Gifted with great beauty and a natural stage presence, Hilde Gueden was unfailingly easy on the ear as well as the eye. With her creamy tone and ability to spin the silvery upper-register sonority needed for her Strauss roles, she was a natural successor to Elisabeth Schumann, Lotte Schöne and Adele Kern. Fortunately for posterity, […]

Relative rarities among his output are Richard Strauss’ concertos, many written later in his life. This collection brings together works for oboe, clarinet and bassoon (the Duet Concertino) and the scintillating ‘Burleske’ for piano and orchestra. In addition to conducting the concertos, Ashkenazy also conducts the early tone poem ‘Aus Italien’ and Maazel’s humorous reading […]

Zubin Mehta’s LAPO recording of Strauss’ ‘Sinfonia Domestica’ has long been considered a benchmark and after a considerable absence from the catalogue reappears here, coupled with the later ‘Parergon’ for piano (left hand) and orchestra. Equally celebrated is Mehta’s reading of the ‘Alpine Symphony’ and the set concludes with one of Strauss’ earliest tone poems, […]

Now considered one of the most important of 19th-century symphonists, during his lifetime, Bruckner was the subject of incomprehension and ridicule. Georg Solti made two recordings of this symphonic edifice. While his Chicago recording has been in regular circulation, this much-requested reissue of the Seventh with the Vienna Philharmonic has lain dormant for far too […]

As an eleven-year-old in 1895, Wilhelm Backhaus met and performed for D’Albert, Grieg, Nikisch and Brahms, among others. Here was a pianist who shunned hectoring gestures of the late Romantic era for economy and purposefulness. ‘His facial expression always remained steady, showing an unceasing concentration on the sounds his hands were coaxing from the instrument […]

The first CD release of Kertész’ recording of Mozart’s choral masterwork with some glorious solo singing. The work achieved huge popularity in the 1980s through its pivotal inclusion in the film ‘Amadeus’.

The greatest opera singers of this century perform arias from six of the finest Mozart operas

This is one of the most sought-after and highly-praised recordings of ‘Hänsel und Gretel’, Engelbert Humperdinck’s everlasting fairy-tale opera. What’s more, the sonics are thrilling and the stellar cast is a veritable Who’s Who of the great opera stars of the 1970s.

The incomparable strings of the Vienna Philharmonic and the airborne singing of the Vienna State Opera Chorus are just two highlights of this memorable recording of Schubert’s Incidental Music for ‘Rosamunde’. It is here released for the first time on CD.

A collection of some of the greatest performances of Beethoven’s music here excerpted on a single CD from the ‘Yellow Label’s’ premium catalogue of Beethovenia.

The first release at super-budget price of this towering performance of the ninth symphony. Many of the recordings in this Beethoven cycle have never before been locally available.

The first release at super-budget price of these towering performances. Many of the recordings in this Beethoven cycle have never before been locally available.