W. A. MOZART
Alicia de Larrocha Plays Mozart Alicia de Larrocha (piano), André Previn (piano) / English Chamber Orchestra, The Orchestra of St. Luke's, Sir Colin Davis [ Sony / RCA Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] "...this is a profound reading with many subtleties of touch and altogether a more weighty approach, especially evident in the slow movement. K491 is predictably dramatic. Marriner's orchestra is excellent." classical-music |
TCHAIKOSVKY / BRAHMS / SHOSTAKOVICH / SIBELIUS / HANDEL / RIMSKY KORSAKOV / etc
Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra - The Columbia Stereo Collection Isaac Stern (violin) William Kincaid (flute) Anthony Gigliotti (clarinet) Gary Graffman (piano) / Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy [ Sony RCA Original Masters / 88 CD Box Set - released 17/Nov/2023 ] The Sony label now presents Eugene Ormandy's stereo recordings from Philadelphia containing all recordings released from 1958 to 1963 (plus some fillers from later years). |
BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / MOZART
Leon Fleisher Plays Beethoven & Brahms [5 CD set] Leon Fleisher (piano) / The Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell [ Sony Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2012 ] "Fleisher has the ability to take the slow movement slowly, and the molto adagio cadenza near its end is for once as slow as the composer could wish, and very impressive. The finale has plenty of fire" (Gramophone on the Brahms Concerto No 1) |
EDWARD GRIEG / ROBERT SCHUMANN
Grieg / Schumann: Piano Concertos (Rec 1989) Murray Perahia (piano) / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 20/May/2011 ] "Murray Perahia's 1987 Schumann and Grieg concertos with Colin Davis remain the most recommendable digitally recorded pairing of these war-horses, and they bloom even more via Sony's Expanded Edition remastering." (ClassicsToday) |
HERRMANN / NEWMAN / KORNGOLD / TIOMKIN / ROZSA / WAXMAN
Charles Gerhardt conducts Classic Film Scores National Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Gerhardt, with Kiri te Kanawa (soprano) & Norma Procter (contralto) [ RCA Red Seal / Sony music Masters / 12 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] In the 1970s, the Classic Film Scores series introduced a new generation to the sumptuous sound of music in Hollywood's "Golden Age." |
W. A. MOZART
Sir Colin Davis conducts Mozart Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Colin Davisa, The Orchestra of St. Luke's, Sir Colin Davis [ Sony / RCA Classical Masters / 4 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] "Twelve of Mozart scintillating Overtures are given superlative performances with the justly famous Staatskapelle of Dresden conducted with great panache by Colin Davis on this marvellous CD." classical-music.com |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons / Flute Concertos Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute) / Members of the Orchestre National de France, I Soloisti Veneti, Lorin Maazel (violin/director), Claudio Scimone [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 4/Apr/2011 ] Vivaldi's most popular work is accompanied by three Flute Concertos performed by Jean-Pierre Rampal. |
PIAZZOLLA / JOBIM / BOLLING / PORTER / TRADITIONAL / etc
Yo-Yo Ma - Crossing Borders Yo-Yo Ma (cello) with Stephane Grappelli (violin) Sergio & Odair Assad (guitars) Claude Bolling (piano) Bobby McFerrin (vocals) Mark O'Connor (violin) [ Sony Classical Masters / 9 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] Yo-Yo Ma's multi-faceted career is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. This CD box set features nine of Yo-Yo's classic cross-over albums. |
VIVALDI / BOCCHERINI / HAYDN / BEETHOVEN / SERVAIS / FRANCHOMME
Anner Bylsma plays Concertos and Ensemble Works [6 CD set] Anner Bylsma (cello) with Tafelmusik, L'Archibudelli, Collegium Aureum, etc [ Sony Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 15/Sep/2014 ] "Anner Bylsma is a tremendous enthusiast, whose high spirits and nervous energy never fail to manifest themselves in his performances." (Gramophone) |
FREDERIC CHOPIN
Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2 Arthur Rubinstein (piano) / New Symphony Orchestra of London / Symphony of the Air [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 10/Apr/2012 ] "The result is wonderfully exciting. This is a really superb account of this lovely music." (Gramophone) |
FREDERIC CHOPIN
Artur Rubinstein: The Chopin Collection (10 CDs special price) Artur Rubinstein (piano) with New Symphony Orchestra & Symphony of the Air [ Sony Classical Masters / 10 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2011 ] "The florid gusto of Rubinstein's playing may not suit modern tastes, but he is clearly engaged with his material, rendering such considerations meaningless; and at his best, he is breathtaking." the Independent |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Michael Tilson Thomas Conducts Beethoven English Chamber Orchestra, Ambrosian Singers, London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas, with Éva Marton (soprano) [ Sony Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] "Ormandy's reading generates excitement through exact accentuation as well as vibrant instrumental color and striking ensemble balances. You'd expect to hear the piano clearly at the start of the first-movement development section, but it makes a... |
FRANZ LISZT
Kissin plays Liszt Evgeny Kissin (piano) [ Sony Classical Masters / 2 CD - released 20/Apr/2011 ] A dazzling selection of Liszt performances - the great virtuoso pianist of the nineteenth century interpreted by a pianist in the Russian virtuosi tradition. |
JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos 1 - 7 / Karelia Overture & Suite / Violin Concerto / etc Finnish Radio Symphony, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, with Joseph Swensen (violin) [ Sony / RCA / Finlandia / 8 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] "His tempos grab and hold the listener, and the orchestra plays with a sure sense of style. The brasses are incisive, the woodwinds reedy and a bit nasal, the strings strident or cushioning, all as appropriate." New York Times |
BACH / BEETHOVEN / BERNSTEIN / BARBER / MEYER / BRAHMS / etc
Hilary Hahn: The Complete Sony Recordings Hilary Hahn (violin) with various orchestras [ Sony Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 30/Oct/2015 ] "Spellbinding...there is mastery in every silken phrase, every poised lyrical phrase...an object lesson in beautiful violin playing." Chicago Tribune (for Mendelssohn / Shostakovich) |
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Leonard Bernstein: The Composer [25 CD set] Jennie Tourel, Zino Francescatti, Benny Goodman, Nancy Walker, Carol Lawrence, Yo-Yo Ma, Alan Titus, Harolyn Blackwell, etc / Leonard Bernstein (cond) [ Sony Classical Masters / 25 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2017 ] With his centenary upon us, Sony Classical releases the most comprehensive recorded collection ever released of the music of American conductor, composer and educator Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990). |
MILHAUD / MOZART / BARTOK / BERG / COPLAND / SCHOENBERG / etc
Juilliard Quartet - The Early Columbia Recordings Juilliard String Quartet, with Leontyne Price (soprano) Samuel Barber (piano) [ Sony Classical Masters / 16 CD Box Set - released 18/Jun/2021 ] Following up its widely acclaimed reissues of the Juilliard String Quartet's complete Epic and RCA Victor albums - originally issued between 1956 and 1960 - Sony Classical is excited to present a new 16-CD box set collecting the earliest albums of... |
BELA BARTOK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bartok: Violin Concerto No. 2 / Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2 Kyoko Takezawa (violin) / London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas [ Sony / RCA Classical Masters / CD - released 1/Jun/1993 ] Born in Ōbu, Aichi, she started her training in Japan as a part of the Suzuki Method program and was part of a tour of the United States. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School (1989) where her teacher was Dorothy DeLay. |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 1 - 4 (K37, 39, 40, 41) Murray Perahia (piano and conductor) / English Chamber Orchestra [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 1/May/1991 ] "...wonderfully refreshing and delicate, with diamond bright articulation, urgently youthful in its resilience... Faithful, well-balanced recording." - The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs |
FRANZ SCHUBERT / JOHANNES BRAHMS
Murray Perahia plays Schubert and Brahms Murray Perahia (piano) with Radu Lupu (piano), The Amadeus Quartet & Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) [ Sony Classical Masters / 8 CD Box Set - released 13/Nov/2020 ] "The performance of Lupu and Perahia is full of haunting poetry, with each of these highly individual artists challenging the other in imagination." (*** Three Stars. Penguin Stereo Guide on the Schubert Fantasie ) |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Nathalie Stutzmann sings Schumann Nathalie Stutzmann (contralto), Inger Södergren (piano), Catherine Collard (piano) [ Sony Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2018 ] "The French contralto Nathalie Stutzmann's voice is a magnificent instrument with a range that must stretch a good three octaves; the bass of her tessitura is profound and resonant, and her top notes are steady and impeccably modulated." Classical-music |
GUSTAV HOLST
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Holst: Planets / Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 20/May/1997 ] Originally released in 1969 and 1973 |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture / Marche Slave / Romeo and Juliet / Capriccio Italien / Hamlet / Symphonies New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein [ Sony Classical / 5 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] "The 1812 Overture in particular (has) a freshenss and exultancy notable even among the best of the other high-powered versions...the sound is thrillingly vivid throughout." (High Fidelity) |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Eugene Ormandy Conducts Richard Strauss Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, with Rudolf Serkin (piano) & Lorne Munroe (cello) [ Sony Classical / 4 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/0020 ] Ormandy is best known for his longstanding post as the conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra. He also developed what came to be known as the "Philadelphia Sound" emphasizing lush string sonorities and, legato phrasing and rounded tone. |
VERDI / PUCCINI / BIZET / WAGNER / LEONCAVALLO
The Best of the 3 Tenors Placido Domingo / Luciano Pavarotti / Jose Carreras / various conductors [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 20/May/2011 ] Here they are! The greatest tenor lineup in the world in a special programme of popular tenor arias and duets. |
BACH / GABRIELI / HANDEL / MOZART / VIVALDI / etc
Canadian Brass: from Monteverdi to Mozart [5 CD set] Canadian Brass [ Sony Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Sep/2011 ] This album is a re-issue of the acclaimed ensemble Canadian Brass who have recorded works from the Renaissance and Baroque as well as a number of works by Mozart. |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: The Complete Symphonies / Das Lied von der Erde [12 CD set] René Kollo (tenor), Christa Ludwig (mezzo-soprano) / New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein [ Sony Classics / 12 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] "All performances are remastered from the original tapes with a plausible claim that they have never sounded better. Such vigour and transparence! Such joyous heartbreak! And 48 minutes of Mahler reminiscences to boot." The Sunday Times |
ANTON WEBERN
The Complete Music of Anton Webern Robert Craft (conductor & musical director) with Marni Nixon, Grace-Lynne Martin, Richard Robinson, Charles Scharbach & others [ Sony Classical Masters / 4 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] The most comprehensive collection of Anton Webern. All of the performers, as well as additional instrumentalists and choral singers, were selected from Hollywood film studios. |
ZIEHRER / LEHAR / LANNER / STOLZ / STRAUSS FAMILY
Robert Stolz in Vienna : Waltzes, Marches, Polkas, etc Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Robert Stolz [ RCA Red Seal / Sony music Masters / 12 CD Box Set - released 3/Dec/2017 ] Robert Stolz was operetta royalty, and his recordings with the Berliner Symphoniker and Wiener Symphoniker document the world of light orchestral music with unique authority. Across 12 CDs, this Sony Classical Masters collection brings together... |
J. S. BACH
Rudolf Serkin plays Bach Rudolf Serkin (piano) with Peter Serkin, Ruth Laredo, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Pablo Casals, etc [ Sony Classical Masters / 3 CD Box Set - released 5/Jun/2019 ] Rudolf Serkin is rightly revered for his powerful interpretations of the Austro-German Classical and Romantic piano repertoire, but he was also an outstanding Bach player. In the 1920s he began a decades-long partnership with the great German... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Tokyo String Quartet plays Beethoven [9 CD set] Tokyo String Quartet [ Sony Classical Masters / 9 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "I doubt whether quartet playing comes much better than in this Tokyo set of the Op. 18. Quite frankly I don't think that you can go far wrong with this set: the playing is unfailingly alive, sensitive and poised." (Gramophone) |
IVES / COPLAND / DELLO JOIO / SATIE / BOWLES / etc
William Masselos - The Complete RCA and Columbia Album Collection [7 CD set] William Masselos (piano) [ Sony Classical Masters / 7 CD Box Set - released 7/Aug/2020 ] Sony Classical's William Masselos Edition on 7 newly mastered and transferred CDs is a re- lease for which devotees of American piano music have long been clamouring. At last, the wait is over |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Pierre Boulez conducts Berlioz (Incls 'Symphonie fantastique & Les Nuits d'ete) Yvonne Minton (mezzo-soprano) Stuart Burrows (tenor) / New York Philharmonic, London Symphony, BBC Symphony, Pierre Boulez [ Sony Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] Sony Classical is now making available all of their Berlioz recordings conducted by Pierre Boulez. All at a very attractive price. The recordings have all been remastered and remixed, and the box set is available at budget price. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Piano sonatas 10, 11, 16 / Fantasia K475 / Rondo K511 Alicia de Larrocha (piano) [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 10/Dec/2012 ] "She is sharply responsive, to the variety of mood and texture in the opening variations of K331..her fine shading and shaping of detail in the Adagio variation where, as at other points on this disc, she adds her own discreet ornamentation in... |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Claus Peter Flor conducts Mendelssohn Lucia Popp (sop) Marjana Lipovšek (mezzo) Josef Protschka (tenor) Sergei Edelmann (piano) Kyoko Takezawa (violin) / Bamberg Symphony, Claus Peter Flor [ Sony / RCA Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Jun/2017 ] "Claus Peter Flor's Mendelssohn enjoys the classical virtues of good taste, fine attention to detail, and a real sense of style...these are perfectly respectable and entertaining performances, well recorded. You won't be disappointed." (ClassicsToday) |
W. A. MOZART / ANTON BRUCKNER / ROBERT SCHUMANN
Rafael Kubelik conducts Great Symphonies Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik [ Sony Classical Masters / 7 CD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2017 ] "These are on the whole extremely satisfying performances-well organized, beautifully played, and strongly classical in style without any frills or tricks of any kind." (Gramophone on the Mozart) |
GABRIEL FAURE
The Secret Fauré 3: Sacred Vocal Works Benjamin Appl (baritone), Katja Stuber (soprano) / Sinfonieorchester Basel, Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Ivor Bolton [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 12/Jun/2020 ] Recording: August 23-29, 2019, Goetheaneum Dornach |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphonies 1 - 9 (5 CD set) Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 20/May/2012 ] "The recording is atmospheric in the Boston manner, and with Dynagroove makes even small machines give an impression of opulence." (Gramophone on the LP release) |
CHOPIN / SCHUMANN / LISZT / RACHMANINOV / BEETHOVEN / etc
Byron Janis: The RCA Recordings 1950 - 1959 [5 CD set] Byron Janis (piano) / Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner [ Sony / RCA Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 16/Oct/2016 ] Byron Janis has been called one of the most exciting and dynamic American pianists to emerge on the post-war scene. All of his RCA recordings, dating from 1947 to 1959, are collected in the new 5-CD set. |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Fritz Reiner conducts Richard Strauss (5 CDs) Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, with Antonio Janiqro (cello) Bryon janis (piano) Inqu Borkh (soprano) [ Sony Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2011 ] "These were the first stereo sessions the RCA engineers arranged with Fritz Reiner. The RCA recording team 'got it right' from the very beginning. Reiner achieves an admirable balance and whatever he does is convincing." Rosette (Penguin Stereo Guide) |