Heifetz Collection 65 CD

"The greatest number of audio discs in a boxed set of classical recordings by a single instrumentalist is 103, achieved by Jascha Heifetz - The Complete Album Collection (Sony Music)" GUINNESS WOLRD RECORDS LTD – Guinness World Records, December 14, 2010
Befitting his legendary status, Jascha Heifetz-The Complete Album Collection, is the biggest box set ever created for a solo artist. With 103 CDs and 1 DVD, this limited edition collection features all of the violinist's recordings made by RCA Victor between 1917 and 1972,those made in England for His Master's Voice and distributed in the U.S. by RCA Red Seal, three LPs issued on Columbia Masterworks and one on Vox Cum Laude.

What release is this that can command such a gaudy price? Well, take another look: that's for 142 (!) CDs, which is what's necessary to compile-for the first time- every Arthur Rubinstein album ever released! One of the great poets of the piano, Rubinstein is heard here on every RCA Victor album he made from 1940-76, and also on one Decca album from 1978. Lastly, you'll hear the fine recordings he made in England for HMV between 1928 and 1940 plus the world-premiere release of two Carnegie Hall concerts from December 8 and 10, 1961 (featuring works by Debussy and Chopin). On the bonus DVDs: Rubinstein Remembered , a documentary chronicling his life, and The Benefit Recital for Israel from 1975. In the 164-page full-color hardcover book: a wealth of essays and photos plus complete discography, track listings and discographical notes. And on those 142 CDs?: Rubinstein's vast array of studio and live recordings of solo, concert and chamber-music pieces, with all albums presented in their best remasterings (using SACD and XRCD mastering sources). A dream come true for classical lovers, and a dream that will soothe your musical soul for a very, very long time!

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.

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.

Christian Tetzlaff’s effortless virtuosity, purity of intonation, and slight emotional reticence perfectly suits Sibelius, making this the finest available collection of the Finnish composer’s music for violin and orchestra. In the concerto, Tetzlaff’s relative coolness makes the music sound more like Sibelius and less like a violin concerto, which is all to the good. That doesn’t mean he lacks anything in sheer technique: indeed, his first-movement cadenza impresses as one of the most impressively concentrated and musically satisfying on disc. Tetzlaff’s slow movement sings but avoids panting and heaving, while the finale realizes the music’s gentle melancholy as well as its more thrusting elements. He’s nicely accompanied by Thomas Dausgaard, whose gentle support perfectly suits the overall interpretation.

The amazing thing isn't that violinist Arthur Grumiaux was such a splendid technician, although his technique was as flawless as Heifetz's. Nor is the amazing thing that Grumiaux was such a distinctive stylist, although one could always tell his performances by the cool intensity of his tone and the passionate restraint of his interpretations.

The years spanned by this seven-disc Warner Classics collection coincide with the peak years of Jean Sibelius' popularity. At that time, he was widely regarded in Western countries as the greatest living composer, though he had essentially stopped producing major works after the mid-1920s, when he wrote the Symphony No. 7 in C major, the incidental music to The Tempest, and Tapiola.