Schubert Lieder With Orchestra

Joseph Calleja, one of the world’s leading tenors, announces ‘Ave Maria’ – his first ever sacred album. Here, Calleja is joined for the first time on record by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, with no less than four Ave Marias – by Mascagni, Massenet, Schubert and Andrea Bocelli. The album also features guest appearances by Daniel Hope on violin in (title) and French baritone Étienne Dupuis in the famous duet from The Pearl Fishers.

These are marvellous performances: vibrant, clear, characterful and effortlessly well played. The recordings, too, still seem new-minted, even the Ninth, the first of the symphonies to be recorded. The Berliners' art is the art that disguises art. Böhm never feels the need to do anything clever but just quietly sees to it that this superb orchestra plays at its best. Böhm's way with the two late symphonies is, in fact, highly sophisticated.

Joseph Calleja, one of the world’s leading tenors, announces ‘Ave Maria’ – his first ever sacred album. Here, Calleja is joined for the first time on record by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, with no less than four Ave Marias – by Mascagni, Massenet, Schubert and Andrea Bocelli. The album also features guest appearances by Daniel Hope on violin in (title) and French baritone Étienne Dupuis in the famous duet from The Pearl Fishers.

A limited-edition 55-CD set of legendary and critically acclaimed recordings celebrating the famous PHILIPS heritage.An alliance of great artistry and superb sound. Classic-status albums spanning over half a century of recording and showcasing a wealth of international talent.An unrivaled collection that that embraces all musical genres - from solo piano and chamber music through to large scale choral works and opera. Music that spans more than two centuries of masterworks from Bach Concertos and Schubert Lieder to twentieth-century masterpieces by Stravinsky, Bartok and beyond.

Matthias Goerne, one of the most high-profile Schubertians of his generation, has recorded a selection of Schubert’s songs not in their original versions with piano but in orchestral arrangements by Alexander Schmalcz, Goerne’s accompanist of many years’ standing. Goerne says about Alexander Schmalcz’s arrangements: “His creativity in adapting these songs for the orchestra is enormous, while his stylistic sensibilities and his subtle approach in deploying the right instruments at the right moment are truly astonishing.” “Schubert’s ability to empathize makes him one of the most important composers in the whole of human history. (…) He created “a perfect balance between intellectuality and the greatest naturalness. With Schubert, even the most complicated melodies and forms sound entirely natural.” (Goerne)

Bass-baritone Florian Boesch, top-class Lied-singer, blooms in a Schubert programme (finest orchestrations by Brahms and Webern) with the renowned Concentus Musicus, the Viennese orchestra now led by the talented Stefan Gottfried. Next to these sublimated pieces, the Concentus performs a finished version of the mysterious ‘Unfinished’ Symphony. A Scherzo by Schubert himself was completed by a composer (Nicola Samale) and a musicologist (Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs) so that the result is faithful to the musician special expression. And Rosamunde’s Overture concludes this re-enactment: a moving experience and a touching journey through time!

Many collectors would agree that Sviatoslav Richter was the greatest pianist of the 20th century. His enormous recorded legacy hides hundreds of treasures, many of which are included in this beautiful 51CD set. Released to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth (20th March 2015), the edition encompasses his complete Decca, Philips and DG recordings, including his Sofia Recital as well as his collaborations with Rostropovich, Karajan and Benjamin Britten.