Reger Collection [11 CD set]

In 2013, a Reger "Anniversary Year", Brilliant Classics is proud to release a substantial Collection on 11 CD's of this great and unjustly neglected composer.

This set presents Reger's best known works: the glorious orchestral Böcklin Suite, the Mozart‐, Beethoven‐ and Hiller Variations, the mighty piano concerto and violin concerto, the beautiful clarinet quintet (not in the least inferior to Brahms' masterpiece), the complete Chorale Fantasias for organ (Reger, organist himself, wrote extensively and superbly for his instrument) and a fine selection of choral works.

Excellent performances by the finest German forces of the Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig, Staatkapelle Berlin and Dresden, and conductors like Franz Konwitchny, Günther Herbig and Otmar Suitner.

Inspired to follow a career in music after attending a performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, celebrated composer Max Reger began his musical endeavours as an organist. His compositional style gradually developed, and today his name is synonymous with the schools of Brahms and Beethoven, his two greatest influences.

This extensive collection provides a showcase of Reger's finest music. Although the composer generally avoided large‐scale works such as the symphony, some of his Variations nevertheless have a symphonic feel: the J.A. Hiller Variations, which enjoyed much popularity during the composer's lifetime; the resplendent Fugue finale of the Beethoven Variations; and the Mozart Variations, long considered a masterpiece. The selection also includes his Concertos, both of which have a distinctly Brahmsian quality, his magnificent Chorale Preludes for organ, as well as music for voice - including the renowned Lied To Hope, reminiscent of Wagner's Tristan, the Hymn of Love and several sacred songs. Reger further proved his versatility by writing A Ballet Suite, something so unlike anything else he had written that the composer himself said of it: '[this] could be by any other composer, just not by me.' The collection boasts a wealth of acclaimed conductors, soloists and orchestras including, among others, violinist Walter Hartwich, organist Wouter van den Broek, and conductors Heinz Rögner and Otmar Suitner.