Dresden 45

One of the most celebrated conductors of the 20th century, Eugen Jochum was a leading interpreter of the works of Anton Bruckner. Famous for his fleet and impassioned Bruckner style, Jochum also perfectly captures the spirituality of each of the symphonies, from the first Schubertian strides of No. 1 to the bleak expanses of the unfinished Ninth.

The Dresdner Philharmonie, Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden and conductor Daniel Oren present Verdi’s masterpiece La Traviata, together with a stellar cast including René Barbera as Alfredo, Lester Lynch as Germont, and world star soprano Lisette Oropesa as Violetta.

Sir Colin Davis celebrated his 80th birthday on 25 September 2007 and this set of late Mozart symphonies was released to mark that important event in the career of one of the great Mozart conductors of the past fifty years.
It was during the early 1950s when Davis started conducting Mozart operas with the Chelsea Opera Group that attention was first drawn to his genius as a Mozart conductor. In 1960 he conducted Die Zauberflöte at Glynedebourne (replacing an indisposed Beecham); during his tenure as Music Director at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (he succeeded Solti in 1971) his Mozart performances drew huge critical acclaim.

Janowski's unfussy, clearly laid out performances, with the Dresden Staatskapelle on superlative form, may lack the sweep and energy of Solti's, or the compelling beauty of Karajan's, but they still have much to recommend them… Jessye Norman, then at the height of her vocal powers, is a rich-toned Sieglinde.

France's Naïve label has heavily promoted the career of the young pianist Lise de la Salle, who was 22 when this recording was made. Her fashion-spread good looks fit with Naïve's design concepts, and she has the ability to deliver the spontaneous, unorthodox performances the label favors. How does she fare in a field extremely crowded with Chopin recitals? Her performances certainly aren't derivative of anyone else, and this live recording from the Semperoper in Dresden (you get a one-minute track of just applause at the end) has a good deal of attention-getting flair. The standout feature of de la Salle's performance, in the four ballades at least, is her orientation toward slow tempos, inventively deployed.

Má vlast, also known as My Fatherland, is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The six pieces, conceived as individual works, are often presented and recorded as a single work in six movements. They premiered separately between 1875 and 1880. The complete set premiered on 5 November 1882 in Žofín Palace, Prague, under Adolf Čech.

This Blu-ray box contains the international acclaimed Bruckner cycle of Christian Thielemann, a “magician of the Bruckner sound”(Kurier on Symphony No. 5) and the Staatskapelle Dresden, whose own Bruckner tradition dates back more than a century. Outstanding reviews emphasize the exceptionally high artistic quality of the concerts: “Once again Thielemann proved to be the unrestricted ruler on his ancestral territory, German Romantic repertoire” (Hamburger Abendblatt on Symphony No. 2). Christian Thielemann “displays the full musical maelstrom of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3” (Münchner Merkur). “Another Bruckner triumph for Dresden” (Sächsische Zeitung on Symphony No. 6). “… one would have to be hard-hearted not to be touched by this heartfelt music” (Der Tagesspiegel on Symphony No. 8).

This Blu-ray box contains the international acclaimed Bruckner cycle of Christian Thielemann, a “magician of the Bruckner sound”(Kurier on Symphony No. 5) and the Staatskapelle Dresden, whose own Bruckner tradition dates back more than a century. Outstanding reviews emphasize the exceptionally high artistic quality of the concerts: “Once again Thielemann proved to be the unrestricted ruler on his ancestral territory, German Romantic repertoire” (Hamburger Abendblatt on Symphony No. 2). Christian Thielemann “displays the full musical maelstrom of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3” (Münchner Merkur). “Another Bruckner triumph for Dresden” (Sächsische Zeitung on Symphony No. 6). “… one would have to be hard-hearted not to be touched by this heartfelt music” (Der Tagesspiegel on Symphony No. 8).

This Blu-ray box contains the international acclaimed Bruckner cycle of Christian Thielemann, a “magician of the Bruckner sound”(Kurier on Symphony No. 5) and the Staatskapelle Dresden, whose own Bruckner tradition dates back more than a century. Outstanding reviews emphasize the exceptionally high artistic quality of the concerts: “Once again Thielemann proved to be the unrestricted ruler on his ancestral territory, German Romantic repertoire” (Hamburger Abendblatt on Symphony No. 2). Christian Thielemann “displays the full musical maelstrom of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3” (Münchner Merkur). “Another Bruckner triumph for Dresden” (Sächsische Zeitung on Symphony No. 6). “… one would have to be hard-hearted not to be touched by this heartfelt music” (Der Tagesspiegel on Symphony No. 8).