 4 / Coggi, Vecchia
Bruch: Violin Concertos no 2 & 3 / Maxim Fedotov
Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Two Guitar Music, Vol 2 / Brasil Duo
Richter: Grandes Symphonies Set 2 no 7-12 / Häkkinen
Taneyev: Oresteia Overture & Interlude, Canzona / Sanderling
Nielsen: Symphony no 4 & 5 / Schonwandt, Danish NSO

An RVW Film Music Set!

"Every listen has you marvelling at yet another detail in Vaughan Williams's score and Rumon Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic play as though their lives depend on it." -BBC
"Thank heavens that Chandos has taken the job of bringing all of this material out of the libraries and into the fine hands of Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic." -Golden Scores

New From Chandos

Smetana: Orchestral Works Vol 2 / Noseda, BBC PO
Rota: Symphony no 1 & 2 / Conti, Filarmonica '900
Kabalevsky: Improvisation; Volkonsky: Sonata for Viola / Lydia Mordkovitch

Introducing Yun-Yi Qin

A multiple prize-winner at several international competitions, the young Chinese pianist Yun-yi Qin here presents a wide-ranging recital of major works and delightful miniatures that showcases her remarkable ability. The light-fingered elegance required by Haydn and Mozart, the technical and expressive challenges posed by Schubert, and the almost demonic power demanded by Liszt are effortlessly met by this extraordinary teenager.

New Music For Keyboards

Martinu: Complete Piano Music Vol 6 / Giorgio Koukl
Vivaldi: Four Seasons (For Piano) / Jeffrey Biegel
Reger: Organ Works Vol 9 / Josef Still
Tansman: Piano Works / Margaret Fingerhut (Chandos)

Sale Highlights

Cedille Sale!
Romantic Music for Piano Four-Hands - Onslow, Grieg, Liszt, Wagner
American Choral Premieres - Hovhaness, Rochberg, Blackwood
Oppens Plays Carter - The Complete Piano Music
113 Cedille Titles on Sale!

New In Chamber
Ginastera: String Quartet no 1, 2 & 3 / Enso Quartet
Lampel: Chamber Music / Parissi Quartet
Beethoven: Piano Trios Vol 3 / Xyrion Trio
Fauré: Piano Quintets no 1 & 2 / Ortiz, Fine Arts Quartet
Delius: Complete Violin Sonatas / Stanzeleit, Fenyö
Gerber: Gershwiniana, Notturno, Piano Trio

Spanish Classics
Palomo: My Secluded Garden
Songs of the Stars / Garnados, Casals, Blancafort

Chinese Classics
Ge Gan-ru: Fall of Baghdad, etc / Modern Works
Zhou Long: Wild Grass / Beijing New Music Ensemble

New Vocal Music
Monteverdi Series Vol 3 - Sweet Torment / I Fagiolini
Deutsche Schubert-Lied-Edition 18 - Part Songs Vol 1
Mayr: Tobiae matrimonium / Franz Hauk, Simon Mayr Chorus and Ensemble
Songs of Lennox Berkeley / Gilchrist, Nicholls, Tilbrook

The Best Of...
Thomas Tallis
Henry Purcell
Claudio Monteverdi

Classical CDs On Sale!

Sale Ends Thursday at HBDirect!

2009-06-24T11:31:00.003-04:00

June Sale Ends This Thursday!

HBDirect's month-long sale on all titles from the labels above is drawing to a close. Not to worry, there are two days left. New releases have arrived among these labels since last this sale was advertised. Click on the logos above for each label's listings, or visit our sale page for more information. It all ends Thursday at midnight!

Anderszewski at Carnegie Hall

"One might wonder if at such an early point in his career Polish-Hungarian pianist Piotr Anderszewski deserves having an entire Carnegie Hall recital recorded and released as a two-disc set. The proof is his performance...As impressive as his playing was in his earlier studio recordings, it is staggering here... well worth hearing, especially in Virgin's amazingly vivid and astoundingly intimate live sound." -All Music Guide

More New Releases from Virgin Classics

Mahler: 4 Movements / Paavo Järvi, Frankfurt RSO
The Piazzolla Project / Ammon, Artemis SQ
Tragédiennes Vol 2 - Gens, Rousset, Les Talen Lyriques
Browse All Virgin Classics Titles

Brahms: Violin Concerto, Symphony no 2 / De Vito, Fricsay

"From the archives of RIAS, Berlin come two distinctly rare and exquisitely musical Brahms performances: the Violin Concerto (8 Oct. 1951) studio performance with Hungarian conductor Ferenc Fricsay and Italian violin virtuoso Gioconda De Vito and the D Major Symphony (13 Oct. 1953)... (a) historic recording of special merit." -Audiophile Audition

More New Releases from Audite

E. Franck: Piano Trios / Edinger, Claret, Hellwig
Edition Ferenc Fricsay Vol 11 - Rossini: Stabat mater
Guillou, Reubke, Bach: Organ Music / Stefan Frank
Browse All Audite Titles

The Buxtehude Influence / Arthur

"Andrew Arthur, Director of Music at Trinity Hall, brings expertise and scholarship to this repertoire. Well-selected pieces and colourful registration present the Dane in most sympathetic light... Ever thought-provoking. Bravo!" -Organists' Review. "Scrupulously considered performances." -BBC Music Magazine

More Recent Releases from Priory

Alcock: Organ Music / Daniel Cook
Saint-Saëns: Organ Works Vol 1 - Transcriptions / Brooks
Franck: L'organiste / Neil Wright
Browse All Priory Titles

Sale Highlights from...

Orfeo
Haydn: Arias / Simone Saturova
Mendelssohn: Early Concertos for Violin & Piano / Hofstetter, Varsi, Sitkovetsky
Browse all Orfeo Titles

LPO
Britten: Double Concerto, Bridge Variations, Les illuminations
Mahler: Symphony no 6 / Tennstedt, London PO
Browse all LPO Titles

Cedille
Romantic Music for Piano Four-Hands / Buccheri, Boldrey
American Choral Premieres / French, William Ferris Chorale
Browse all Cedille Titles

Dutton
Epoch - Bridge: Piano Quartet; Maddison: Piano Quintet; Elgar
Matthews: Symphonies no 1, 3 & 5 / Martyn Brabbins, BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Browse all Dutton Titles

Analekta
Chopin: Piano Sonata no 2, Fantasie, Mazurkas, Nocturnes / Laplante
Chin: Violin Concerto, Rocaná / Nagano, Hagner, Montreal SO
Browse all Analekta Titles

DVDs On Sale
Prokofiev: Cinderella / Zurich Ballet/Fedoseyev
Gluck: Alcesta / John Eliot Gardiner/English Baroque Soloists, Anne Sophie von Otter, Paul Groves
All DVDs from BelAir Classiques
All DVDs from EMI

Free CD & Savings up to 43% at HBDirect!

2009-06-19T13:50:00.003-04:00

CPO, BIS, Cantate & Pentatone On Sale!

In addition to our sale on all titles from CPO, BIS, Cantate & Pentatone which runs through Monday at Midnight, you can also select a Free CD with any internet order of $35 or more! You can Click Here for details and to view the list of free titles or click a logo below to browse a sale label's catalog.

God Shall Be Praised

"Lune Convent, features music from a cloister first established in the year 1170. The pieces date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, and have remained unknown for hundreds of years. It's like listening to a lost musical world... the melodies were composed with subtle genius, to interest the ear but also create a sense of calmness and inner reflection." -NPR

The Series Continues with Medingen & Ebstorf Convents

Praise and Glory - Medingen / Volkhardt, Devotio moderna
We all want to be youthful - Ebstorf / Ulrike Volkhardt, Devotio moderna

Weingartner: Volume VI

"Sheer unaldulterated pleasure from start to finish. Likely to be my and many others SACD disc of the year... I do not know how many more of this series are left but for musical and sonic indulgence, this is the best of a really fine bunch." -SA-CD.net

Weingartner's Symphonic Works

Aus ernster Zeit Overture, Symphony No. 5 / Letonja
Merry Overture, Symphony No. 3 / Letonja, Basel SO
Das Gefilde der Seligen, Symphony No. 2 / Letonja

A New Shostakovich 4th

"[Wigglesworth] has a very real and admirable ability to emphasize detail and rhythmic precision without sacrificing the necessary power...The result is an interpretation that gives the music a very different character from most of the other slowish versions... if your system can handle it, you're going to love this." -Classics Today (10/9)

New Releases From BIS

Weber: Symphonies / Kantorow, Luoma, Tapiola Sinfonietta
C. P. E. Bach Concertos Vol 17 with Miklós Spányi
Remembrance - Schoenberg, Bernstein, Bloch, Zeisl

Sale Highlights

Early Music Sale!
Our Medieval and Renaissance Music sale will end Tonight at Midnight!
Click Here For Details

Over 40% Off 43 Pentatone Titles!
Puccini: Tosca / Davis, Caballé, Carreras
Mahler: Symphony no 8 / Haitink, Royal Concertgebouw
Dame Janet Baker sings Mozart, Beethoven & Schubert
Pentatone Deep Discounts!

CPO Overstocks!
Grieg: Works for Violoncello and Piano / Jaffé
Telemann: Passion Cantatas / Mertens, Ad-El
Lehár: Das Land de Lächelns
33% Off CPO Overstocks!

New on CPO
Telemann: Wind Concertos Vol 4
Graun: Grosse Passion / Max
Gouvy: Symphonies no 3 & 5 / Mercier, Saarbrücken RPO
Farrenc: Piano Trios, Sextet / Linos Ensemble

The Sibelius Edition
Vol. 8 - Orchestral
Vol. 6 - Violin & Piano
Vol. 4 - Piano Music
All Sibelius On BIS

Classical CDs On Sale!

If It's Before Baroque It's On Sale at HBDirect!

2009-06-16T13:48:00.009-04:00

Mid-Week Early Music Sale!

Our collection of Medieval and Renaissance music includes over 3,000 titles and they are all on sale! We couldn't possibly feature them all here, so click the links below to view all available titles from each period. This sale will end on Friday at Midnight!
Browse all Medieval Music
Browse all Renaissance Music

Rutter's Sacred Flame

"This is a fine anthology that many listeners will treasure. John Rutter clearly knows and understands this repertoire well and, as a result, the sound and passion of this album stays with you for a long while after listening. I hope that his inspired combination of La Nuova Musica and the Cambridge singers will go on to future projects together." -MusicalCriticism.com

Renaissance Music From the Cambridge Singers

Lighten Our Darkness - Sheppard, Lassus, Byrd
Sing, Ye Heavens - Hymns for All Times
Ave Verum Corpus - Motets & Anthems of William Byrd

Henry's Music

"A nicely produced, generous, and musically exciting CD in honor of yet another anniversary for 2009... Henry's Music is not a messy and commercialized attempt to cash in on [the anniversary]: there is real substance to this set of performances. For a variety of reasons, lovers of Renaissance music would do well to look at Henry's Music seriously." -Classical.net

Recent Releases From Obsidian

Tomkins: These distracted times / Skinner, Sutton, Fretwork
Desprez: Missa D'ung aultre amer / Lawrence-King, Alamire

Motets by Francisco de Peñalosa

"Marvellously poetic music ... a record of rare distinction." -Gramophone
"Beautiful and impeccable performances... a valuable and important document." -Organist's Review. "Balm to the troubled soul." -Good CD Guide

Early Music on Hyperion

English Lute Songs / Robin Blaze, Elizabeth Kenny
Music from the Chirk Castle Part-Books / Rice, Brabant Ens.
The Voice in the Garden / Christopher Page, Gothic Voices

Sale Highlights

From Alia Vox
Ministriles Reales - Arrauxo, Cabe
Invocation to the Night / Figueras, Savall
Estampies & Danses Royales / Savall, Hesp&egraverion XXI

Harmonia Mundi
Gesualdo: Madrigals / Christie, Les Arts Florissants
Medieval English Music / Hilliard Ensemble
Venezia 1625 / Maurice Steger
Lassus: Hieremiae prophetae lamentationes / Herreweghe

Early Music on Naxos
Dowland: Lute Music Vol 4 / Nigel North
Sweelinck: Music for Harpsichord / Glen Wilson
Hildegard von Bingen: Celestial Harmonies / Summerly, Oxford Camerata
Das Lochamer Liederbuch / Hummel, Lewon

From BIS
Psalms from Geneva - Sweelinck: Organ Music / Suzuki
Honey from the Hive - Dowland: Songs / Kirkby, Rooley
Early Italian Chamber Music / Laurin, Suzuki

Currently On Sale!

They Ship For Free & They're on Sale at HBDirect!

2009-06-12T11:33:00.007-04:00

Over 2,500 DVDs on Sale!

This weekend all DVD-Videos and Blu-Ray discs are on sale at HBDirect! We'll also ship DVDs for free if you insert the code DVDSF in the coupon code field on the first page of the check out process. Both the sale and the coupon are only active through Monday at Midnight, so don't wait!

Keenlyside as Don Giovanni

"Sir Charles Mackerras conducts an incandescent Overture which kindles the brilliance, clarity and indefatigable energy of his musical direction throughout. This film powerfully captures the fiery essence of Francesco Zambello's production for the Royal Opera. Striking lighting and fearless camera angles highlight the best elements of Maria Bjornson's design." -BBC Music Magazine. Available on Blu Ray too!

Recent Releases From BBC Opus Arte

Handel: Tamerlano / McCreesh/Teatro Real, Domingo, Bacelli
Messiaen: Saint Francois d'Assise / Metzmacher, Tilling

Christie Conducts L'Orfeo

"We are in the Palace rather than the usual theatre within a theatre, which makes much more sense, since Orfeo was premiered at the Palace and not the Court theatre... Without a doubt, William Christie and his musicians are one of the best groups available today in this kind of music... the cast was thoroughly suited, homogenous and musical at every turn." -musicweb.uk.net

Opera DVDs From Dynamic

Rossini: Ermione / Brych/Prague CO, Ganassi, Pizzolato
Puccini: Tosca / Galli/Puccini Festival, Cifrone, Secco
Bizet: Carmen / Montanaro/Sferisterio Opera, Surguladze

The Domingo Live DVD Box

"Domingo has never been better. He looks handsome, the voice is absolutely free and intensely expressive, and he gets a three-minute ovation after the Flower Song." -Classics Today on the 1978 Carmen
"Plácido Domingo's performance is one of great conviction; dignified, but at the same time lush and abundant." -FanFare on the 1993 Fedora
"Domingo stepped in at the nick of time to sing a role he was born to sing, and he does so with complete confidence, as if he'd always been slated for this production." -Fanfare on the 1978 Il Trovatore

New Box Sets From TDK

Mozart at the Salzburg Festival - Flute, Cosi & Clemenza
Teatro Alla Scala Exclusive - Donizetti, Poulenc & Puccini
Vienna State Opera Exclusive - Verdi & Massenet

Sale Highlights

New on Blu-Ray!
Handel: Semele / Christie/La Scintilla, Bartoli
Wagner: Das Rheingold / St. Clair/Staatskapelle Weimar, Hoff
Adam: Giselle / Gruzin/Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, Cojocaru
Wagner: Lohengrin / Nagano, Meier, Konig
Verdi: La Traviata / Rizzi/Vienna PO, Netrebko, Villazon, Hampson
Browse All Blu-Rays

New on EuroArts
Bach: Sonatas for Violin & Piano / Frank Peter Zimmermann, Enrico Pace
Bach: Motets and Sinfonias / Rademann, Petitlaurent, Heinrich
Master Class with Julia Varady, Le Passage du Flambeau
Mozart: Zaide / Langree/Camerata Salzburg, Lekhina, Panikkar

From Arthaus
Strauss: Elektra / Abbado/Vienna State Opera, Marton, Fassbaender, Studer
Puccini: Turandot / Runnicles/SF Opera, Marton
Wagner: Das Rheingold / St. Clair/Staatskapelle Weimar, Hoff
Bellini: Norma / Carella/Gran Teatre del Liceu, Cedolins, Papi

New on Kultur
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen / de Billy/Gran Teatre del Liceu - Available individually!
Strauss: Die Fledermaus / Sutherland, Gard, Begg, Austin
Ravel: L'Enfant et les Sortileges & L'Heure Espagnole / Rattle/LPO
Prokofiev: The Love of Three Oranges / Haitink/LPO, Sendak

Currently On Sale!

Over 130 New Titles Released Today at HBDirect!

2009-06-09T12:21:00.003-04:00

New Releases at HBDirect!

Today at HBDirect over 130 titles are being released! From Colin Davis' first recording of Haydn's Creation to Mark Padmore's new Britten recital disc, there's just not enough room in this newsletter to mention all the great additions to our catalog. Luckily, you can click here to browse the new releases for yourself!

Davis' First Creation on Record

"It would take a harder heart than mine to resist the LSC's jolly, full-blooded rendition of the closing fugue, or indeed any part of this fantastic score. Available at bargain price, this is another huge triumph for LSO Live." -MusicalCriticism.com

New Releases of Haydn

Richard Lester plays Haydn Keyboard Works
String Quartets Op 17 with the London Haydn Quartet
7 London Symphonies with Abbado & the CO of Europe

Mark Padmore Sings Britten

"Padmore sang Birtwistle, Handel and Britten with equal assurance, unswerving musicality and fabulously clear enunciation."
-The Guardian
"Padmore's great gift, apart from his prodigious technical ability, whether to float a line with perfect legato or to enter pianissimo at the top of his range, is to sing from the soul." -The Evening Standard

New Vocal Albums

Zemlinsky Lieder with von Otter, Bonney, Schmidt
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Brahms & Schubert accompanied by Sviatoslav Richter & Benjamin Britten
When I was a young man - Washington Men's Camerata
Love Duets with Rosanna Carteri & Giuseppe Di Stefano

Furtwängler: RIAS Recordings

"This box contains all of Furtwängler's recordings for the RIAS in the period 1947-54... For Furtwängler collectors this 12-CD set (plus bonus interview with the conductor) clearly is the best option, both on technical grounds and because it's so complete... These are the best-sounding versions of these performances, so if you've been waiting to take the plunge, this set is certainly the way to go." -Classics Today

Box Sets - Just Released!

Evgeny Svetlanov conducts Glazunov Symphonies
Sviatoslav Richter - Pianist of the Century - 9 CDs $46.48
Prokofiev Symphonies with Walter Weller & the LSO

More New Releases

Organ Albums
Romantic and Virtuoso Works for Organ Vol 3 / Jane Parker-Smith
Mendelssohn: The 6 Sonatas for Organ / Landale
Couperin: Messes pour les Paroisses & pour les Couvents / Aude Heurtematte
The Buxtehude Influence / Andrew Arthur

Piano Releases
Bach Piano Transcriptions Vol 7 - Max Reger / Becker
Ravel: Piano Works / Romain Descharmes
Music of Ursula Mamlok Vol 1
Granados: Complete Piano Music Vol 5 / Rajna, Alberni Quartet

The Copenhagen Ring!
Available Individually!
"One Ring cycle I can recommend heartily - musically satisfying, dramatically engaging and full of memorable imagery" -Opera Now
Das Rheingold
Die Walkure
Siegfried
Gotterdammerung

More DVDs
Monteverdi: L'Orfeo / Christe/Les Arts Florissants, Henschel, Prina, De Donato
Rossini: Ermione / Brych/Prague CO, Ganassi, Pizzolato

Currently On Sale!

Free CD & Three Label Sale at HBDirect!

2009-06-05T13:08:00.003-04:00

A DG, Decca & Philips Sale Weekend!

In addition to discounts on all titles from DG, Decca & Philips, which run through Monday at Midnight, you can also select a Free CD with any internet order of $35 or more! When you are ready to check out, insert the code FP35 in the coupon code field on the first page of the check out process. You can Click Here to view the list of free titles or click a logo below to browse a sale label's catalog.

Intimate Letters

"The Emersons' elegant, nuanced playing lets Janacek's music speak for itself. On the other hand, it is never perfunctory. Unlike so many recordings, and even live performances, one feels that the players are always present, inhabiting the music. The result is a truly exceptional recording of these irresistible gems of the quartet repertory." -MusicalCriticism.com

More National Best-Sellers On Sale This Weekend

Netrebko & Garanca in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Bel Canto: Elina Garanca sings Donizetti, Bellini with Abbado
Placido Domingo: Amore infinito - Songs Inspired by Poems of John Paul II - Karol Wojtyla

Abbado Conducts Haydn

Although Abbado never completed his 'London' Symphonies cycle, these four CDs offer "a paradigm of modern-instrument Haydn fully attuned to the 18th-century spirit as well as to the composer's wit and mastery of the orchestra"- Fanfare, 2008.

New Box Sets, On Sale Now!

Antal Dorati conducts the Philharmonia Hungarica in Haydn's Complete Symphonies - 6/16/09 Pre-Order Now!
Sviatoslav Richter - Pianist of the Century - 9 CDs $46.48
Segovia - The American Decca Recordings Vol 1

Israela & Ilann

"The album is a rather personal project for Israela as she is joined by her son, Ilann Margalit Maazel, for the entire recording. The two bring a welcome amount of joy and familiarity to these ever-popular compositions... Israela and Ilann present these works in their original, intimate format in performances bursting with elegance and delight." -Top40-charts.com. 6/16/09 Release

Recently Released Piano Albums

Yuja Wang plays Chopin, Scriabin and Liszt - $8.98
Brahms: Piano Concertos with Clifford Curzon - 2 CDs $12.48
Yefim Bronfman Plays Salonen: Piano Concerto, Dichotomie

Sale Highlights

The Copenhagen Ring!
Now available individually!
"One Ring cycle I can recommend heartily - musically satisfying, dramatically engaging and full of memorable imagery" -Opera Now
Das Rheingold
Die Walkure
Siegfried
Gotterdammerung
The Complete Set

New Vocal Albums on Decca
Summertime - Beautiful Arias & Classical Songs / Pavarotti, Watson, Carreras, Te Kanawa, Fleming
Celeste Aida - The Verdi Album / Luciano Pavarotti
Handel Gold - Bartoli, Fleming, Kozená, Terfel, Villazón, Te Kanawa, Sutherland

DVDs on Sale
6/23/09 Release - Verdi: Falstaff / Levine/Met, Freni, Bonney, Horne
Handel: Semele / Christie/La Scintilla, Bartoli, Nikiteanu
All DG DVDs
All Decca DVDs

Currently On Sale!

HBDirect Recommends... English Music

2009-06-02T14:51:00.004-04:00

HBDirect Recommends...English Music

As the musical tradition of any nation is unique, so is the music of England, at turns splendid, regal, joyous, pastoral, complex, simple, light, profound, and intimate. Here are some suggested composers, works and recordings for readers interested in hearing more from England's rich musical heritage.

Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695)

Dido & Aeneas / Faultless, Ainsley, Tynan, Bardon, Finley, et al
"Surely set for widespread critical acclaim...The performance takes into account new developments in scholarly thinking, aiming to emulate more closely the court entertainment of Purcell's day...a different, more courtly feel to previous recordings." - BBC Music Magazine

Other recommended recordings of music of Purcell

Fairy Queen / Norrington, Hunt, Pierard, et al
King Arthur / Pinnock, English Concert
"Mr Henry Purcell's most Admirable Composures"
Keyboard Suites & Grounds / Egarr
All recordings of Purcell

Ralph Vaughan Williams
(1872 - 1958)

The Complete Symphonies / Rodgers, Maltman, Russell, Silverthorne, Bournemouth SO, et al (also includes "Flos Campi", "Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1", and Ov. to "The Wasps"). "A critical mass of high inspiration." - ARG

Other recommended recordings of Vaughan Williams

Fantasia on a Theme by Tallis / Marriner
The Lark Ascending / Hickox, Northern Sinfonia
Fantasia on Greensleeves / Marriner
The Wasps / Goodman, Elder, et al
All recordings of Vaughan Williams

Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976)

Peter Grimes / Britten, Pears, ROHCG
"Few opera recordings can claim to be so definitive, with Peter Pears, for whom it was written...a first-rate cast. Britten conducts superbly and secures splendidly incisive playing." - Penguin Guide

Other recommended recordings of music of Britten

Peter Grimes on DVD / Britten, Pears, LSO
A Ceremony of Carols / The Sixteen
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra / Järvi (also in SACD)
Simple Symphony for Strings / Britten, ECO
War Requiem / Britten, LSO
All Recordings of Britten

More...

And, of course, Sir Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934)
Enigma Variations / Boult
Cello Concerto / Du Pré
Serenade for Strings / Zinman
Pomp & Circumstance Marches / Judd, New Zealand SO
All recordings of Elgar

Not to Mention...
John Dowland
Thomas Tallis
Gustav Holst
Frederick Delius
Sir William Walton
Sir John Tavener
Thomas Adès

Handel & Haydn: Honorary Englishmen
Handel: Water Music / Savall
Handel: Fireworks Music / King's Consort
Handel: Coronation Anthems / Cleobury
Haydn: London Symphonies / Beecham
Haydn: Lord Nelson Mass / Willcocks

Visit the Lyrita label: Specialists in English Music
All Lyrita Titles

SPECIAL SALE! All Telarc Titles On Sale through Thursday, June 5th, at midnight!
All Telarc Titles

Also Currently On Sale

HBDirect Weekend Sale on All Opera Titles!

2009-05-29T11:29:00.002-04:00

An Opera Sale Weekend!

From complete operas, highlights, fantasies and suites to solo recitals, this weekend we've discounted every CD & DVD that have anything to do with opera! We've highlighted some recent releases of interest in this newsletter, but you can click here to browse our complete opera collection. Don't wait though - this sale ends Monday at Midnight!

Kate Royal: Off The Beaten Path

"This is the most enjoyable collection of arias I can remember hearing, and the enjoyment lies as much in the unusual (ie imaginative) choice of repertoire as in the beauty of Royal's lyric soprano and the character of her vocal deportment... In years to come this recital will, I hope, rank as a significant staging-post in the career of an already treasurable artist." -Financial Times

Recently Released Solo Vocal Albums

Celeste Aida - The Verdi Album / Luciano Pavarotti
Songs and Duets from Operetas / Veronika Kincses
Bel Canto: Elina Garanca sings Donizetti, Bellini with Abbado

Netrebko & Villazon on Blu-Ray

"Netrebko's Violetta and Villazon's Alfredo are extraordinary and can stand up to the best." -ClassicsToday
"This production is something special: a Traviata so dramatically intense and vocally secure that no other contemporary contender can beat it." -The Times (London)
"Netrebko has a glorious voice, even through a large range, flexible enough for the Act 1 pyrotechnics and warm enough for the tragic happenings thereafter." -Gramophone

Operas on Blu-Ray!

Handel: Giulio Cesare / Christie/Glyndebourne, Kirchschlager
Handel: Tamerlano / McCreesh/Teatro Real, Domingo
Donizetti: Don Pasquale / Santi/Zurich Opera, Florez
Browse All Operas on Blu-Ray!

Serafin, Gobbi, Callas & Di Stefano

"It is the most human and vulnerable Rigoletto on record. The most formidable in his wrath and the most tragic when he realises the truth... [Gobbi] whispers, whines, roars, caresses - his supply of vocal colours seems inexhaustible. This is a reading in a million... If you haven't got the Serafin set: grab the opportunity at once. You will never regret it! " -MusicWeb-International

Complete Operas at a Brilliant Price!

Schubert: Die Freunde von Salamanka / Guschlbauer - $6.49
Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict / Barenboim, Domingo, Dieskau
Mozart: Così fan tutte / Kuijken, Isokoski, Groop

Sale Highlights

Deep Discounts End Sunday!
Up to 45% off over 400 titles through Sunday at Midnight!
Over 300 Naxos titles, Over 60 Naive titles, Over 30 Marco Polo titles and all Tony Palmer DVDs!
Click Here to Browse them all!

Opera on DVD
Prokofiev: War and Peace / Bertini/Opera Nationale de Paris, Guryakova, Gunn
Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen / Davies, Rasilainen, Lagrange, Kuebler
Browse all opera DVDs!

Opera D'Oro
Donizetti: Belisario / Gavazzeni, Zaccaria
Verdi: Aroldo / Rinaldi, Ceccheli
Hindemith: Cardillac / Keilberth, Fischer-Dieskau

Mozart & Drottningholm Court
Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte / Ostman, Biel, Hoglind
Mozart: Die Zauberflote / Ostman, Dahlberg, Biel
Mozart: La Clemenza Di Tito / Ostman, Dahlberg, Soldh, Poulson

Opera on Naxos
Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress / Craft, West, Garrison, Woodley
Janácek: Opera Suites Vol 2 / Breiner, Leppanen, NZSO
Hagen: Shining Brow / Falletta, Orth, Harris, Frankenberry, Buffalo PO

From Orfeo
Dvorák: Kate and the Devil / Gerd Albrecht
Puccini: Madama Butterfly / Klobucar, Jurinac, Janowitz
Ingrid Bjöner - Recital - Verdi, Puccini, Beethoven, Wagner

Introducing HBDirect's Newest Sale!

2009-05-27T11:35:00.003-04:00

On Sale Now at HBDirect

The newest monthly sale at HBDirect has just begun! Through June 25th the complete catalogs of eight labels and two DVD labels, will be discounted 20% or more. You can click any logos in this newsletter to browse the bargains!

Chin's Violin Concerto

"The first masterpiece of the new century" -Alan Rich
"The piece is a knockout." -The New York Times
"Chin remains a name that is one to look out for as the "new century" progresses." -All Music Guide

Recent Releases From Analekta!

Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà play Jean Françaix
Mari Kodama plays Beethoven: Piano Concertos with Nagano
Franck, Lekeu, Mathieu: Works for Violin and Piano

Kathryn Stott Plays Ireland

"This is life-enhancing music... Stott, Handley and the RPO give the work a sharply delineated captivating character. This is the most touching and affecting of readings. It steers well clear of the lavender water we sometimes hear when [Ireland's Concerto] is played." -MusicWeb-International

New on Dutton

Butterworth: Symphonies 1 & 4, Viola Concerto with Barbirolli, Butterworth & Bradley
Creith, Arnell & Pitfield: Violin Concerti / Yates, McAslan
David Matthews: Symphonies 1, 3 & 5 with Martyn Brabbins

Un'Opera Immaginaria

The greatest opera Handel NEVER wrote... Un'Opera Immaginaria is an album assembled from Handel's own music by French musicologist Ivan A. Alexandre. Far more than a compilation album, it selects individual numbers from 11 operas and two oratorios, and reassembles them in a sequence that respects the potent formula elaborated in the composer's 38 operatic works.

New on Virgin And Only $9.98!

Tavener: Thunder Entered Her, The Last Sleep of the Virgin, etc / David Hill, Winchester Cathedral Choir
Tchaikovsky: Symphony no 5 & 6 with Andrew Litton
Brahms: Symphony no 1 & 2 / Eschenbach, Houston SO
Brahms: Symphony no 3 & 4 / Eschenbach, Houston SO

Sale Highlights

New From LPO
Britten: Double Concerto, Bridge Variations / Jurowski, Matthews
Beethoven: Symphony No 9 / Tennstedt, Popp, Murray, Pape
MacMillian: The Confession of Isobel Gowdie; Adès / Alsop

New on Audite
Tchaikovsky, Mozart: Violin Concertos; Bach / Yehudi Menuhin
Organ Music from Multiethnic Transylvania / Paraschivescu, Ungureanu
Edition Ferenc Fricsay - Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Three Label DVD Sale!
Click Here to browse the EMI DVD catalog
Click Here for Virgin DVDs
Click Here for BelAir Classics

Orfeo Records
Dvorák: Kate and the Devil / Gerd Albrecht
Puccini: Madama Butterfly / Klobucar, Jurinac, Janowitz, Lorenzi
Sergiu Celibidache - Portrait

New on Cedille
Romantic Music for Piano Four-Hands - Onslow, Grieg, Liszt, Wagner, etc / Buccheri, Boldrey
Franck, Dupré: Organ Music / David Schrader
Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert: Piano Works / Paperno

From Priory
Alcock: Organ Music / Daniel Cook
Saint-Saëns: Organ Works Vol 1 / Gerard Brooks
Franck: L'organiste / Neil Wright

Over 5,000 Discounted Titles at HBDirect!

2009-05-22T13:14:00.004-04:00

A Naxos & Chandos Sale Weekend!

This weekend at HBDirect all titles from Naxos & Chandos are on sale! Headlining the sale with additional discounts are three new releases: a recital of Xiayin Wang playing Scriabin, a new recording of Foote's Francesca da Rimini with Gerard Schwarz and Iain Quinn's new organ recital Variations on America. This sale will end Monday at Midnight so don't wait!

Xiayin Wang Plays Scriabin

For her first recording on Naxos Xiayin Wang has selected a program which spans Scriabins entire career.
"Even for the most gifted young pianist, it takes a lot to be noticed... Xiayin Wang is clearly doing something right. Ms. Wang's recital at Zankel Hall on Monday night offered plenty of evidence for her sucess." -The New York Times

New Naxos Titles You Won't Want to Miss!

Christian Benda conducts Schubert: Overtures Vol 2
Malipiero: The Symphonies Vol 2 with Antonio de Almeida
Martucci: Complete Orchestral Music Vol 3 / Coggi, Vecchia
Dvorak: String Quartets Vol 8 / Vlach Quartet Prague

Foote's Francesca da Rimini

"He is soundly Brahmsian in his language with diversions to Schumann and possibly Tchaikovsky from time to time...Quite apart from its very compelling intrinsic merits this disc has great value. It has no competition... It's well worth tracking down."-MusicWeb-International

Additions to American, Wind Band & Film Music Classics

Sierra: Missa Latina 'Pro pace' / Delfs, Murphy, Webster
Wind Music by Stamp, Copland, Grainger, Gershwin / O'Neal
Great Movie Themes Vol 2 with Carl Davis & the Liverpool PO

Variations on America

After previous discs featuring Russian and Czech music, the Welsh organist, choral director and composer, Iain Quinn, now turns to American music. This recording was made in Coventry Cathedral and includes works by Copland, Barber, Ives and Cowell.

New on Chandos!

Neeme Järvi conducts Prokofiev: On Guard for Peace & The Queen of Spades with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Liszt: Symphonic Poems, Vol. 5 - Noseda/BBC PO
Christopher Gunning: Symphonies 3 & 4 with the Royal PO
French Bassoon Works with piano / Geoghegan & Fisher

Sale Highlights

New Violin Albums
Bériot: Duos concertants, Duos caractéristiques / Sohn, Marcus
Turina: Violin Sonatas, El poema de una Sanluqueña, etc / León, Masó
Saint-Lubin: Virtuoso Works for Violin Vol 1 / Khitruk, Kopelman
Khachaturian: Concerto-Rhapsody, Violin Concerto / Koeckert, Serebrier

Keyboard Releases
Ireland: Piano Trios, etc / Gould Piano Trio
Sweelinck: Music for Harpsichord / Glen Wilson
Beethoven: Piano Quartets WoO 36 / New Zealand Quartet
Rossini: Complete Piano Edition, Vol. 4 / Marco Sollini
Prokofiev: Piano Concertos nos 1-5 / Berman, Gutierrez, Jarvi
Ralph van Raat: Adams, Tavener, Lindberg, Rzewski - 5 CDs for $34.99

40% off More Than 400 Titles!
We're offering discounts up to 45% on more than 400 titles from four labels! Over 300 Naxos titles, Over 60 Naive titles, Over 30 Marco Polo titles and all Tony Palmer DVDs!
Click Here to Browse them all!

Guitar Releases
Laureate Series, Guitar - Gabriel Bianco
Prospero dreaming - New Zealand Guitar Music by Lilburn and Farquhar / Gunter Herbig

For Voice and Orchestra
Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress / Craft, West, Garrison, Woodley, Cheek
Zemlinsky: Lyric Symphony Op 18; Berg: Pieces from the Lyric Suite / Graf, Trekel, Robinson
Shostakovich: Podrugi "The Girlfriends" Op 41a, etc / Fitz-Gerald, Polish National RSO

Seven Label Sale Ends with a CD Giveaway at HBDirect!

2009-05-19T12:25:00.003-04:00

Sale on Seven Labels & Coupon Expire Tomorrow!

Our current sale on seven complete labels and two DVD labels will end tomorrow at Midnight! We're also extending our weekend coupon offer for a free CD with any order of $50 in merchandise! Click Here for details on the coupon, or click a logo below to browse any of the sale labels!

Cecilia Bartoli in Semele

"Visually, vocally and musically stunning, thanks to a fabulous cast led by Italian diva Cecilia Bartoli, the backup of the period-performance La Scintilla Orchestra and the expert musical leadership of William Christie... Bartoli has us in the palm of her hand... There's plenty to enjoy here." -TheStar.com
Also on Blu-Ray!

More DVDs on Sale Through Wednesday

Rolando Villazon & Nino Machaidze in Gounod's Roméo Et Juliette - Also on Blu-Ray!
Maazel's 1984 (opera) with Simon Keenlyside
Cecilia Bartoli: Barcelona Concert & Malibran Rediscovered
The 2009 New Year's Concert with Barenboim & The VPO

A Hindemith Premiere

"If you care remotely about Hindemith, you will be angry that [Klaviermusik] has been suppressed for so long... Leon Fleisher... is the hard-hitting soloist, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra is energetically conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. Its companion piece is the New World Symphony, beautifully done." -The Guardian

New Releases From Ondine

Rautavaara: The 8 Symphonies
Hallgrimsson's Cello Concerto with Truls Otterbech Mork
Bach's Sonatas for Solo Violin (Arr. for Guitar) by Korhonen

Sibelius Edition, Vol. 8

Sibelius himself is reported to have said: "I am a man of the orchestra. You must judge me from my orchestral works." Volume 8 of the Sibelius Edition brings us back to the field in which the Finnish master earned the greatest acclaim: his orchestral music.

Just Released on BIS

Bach: Cantatas Vol 43 with Suzuki & Bach Collegium Japan
Manfred Huss conducts Haydn's Complete Overtures
21st Century Tuba Concertos by Hogberg, Sandstrom & Aho
Beethoven's Piano Concerto in E flat major (Reconstructed) with Ronald Brautigam & Andrew Parrott

Sale Highlights

From LSO Live
Mahler: Symphony no 8 / Gergiev/LSO
MacMillan: St John Passion / Davis, Maltman, LSO
Sibelius: Symphonies no 1 & 4 / Davis, London SO

Just Released on Hanssler
Franck: Les béatitudes / Rilling, Montague, Danz
Haydn: String Quartets Op 55 no 1-3 / META 4 Quartet
Schubert: O wie schön deine Welt; Mendelssohn, Liszt, Kreutzer / Die Meistersinger

Collegium Records
The Sacred Flame / John Rutter, Cambridge Singers, Nuova Musica - New!
A Christmas Festival / Rutter, Royal PO
Voices - O'Regan / Brown, Choir of Clare College
Lighten Our Darkness / Rutter, The Cambridge Singers

The Newest on Naxos
Scriabin: Piano Music - Poems, Waltzes, Dances / Xiayin Wang
Schubert: Complete Overtures Vol 2 / Benda, Prague Sinfonia
Bériot: Duos concertants, Duos caractéristiques / Sohn, Marcus
Malipiero: The Symphonies Vol 2 / Antonio de Almeida, Moscow SO

New From Preiser
Carl Michael Ziehrer Vol 9 / Schadenbauer, C.M. Ziehrer Orchestra
Lebendige Vergangenheit - Virginia Zeani
Lehár: Piano Music / Karl Macourek

Click the Pig for Sound-Savings
Over 7,000 Classical Recordings for less than $10.00!
Click Here to Browse them all!

Get a Free CD in the Box Set Sale at HBDirect!

2009-05-15T14:59:00.002-04:00

Get a Free CD This Weekend! Read How Below...

In addition to our boxed set sale of over 3,000 classical titles, you can also select a Free CD with any internet order of $50 or more! When you are ready to check out, insert the code FP50 in the coupon code field on the first page of the check out process. Click Here to view the list. Click a logo below to browse some great boxed set bargains!

André Previn & The LSO

Born in Berlin but based out of Los Angeles after fleeing the Nazis, Previn was prolific as a pianist, conductor and composer. This 10-CD set brings together his greatest moments with the LSO, celebrating the 80th birthday of this remarkable man.

New Box Sets From EMI

The Sound of Scandinavia - 6 CDs for $35.48
The Very Best of Glyndebourne on Record - Mozart, Britten, Verdi, Stravinsky, Monteverdi, Rossini, Lehár
Martha Argerich & Friends - Live at the Lugano Festival 2008

Beethoven Symphonies With Abbado & The BPO

"These are fabulous DVD videos!... It's fascinating to watch members of the BPO as they respond to Abbado's knowing baton and the camera work gives us ample opportunity to do this... All in all, this is a class production, essential in any orchestral DVD collection. " -ClassicalCDReview.com . Available on 5/22/09.

DVD Box Sets On Sale This Weekend

Rossini: The Early Operas - 4 DVDs for $29.49
TDK's Teatro Alla Scala Box - Donizetti, Poulenc & Puccini
TDK's Vienna State Opera Box - Verdi & Massenet
Romantic Masterpieces - Brahms, Dvorák, Mendelssohn, etc.

A Legendary Tristan

"The newly reissued Tristan und Isolde, recorded in 1952, has attained classic status because experience - as personified by Furtwängler, Flagstad, and Suthaus - complements youth - as personified by Thebom and Fischer-Dieskau... [Furtwängler] conducts a spacious reading, yet he keeps the music moving along electrically with all the passion it deserves." -Classical.net

More New Releases from the Brilliant Opera Collection

Mozart: Così fan tutte / Kuijken, Isokoski, Groop
Donizetti: Anna Bolena / Rudel, Sills, Plishka, et al
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov / Dobrowen, Christoff
Bellini: Norma / Serafin, Callas, Fillipeschi, Stignani

Sale Highlights

Haydn Box Sets
Concertos on Naxos
Oratorios on Naxos
The Complete Scottish Songs on Brilliant Classics
The Complete Trios on Brilliant

Handel Box Sets
Handel: Admeto, Arminio, Deidamia, Radamisto, etc. / Curtis, Zanasi
Decca Handel Masterworks Box
The Complete Keyboard Suites
A Handel Celebration
Music for the Prince Esterhazy & the King of Naples

On EMI ICON
Montserrat Caballé sings Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, etc.
Artur Schnabel plays Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert
Hans Hotter sings Bach, Brahms, Schubert
Walter Gieseking plays Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Ravel, etc
Fritz Kreisler plays Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Elgar, etc
Franco Corelli - Schubert, Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Rossini, etc

Click the Pig for Sound-Savings
Over 7,000 Classical Recordings for less than $10.00!
Click Here to Browse them all!

Over 8,000 Box Sets Site-Wide!
All popular music box sets are on sale too!
Bill Evans Trio: Turn Out The Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings June 1980
Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time Out (50th Anniversary Edition)
Miles Davis: Kind Of Blue (50th Anniversary Edition)

Currently On Sale

Save Over 40% on More Than 400 Titles at HBDirect!

2009-05-12T13:51:00.002-04:00

We're worried about your music collection.

These days it's easy to let a collection slide. To help yours from falling behind, we're offering deep discounts on more than 400 overstock titles from four fantastic labels. Through Midnight on May 29th, you can save up to 45% on titles from Naxos, Naive, Marco Polo and Tony Palmer Films.

Susan Kagan Plays Ries

"These are not technically easy pieces to play, either in terms of pure keyboard dexterity or in terms of making sense of some of Ries's quirky figurations and mercurial shifts of gears; yet Kagan navigates them flawlessly. I am equally certain that interpretively she makes as strong a case for Ries as possible." -Fanfare

Naxos Overstocks from $4.97

Alwyn: Mirages, Nocturnes, Slum Song, etc
Giorgio Koukl plays Martinu Piano Music, Vol 4
Portait - Sergei Prokofiev - 2 CDs for $9.95
Browse Over 300 Naxos Overstocks!

Fauré Cello Works

The works on this CD are favorites among audiences and performers alike. Although he did not compose a great deal of music for the solo cello, Fauré seems to have had a special affinity for the instrument and its lyrical qualities.

Overstocks From Naive - 40% off!

Alessandrini conducts Vivaldi: l'Olimpiade with Sara Mingardo
Doubles Jeux, Laurent Korcia plays Debussy, Bartók, etc.
Haitink conducts Mahler's Fifth
65 Overstock Titles From Naive!

Ziehrer Overtures

"With excellent forces in the Slovak State Philharmonic and a lovely horn section, Christian Pollack... gives us enjoyable performances. The disc is well recorded, the excellent and broad acoustic enhancing the brass wonderfully. If one enjoys Strauss waltzes and his other dances then you will not be disappointed in these offerings." -MusicWeb-International

Save Over 40% on Marco Polo Overstocks!

Dima Quartet plays Spohr Quartets, Vol 12
Siegfried Wagner: Der Kobold with Strobel, Broberg, Horn
Eckhard Fischer and Christan Köhn play Klebe Violin Music
More Than 30 Marco Polo Overstocks!

Once At A Border

"This epic-length biographical portrait of Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) draws on rarely-seen archival footage, vintage photographs, and interviews with Stravinsky contemporaries including Tatia Rimsky-Korsakov and Nadia Boulanger to provide unique and rare insights into the said Russian composer. Palmer places equal emphasis on Stravinsky's life and classical composition." -All Movie Guide

45% Off All Tony Palmer Films!

Got Rot Tunbridge Wells - G.F. Handel
A Time There Was - Benjamin Britten
O Thou Transcendent - Ralph Vaughan Williams
All Tony Palmer Films

From The Monthly Sale!

Save on Ondine
Hallgrimsson: Cello Concerto, Herma / Mork, Storgards
Hindemith: Klaviermusic; Dvorák: Symphony no 9 / Christoph Eschenbach, Leon Fleisher
Bach: Sonatas for Solo Violin (Guitar Transcriptions) / Timo Korhonen

Click the Pig for Sound-Savings
Over 7,000 Classical Recordings for less than $10.00!
Click Here to Browse them all!

LSO Live on Sale
Mahler: Symphony no 8 / Valery Gergiev, London SO
MacMillan: St John Passion / Davis, Maltman, London SO
Sibelius: Symphonies no 1 & 4 / Colin Davis, London SO

Save on BIS Through 5/20
Handel: Great Handel Choruses / Hill, Sampson, Blaze
Works for Flute & Traditional Chinese Orchestra / Sharon Bezaly
Mendelssohn: Symphony no 2 "Lobgesang" / Howarth, Larmore, Pregardien, Litton
Edouard Lalo: Works for Violin and Orchestra / Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Kees Bakels

DVDs On Sale This Month
Handel: Semele / Christie/La Scintilla, Bartoli, Nikiteanu
Maazel: 1984 / Maazel/Royal Opera House, Keenlyside
New Year's Concert 2009 / Barenboim/VPO
Gounod: Roméo Et Juliette / Villazon, Machaidze

Currently On Sale

Two Extraordinary Labels on Sale at HBDirect!

2009-05-08T10:55:00.002-04:00

A Harmonia Mundi & Hyperion Sale!

Who says you can't have quality at a good price? Through Monday at Midnight at HBDirect all Harmonia Mundi & Hyperion titles are on sale! We've highlighted some of the newest & best values in this newsletter, but you can click one of the logos below to browse a label's complete catalog.

Matthias Goerne Sings Die schöne Müllerin

With Die schöne Müllerin the singer has to free himself from the role of neutral observer and identify with the tragic character of the traveler. Matthias Goerne is capable of donning this costume like no one else. Previous volumes in Goerne's Schubert cycle have won Gramophone Editor's Choice, among other awards.

From on Harmonia Mundi

Alain Planès plays 13 Haydn Piano Sonatas
René Jacobs conducts Telemann: Brockes Passion
Philippe Herreweghe conducts Bruckner's Fifth
Wanderer Trio plays Haydn: Piano Trios

Music From Chirk Castle

"Music from The Chirk Castle Part-Books, is, I am sure, set to become a firm favourite in what is already a healthy year for early music recordings... The sound of [Stephen Rice's] young singers is definitely their own. Even in the better-known pieces by Tallis there is always something new to be heard" -MusicalCriticism.com

New on Hyperion

Steven Osborne plays Rachmaninov's 24 Preludes
Emma Kirkby sings Handel's Chandos Anthems
The Goldner Quartet plays Frank Bridge
Szymanowski's Complete Works for Violin & Piano with Alina Ibragimova & Cédric Tiberghien
Mathias Choral Music with the Wells Cathedral Choir

Conspirare on DVD!

"You're able to see what you always hear when Conspirare performs: a deep and genuine joy in singing, an exultation, and, however hokey it may sound, a love, generous and heartfelt. That radiates from no one more brightly than Johnson, who we get to see conduct from the front here. He puts all of himself into each number, body and soul, and you can sense that drawing the beauty out of his choir." -The Austin Chronicle

Harmonia Mundi Gold - $11.99 Each

Gesualdo: Madrigals with Christie & Arts Florissants
Herreweghe conducts Schütz: Musikalische Exequien
Elgar's Nursery Suite, Sospiri, etc. with Paul Goodwin
Maria Kiehr sings A. Scarlatti

Sale Highlights

Haydn New Releases - $12.99
René Jacobs conducts Haydn Symphonies 91 & 92 with the Freiburg BO
Alain Planès Plays Haydn's Late Piano Sonatas
Jerusalem Quartet: Haydn String Quartets Vol 2
Jean-Guihen Queyras Plays Haydn Cello Concertos

Click the Pig for Sound-Savings
Over 7,000 Classical Recordings for less than $10.00!
Click Here to Browse them all!

Helios On Hyperion - $8.99
Pizzetti: Orchestral Works / Vänskä, BBC SO
Handel: Fireworks, Water Music / King's Consort
Mozart: Piano Concerti no 11-13 / Tomes
English Lute Songs / Robin Blaze, Elizabeth Kenny
Hyperion Titles for $8.99!

Musique d'Abord - $7.49
Mozart: String Quintets K 515 & 516 / Banchini, Ensemble 415
Plain-Chant - Cathédrale d'Auxerre/ Pérès, Ensemble Organum
Purcell: Chamber Music / London Baroque
Arriaga: String Quartet no 1, 2&3 / Casals String Quartet

Also Currently On Sale

HBDirect Recommends... Violin Concertos

2009-05-05T13:44:00.002-04:00

HBDirect Recommends...Violin Concertos

As Ted Libbey puts it, "As the most prominent string instrument in Western culture, the violin has carried the essential message of classical music for 400 years...Indeed, what the violin does best is sing." (NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music). Here are what are touted as many of the greatest recordings of the greatest concertos written for the violin.

Baroque & Classical Concertos

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons / Loveday, Marriner, ASMF
"Marriner's 1970 Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields version with Alan Loveday is an exception and still remains near the top of the list of recommended CDs. The performance is as satisfying as any and will surely delight all." - Penguin Guide

Other recommended recordings - Baroque & Classical

Bach Concertos / Nigel Kennedy
Tartini: Violin Concerto series on Dynamic
St. Georges Concertos / Qian Zhou
Mozart Concertos (complete), etc / Frank
Haydn Concertos, etc. / Accardo
Beethoven Concerto / Perlman

Romantic Concertos

Brahms Concerto / Oistrakh
This recording...will be a known quantity to many. If you're new to it, pick it up right away. It's the kind of recording that is immune to updates. Get this and you'll never need another." - American Record Guide

Other recommended recordings - Romantic

Saint-Saëns: Concerto no 3, etc. / Bakels
Paganini: The Violin Concertos / Accardo
Bruch Concertos, etc. / Perlman
Elgar Concerto, etc. / Kennedy
Mendelssohn Concerto, etc. / Mutter
Dvorak Concerto, etc. / Faust
Tchaikovsky Concerto, etc. / Heifetz
Sibelius & Nielsen Concertos / Lin
Wieniawski Concertos no 1 & 2, etc. / Shaham
Vieuxtemps Concertos / Keylin

20th (& 21st) Century Concertos

Barber & Walton Concertos / Bell
"Joshua Bell's passionate playing in the Barber, full of tender poetry, is well matched by the excellent orchestra... This now takes pride of place. It won the 1998 Gramophone Concerto award." - Penguin Guide

Other recommended recordings - 20th Century

Respighi: Concerto Gregoriano, etc / Mordkovich
Berg Concerto / Mutter
Korngold Concerto, etc. / Ehnes
Prokofiev Concertos, etc. / Milstein
Shostakovich Concerto no 1, etc. / Vengerov
Bartók Concertos / Stern
Stravinsky Concerto, etc. / Frautschi
Harrison: Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orch. / Bagley
Adams Concerto, etc. / Kremer
Gubaidulina Concerto "In tempus praesens", etc. / Mutter

More...

Some Legendary Performances
Szeryng: Mozart and Vivaldi
Heifetz: Brahms
Menuhin: Elgar
Neveu: Brahms & Sibelius
Suk: Mendelssohn, Bruch & Berg Concertos

Stars of the Younger Guard
Julia Fischer: Bach Concertos
Daniel Hope: Shostakovich Concertos
Hilary Hahn: Schoenberg & Sibelius Concertos
Augustin Hadelich: Haydn Concertos
Rachel Barton Pine: Brahms & Joachim Concertos

American Violin Concertos
Samuel Barber: Concerto
Philip Glass: Concerto
John Adams: Concerto
Walter Piston: Concerto No. 1
David Daimond: Concerto No. 2
Joseph Achron: Concerto No. 1
Lou Harrison: Concerto
Edgar Meyer: Concerto
Mark O'Connor: Concerto No. 6 "Old Brass"
Charles Wuorinen: Concerto for Amplified Violin

Currently On Sale at HBDirect

Get Your Coupon In The HBDirect Weekend Sale!

2009-05-01T13:19:00.002-04:00

DG, Decca & Philips on Sale!

Through Monday at Midnight all titles from DG, Decca and Philips are on sale with discounts up to 30%! In addition, we'll take $5 off any internet order of $50 in merchandise if you insert xy5off in the coupon code field on the first page of the checkout process. This coupon can only be used once by each customer and is valid through Midnight on Monday!

Netrebko & Garanca in Bellini's
I Capuleti E I Montecchi

"...an exciting, urgent, dramatic performance that seems to have benefited from having been recorded live rather than over-manipulated... the overall level of intensity and commitment from all concerned makes this the sort of set one wants to return to more than once." -MusicalCriticism.com

Recent Releases From DG

André Previn - A Celebration - 6 CDs for $50.98
Salonen conducts Salonen, with pianist Yefim Bronfman
Dudamel conducts Tchaikovsky's 5th with the SBYO

Handel Gold - 2 CDs for $14.48

This 2-CD set commemorates the 250th anniversary of Handel's death with selections from his most beautiful operas, oratorios, arias and choruses. Includes performances by Renee Fleming, Kiri Te Kanawa, Cecilia Bartoli, Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Anne Sophie von Otter, Thomas Quasthoff, Placido Domingo, Fritz Wunderlich, Bryn Terfel and even Luciano Pavarotti!

Celebrate the Handel Year

Alan Curtis conducts Alcina with DiDonato, Beaumont, Gauvin, Cherici, Priante & Il Complesso Barocco
Handel - The Masterworks - 30 CDs for $58.73
Alan Curtis conducts Ezio with Prina, Hallenberg, Giustiniani, Gauvin, Andersen, Priante & Il Complesso Barocco

Kozena Sings Czech Songs

"This CD carries the same personal originality that made her debut album stand out from the crowd... Kozena, whilst her performances are always memorable, is lifted to an entirely different plateau with these songs in her home tongue and all the emotional resonance they hold for her." -BBC

More New Vocal Recitals

Bel Canto -Elina Garanca sings Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini with Claudio Abbado
A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy with Jessye Norman
Anne Sofie von Otter sings Bach Arias
Rolando Villazón sings Handel with Paul McCreesh

Sale Highlights

Essential Masterpieces
5 CD Sets!
Ultimate Classical Spectacular
Ultimate Haydn
Ultimate Puccini
Ultimate Classical Dreams

Decca's Masterworks Series
Mozart: Don Giovanni / Krips, Danco, Casa, Gueden, Dermota, Berry, Siepi, et al
Brahms: Piano Concerto no 1 & 2 / Curzon, Szell, Knappertsbusch
R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier / Kleiber, Reining, Gueden, Jurinac, Weber, Poell, Dermota, et al
Puccini: Madama Butterfly / Serafin, Tebaldi, Bergonzi, Cossotto, Sordello, et al
Stravinsky: Symphonies / Ernest Ansermet, Suisse Romande Orch.
Wagner: Das Rheingold / Solti, Flagstad, London, Watson, et al

Upcoming Releases - Preorder Today!
Intimate Letters - Janácek: String Quartets; Martinu: Madrigals / Emerson Quartet
Celeste Aida - The Verdi Album / Luciano Pavarotti
Handel: Semele / Christie/La Scintilla, Bartoli, Nikiteanu, Remmert, Rey [2 DVD] Also on Blu-Ray!

Also Currently On Sale

HBDirect Sale - Discounts on Two Labels & Shipping!

2009-04-24T11:17:00.004-04:00

Naxos & Chandos On Sale!

This weekend we're discounting the complete catalogs of Naxos & Chandos up to 30%! Also effective through midnight on Monday, we've dropped our initial shipping rate to only $1.99 plus 50 cents for each additional disc on all domestic internet orders.

Janácek Opera Suites Vol. II

"NZSO is a truly extraordinary orchestra. They approached this music with gusto, enthusiasm and an incredible discipline... Even if it's hard to believe, the playing quality even improved as we continued recording and you're in for a real treat in 2 outstanding CDs that are due to release later in 2009." -Peter Breiner on Vol. 1 - Click Here for the complete interview

The Newest Releases From Naxos

Antoni Wit conducts Szymanowski: Symphonies no 1 & 4, Concert Overture & Etudes for Piano
Martucci: Orchestral Music Vol 2 / La Vecchia, Rome SO
Deutsche Schubert-Lied-Edition 31 - Sturm und Drang Poets
University of Kansas Wind Ensemble plays Ticheli, Dzubay, Bryant, Etezady & Mackey

D'Indy Orchestral Works II

"[Gamba's] readings are beautifully paced, with a fine ear for color and drama... the Icelandic musicians are plenty warm too, and I don't think these recordings are likely to be surpassed soon, unless Charles Munch rises from the dead. I am looking very forward to Volume 2!" -Classical.net on Vol. 1

New From Chandos - Released Tuesday

Opera in English - Rossini: The Italian Girl in Algiers (Highlights) with Cohen, Miles, Tynan, Gibbons, Soar
Contemporaries of Mozat - Bamert conducts the London Mozart Players in Vogler: Symphonies, Overtures, Ballets
Chamber Music by Schulhoff & Schoenberg

The Haydn Concerto Box

"This jolly set from Naxos unites for the first time, I believe, all of Haydn's surviving concertos... Naxos are really spoiling us with the Haydn anniversary. This is a great set... Anyone curious about this area of Haydn's work can invest with confidence." -MusicWeb-International

Haydn Box Sets From Naxos - On Sale This Weekend

Haydn: Oratorios / Schuldt-Jensen, Spering, Rubens - New!
Haydn: The Complete String Quartets / Kodály String Quartet
Haydn: The Complete Piano Sonatas / Jenö Jandó

Sale Highlights

Keyboard Releases
Busoni: Piano Music Vol 5 / Wolf Harden
Kabalevsky: Complete Piano Sonatas / Alexandre Dossin
Dickinson: Complete Solo Organ Works / Jennifer Bate

New On Spanish Classics
García Abril: Madre Asturias / Pixán, Torres-Pardo
Albéniz: Piano Music Vol 3 / Guillermo González

For Choir & Orchestra
Penderecki: Utrenja / Wit, Hossa, Rehlis, Kusiewicz
Mendelssohn: Paulus, Op 36 / Hickox, Gritton
Eccles: The Judgement of Paris, Mad Songs / Curnyn, Williams, Hulett, Bickley
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Shéhérazade Ouverture / Märkl

New Concerto Recordings
Pleyel: Symphonies Concertantes, Violin Concerto in D major / Perry, Thakar, Chiang
Pizzetti: Concerto dell'estate, La festa delle Panatenee, etc / Michailidis, Thessaloniki State SO
Arensky: Piano Concerto Op 2, Fantasia Op 48, etc / Yablonsky, Scherbakov
Bax: Symphonic Variations, Concertante for Piano (Left Hand) / Judd, Wass, Bournemouth SO
Nieminen: Concertos for Flute & Clarinet / Gallois, Raasakka, et al

Also Currently On Sale

The Newest HBDirect Month-Long Sale!

2009-04-20T14:13:00.006-04:00

Sale Running Through May 20th!

Our newest monthly sale, on seven complete labels and two DVD labels, is already underway! We've highlighted some new releases in this newsletter, but you can click on any logo to see the label's complete catalog.

Mahler, Gergiev & the LSO

"It is almost inconceivable that any recording could capture entirely the scale and wide dynamics of this massive work with absolute fidelity, but James Mallinson (producer) Jonathan Stokes (engineer) have achieved a magnificent result using the opportunities offered by the 5.1 multi-channel mix. Definitely recommended." -sa-cd.net

Recent Releases on LSO Live

MacMillan's St. John Passion with Colin Davis
Mahler: Symphony no 2 conducted by Gergiev
Colin Davis conducts Sibelius' Symphonies no 1 & 4

Camilla Tilling Sings Strauss

"Strauss' demanding writing holds no fears for Tilling's technique or vocal range and it's a constant pleasure to hear her negotiate the sometimes fearsome tessitura with apparent ease, the voice maintaining its attractive lightness and bloom throughout, warmed with a delicate vibrato... Tilling is, on the whole, beyong reproach." -MusicalCriticism.com

New Releases From BIS

Partners in Time: Tasmin Little & John Lenehan play Kreisler, Bach, Mozart, Grieg, Tchaikovsky & Bartok
Pettersson: Songs, Concertos for Strings with Christian Lindberg & Anders Larsson
Vänskä conducts Paulus' To Be Certain of the Dawn

Silence and Music

"The singers respond with performances of exceptional focus, clarity, and warmth... Conductor Marcus Creed's readings breathe with naturalness and appropriate fluidity. The sound of the SACD is wonderfully clean, with just enough resonance." -All Music Guide

New on Hanssler Classic

Gidon Kremer plays Schubert, Prokofiev, Beethoven, Kreisler, Webern
Schubert: Complete String Quartets with the Verdi Quartet
Claudio Arrau plays Beethoven & Brahms

Sale Highlights

On Ondine & On Sale
Hindemith: Klaviermusic; Dvorák: Symphony no 9 / Eschenbach, Fleisher
Hallgrimsson: Cello Concerto, Herma / Mork, Storgards
Bach: Sonatas for Solo Violin (for Guitar) / Timo Korhonen

Save on DG & Decca DVDs!
Robert Schumann: The Symphonies / Bernstein/Vienna PO
Gounod: Roméo Et Juliette / Villazon, Machaidze
Cecilia Bartoli / The Barcelona Concert & Malibran Rediscovered
Maazel: 1984 / Maazel/Royal Opera House, Keenlyside

Upcoming Releases on Naxos
Penderecki: Utrenja / Wit, Hossa, Rehlis, Kusiewicz
Haydn: The Complete Concertos / Müller-Brühl, et al
Haydn: Oratorios / Schuldt-Jensen, Spering, Rubens, et al

New Releases on Preiser
Rudolf Bockelmann Vol. 2 - Lebendige Vergangenheit
Surprise - Bach, Caccini, Falconieri, Fauré, Handel, etc / Beasley, Morini, Accordone
Lehár: Piano Music / Macourek

Rutter on Collegium
A Christmas Festival / Rutter, Royal PO
The Cambridge Singers Christmas Album / John Rutter
Rutter: Sprig of Thyme, Traditional Songs, etc.