Appearing on CD for the first time, Lamberto Gardelli’s Pizzetti recording has been one of the most venerated in the Decca catalogue, not only because the music is comparatively rare but because the recording is true state-of-the-art. The music has Gallic charm and a Stravinskian sense of razor-sharp wit, not to mention a fascinating storyline […]

Following many requests for a reissue of Ashkenazy’s Philharmonia recording of Tchaikovsky’s programmatic ‘Manfred Symphony’, many listeners will be delighted to have his searing portrayal available again. It is coupled with the little-known ‘Élégie’ which was incorporated into Tchaikovsky’s incidental music for ‘Hamlet’.

Rich and ripe readings of Mozart’s two piano quartets from Georg Solti and the Melos Quartett, in which the conductor takes time off from his podium duties to return to the keyboard – where, in fact, his whole career began. Recorded a year apart, these readings have both thrust and warmth and are made available […]

Returning to the catalogue, at budget price for the first time, is the delicious recording by Marriner and the Academy of Scandinavian works. The ‘Holberg Suite’ was recorded in 1970 whereas the rest of the program was taped seven years later. All of the recordings were made in the stunning Kingsway Hall acoustic.

Perhaps no recording of the two gorgeous Serenades has been suffused with such warmth and glow as Masur’s little-known recordings with the Gewandhausorchester. The First has never been issued on CD and, it appears, the Second has not even had an LP release! This release now makes available through Australian Eloquence, all of Kurt Masur’s […]

Mozart’s sublime masterpiece for violin and viola, the Sinfonia Concertante, was recorded on a few occasions by Marriner, but strangely enough, this version with two of the Academy’s foremost musicians – Alan Loveday and Stephen Shingles – has lain buried in the archives. Now, it receives its first release on CD and likewise its coupling, […]

Colin Davis and the English Chamber Orchestra made several Mozart recordings for L’Oiseau-Lyre. All five symphonies and both Divertimenti that he recorded are collected here on a 2CD set (the Concertone has also been re-issued). Crisp and tender, they are classic performances from the 1960s and will be warmly welcomed in these CD transfers by […]

The young Abbado made a handful of recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic of which this taught, sprightly reading of Beethoven’s Eighth (just listen to the orchestra’s reflexes in the finale) and the grand yet detailed vision of Bruckner’s First made just one short-lived appearance on CD. Now they return, remastered and at super-budget price.

Marilyn Horne’s plum-tinged mezzo and the music of Mahler are inseparable. So far, only the ‘Fahrenden Gesellen’ songs and the ‘Kindertotenlieder’ have made their way to CD (now deleted), so it is appropriate to collect on a single CD, the three masterpieces all performed by the same artist. The ‘Rückert-Lieder’ make their first appearance on […]

Georg Solti’s reading of ‘Tristan und Isolde’, is one of the most thrilling experiences of this opera on record, moving from becalmed to frenzied. The prominence of the orchestral playing – and what playing from the Vienna Philharmonic – is explained by producer John Culshaw as being very clearly indicated in the score by Wagner […]

Venerated for their perky, piquant performances and the ripe, rich Decca sound, Walter Weller’s thrilling readings of Shostakovich’s Symphonies 1 & 9 have long been on the reissue request list. Now, they appear on CD for the first time coupled with another Decca classic of earlier vintage – Martinon’s ‘Age of Gold’ suite.

Following the warmly-embraced reissue on Decca Eloquence of Horst Stein’s reading of Bruckner’s sixth symphony, we now follow with the Second. As with the sixth, the couplings are music by Weber. Another much-requested reissue, this will be warmly welcomed by collectors and represent some of the best Bruckner performances of all time.