Adagio Ma Non Troppo, by Ryoko Sekiguchi

C'est un livre sur les voix, des voix enregistrées qui continuent d'émettre au présent, sur l'expérience de la perte et sur certaines ondes qui nous touchent. …

The Amadeus were the most successful and highly-regarded Quartet of the 20th century. Benefitting from the jet aeroplane and from the record industry s ability to reach out to world, they dominated chamber music making for nearly 40 years. But concert tours are only successful if reviews are ecstatic and audiences delighted. They both were. For nearly 40 years, the Quartet (who styled themselves The Wolf-Gang ) roved the world, argued, celebrated and worked like no other group, and changed not a single member: Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel, Peter Schidlof and Martin Lovett had a recording career from 1951 to 1987, ending only with the death of Peter Schidlof in 1987.

This monumental release documents the Emerson String Quartets exceptional longevity and dynamism founded in 1976, they are still as youthfully active and inquisitive as ever 40 years later. Moreover it charts the New York-based ensembles musical breadth, encompassing virtually all of the important repertoire for their formation.
This 52 CD collection includes their complete output on DG and features highlights such as the Nine Grammy Awards, Three Gramophone Magazine Awards; complete cycles by Shostakovich, Beethoven and Bartok; plus String Quartets by Haydn, Tchaikovsky, Schubert and many more.

To celebrate what would have been Herbert von Karajan's 100th birthday on April 5, 2008, EMI has gathered together all of the conductor's recordings for the label in two super-budget boxed sets. Volume 1 weighs in at an imposing 88 discs and focuses on orchestral repertoire (the second volume consists of vocal and operatic works). The first nine discs encompass Karajan's EMI Vienna Philharmonic sessions…

Marking 50 years since the passing of Wilhelm Backhaus (5 July 1969) The Complete Decca Recordings brings together, for the first time, the artist’s complete recordings for the label. Wilhelm Backhaus was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th Century and a superlative Beethoven interpreter. “I try to play Beethoven as I feel it, as I try to imagine the man – not what story he is telling me, but what he is feeling […] I want to make Beethoven alive, whether it is romantic or not. It is modern – I want people to understand that,” he noted. Wilhelm Backhaus – The Complete Decca Recordings, a limited edition 38CD box set, is out now and all of the newly remastered albums are also available digitally.

An exclusive artist for the Philips label since 1969, Brendel’s discography is now among the most extensive of any pianist, reflecting a repertoire of solo, chamber and orchestral works by the major composers from the central European tradition from Bach through to Schoenberg.
This 114 CD Edition encompasses his complete discography for Philips and Decca and includes studio albums, live recordings and radio broadcasts. The set is accompanied by a 200-page book featuring a note by Brendel’s personal choice of writer, Misha Donat.

The Amadeus were the most successful and highly-regarded Quartet of the 20th century. Benefitting from the jet aeroplane and from the record industry s ability to reach out to world, they dominated chamber music making for nearly 40 years.

Over 175 hours of music, featuring recordings by over 250 of the greatest Beethoven performers, ranging from Karl Böhm to Alfred Brendel, Claudio Arrau to the Amadeus Quartet, Wilhelm Furtwängler to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Emil Gilels to John Eliot Gardiner, Wilhelm Kempff to Herbert von Karajan, Yehudi Menuhin to Anne-Sophie Mutter, and Murray Perahia to Maurizio Pollini. Includes more than two hours of newly recorded music including several world premieres with Lang Lang, Daniel Hope and Tobias Koch. Over 30 discs of alternative recordings including historic performances and period instrument recordings. Limited & Numbered Edition.