Felix T. Gregor

Julius Röntgen was born on 9 May 1855 in Leipzig, the son of Dutch violinist Engelbert Röntgen, leader of the Gewandhausorchester there, and German pianist Pauline Klengel. He started composing at an early age and took the stage with his own works in Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Leipzig as a child prodigy. At the age of fifteen he was introduced to Franz Liszt, who invited him to one of his famous soirees after he played two of his own compositions to him.

The renowned artists, violinist Jascha Heifetz and cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, joined forces in 1949 at Chicago's Ravinia Festival. Twelve years later, and now good friends, both artists were in semi-retirement from the concert stage, yet enjoyed their evenings of chamber music with friends. Here they conceived The Heifetz-Piatigorsky Concerts as a way to share their love of chamber music with the public. They aimed to present repertoire not often heard in concert and then record them. The Heifetz-Piatigorsky Concerts continued for several years, with a series of performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York that included a range of distinguished guest artists. The last of these concerts was in 1974 when Heifetz ended his performing career.

Sony Classical presents a new reissue of all the recordings that Charles Munch, one of the most dynamic and charismatic conductors of the 20th century, made for RCA Victor while in Boston conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Munch turned the BSO into arguably the greatest French orchestra in the world while preserving its sovereignty in the American, Austro-German, central European and Russian repertoires. An 86-CD box set, The Complete Album Collection marks the first time that this cornerstone of the classical catalogue has been available in a single box with 16 works new to CD and 29 works newly remastered from the original analogue tapes. The new set also contain Munch s 1963 French-music compilation with the Philadelphia Orchestra for American Columbia.

During his lifetime, Handel revisited his score of Israel in Egypt many times to create a more ‘audience friendly work’, meaning that by the early nineteenth century there were several versions available, often vastly truncated to satisfy the musical appetites of the day.

Cellist Nathaniel Rosen began to study his instrument at age six with distinguished teacher Eleanore Schoenfeld. At 13 Rosen was heard by legendary cellist Gregor Piatigorsky during a local competition, and on the basis of this performance Piatigorsky agreed to take Rosen under his wing. At 17 Rosen first traveled to Moscow and was awarded a secondary prize in the 1966 Tchaikovsky Competition along with three other Americans.