Tchaikovsky’s three piano concertos (including the third in Taneyev’s completion) are here collected for release in superbly colourful performances by Peter Jablonski with the Philharmonia. Peter Maag, for some time a conductor much associated with Decca (as witness his marvellous Mozart recordings, now on Decca Eloquence, as well as some glorious Mendelssohn) was meant to […]

Although they have been intermittently available, Walter Weller’s cycle of the three Rachmaninov Symphonies have hidden their blazing light under the Decca bushel for far too long. Recorded in absolutely thrilling Decca sound with L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (No. 1) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Nos. 2 and 3), these three masterpieces are now […]

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, […]

Strauss had a lifelong affair with the soprano voice and many of his songs were written with his wife Pauline’s voice in mind. This collection brings together five songs performed with crystalline purity by Christine Schaefer as well as some more dramatic settings performed by Karita Mattila, concluding with Mattila’s reading of the immortal Four […]

Four great Straussian heroes (including Strauss himself), in sumptuous readings by Giuseppe Sinopoli. ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’ and ‘Tod und Verklarung’ receive taut, thrilling readings from the New York Philharmonic. ‘Ein Heldenleben’ and ‘Don Juan’ are spacious and gloriously recorded with plenty of colourful orchestral detail.

Beginning with two rascally characters, the deluded Don Quixote and the prankster Till Eulenspiegel, this set includes remarkable recordings from the catalogues of Philips and Deutsche Grammophon with some recordings appearing on CD internationally for the first time – Haitink’s ‘Don Quixote’, Jochum’s blazing ‘Till Eulenspiegel’, shimmering Rosenkavalier Waltzes (both sets) and Munchinger’s recording of […]

While it remains a pity that Ansermet didn’t venture further into the bleaker landscapes of Sibelius, less may well be more, and these epic recordings of the Second and Fourth symphonies, together with a raw reading of Tapiola are collected together on CD for the first time. The mood of desolation continues with the Paris […]

Exhuming two glorious chamber music recordings. Jorg Demus is pianist in this joyous, sunny recording of Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet and the Suk Trio’s only recording of the Dvorak ‘Dumky’ Trio, much sought after by collectors, finally makes an appearance on CD.

‘Russian folk culture is one the richest I know. In recent years, some of it lighter aspects have been commandeered by the entertainment and tourist industries: with this recording I wanted to go backwards and present songs I have so often heard – but never sung myself – in a direct and unvarnished, yet classical […]

While the bulk of Ansermet’s recordings were made with L’Orchestre de la Susise Romande, there were a few with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra and the very occasional foray into recordings with London orchestras. One of these was with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1959 with producer Michael Williamson and engineer Kenneth […]

While Ansermet’s stereo Suisse Romande recording of ‘Scheherazade’ is well-known and has been frequently reissued, his early (1954) Paris Conservatoire Orchestra recording of this piece is a relative rarity and here receives its first CD outing on Decca. It has, perhaps, that extra bit of fantasy over his later recording of the work and was […]