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.
This 10 CD set offers 11 live recitals given by 10 famous pianists in Switzerland from 1953 to 1993. Each pianist is credited by a single CD. Only Backhaus CD contains fragments from two different programs (1953 and 1960), all the other pianists are represented by a single program.
For many decades the orchestras of the German broadcasting service SWR have worked together with many famous musicians from all over the world, including the outstanding pianists selected for this collection, among them Clara Haskil, Jörg Demus, Paul Badura-Skoda, Alicia de Larrocha, Wilhelm Backhaus, and Géza Anda. Furthermore, Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) is regarded as one of the supreme keyboard masters of the 20th century and must feature in any comparative survey of performances of the central repertoire from Beethoven to Brahms.
This SIX CD collection of 101 favorite tracks is the perfect introduction to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the greatest and most popular composers of all time. With a running time of well over 7 ½ hours of music this box set provides unbeatable value for money. The comprehensive collection covers every aspect of this popular composers music best-loved arias from his operas and highlights from the sacred choral works rub shoulders with favorite moments from his symphonies, concertos, serenades, sonatas and chamber music. Includes recordings by some of the greatest exponents of this repertoire in the Decca catalogue, including artists such as Mitsuko Uchida, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Colin Davis, Joshua Bell, Sir Neville Marriner and Sir Georg Solti.