Great+recordings

Malcolm Sargent's reputation as one of the great popularizers of classical music in Britain arose not only through his long association with the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts (1947-67), but was evident much earlier through chief conductorships of the Halle (1939-42), Liverpool Philharmonic (1942-48), and BBC Symphony Orchestras (1950-57).
By the time he became a fixture at the Proms in 1947 Sir Malcolm (he was knighted in 1947) his was one of the best-known names in England. In personality, showmanship, and energy he was ideal for the nightly concerts.

The rhythmic, textural and structural clarity of Karl Böhm’s recordings are much admired across the world. This new release includes Böhm’s celebrated recordings of Mozart Serenades and the great orchestral works of Richard Strauss, as well as equally notable performances of Beethoven and Brahms symphonies. This 17 CD box with booklet includes including new liner notes by Berliner Philharmoniker intimus Helge Grünewald and rare Böhm photographs.

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and IMG Artists present an exclusive deluxe 8CD box set edition celebrating the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and its century-long national and international tradition. The box offers a unique collection of recordings dating from 1934-1978 with more than 10 hours of music. Here the orchestra plays under legendary names like Arturo Toscanini, Fritz Busch, Leopold Stokowski, Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Pierre Monteux and Rafael Kubelik, together with their Swedish counterparts Tor Mann, Sixten Ehrling and Herbert Blomstedt.

In memoriam Maestro Maazel, Sony Classical re-releases the “Maazel Great Recordings” 30-CD Box to honour his great work. During his career, he conducted more than 150 orchestras in some 5,000 opera and concert performances. He served as general manager and artistic director at the Vienna State Opera and conducted the Bayreuth Festival in Germany, the first American to do so in both cases. He also served at the Radio Symphony of Berlin, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic.

In memoriam Maestro Maazel, Sony Classical re-releases the ‘Maazel Great Recordings’ 30-CD Box to honour his great work.

Since it's founding in Freiburg in 1958, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi has been one of the most important and ambitious labels for period performances. Over decades, globally-acclaimed recordings were created with outstanding musicians. The limited edition "Deutsche Harmonia Mundi: 100 Great Recordings" contains 100 outstanding DHM recordings with some of the most important and best artists in their field: Nuria Rial, Dorothee Mields, Al Ayre Espanol, Hille Perl, Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the Freiburger Barockorchester, Skip Sempé, Capriccio Stravagante, La Petite Bande, Gustav Leonhardt, Andrew Lawrence-King, Frieder Bernius, the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Thomas Hengelbrock and many others.

The Berlin Philharmonic is consistently ranked as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. As is fitting such an eminent orchestra, they consistently work with the world's most renowned conductors and soloists, and this collection shows these great musicians coming together in eight classic recordings.

To be sure, there are some great performances in this 10-disc set, André Previn: The Great Recordings. Previn's insouciant wit is evident in his effervescent reading of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and there is deep affection in his sensuous account of highlights from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. His explosive rendering of Orff's Carmina Burana has barbaric splendor, and there is thrilling excitement in his orgasmic interpretation of Rachmaninov's Second Symphony. But it can't be denied that Previn's superficial readings of Holst's The Planets and Debussy's Images are little more than musical travelogs, and that his dreary accounts of Shostakovich's Eighth and Elgar's Enigma Variations are musty musical picture galleries. His extravagantly colorful renderings of Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony and Walton's Belshazzar's Feast come across as lurid musical history lessons.

Since it's founding in Freiburg in 1958, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi has been one of the most important and ambitious labels for period performances. Over decades, globally-acclaimed recordings were created with outstanding musicians. The limited edition "Deutsche Harmonia Mundi: 100 Great Recordings" contains 100 outstanding DHM recordings with some of the most important and best artists in their field: Nuria Rial, Dorothee Mields, Al Ayre Espanol, Hille Perl, Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the Freiburger Barockorchester, Skip Sempé, Capriccio Stravagante, La Petite Bande, Gustav Leonhardt, Andrew Lawrence-King, Frieder Bernius, the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Thomas Hengelbrock and many others.