Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók were Hungary’s two most important composers in the 20th century. They were both friends and colleagues, working separately and together to document and preserve folk music from Hungary and its surrounding regions. The music they collected strongly influenced their own compositions. Decca was one of the first major record companies […]

Collected on a single CD are István Kertész’s complete orchestral recordings of Kodály’s music together with the choral song, ‘The Peacock’ which precedes the ‘Peacock Variations’. For thrill, swagger and colour – not to mention Decca’s state-of-the-art sound – these recordings set a benchmark by which all others will be measured. Reviewing the recordings of the […]

István Kertész’s recordings on Decca are legendary and many of them are now on CD on Eloquence – some for the first time. This generous 2CD set offers a unique coupling of two ‘fairy tale’ pieces by Hungarian composers: Kodály’s ‘Hary Janos’ (a ‘singspiel’), a light-hearted tale of the imaginary adventures of the Hungarian general (with […]

Pierre Monteux often bemoaned the fact that he was associated with the French and Russian repertoires, to the exclusion of music from outside of those traditions. He could hardly help it; after all, it was Monteux who conducted the first and famously chaotic performance of Stravinsky’s ‘Le Sacre du printemps‘ in 1913. Nevertheless, he recorded […]

This generous disc brings together all of Pierre Monteux’s Debussy recordings for Decca and Philips. Encompassing some of Debussy’s major orchestral works, these performances have a fluidity and atmosphere about them in recordings that have worn their years lightly. Monteux omits ‘Sirènes’ in his recording of the Nocturnes – a practice not atypical of recordings […]

Ferdinando Paer (1 July 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer of Austrian descent known for his operas and oratorios. Using the same subject matter as Beethoven did for his ‘Fidelio’, Paer’s opera is called ‘Leonora’ and received its world premiere recording under Peter Maag for Decca with a star-studded cast that included […]

One of Fricsay’s last recordings, this sublime ‘Figaro’ is once more restored to the catalogue. It boasts a Who’s Who of great Mozarteans from the late-1950s/early 1960s, including Irmgard Seefried, Maria Stader and Hertha Töpper with the magnificent Fischer-Dieskau in incomparable form as the Count Almaviva. The extensive booklet notes include a synopsis, notes on […]

Possibly the most thrilling, sexually-charged ‘Walküre’ ever recorded, this CD features the sappy voices of Gré Brouwenstijn and Jon Vickers as Sieglinde and Siegmund coupled with two of the leading Wagnerians of their day – Nilsson and London – as Brünnhilde and Wotan. Also listen out for the wind machine introduced in the Prelude to Act […]

It is a pity that one of the most acclaimed recordings of ‘Rosenkavalier’ was only recorded as excerpts but at over an hour and including some of the absolute plums of scenes from the opera, it is rightly regarded as a gem among great recordings of Strauss’ music. Included are the Marchallin’s Act I Monologue, the […]

After a spell of recording with Decca, the legendary Wagnerian conductor Hans Knappertsbusch recorded for Westminster, and among his best recordings for this label is this 1961 recording of Fidelio, boasting a cast of great singers at the Austrian and German opera houses, including the much-loved Sena Jurinac.

The reissue of this recording marks a double celebration – the bicentenary of Verdi’s birth and the centenary of Solti’s. Solti’s second recording of Verdi’s Falstaff returns to the catalogue. Recorded ‘live’ at the Philharmonie in Berlin, it boasts a thoroughly imaginative cast and magnificent recorded sound.

During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Decca recorded a number of albums of overtures with some of its key conductors. Many of these were singled out by the press for their terrific sound quality (the fabled ‘Decca Sound’) and for their often adventurous programming. Some of them also included entr’actes and intermezzi. Prized as collectors’ […]