The Berlioz Symphonies in acclaimed performances by Daniel Barenboim – Fantastique: first international CD release; Roméo: a rare recording returns to the catalogue. And Lorin Maazel conducts a wonderful performance of ‘Harold en Italie’ – long unavailable on CD.
What the French expected from opera changed in 1831 with the success of Meyerbeer’s ‘Robert le Diable’. Lengthy works with abundant scenic spectacle became practically obligatory and at least one ballet had to be included, in order to give the gentlemen of the influential Jockey Club an opportunity to see their favourites from the ‘corps […]
Both Pascal Rogé and Lorin Maazel were one of the mainstays of the Decca roster for several years, the former famed for the clarity of his vision in much French music, the latter recording vasts tracts of repertoire with both the Vienna Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra, in often white-hot performances. The Franck Symphony blazes […]
Pierre Monteux often bemoaned the fact that he was associated with the French and Russian repertoires, to the exclusion of music from outside of those traditions. He could hardly help it; after all, it was Monteux who conducted the first and famously chaotic performance of Stravinsky’s ‘Le Sacre du printemps‘ in 1913. Nevertheless, he recorded […]
Maazel’s colourful recordings of Debussy and Ravel for Decca have earned praise for their clear-sighted brand of Impressionism. To three of Debussy’s major orchestral works – La Mer, Nocturnes and Jeux – he adds the standalone section from Images (Iberia). The 2CD set represents the sum of Maazel’s Debussy and Ravel recordings for Decca.
In addition to recording the six Tchaikovsky symphonies for Decca with the Vienna Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel also recorded the ‘Manfred’ – a recording often singled out as one of the best made of this symphony, as well as three of the tone poems based on literary legends, two Shakespearian (Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet) and one […]
Lorin Maazel’s late-1970s recordings of the L’Arlésienne suites and Jeux d’enfants remain some of the most scintillating and beautifully recorded in the catalogue. They have received limited CD release and are back now, coupled with a rare recording by Sir Alexander Gibson of the Carmen Suite and Weller’s much-requested recording of Dukas’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice, both […]
Shakespeare and Byron meet for a double-CD of Maazel’s recordings of two of Berlioz’s symphonies for Decca, coupled with the Roman Carnival Overture, included on an Overtures disc for Decca. Back on CD after a long absence, the 1972 Vienna Roméo boasts a stellar vocal cast.
Lorin Maazel’s recording of the Coq d’Or Suite is considered one of the glories of the fabled Decca Sound and was first reissued on CD as part of Decca’s ‘Legends’ series. This set marks the first international release on CD of his recording of the composer’s Arabian Nights ‘fantasy’, Scheherazade as well as the Capriccio […]
This 2CD set brings together for the first time all of Lorin Maazel’s Decca recordings of Strauss’ tone poems with the Vienna Philharmonic (he recorded ‘Tod und Verklärung’ twice, the second time with the New Philharmonia Orchestra). All the recordings were made in Vienna’s Sofiensaal and star VPO principals were soloists in ‘Don Quixote’ and ‘Der […]
Lorin Maazel had a long history of recording with Decca and many of his recordings are being reissued on Eloquence. Thrilling sound and vigour mark the performances of Maazel’s 1970s Brahms cycle from Cleveland, and Gramophone made a note of the superb quality of the sound engineering. The set is issued internationally on CD for the first […]
Some of Lorin Maazel’s first recordings were made for Deutsche Grammophon when he was merely 27. This collection presents vivid performances of three great twentieth-century ballet scores, all infused with the folk rhythms of their respective composers’ native lands – Falla’s Andalusia and Stravinsky’s Russia. Both composers also exploited the most sophisticated orchestral textures available to […]
