Schwimm

This 31 CD box set is being released to celebrate what would have been her 100th birthday in December 2015. The set contains all the recital programmes of song, opera and operetta tha t she recorded for EMI between 1952 and 1974, and also included two live recitals. All the recordings have been newly remasteredto the highest standards by various studios including Abbey Road. A reigning soprano of her era, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (1915-2006) remains renowned for her vocal beauty and elegance and for her acute interpretative insight – above all in the music of Mozart, Wolf and Strauss.

Liederabend "Wien-Prag-Berlin". Geografisch bilden Wien, Prag und Berlin gewissermaßen die Nord-Süd-Achse Mitteleuropas.
Historisch sind diese drei Metropolen schicksalsträchtig miteinander verbunden; für die Ambivalenz zwischen Freundschaft und Feindschaft geben die drei Jahrhunderte seit dem Barock ein beredtes Zeugnis. In der Musik besteht eine lange Tradition der gegenseitigen Befruchtung zwischen diesen Städten, die nicht zueltzt im kompositorischen Netzwerk zum Ausdruck kommt, in welchem die Schöpfer der von einer Berlinerin und einer Wienerin gesungenen Duette verbunden sind.

The set includes 17th and 18th century arias and songs from England by Purcell, Handel and Green, French art-songs by Debussy and Fauré, as well as canciones by Spanish composers including Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina.

Lilting melodies and exhilarating dance rhythms; gentle pathos, brooding drama and robust high spirits; the spirit of rural Bohemia and the sophistication of Prague, Vienna, New York and London in the late 19th century: Antonin Dvořák’s music is unfailingly distinctive and captivating. In all his works – from the epic ‘New World’ Symphony and Cello Concerto to the irresistible Slavonic Dances, haunting ‘American’ String Quartet, quirky violin Humoresque and yearning Song to the Moon – he is a composer whose heart is open and generous, and whose love for his homeland always shines through. This box provides an illuminating and enriching survey of his works, including his complete symphonies. A number of the celebrated performers have Slavonic roots themselves; all their interpretations draw on a deep affinity with Dvořák’s inspiration and humanity.