Sibelius Msc

In 1930 EMI started a subscription series of the works of Jean Sibelius. Most of the Sibelius Society orchestral recordings are available on Naxos in excellent transfers by Mark Obert-Thorn, but the Warner box includes a few rarities that slipped by them. This is the first time that all the composer-approved orchestral recordings made for the Sibelius project between 1930 and 1940 have been gathered together (six CDs worth). Plus one CD of chamber music and songs.

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.