Ultimate Charles Dutoit

Maestro Dutoit and his orchestra really make Berlioz' orchestral showpiece glow in all of its colorful splendour, but with enough tenderness and warm lyricism in the more reflective, dreamy parts. But 'Un bal' really sways and swaggers with appropriate grandiloquence. The 'Scene aux champs' is played wonderfully poised and concentrated, but with a lot of warmth as well, helped of course by the mellifluous, wonderfully blended tone of the orchestra.

The New York Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Zubin Mehta and Lorin Maazel are among the distinguished Berlioz interpreters on hand as you behold the immortal Symphonie Fantastique and hours of other renowned works by this immensely influential orchestral innovator. Also: Harold in Italy; Tristia for Chorus and Orchestra; Les Troyens: Prelude; Roman Carnival Overture; King Lear Overture for Orchestra; Beatrice et Benedict: Overture; Requiem (Grande Messe Des Morts) for Tenor, Chorus and Orchestra; Veni Creator: Motet for 3 Voices and Chorus; Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale for Band, Strings and Chorus Ad Lib , and more!

Decca's Ultimate Ballet: The Essential Masterpieces is a budget box set of five discs covering the major dance works in the classical repertoire; newcomers to the genre can quickly pick up the basics from this generous collection. One can argue that Tchaikovsky should have been allotted greater space and that at least one of his ballets should have been presented in its entirety, rather than all three represented as suites and squeezed together on disc 1 to make room for Delibes' complete Coppélia. The Nutcracker, for example, could have fit nicely on a single CD, or an extra disc could have been provided to accommodate either a complete Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty.

This ultimate collection showcases an artist with such diversity and a voice like no other. As she approaches her 70th Birthday, she clearly shows no signs of slowing down. Indeed, she will be appearing on the 3rd Series of TV series Downton Abbey, starring as Dame Nellie Melba.

Like other titles in this substantial Decca series, Ultimate Chopin is a box set devoted to recordings drawn from the label's prestigious backlist, designed to give beginners and casual listeners a well-rounded introduction to this Romantic master of piano music. The affordable package of five CDs includes Chopin's two concertos for piano and orchestra, as well as his solo keyboard works, such as the nocturnes, ballades, preludes, impromptus, and waltzes.

Building a basic collection of the masterpieces of Felix Mendelssohn just got easier with the release of this five-disc compendium from Decca, and some listeners may feel quite satisfied with the selections offered here, since they are representative of the composer's best instrumental and orchestral music. Two of Mendelssohn's most buoyant works appear on the first disc, the Symphony No. 3 in A minor, "Scottish," and the Symphony No. 4 in A major, "Italian," and receive engaging performances by Herbert Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony. The second disc presents the perennially popular Violin Concerto in E minor and the string orchestra version of the Octet in E flat major, performances featuring the versatile Pinchas Zukerman as violin soloist…

Limited edition 100 CD box set on the premiere classical label Deutsch Grammophon. Subtitled from Gregorian Chant to Gorecki. For some it will be the ultimate reference tool. For others a big place to start on something they always wanted to know about. Either way, the idea is to present a comprehensive history of Classical Music from its origins to the present day, covering all periods, including all major composers.