Sir Colin Davis

London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis – Mozart: Requiem Mass in D minor, K626 (1791) (2008) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · June 6, 2023 · Comments off

‘This is a grandly scaled, nobly contoured reading, by turns monumental and ferociously dramatic. With biting choral attack, searing, spitting strings and scything trumpets, the Dies Irae has a terrifying intensity I have rarely heard equalled. The Rex tremendae, too, is overwhelming in its desperate fervour&… superbly played and vividly recorded” (Gramophone)

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Monserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, Sir Colin Davis, Royal Opera House – Puccini: Tosca (1976) [Reissue 2006] MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · May 28, 2023 · Comments off

Caballé’s Tosca is one of the most ravishingly on record, with scarcely a less than beautiful note throughout, save where an occasional phrase lies a touch low for her. She doesn’t quite have the ‘prima donna’ (in quotes, mind) temperament for the part (the coquettish malice of ‘but make her eyes black!’, as Tosca forgives Cavaradossi for using a blonde stranger as model for his altarpiece of the Magdalen, isn’t in Caballé’s armoury; either that or she knows that her voice would sound arch attempting it), but her portrayal is much more than a display of lovely sounds. She’s precise with words, takes minute care over phrasing, and she knows to a split second where dead-centre precise pitching becomes crucial. Carreras’s Cavaradossi is one of his best recorded performances: the voice untarnished, the line ample, and if he’s tempted at times to over-sing one forgives the fault for the sake of his poetic ardour. José Carreras recorded Tosca twice in the 1970s–his best years–but his voice was much better for Colin Davis when recording this set in 1976 than it was for Herbert von Karajan’s 1979 interpretation. Wixell is the fly in the ointment: a capable actor and an intelligent artist, but his gritty timbre lacks centre and thus the necessary dangerous suavity. Davis’s direction is flexible but dramatic and finely detailed, and the secondary singers are all very good. The recording, despite some rather unconvincing sound effects, still sounds very well, with space around the voices and a natural balance between them and the orchestra.

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London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis – Smetana: Má vlast (My Fatherland) (2005/2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · May 14, 2023 · Comments off

Inspired by the mythology and pastoral beauty of his Czech homeland, Smetana’s six tone poems that form Má vlast (My Fatherland) is one of the best examples of Nationalism in music. The stirring second movement depicts the river Vltava as it flows through the countryside and into Prague. Struck with deafness in 1874, Smetana would never hear a performance of what would become his most popular work.

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London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis – Holst: The Planets, Op. 32 (2003/2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · May 14, 2023 · Comments off

The Planets became one of the most popular and widely recognised musical works of the 20th century. Holst himself conducted the LSO in two early recordings of his masterpiece. Sir Colin Davis’s blazing performance, recorded over three evenings in June 2002, promises to be one of the classical releases of the year.

“Colin Davis, as might be expected, has no problems, conjuring like Uranus the Magician, the full panoply of atmosphere, stillness and energy from the vitruoso LSO” (Daily Telegraph)

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London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis – Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini (2008/2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · May 14, 2023 · Comments off

Cellini is inspired by the life of the legendary Florentine goldsmith and Renaissance figure. Its first performances in Paris during 1838-39 were disastrous as it proved too great a challenge for the musicians of the day. Yet even by Berlioz’s high standards it contains music of exceptional inventiveness and beauty.

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London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis – Sibelius: Pohjola’s Daughter, Symphony No. 2 (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 17, 2023 · Comments off

Sibelius was one of the 20th century’s greatest and most innovative symphonists, with a musical style evoking beauty, mystery, colour and light. Influenced as much by a period of living in Italy as by his Finnish homeland, the Second Symphony marked a major step in his development as a composer, and remains one of his most popular works.

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Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra – Haydn: Die Schöpfung (2009) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · March 7, 2023 · Comments off

This recording of one of Haydn’s greatest masterpieces is not to be missed. Those who are familiar with Colin Davis’s recordings of the Haydn London Symphonies, made over 30 years ago with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, will know that he has a special affection for this composer’s music and unfailingly communicates his love of it to both performers and listeners alike. Surprisingly this would appear to be the first time that he has recorded Haydn’s Creation, but it has been worth the wait.

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Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra And Chorus – Handel: Messiah (2007) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · March 5, 2023 · Comments off

With an outstanding solo quartet and a great chorus and orchestra, Davis leads a sterling performance that challenges the supremacy of his 1966 Philips recording of Messiah. Davis leads a dramatic performance; the famous “Hallelujah” chorus appropriately grand, the final “Amen” bristling with brazen energy, both sung with extraordinary tonal coloring and precise articulation by the chorus, which also shines in a lithe “He shall purify” and a vividly virtuoso “For unto us a child is born.” Soprano Susan Gritton’s solos are a delight, whether in the measured “Behold, a virgin shall conceive” or her exuberant “Rejoice greatly.” The vocal purity of her “I know my redeemer liveth” makes this track a highlight. Alto Sara Mingardo’s darker tones are especially moving in her arias and dramatic in “He was despised.” The men are almost as good; Alistair Miles sonorous in the bass arias and Mark Padmore recovering nicely after a somewhat mannered “Evr’y valley.” The LSO is in excellent form too, the strings expressive in the orchestral interludes and the brass shining brightly in the big choruses of Part III, where the tympani thwacks are startling in their power.

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London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis – Haydn: The Seasons (Die Jahreszeiten) (2011) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 5, 2023 · Comments off

Following the success of Die Schpfung (The Creation), which had swiftly gained popularity throughout Europe, Haydn’s librettist Baron Gottfried van Swieten suggested another project, based on James Thomson’s pastoral epic, The Seasons. One of Haydn’s last major works, Die Jahreszeiten depicts the yearly cycle of life in the countryside through the eyes of three peasants, providing us with music of thrilling vitality and creativity.

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Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra – Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 92 & 93, 97-99 (2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 5, 2023 · Comments off

The late Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra present a collection of Haydn’s expressive and resplendent London Symphonies alongside the spirited and melodic Oxford Symphony.

Sir Colin Davis was long recognised as a pre-eminent Haydn interpreter. During his Indian summer with the orchestra he recorded both Die Schöpfung (The Creation) and Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons) for LSO Live. These symphonies presented here were recorded in 2011 during this same period, and make for revelatory listening.

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Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra – Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 (2001) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · December 24, 2022 · Comments off

With his Seventh Symphony, Dvořák set out to write a piece that would ‘stir the world’. Although it was written to a commission from London, the composer’s Czech nationalist leanings shine out from the work, which is full of drama and rich, beautiful melody.

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Sir Colin Davis, Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks – Tchaikovsky & Dvorak: Serenades for Strings (1988) [Japan 2017] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · November 8, 2022 · Comments off

Sir Colin Davis, Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks – Tchaikovsky & Dvorak: Serenades for Strings (1988) [Japan 2017]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 64:08 min | Basic Scans incl. | 2,62 GB
or FLAC (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/48 kHz | Basic Scans included | 707 MB
Japanese SACD Reissue 2017 | Deutsche Grammmophon / Esoteric Company, Japan # ESSD-90179

Sir Colin Davis conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for performances of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade For Strings in C major and Dvorak’s Serenade For Strings in E major. This reissue series of classical music masterpieces by Esoteric has attracted a lot of attention, both for its uncompromising commitment to recreating the original master sound. This series marks the first hybrid SACD release of historical recording selections that have been mainstays of the catalog since their initial release.

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Sir Colin Davis, Academy Of Saint Martin In The Fields – Purcell: Dido & Aeneas (1970) [Reissue 2016] MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · November 8, 2022 · Comments off

Sir Colin Davis, Academy Of Saint Martin In The Fields – Purcell: Dido & Aeneas (1970) [Reissue 2016]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 58:15 minutes | Front/Rear Cover | 2,45 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Front/Rear Cover | 2,3 GB
or FLAC Stereo (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Front/Rear Cover | 1,19 GB
Features Stereo and Quadrophonic Surround Sound | Label: PentaTone # PTC 5186230

When Henry Purcell wrote his one and only opera “Dido and Aeneas” in the second half of the seventeenth century, there was no existing opera tradition in England. With a libretto based on Virgil’s Aeneid and its music stylistically close to and derived from the typically English ‘Masque’ form, Purcell created a monumental baroque opera. On this 1970 multi-channel Philips Classics recording, Dido is interpreted by soprano Josephine Veasey. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the John Alldis choir are conducted by Sir Colin Davis. The recording has been remastered in 2015 and is now re-released in Pentatones’s Remastered Classics series, which finally gives it the chance to expose its magnificent sound quality.

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London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis – Berlioz: L’Enfance du Christ (2007) DSF DSD64

SACD / DSD By admin · September 2, 2022 · Comments off

London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis – Berlioz: L’Enfance du Christ (2007)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:36:23 minutes | 3,81 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Booklet, Front Cover | © LSO
Recorded live in DSD, 2 and 3 December 2006 at the Barbican, London

Alone among Berlioz’s major works, L’enfance du Christ came into being not in response to a clear plan but gradually, haphazardly, over a period of several years. One evening in 1850 at a party, while his fellow guests played cards, his friend the architect Joseph-Louis Duc asked him to write something for his album. Berlioz complied: ’I take a scrap of paper and draw a few staves, on which in a little while an Andantino in four parts for organ makes its appearance. I am struck by a certain character of naïve, rustic devoutness in the music and decide to add some words in the same vein. The organ piece disappears and turns into a chorus of Bethlehem shepherds saying goodbye to the child Jesus at the moment when the Holy Family set out on their journey to Egypt.’

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London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis – Berlioz: L’enfance du Christ (2007) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · September 1, 2022 · Comments off

London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis - Berlioz: L'enfance du Christ (2007) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

Described as a ‘sacred trilogy’, Berlioz’s oratorio L’enfance du Christ began as a short piece called Shepherds’ Farewell. It tells the story of the birth of Jesus and the journey of the Holy Family as they escape Bethlehem and head across Egypt to the city of Saïs. Unlike many of the composer’s more flamboyant works, it is an exquisite and gentle composition scored for relatively small forces.
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