The Unsung Connection
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Matthew Oberstein leads the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra
Sometimes, composers become so well known for one type of music that we forget they wrote anything else.
That’s particularly true of those remembered almost entirely for their operas, but who also turned out music for piano, string quartet, chamber ensemble, and symphony orchestra.
These instrumental works underscore the breadth—and depth —of their creators, and round out our understanding of their more familiar work for the operatic stage.
In this hour, “unsung” works by Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Menotti, and more.
FEATURED RECORDINGS
Title |
Group/Artist |
Catalog # |
UPC |
Bizet: Symphony in C, etc. |
Orchestra de Paris, Paavo Jarvi |
Virgin Classics 62861304 |
5099962861304 |
Rossini Overtures |
Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado |
Deutsche Grammophon 431 653-2 |
028943165327 |
Rossini: Piano Music, Vol. 2 [for “Polka mazurka” |
Alessandro Marangoni |
Naxos 8.570766 |
0747313076673 |
Rapture [for “Una furtiva lagrima”] |
Gosta Winbergh |
Deutsche Grammophon 289 471 717-2 |
028947171720 |
Carnevale Di Venezia [for Donizetti’s Concertino for Clarinet & Orchestra] |
Eduard Brunner; Munich Chamber Orchestra, Hans Stadlmair |
Tudor 728 |
7619911072827 |
Offenbach: Gaite Parisienne [for No. 22 “Vivo”] |
Boston Pops, Arthur Fiedler |
RCA 09026-61847-2 |
090266184729 |
Offenbach Romantique [for Cello Concerto] |
Les Musiciens de Louvre, Marc Minkowski |
Archiv Produktion 477 6403 |
028947764038 |
Verdi Without Words [for “Sempra Libre”] |
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Erich Kunzel |
Telarc 03642 |
089408036422 |
Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti String Quartets |
Alberni Quartet |
CRD 3366 |
708093336623 |
Best of Bizet [for Carmen Suite] |
Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, Antal Dorati |
Philips 442 273-2 |
028944227222 |
Bizet Symphony in C, etc. [for Roma Symphony] |
Orchestra of Paris, Paavo Jarvi |
Virgin Classics 62861304 |
5099962861304 |
Wagner: The ‘Ring’ Without Words [for Entry of the Gods into Valhalla] |
Berlin Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel |
Telarc CD-80154 |
089408015427 |
Wagner: Symphonies |
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Hiroshi Wakasugi |
Denon CO-75259 |
081757525923 |
Puccini Without Words [for “Un Bel Di” instrumental] |
Andre Kostelanetz & His Orchestra |
CBS Records MDK 46825 |
07464462852 |
Puccini Discoveries [for “Scherzo”] |
Milan Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly |
Decca 475 320-2 |
028947532026 |
Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors [orchestral clip] |
Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Alastair Willis |
Naxos 8.669019 |
730099901970 |
Menotti Violin Concerto |
Ittai Shapira; Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Sanderling |
ASV CD DCA 1156 |
743625115628 |
Heggie: Dead Man Walking [for Prelude] |
Houston Grand Opera, Patrick Summers |
Virgin Classics |
5099960246325 |
Here/After [for Heggie’s Soliloquy] |
Jake Heggie, Carol Wencenc |
Pentatone PTC 5186 515 |
827949051562 |