Although noted for his fearless and thrilling performances of music by Paganini for Deutsche Grammophon, Salvatore Accardo also recorded extensitvely for Philips in the 1970s and 80s. His repertoire ranged from Baroque music through to 19th and 20th century concertos, including the complete music for violin and orchestra by Bruch and concertos by Mendelssohn and Sibelius. Here, […]

Georg Solti studied piano with Bartók and although they never developed a close personal relationship, Solti was always in awe of the composer’s dedication and intensity. Bartók’s music featured regularly in Solti’s concert programs and he recorded the ‘Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta’ and the ‘Dance Suite’ for Decca. This 1952 recording of the ‘Dance Suite’ with […]

Finzi – more master of the small-scale than the large-scale – had a fine ear for poetry and a great sensitivity in his verse settings. In 1978 and 1979, Richard Hickox made two LPs for Argo of (mainly) choral music by Gerald Finzi. Never issued in their entirety, they appear here complete on a 2CD […]

Georg Solti’s first recordings were as a pianist – those with the great German violinist, Georg Kulenkampff, here collected in their entirety. The two artists recorded Brahms’s G major sonata in February 1947 and Beethoven’s ’Kreutzer’ Sonata in June 1947. They completed the Brahms sonatas in July 1948. Sadly, this would be their only collaboration. Kulenkampff died […]

Zubin Mehta was one of Decca’s stars in the 1960s and 1970s, known more for his recordings of 19th and 20th-century repertoire than of the 18th. Yet, he has long had an abiding love for Mozart and conducts his symphonic and operatic music on a regular basis. Issued to coincide with his 80th birthday year, this 2CD […]

In the 1950s and much of the 60s, the great bass roles in the Italian repertoire and the title part in ‘Don Giovanni’, were synonymous with the name of Cesare Siepi. Gifted with a commanding presence on stage and a firm, sonorous, pliant ‘basso cantante ‘– a true successor to the mantle of Pinza and Pasero, […]

Few composers have had their music rearranged with such variety and a high degree of success as Johann Sebastian Bach. Mozart, Elgar and Webern, Mendelsohn, Brahms and Vaughan Williams and countless others, not to mention jazz musicians such as Jacques Loussier, Dave Brubeck, the Swingle Singers and even the rock band, Procul Harum, all rearranged […]

Georg Solti recorded the Beethoven Fourth three times – twice with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1974, 1987) and in 1950 with the London Philharmonic. The LPO recording was among Solti’s earliest Decca recording sessions and was issued, first on 78rpm and immediately after on LP using Decca’s then revolutionary FFRR technology. Fêted by the Victor […]

As part of the Eloquence series of early Solti recordings, this 2CD set features the conductor in music by Haydn and Mozart, recorded between 1949 and 1958. The 1949 recording of Haydn’s ‘Drum Roll’ Symphony and the 1958 recording of Mozart’s ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’ (recorded in spatial early stereo) make their first international appearances on Decca […]

The Vienna State Opera resumed its performing schedule very soon after the end of the fighting over the Austrian capital in 1945. As the ‘House on the Ring’ had been destroyed by direct hits, the company had to move to the Theater an der Wien though it had been closed since 1938 and was therefore […]

Certain rhythms seem to flow naturally for certain people. Shakespeare could probably have held a conversation in iambic pentameters and, when it comes to music, you can find many national preferences: the tango for Argentinians, the samba for Brazilians, the polka for Czechs, the mazurka for Poles, the czárdás for Hungarians, and so on. The […]

Erich Kleiber was one of Georg Solti’s idols and it was a Kleiber performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony that transformed his life and was the catalyst in his decision to become a conductor – a decision he made at the age of fourteen. The Schubert recording comes from one of only two recording sessions with […]