January heavyweights include the Emerson Quartet's complete recordings on Deutsche Grammophon, all of the Argo & L’Oiseau-Lyre recordings made by the The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford and Simon Preston, Jörg Demus's Bach recordings on Westminster, and Arnold Bax's complete symphonies and selected tone-poems from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and David Lloyd-Jones.
The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, Simon Preston
This tribute to the English organist and conductor Simon Preston (who died last year) brings together all of the Argo & L’Oiseau-Lyre recordings which he made with the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, where he served as Organist from 1970 to 1981; the repertoire includes Byrd's Masses for Four and Five Voices, Handel's Messiah and Israel in Egypt, Dvořák's Mass in D, Stravinsky's Canticum Sacrum and Symphony of Psalms, and discs devoted to Lassus, Vivaldi and Walton.
Available Format: 19 CDs
Arnold Bax: Complete Symphonies and Other Orchestral Works
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, David Lloyd-Jones
As well as the seven symphonies which Bax composed between 1921 and 1939, this set includes the tone-poems Tintagel, In the Faëry Hills, The Happy Forest, November Woods, Into the Twilight, The Tale the Pine Trees Knew and more; recorded between 1996 and 2003, the individual volumes have been praised for their 'uncompromising directness and fire' (Classic CD on Symphony No. 1) and 'color, energy, and briskness' (American Record Guide on Symphony No. 3).
Available Format: 7 CDs
In addition to the complete studio recordings which Klemperer made with Wiener Symphoniker for the VOX label in 1951, this set also includes a number of live recordings made between 1951 and 1963. A highlight is the 1963 all-Beethoven concert (comprising the Coriolan Overture and Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3) - Klemperer's final performance with the orchestra, which prompted Der Kurier am Morgen to hail him as 'without a doubt the most significant Beethoven musician of our time, perhaps the most complete there has ever been'.
Available Format: 16 SACDs
