All of Rachmaninov’s music - from his earliest student compositions to his final masterpieces – has been collected together for the first time on 32 CDs, in what is definitively the most complete and comprehensive edition of Rachmaninov’s works ever released.

While there are plenty of contestants these days for the top spot in the "who's got the best recording of Rachmaninov?"" competition, one could persuasively argue that this 1993 recording with Nikolai Korniev directing the St. Petersburg Chamber Choir is the best. First, of course, the choir is Russian, which means that they've got the right tone, the right technique, the right intonation, and, best of all, the right basses for the job because no choir anywhere can hit low B flats like Russian basses. Second, the director is a dedicated choral conductor, which means that he's not using this disc as an audition for recording operas, oratorios, or symphonies, but rather doing it for the sake of the music.

Is Prokofiev's Scythian Suite a deliberate parody of Stravinsky's La sacra du printemps? On the basis of Valery Gergiev's recording of it, yes, it is. Gergiev's interpretation is comic and a big, brutal slapstick Stravinsky with bone-crushing percussion and brain-rattling brass, with squealing winds and skittering strings. Gergiev's rhythms in "The Enemy God" and the "Dance of the Black Spirits" have the subtlety of a pie in the face and his colors in "Night and in Procession of the Sun" have the nuance of a pratfall. Gergiev's interpretation is not only the funniest ever recorded, it is also the most accurate representation of the score and the best ever recorded.

Gerviev and the Vienna Philharmonic give a splendid performance of Symphonie fantastique. The Death of Cleopatra is a dramatic "lyric scene" written in 1819 describing "an Egyptian queen who has been bitten by a poisonous snake and is dying a painful death in an agony of remorse." Mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina, now at the peak of her career, is magnificent in this performance, a very appropriate coupling for the symphony. The Vienna Philharmonic is at its best and this recording, from live performances in May 2003 in Vienna's Musikverein is superb sonically, more natural in sound than the same conductor and orchestra's recording of Pictures at an Exhibition recorded in April 2000 (see REVIEW). Text/translation are provided for Cléopåtre.

This is an excellent disc from one of the best mezzosopranos working during the last couple of decades. It does also, I suppose, present a nice survey of Tchaikovsky’s songs (of which there is quite a number, few of which are well-known) and includes at least the two most famous ones, “None but the lonely heart” and “Once Again, Alone” – and the selection consists of songs from both early in his career (the 1869 set including “None but the lonely heart”) and late ones. However, I would warn against listening through this disc in one go – these songs are pretty much all rather dark and sad and slow, focusing on loneliness, regret, sorrow and longing. Taken a few at a time, on the other hand, virtually every single one comes across as a marvelous gem.

Valery Gergiev directs the Kirov Opera and Ballet in this magnificent 1998 production of Borodin’s "Prince Igor", presented in a new Mariinsky Theatre performing edition and featuring Mikhail Fokine’s original choreography in the famous Polovtsian Dances. Its four acts tell of the struggle between the Russians and Polovtsian nomads, of Prince Igor’s capture and escape from his noble opponent, Khan Konchak, and of love between Igor’s son, Vladimir, and Konchak’s daughter, Konchakovna.

Modest Mussorgsky's opera in prologue and four acts is performed by the Kirov Opera with performances from Olga Borodina, Alexei Steblianko and Sergei Leiferkust. Boris Godunov has obtained the throne of Russia by murdering the rightful heir Dmitry. An old monk, Pimen, witnessed this, and convinces his apprentice Grigory to avenge Dmitry's death. In the following years Grigory poses as Dmitry, raising an army against Boris, who is now convinced that he is being punished for the murder.

In terms of vocal power, lyrical beauty and idiomatic authenticity, the casting for this 1992 live recording of the Kirov production of Pique Dame ("The Queen of Spades") could hardly be bettered. Gegam Grigorian (Herman) hits his fearsome, anguished high notes with the accuracy of a laser and Maria Gulegina (Liza) has a voice the size of the QEII but uses it with great subtlety–her opening duet with Pauline floats like gossamer, and her declarations of love for Herman at the end of Act 1 are spine-tingling. Kirov superstars Sergei Leiferkus (Tomsky) and rich-toned Olga Borodina (Pauline) also sound divine.

Starring Angela Gheorghiu as the celebrated French actress Adriana Lecouvreur and Jonas Kaufmann as her lover Maurizio, Count of Saxony, Cilea’s verismo drama explores celebrity, romance, jealousy, and death. The trio of sublime voices is completed by Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina as Adriana’s jealous rival, the Princess de Bouillon. David McVicar’s hit production – the first performance of the opera at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for more than a century – presents the life of the French actress as a blurring of the distinction between fantasy and reality.

Sergei Prokofiev devoted the last twelve years of his life to War and Peace. He completed the orchestration by April 1942 and the entire score was ready in March 1943. Having completed the first version (containing eleven scenes) unusually quickly, the composer continued working on the opera over the next ten years. The greatest landmark in the stage history of the opera came with the 1991 production at the Mariinsky Theatre, when Prokofiev's complete score was performed for the first time with no cuts.

Unter der Leitung von Roberto Rizzi Brignoli verlieh eine neue Sängergeneration Cileas berühmtester Oper im Januar 2000 frischen Glanz. Für ihr Scala-Debüt als Adriana wurde Daniela Dessi von der italienischen Presse einhellig bejubelt. Die Oper von Francesco Cilea bezieht sich auf die authentische Figur Adrienne Couvreur, die Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts als erfolgreichste französische Schauspielerin galt und durch eine Liebschaft mit dem Grafen Moritz von Sachsen zur Rivalin der Herzogin von Boullion wurde. Dieser Umstand wird auch mit ihrem plötzlichen Tod im Alter von nur 38 Jahren in Verbindung gebracht, der die Folge einer Vergiftung gewesen sein soll. Die Oper feierte ihre Uraufführung im Jahre 1902 mit Enrico Caruso.

Olga Borodina sings the role of Dalila here too; her tone in the famous aria Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix is quite ravishing, and she is matched by an heroic performance from Plácido Domingo as Samson. James Levine has an expert grasp of the drama in this 1998 Elijah Moshinsky production from the Metropolitan Opera. There's also some luxury casting in the form of Sergei Leiferkus as Le Grand Prêtre de Dagon and René Pape as Le Vieillard Hébreu. (James Longstaffe)

The Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg is one of the most prestigious opera and ballet venues in the world. Built in 1860 and named in honour of Maria Alexandrovna of Hesse-Darmstadt, wife of Czar Alexander II, it is home to the famous Mariinsky Ballet as well as numerous international stars and ensembles. After the turn of the millennium it was painstakingly restored; and since 2013, St. Petersburg's Theatre Square has been crowned with the "Mariinsky II" an imposing new arts and performance venue. At its inauguration on May 2, 2013, the highly gifted conductor Valery Gergiev led a veritable who's who of the classical music world.