LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9 / Missa Solemnis NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini, with Jerome Hines (bass), Robert Shaw Chorale [ Sony Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2019 ] Between 1949 and 1952, in his mid-80s, Arturo Toscanini conducted his hand-picked NBC Symphony Orchestra in the 9 Symphonies, with RCA Victors microphones (mostly in Carnegie Hall) capturing the legendary maestros final thoughts on the great works.... |
MAHLER
Bruno Walter conducts Mahler [7 CD set] New York Philharmonic, Columbia Symphony, Bruno Walter [ Sony Classical Masters / 7 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2012 ] "This record comes to us so loaded with history and legend, and it carries its burden with such triumphant sure-footedness, that I have no hesitation in declaring it one of the greatest musical monuments of our time." (Gramophone on Symphony No 9) |
JOSEF HAYDN
Leonard Bernstein conducts Haydn (symphonies 93-104) [5 CD set] New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein [ Sony Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "He has the same affinity for the composer that he did for Mahler: the music's energy, humor, and sheer emotional range played to the conductor's strengths. Many of these performances never have been surpassed" (Arkivmusic.com) |
WAGNER
Orchestral Music (Incls 'Good Friday Music') New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 1/May/2011 ] "Zubin Mehta became the Philharmonic's Music Director in 1978. Mehta's 13-year tenure as the New York Philharmonic's Music Director - during which he conducted more than 1,000 concerts - was the longest in the Orchestra's history." (nyphil.org) |
TCHAIKOVSKY / KHACHATURIAN / PROKOFIEV / ADAM / STRAVINSKY / DELIBES
The Most Beautiful Ballets [incls 'Swan Lake' & 'Romeo & Juliet'] The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mark Ermler & Barry Wordsworth [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 10/Apr/2012 ] "..the players have responded with both refinement and red-blooded commitment not just to the conductor but to the free, warm acoustic of All Saints' Church, Tooting." (Gramophone on Swan Lake) |
W. A. MOZART
Peter Serkin plays Mozart Peter Serkin (piano) with Rudolf Serkin (piano), Richard Stoltzman (clarinet), English Chamber Orchestra [ Sony Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 5/Jun/2019 ] Peter Serkin, whose recorded output is dwarfed by his fathers in sheer size but by no means in artistic distinction, is spotlighted in a new release playing Mozart: his complete RCA recordings of the composer. |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Swan Lake / Sleeping Beauty / Nutcracker [ballet highlights] Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 20/May/2011 ] Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985) was music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra for 42 years - from 1938, when he took over from Leopold Stokowski, until 1980. Together Ormandy and the orchestra made numerous critically acclaimed recordings for Columbia... |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Pomp & Circumstance Marches (recorded in 1982) Philharmonia orchestra, Andrew Davis [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 10/Dec/2011 ] |
DVORAK
Andrew Davis conducts Dvorak (incls Symphonies 1-9) [7 CD set] Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis [ Sony Classical Masters / 7 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "This reissue of Andrew Davis's clean-cut, fresh performances has much in its favour. As a sample of Davis at his finest try the finale of the New World, an exhilarating reading of a movement which normally comes as a disappointment." (Gramophone) |
CHOPIN / DEBUSSY / TCHAIKOVSKY / RAVEL / SATIE / MOZART / etc
Debussy: Piano Music (Incls 'Children's Corner' & '2 Arabesques') Philippe Entremont (piano) [ Sony Classical Masters / 34 CD Box Set - released 19/Jul/2019 ] In celebration of renowned French pianist Phillippe Entremont's 85th birthday, Sony Classical is pleased to release Philippe Entremont's complete Columbia recordings for solo piano. This must have boxset is the first ever release of Philippe... |
W. A. MOZART
Violin Concertos Nos 4 & 5 / etc Pinchas Zukerman (violin & conductor) / Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 20/May/2011 ] Israeli-born Pinchas Zukerman has kept his face and music before the public for more than four decades with his wide range of activities: he is a world-class violinist, violist, conductor, and administrator. |
VERDI / BIZET / BELLINI / PUCCINI / CILEA / MASSENET / etc
The Early Domingo [5 CD set] Placido Domingo (tenor) with various soloists, orchestras & conductors [ Sony Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "This is a very fair picture of what one might now term 'early Domingo', mostly culled from recitals..It proves that, while the voice could then be thought of as even more sappy than it is today, the artistry was perhaps just a little less... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral' Regula Mühlemann (soprano), Marie-Claude Chappuis (mezzo), Maximilian Schmitt (tenor), Thomas E. Bauer (bass) / Kammerorchester Basel, Giovanni Antoni [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 20/Feb/2019 ] "If you're in the market for a Ninth full of surprise and delight rather than soulful yearning or triumphalist breast-beating, look no further." Gramophone |
J. S. BACH / BARTOK / MESSIAEN / MOZART / STRAVINSKY / etc
Rudolf Serkin: The Complete RCA Album Collection Rudolf Serkin (piano) with Peter Serkin, Ruth Laredo, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Pablo Casals, etc [ Sony Classical Masters / 35 CD Box Set - released 20/Jul/2020 ] a "brilliant instrumentalist, sensitive, original interpreter and performer of uncommon vitality" (Michael Steinberg) |
BEETHOVEN
Rudolf Serkin Plays Beethoven [11 CD set] Rudolf Serkin (piano) with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy & others [ Sony Classical Masters / 11 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "It goes without saying that this is among the finest of current versions, for Serkin as a master pianist has the power to convince one against initial preconceptions." (Gramophone on Beethoven Piano Concerto No 2) |
JOSEF HAYDN
Haydn: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 / Sinfonia Concertante / etc Steven Isserlis (cello) / Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Roger Norrington [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 1/May/2011 ] "Cellist Steven Isserlis's playing is alert, sensitive, and joyous." (Highbeam.com) |
FRANZ SCHUBERT / ROBERT SCHUMANN / W. A. MOZART
Thomas Quasthoff - The Complete RCA Recordings Thomas Quasthoff (bass-baritone) with Charles Spencer & Roberto Szidon (piano) / Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Jörg Faerber [ Sony Music / RCA Red Seal Masters / 4 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2018 ] A treat for lovers of great singing, the complete RCA recordings of Thomas Quasthoff on 4 CDs, including Winterreise, Dichterliebe, and the op. 39 Liederkreis |
LISZT / TCHAIKOVSKY / PROKOFIEV / SCHUBERT / LISZT / CHOPIN / etc
Vladimir Feltsman - The Complete Sony Recordings Vladimir Feltsman (piano) with various orchestras & conductors [ Sony Classical Masters / 7 CD Box Set - released 1/Jul/2019 ] Sony Classical is pleased to release Vladimir Feltsman's complete recordings for Columbia. Feltsman is an internationally renowned classical pianist. He debuted with the Moscow Philharmonic at the age of eleven and he went on to win numerous... |
BEETHOVEN
Piano Sonatas Nos. 14 'Moonlight' No. 21 'Waldstein' & No. 23 'Appassionata' Vladimir Horowitz (piano) [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 1/May/2011 ] Russian-born Vladimir Horowitz was one of the most acclaimed pianists of the modern age, a formidable virtuoso whose inimitable artistry and technique were rooted in the grand Romantic tradition. |
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 5 (with Schubert - Symphony No. 8 'Unfinished') Wiener Philharmoniker, Lorin Maazel [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 1/May/2011 ] Recorded digitally by the Vienna Philharmonic during a Japanese concert tour. |