ARTISTS
Wiener Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan

TRACKLISTING
ADAM: Giselle

'we can find much to enjoy ... the playing is romantic and glowing ... is surprisingly sensitive in the ethereal music.' Gramophone

ARTISTS
András Schiff, piano

TRACKLISTING
J.S. BACH: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

ARTISTS
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano

ARTISTS
Galina Vishnevskaya, soprano
Peter Pears, tenor
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
The Bach Choir
London Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Highgate School Choir
Simon Preston, organ
Melos Ensemble
London Symphony Orchestra
Benjamin Britten

TRACKLISTING
BRITTEN: War Requiem, Op.66
+ rehearsal sequence

TRACKLISTING
DONIZETTI: L'elisir d'amore

ARTISTS
London Symphony Orchestra
István Kertész

TRACKLISTING
DVORÁK: Symphony No.8 in G major, Op.88
Symphony No.9 in E minor, Op.95 'From the New World'

TRACKLISTING
JANÁCEK: Káta Kabanová
Capriccio · Concertino

ARTISTS
Heather Harper, soprano I
Lucia Popp, soprano II
Arleen Auger, soprano III
Yvonne Minton, contralto I
Helen Watts, contralto II
René Kollo, tenor
John Shirley-Quirk, baritone
Martti Talvela, bass
Winer Staatsopernchor
Wiener Singverein
Wiener Sängerknaben
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Sir Georg Solti

TRACKLISTING
MAHLER: Symphony No.8 in E flat major, 'Symphony of a Thousand'

TRACKLISTING
PUCCINI: Tosca

ARTISTS
Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden*
London Symphony Orchestra
Pierre Monteux

TRACKLISTING
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé - Complete ballet*
Rapsodie espagnole
Pavane

ARTISTS
Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano
Wiener Kammerorchester
György Fischer

TRACKLISTING
MOZART: Temerari! ... Come scoglio · Ei parte ... Per pietà, ben mio · In uomini, in soldati (Così fan tutte)
E Susanna non vien! ... Dove sono i bei momenti · Giunse alfin il momento ... Al desio (Le nozze di Figaro)
Batti, batti, o bel Masetto · In quali eccessi ... Mi tradì quell'alma ingrate (Don Giovanni)
Lungi le cure ingrate (Davidde penitente, K469)
Exsultate, jubilate, K165

ARTISTS
Pascal Rogé, piano

TRACKLISTING
SATIE: Gymnopédies 1-3
Je te veux
4 Préludes flasques
Prélude en tapisserie
4ème Nocturne
Vieux Sequins et Vieilles Cuirasses
Embryons desséchés
Gnossiennes
Sonatine bureaucratique
Le Picadilly

TRACKLISTING
R STRAUSS: Salome

ARTISTS
Alan Loveday, violin
William Bennett, piccolo
Neil Black, oboe
Celia Nicklin, oboe
Martin Gatt, bassoon
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Neville Marriner

TRACKLISTING
VIVALDI: Le quattro stagioni (Four Seasons)
Concerto for 2 oboes in D minor, RV 535
Bassoon Concerto in A minor, RV 498
Piccolo Concerto in C major, RV 443

ARTISTS
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
Concertgebouw Orchestra
Bernard Haitink

TRACKLISTING
RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor, Op.18
Piano Concerto No.4 in G minor, Op.40

ARTISTS
Arthur Grumiaux, violin
Egida Giordani Sartori, harpsichord *

TRACKLISTING
J.S.BACH: 3 Sonata for solo violin, BWV 1001, 1003 & 1005
3 Partitas for solo violin, BWV 1002, 1004 & 1006
2 Sonatas for violin & harpsichord, BWV 1016 & 1017*

ARTISTS
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Edo de Waart

TRACKLISTING
ADAMS: Shaker Loops
REICH: Variations

ARTISTS
Alfred Brendel, piano

TRACKLISTING
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight' Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 'Pathétique'
Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Op.57 'Appassionata'
Piano Sonata No.26 in E flat major, Op.81a 'Les Adieux'

ARTISTS
Stephen Kovacevich, piano

TRACKLISTING
BEETHOVEN: 33 Variations in C major on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op.120

ARTISTS
Concertgebouw Orchestra
Sir Colin Davis

TRACKLISTING
BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique

ARTISTS
Monteverdi Choir
John Eliot Gardiner

TRACKLISTING
BRAHMS: Liebeslieder-Walzer, Op.52
Gesänge, Op.17
Weltliche Gesänge, Op.42
Quartette, Op.92
Gesänge, Op.104

ARTISTS
Mitsuko Uchida, piano

TRACKLISTING
DEBUSSY: Douze Études pour le Piano

ARTISTS
Sviatoslav Richter, piano
Borodin Quartet

TRACKLISTING
DVO?ÁK: Piano Quintets, Opp.5 & 81

'The performances are delightful, both scrupulous and fresh; and the character of Richter's playing with the Borodin Quartet supporting him sympathetically, make this concert an occasion well worth preserving.' Gramophone

TRACKLISTING
HANDEL: Solomon

ARTISTS
Heather Harper, soprano
Maureen Forrester, contralto *
Norma Procter, contralto
Werner Hollweg, tenor
Women's Chorus of the Netherlands Radio
Boys' Chorus of St Willibrord Church, Amsterdam
Netherlands Radio Chorus
Concertgebouw Orchestra
Bernard Haitink

TRACKLISTING
MAHLER: Symphony No.3*
Das klagende Lied

'... Haitink's long view of the whole work, his sensible tempos and sensitive phrasing are plus-marks ... Maureen Forrester as contralto soloist, singing with that dark rich tone and controlled emotional warmth which are ideal in this music.' Gramophone

TRACKLISTING
MASSENET: Werther

ARTISTS
Concertgebouw Orchestra
Kirill Kondrashin

TRACKLISTING
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Scheherazade
BORODIN: Symphony No.2 in B minor

ARTISTS
Beaux Arts Trio
Menahem Pressler, piano
Isidore Cohen, violin
Bernard Greenhouse, cello

TRACKLISTING
SCHUBERT: Piano Trio in B flat major, D898
Adagio in E flat major, D897 'Notturno'
Piano Trio in E flat major, D929
Trio Movement in B flat major, D28 'Sonata'

ARTISTS
Alfred Brendel, piano
Members of the Cleveland Quartet
Donald Weilerstein, violin
Martha Strongin Katz, viola
Paul Katz, cello
with
James van Denmark, double bass

TRACKLISTING
SCHUBERT: Piano Quintet in A major, D667 'Trout'

ARTISTS
Heinrich Schiff, cello
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Maxim Shostakovich

TRACKLISTING
SHOSTAKOVICH: Cello Concerto No.1, Op.107
Cello Concerto No.2, Op.126

'In the First Concerto, Heinrich Schiff's excellent version with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Shostakovich fils can hold its own against most opposition ... I like the recording very much: it is totally natural yet very clear ... Recommended with enthusiasm.' Gramophone

ARTISTS
Jess Thomas, tenor
Berliner Philharmoniker
Walter Born

TRACKLISTING
WAGNER:
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Fanget an · Morgenlich leuchtend
Lohengrin: Höchstes Vertrau'n · In fernem Land
Die Walküre: Ein Schwert verhiezzmir der Vater
Das Rheingold : Immer ist Undank Loges Lohn
Rienzi: Allmächt'ger Vater, blick' herab
Parsifal: Nur eine Waffe taugt

Released EXCLUSIVELY in Australia, this wonderful 1963 recording catches the powerful yet shimmering tenor of Jess Thomas in full flight. Full texts and translations are included, beyond a fascinating liner note from Alan Newcombe, and other illustrative material.

ARTISTS
Trevor Pinnock, harpsichord

TRACKLISTING
J.S. BACH: Goldberg Variations
Italian Concerto

This is an attractive coupling of two of J.S. Bach's greatest harpsichord works, offering better value than the previous full-price CD containing only the Goldberg Variations.

The Italian Concerto is the first of two recordings made within five years by Trevor Pinnock for Deutsche Grammophon and has never been on CD before. This is one of two releases (the other is Handel's Messiah) in the Originals series to mark Trevor Pinnock's 60th birthday in 2006.

'Pinnock's reading is certainly the liveliest there has been of this great work [...] this recording - which on CD captures every sound (musical and otherwise) of the Ruckers instrument with the utmost fidelity - is pure pleasure.' Lionel Salter, Gramophone , August 1985 (Goldberg Variations)

ARTISTS
Arleen Auger, soprano
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo
Michael Chance, counter tenor
Howard Crook, tenor
John Tomlinson, bass
The English Concert Choir
The English Concert
Trevor Pinnock

TRACKLISTING
HANDEL: Messiah

ARTISTS
Berliner Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan

TRACKLISTING
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 10

Herbert von Karajan's digital recording of Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony (the only one of the cycle that he committed to disc) is now issued at mid-price for the first time to mark the Shostakovich centenary in 2006.

ARTISTS
Kaja Danczowska, violin
Krystian Zimerman, piano

TRACKLISTING
FRANCK: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major
SZYMANOWSKI: Mythes Op. 30
Roxana's Song from the Opera 'King Roger'
Kurpish Song (Polish folk tune)

ARTISTS
Wilhelm Kempff, piano

TRACKLISTING
MOZART: Piano Sonatas K. 331 & K. 310
Fantasias K. 397 & K. 475

ARTISTS
RIAS-Kammerchor (14)
Berliner Philharmoniker (1, 4)
RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (2, 3, 5-8)
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (9-16)
Ferenc Fricsay

TRACKLISTING
ROSSINI: Overtures
La scala di seta
Semiramide
Il Signor Bruschino
L'italiana in Algeri
Tancredi
La gazza ladra
Il barbiere di Siviglia
Il viaggio a Reims
BIZET: Orchestral excerpts from 'Carmen'

For the first time outside Japan, all 8 Rossini overtures recorded by Ferenc Fricsay complete on a single CD! Three of them are receiving their first official international release on CD, aptly coupled with the preludes (Suite I) and Act 4 ballet music from Bizet's Carmen. The ballet music has also been unavailable on CD outside Japan.

'Fricsay's thrusting, almost Mozartian Rossini overtures show that most conductors are asleep at the reins of these warhorses.'
Calum MacDonald, BBC Music Magazine, November 1994

'...Rossini overtures, expressive, as pertinent as Beecham's or Reiner's, conducted with wonderful grace and rhythmic lift: note the light, diaphanous strings and lovely winds chorus in Signor Bruschino.'
Christopher Breunig, HiFi News & Record Review, London, January 1995

'Fricsay is an easy recommendation for those not minding fast overall speeds. The orchestral playing is well up to the chosen tempi, the recording is first-rate and the whole effect exhilarating.' [Rossini Overtures]
Penguin Guide, 1966

'No other conductor has succeeded in performing the lithe brilliance of Carmen in such an ecstatic fashion.'
Fono Forum, December 1978 [Bizet]

ARTISTS
Nathan Milstein, violin
Georges Pludermacher, piano
Wiener Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado

TRACKLISTING
TCHAIKOVSKY: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major
GEMINIANI (Arr.: N. Milstein): Sonata in A major
SCHUBERT: Rondo brillant in B minor D 895
MILSTEIN: Paganiniana
LISZT (Transcr.: N. Milstein): Consolation No. 3 in D flat major Lento placido
STRAVINSKY: Chanson russe
KODÁLY (Transcr.: N. Milstein): Il pleut dans la ville after Op. 11 No. 3 Allegro malinconico
MUSSORGSKY (Arr.: S. Rachmaninov): Hopak

A wide-ranging tribute to one of the greatest violinists of the last century.

The encore pieces accompanied by Georges Pludermacher, first issued in 1983 although recorded in November 1975, have long been unavailable. Milstein's Tchaikovsky Concerto with Claudio Abbado at the helm is generally recognized as one of the finest on disc.

'As a demonstration of how to play the violin when you are nearly 80 this record could not be bettered (for that matter it would be difficult to better it as a demonstration of how to play the violin at any age) [...] The Stravinsky is always a winner, and so is the Mussorgsky. Milstein's own unaccompanied variations on the expected Paganini theme show him in a good light as a writer (as well as a player!). The Schubert, rather noticeably more of course than an encore piece, is played with spirit.' Malcolm Macdonald, The Gramophone, April 1984 [Encore pieces]  

'Milstein's fine (1973) version with Abbado remains among the more satisfying recordings.' Penguin Guide *** (2003) [Tchaikovsky]

ARTISTS
Montserrat Caballé, soprano
Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass
Orchestre National de France
Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor*
Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen*
Wiener Philharmoniker*
Leonard Bernstein

TRACKLISTING
R. STRAUSS: Es ist kein Laut zu vernehmen (final scene) · Dance of the Seven Veils ( Salome )
Cäcilie Op. 27 No. 2
Wiegenlied Op. 41 No. 1
Ich liebe dich Op. 37 No. 2
Morgen Op. 27 No. 4
Zueignung Op. 10 No. 1
BOITO: Prologue in Heaven ( Mefistofele )*

These distinguished recordings featuring star soloists and Leonard Bernstein in some of his favourite repertoire have not been available internationally for several years. Montserrat Caballé is one of the most famous sopranos of our time, while the disc is also a fine memento of the great Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov (1929-2004).

TRACKLISTING
VERDI: II Trovatore

With its distinguished cast, this Trovatore, one of Carlo Maria Giulini's (1914-2005) most successful opera recordings, makes a fine memento of a great conductor of the 20th century. It is now available for the first time at mid-price.

'Giulini flouts convention at every point. The opera's white-hot inspiration comes out in the intensity of the playing and singing, but the often slow tempi and refined textures present the whole work in new and deeper detail. Rosalind Plowright, sensuous yet ethereal in Tacea la notte, masterfully brings together the seemingly incompatible qualities demanded, not just sweetness and purity but brilliant coloratura, flexibility and richly dramatic bite and power. Plácido Domingo sings Manrico as powerfully as he did in the richly satisfying Mehta set on RCA, but the voice is even more heroic in an Otello-like way, only very occasionally showing strain. Giorgio Zancanaro proves a gloriously firm and rounded Count di Luna and Evgeny Nesterenko a dark, powerful Ferrando, while Brigitte Fassbaender, singing her first Azucena, finds great intensity and detail, matching Giulini's freshness. The recording is warm and atmospheric with a pleasant bloom on the voices, naturally balanced and not spotlit.' Penguin Guide *** (1994)

ARTISTS
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra
Evgeny Mravinsky

TRACKLISTING
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6 'Pathétique' [stereo recordings]

There has never been a more legendary set of Tchaikovsky's last three symphonies than these 1960 interpretations recorded in stereo by Evgeny Mravinsky on tour with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra in London and Vienna. Never absent from the high-price catalogue ever since its CD release in 1987, this set is now offered complete at mid-price for the first time - in its first internationally available remastering since then! (These recordings are not to be confused with the earlier 1956 mono set containing the same repertoire conducted by Kurt Sanderling [No.4] and Mravinsky [Nos. 5 & 6] reissued in the first batch of The Originals ten years ago in 1995.)

'Classics of the gramophone, landmarks not just of Tchaikovsky interpretation, but of recorded orchestral performances in general.   The Leningrad Philharmonic play like a wild stallion, only just held in check by the willpower of its master. Every smallest movement is placed with fierce pride; at any moment it may break into such a frenzied gallop that you hardly know whether to feel exhilarated or terrified. The whipping up of excitement towards the fateful outbursts in Symphony No.4 is astonishing - not just for the discipline of the stringendos themselves, but for the pull of psychological forces within them. Symphony No.5 is also mercilessly driven and pre-echoes of Shostakovichian hysteria are particularly strong in the coda's knife-edge of triumph and despair. No less powerfully evoked is the stricken tragedy of the Pathétique [...] Rarely, if ever, can the prodigious rhythmical inventiveness of these scores have been so brilliantly demonstrated. The fanatical discipline is not something one would want to see casually emulated - few orchestras would stand for it in any case - but it is applied in a way which sees far into the soul of the music and never violates its spirit.' David Fanning, The Gramophone, August 1987