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Mozart: Don Giovanni

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from: Archiv Produktion

Release Date June 27, 1995
John Eliot Gardner is one of the greatest conductors of our age. His Beethoven symphonies are probably the greatest recordings of those pieces ever made. His Mozart is no less impressive. Crisp, exciting and occasionally frightening, there are also some beautifully tender moments and the sound quality is top notch. The orchestra are at their usual high standard and, to my ears at least, the singers are all excellent. Highly recommended.

CD-Charts Position 2
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Mozart: Complete Edition Box 15: Late Italian Operas (11 CDs)

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by: Various Artists

Release Date October 17, 2005
John Eliot Gardner is one of the greatest conductors of our age. His Beethoven symphonies are probably the greatest recordings of those pieces ever made. His Mozart is no less impressive. Crisp, exciting and occasionally frightening, there are also some beautifully tender moments and the sound quality is top notch. The orchestra are at their usual high standard and, to my ears at least, the singers are all excellent. Highly recommended.

CD-Charts Position 3
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Mozart: Don Giovanni

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by: The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Thomas Allen Francisco Araiza Robert Lloyd Neville Marriner Sharon Sweet

Release Date July 07, 2003
John Eliot Gardner is one of the greatest conductors of our age. His Beethoven symphonies are probably the greatest recordings of those pieces ever made. His Mozart is no less impressive. Crisp, exciting and occasionally frightening, there are also some beautifully tender moments and the sound quality is top notch. The orchestra are at their usual high standard and, to my ears at least, the singers are all excellent. Highly recommended.

CD-Charts Position 4
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Renata Tebaldi / Classic Recital

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by: Renata Tebaldi New Philharmonia Orchestra Oliviero Fabritiis

Release Date February 13, 2006
John Eliot Gardner is one of the greatest conductors of our age. His Beethoven symphonies are probably the greatest recordings of those pieces ever made. His Mozart is no less impressive. Crisp, exciting and occasionally frightening, there are also some beautifully tender moments and the sound quality is top notch. The orchestra are at their usual high standard and, to my ears at least, the singers are all excellent. Highly recommended.

CD-Charts Position 5
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Barbara Bonney: While I Dream

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by: BARBARA, BONNEY

Release Date October 05, 2004
Is this the same Barbara Bonney who gave us some of the finest female Lieder recitals in the past decades? My main problem with this recital is Schumann's "Dichterliebe": as much as I can understand Bonney's desire to perform it (in the booklet, she claims to be jealous of all the tenors and baritones who have sung this music), I can't quite appreciate her approach to this cycle. I just dug out my Lotte Lehmann set, recorded in 1941; I was never convinced that it was necessary for female singers to appropriate this and other 'male' Lieder cycles (and just to ward off any suspicion of sexism on my part, I should add that I am a woman myself), but there was so much to enjoy in Lehmann's disc that in a way it became irrelevant what kind ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea

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from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date May 06, 1996
This is, all in all, an excellent recording. John Elliott Gardiner uses minimal instrumental forces to give a version that is not only authentic, but true to the spirit of Monteverdi's masterpiece. Voices are accompanied by continuo only, with the rest of the orchestra playing during ritornelli over scene changes. (Hickox's recording for Virgin is similar in this respect.) Gardiner has used the Naples score of Poppea, which differs slightly to the Venice score heard in many other versions, and has replaced the opening Sinfonia (which was not composed by Monteverdi) with that of 'Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria', and had new ritornelli composed to correct some strange harmonies in the written out versions (Monteverdi probably only supplied the base ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Jiping - Farewell My Concubine Original Soundtrack

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from: Varese Sarabande

Release Date January 10, 1994
This is, all in all, an excellent recording. John Elliott Gardiner uses minimal instrumental forces to give a version that is not only authentic, but true to the spirit of Monteverdi's masterpiece. Voices are accompanied by continuo only, with the rest of the orchestra playing during ritornelli over scene changes. (Hickox's recording for Virgin is similar in this respect.) Gardiner has used the Naples score of Poppea, which differs slightly to the Venice score heard in many other versions, and has replaced the opening Sinfonia (which was not composed by Monteverdi) with that of 'Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria', and had new ritornelli composed to correct some strange harmonies in the written out versions (Monteverdi probably only supplied the base ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Farewell, My Lovely/Monkey Shines: An Experiment In Fear

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by: Original Soundtrack

Release Date January 11, 2005
This is, all in all, an excellent recording. John Elliott Gardiner uses minimal instrumental forces to give a version that is not only authentic, but true to the spirit of Monteverdi's masterpiece. Voices are accompanied by continuo only, with the rest of the orchestra playing during ritornelli over scene changes. (Hickox's recording for Virgin is similar in this respect.) Gardiner has used the Naples score of Poppea, which differs slightly to the Venice score heard in many other versions, and has replaced the opening Sinfonia (which was not composed by Monteverdi) with that of 'Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria', and had new ritornelli composed to correct some strange harmonies in the written out versions (Monteverdi probably only supplied the base ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Bach: Cantatas, Vol 10 /Koopman

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from: Wea/Atlantic/Erato

Release Date September 22, 2000
This is, all in all, an excellent recording. John Elliott Gardiner uses minimal instrumental forces to give a version that is not only authentic, but true to the spirit of Monteverdi's masterpiece. Voices are accompanied by continuo only, with the rest of the orchestra playing during ritornelli over scene changes. (Hickox's recording for Virgin is similar in this respect.) Gardiner has used the Naples score of Poppea, which differs slightly to the Venice score heard in many other versions, and has replaced the opening Sinfonia (which was not composed by Monteverdi) with that of 'Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria', and had new ritornelli composed to correct some strange harmonies in the written out versions (Monteverdi probably only supplied the base ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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Renaissance: The Mix Collection Part 2 - Mixed by John Digweed (1995)

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by: Various

Release Date January 31, 1997
Brilliant! - You know why? Because this simply involves two decks, a mixer (I'm guessing the DJM600 if the much used filter effect on this CD is anything to go by) and a very talented DJ. I love this mix in its glorious entirety. What's more - it's live. On a good stereo, you can actually here the occasional record crackle! The mixing is by and large first rate - beat perfect, lengthy and in key and the programming is at times, inspired!! I still listen to this compliation an awful lot today and still play out some of the tunes on it myself - especially Schudelfloss, Twist & Shout, Same Sun Same Sky and Bullet, because they still sound so fresh & funky....