Beethoven Leonore

“The immediacy of expression, the dramatic tension and the vitality achieved not only by the singers but also by the full-throated chorus, the wonderful orchestra and, last but not least, Karl Böhm himself all set standards by which other performances must be judged and found wanting.” So sayeth the liner notes to this first official release of the original broadcast tapes of the Fidelio that reopened the Vienna State Opera in 1955.

The Szell/Cleveland Recordings Complete! In the heyday of George Szell s tenure as its chief conductor, declared Gramophone, The Cleveland Orchestra had few if any peers among the world s great orchestras. Coinciding with the orchestra s centenary in 2018, Sony Classical is excited to announce one of the most ambitious reissue projects of recent times, a comprehensive collection of the Clevelanders recordings made under the baton of their iconic fourth music director. These span the period between 1947 a year after Szell (born in Budapest in 1897) inherited a fine provincial orchestra from Erich Leinsdorf and began transforming it into the elite ensemble it remains to this day and 1969, a year before his sudden death shocked the musical world. Szell's dream was to create an ensemble that combined the Americans purity and beauty of sound and their virtuosity of execution with the European sense of tradition, warmth of expression and sense of style, in the words of his biographer Michael Charry.

Günter Wand Edition - BOXSET 4DVD VOL 2 - Beethoven: Overture Leonore | Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 - DVD 5/8
Classical | DVD | with scans | 3,70 Gb (DVD5) | DVD´s FULL No compression
Audio: PCM Stereo | Relesase: August 16, 2005 | Publisher: TDK DVD Video

Few conductors have made a greater contribution to our present-day understanding of Bruckner than Günter Wand (1912-2002).
This first box includes Bruckner symphonies nos. 5, 6 and 8 in their original or restored versions as well as an elegant, but rarely performed Haydn Symphony and the "Unfinished" symphonies by Bruckner and Schubert. Later, TDK released the second box of 4 DVDs including the popular Bruckner Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7 and symphonic works by Brahms and Schubert.

Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphonies Nos. 1-9 / Leonore Overture No. 2 / Triple Concerto
Gordan Nikolitch / Lars Vogt / London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Bernard Haitink
SACD ISO: 24,81 GB (Stereo & MCH) | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 6,73 GB | Artwork | 5% Rec. Info
Label/Cat#: LSO Live # LSO0598 | Country/Year: UK 2006
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School, Orchestral

"…I will treasure this set until the end of my days, and hope others will attain the same joy from it after I am gone." ~SA-CD.net

This Beethoven recording conducted by Daniel Harding is marked out mostly by its bristling, scintillating energy. Despite the brisk (but marvellous) "tempi", the interpretation here shows a great musical clarity alongside a subtlety of detail and beauty of sound. The fiery, apollonian character of these overtures is clearly stressed by this young conductor, and it is simply perfect! Take the "Leonore I" as an example… It (definitely) is the most thrilling recording I ever heard of this exciting work. Harding's personal choices of tempo and rubato seemed a natural part of the music onward flow. The entire set of overtures is remarkable for its consistency of interpretation! Forget Abbado, Barenboim or Gardiner - this is the definitive recording of Beethoven Overtures!