Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Bruckner

Conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler already enjoyed a worldwide legendary standing during his lifetime - he was considered the German conductor and performances were greeted with rapturous applause. Today, more than 50 years after his death, Wilhelm Furtwangler is still an icon and his work has become an integral part ofthe music scene.

• 55 CD original jacket, original couplings collection celebrating Maestro Riccardo Chailly’s 40 years on Decca
• Includes complete cycles of Beethoven, Brahms (x2), Schumann (x2), Bruckner and Mahler
• Featuring the orchestras with whom Chailly has been most closely associated: the Gewandhausorchester, the Royal Concertgebouw, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin

During the four years that separated Alexander Zemlinsky's Symphony in D minor and the premiere of the Symphony in B flat major (his first two efforts in the genre, aside from an incomplete work penned during his student years), the young composer had caught the eye and the fancy of the Viennese musical world. "The work's fresh, original ideas and genuinely exalted, youthful fire made a great impression on the audience and unleashed an intense salvo of applause," wrote one critic in response to the 1896 premiere of Zemlinsky's Waldegespräch (for soprano and chamber ensemble). These years also saw Zemlinsky winning two prestigious awards, the Luitpold Prize and the Beethoven Prize. His compositional skills had been refined during the mid 1890s as well. The Suite for Orchestra from 1895, for example, gave Zemlinsky an opportunity to create more adventurous orchestral colors than had been found in the admirable but conservative D minor Symphony. Thus, when one compares the B flat Symphony to his earlier symphonic effort, one notices that, while the same amalgamation of influences and styles is represented, more of the composer's own voice comes through – prompting one observer to suggest two different ways of looking at the work: "either as Zemlinsky's last early work or his first mature one."

• 55 CD original jacket, original couplings collection celebrating Maestro Riccardo Chailly’s 40 years on Decca
• Includes complete cycles of Beethoven, Brahms (x2), Schumann (x2), Bruckner and Mahler
• Featuring the orchestras with whom Chailly has been most closely associated: the Gewandhausorchester, the Royal Concertgebouw, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin

• 55 CD original jacket, original couplings collection celebrating Maestro Riccardo Chailly’s 40 years on Decca
• Includes complete cycles of Beethoven, Brahms (x2), Schumann (x2), Bruckner and Mahler
• Featuring the orchestras with whom Chailly has been most closely associated: the Gewandhausorchester, the Royal Concertgebouw, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin

This 50-CD collection of analogue albums aims to represent the heyday of Philips’ passion for great natural sound – the Stereo Years. There was a firm belief within the label’s team that recording technique was there to serve the music - the Musicians had their own views about how any given piece should be interpreted and how it should sound; the recording team’s job was to grasp that vision and make it a reality. This recording philosophy, combined with great artistry and visionary repertoire policy, created a special chapter in the history of classical music recordings that still inspires artists, sound engineers and collectors alike.

This 50-CD collection of analogue albums aims to represent the heyday of Philips’ passion for great natural sound – the Stereo Years. There was a firm belief within the label’s team that recording technique was there to serve the music - the Musicians had their own views about how any given piece should be interpreted and how it should sound; the recording team’s job was to grasp that vision and make it a reality. This recording philosophy, combined with great artistry and visionary repertoire policy, created a special chapter in the history of classical music recordings that still inspires artists, sound engineers and collectors alike.

In 1926 Eugene Jochum made his successful concert debut as a conductor. He acquired a repertory of over 50 operas and conducted concerts all over Germany. The acknowledgment of his excellence led to his appointment as musical director for Berlin radio. His reputation grew particularly in the field of the German Romantic Symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner and was presented with the Brahms medal by the city of Hamburg. This series is a compilation of his complete EMI recordings delivered with exceptional audio quality and artistic integrity.

Riccardo Chailly was born into a musical family in Milan. He studied at the conservatories in Milan and Perugia and received specialized training in conducting from Franco Ferrara at his Siena summer courses. At the age of 20, Chailly became assistant conductor to Claudio Abbado at Milan’s La Scala. He made his opera debut there in 1978 and was soon in great demand at the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls.