cd Box Sets Four Seasons

Russia is vast, and so is this 25-disc tribute to the great piano school of Russia-from the long-famous icons to the more recent inheritors of this ineffably proud tradition. Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lazar Berman and many others display their subtly various approaches to phrasing and timbre as they perform the great works of the Russian canon and composers across Europe.

Although Sergei Rachmaninov considered himself first and foremost a composer, the last two decades of his life found him knee-deep in his “second career” as a touring concert pianist and recording artist. In 1992, RCA Gold Seal brought out all of Rachmaninov’s recorded performances in a 10-disc set, now reprinted as a space-saving budget box.

Gidon Kremer … his tone colour changing in chameleon fashion to match mood and style. He is wispy and wiry in the spare, fugal opening, but as the music blossoms into Straussian warmth, he plays with a creamy, ripe sweetness that could grace an old Hollywood weepy. Yet there is always clarity in the playing, a feeling for the contours of the music and where they are leading. –Tim Homfray, The Strad, about Kremer s Bartók Violin Concerto

Itzhak Perlman must surely be considered one of the most popular violinists currently performing and recording, perhaps even one of the most beloved. His triumph over polio, which he contracted at age four, his warmth and engaging personality, his constant emphasis on teaching, have all contributed to his popularity. In honor of his approaching 70th birthday (August 31, 1945), DGG is releasing this limited edition 25 CD box set: Itzhak Perlman Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon.

Itzhak Perlman must surely be considered one of the most popular violinists currently performing and recording, perhaps even one of the most beloved. His triumph over polio, which he contracted at age four, his warmth and engaging personality, his constant emphasis on teaching, have all contributed to his popularity. In honor of his approaching 70th birthday (August 31, 1945), DGG is releasing this limited edition 25 CD box set: Itzhak Perlman Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon. Between 1968 and 2001, Perlman recorded 25 albums for DGG and Decca - many of them now considered to be classics.

This 28 CD box set includes the Argo jewels from Marriner’s early recording days with the chamber orchestra he founded in 1958, The Academy of St Martin in the Fields. The edition spans the years 1964-1981, and includes a bonus CD of the first recordings from 1961.The collection concentrates on the Argo years, when the pattern for the Academy’s success was set. Winning performances by soloists such as Alan Loveday and Iona Brown — who in 1974 became Marriner’s successor in directing from the violin – were a key part of the fabric of the Academy’s unique sound.

The Karajan Official Remastered Edition comprises 13 box sets containing official remasterings of the finest recordings the Austrian conductor made for EMI between 1946 and 1984, which are now a jewel of the Warner Classics catalog. Karajan's extraordinary capacity for elevating his soloists on a 'magic carpet' of orchestral sound is demonstrated in this 10 CD collection of concertos; among the instrumentalists are such figures as Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Alexis Weissenberg, Maurice André and James Galway.

The Karajan Official Remastered Edition comprises 13 box sets containing official remasterings of the finest recordings the Austrian conductor made for EMI between 1946 and 1984, which are now a jewel of the Warner Classics catalog. Karajan's extraordinary capacity for elevating his soloists on a 'magic carpet' of orchestral sound is demonstrated in this 10 CD collection of concertos; among the instrumentalists are such figures as Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Alexis Weissenberg, Maurice André and James Galway.

Pure… Summer collects 68 original hits featuring Gipsy Kings ("Bamboleo"), Men at Work ("Down Under”), Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun”), Electric Light Orchestra ("Mr. Blue Sky”), Albert Hammond ("It Never Rains in Southern California”), and Kenny Loggins ("Footloose”). Tracks by the Jacksons, Miami Sound Machine, Billy Ocean, Johnny Nash, and Harry Nilsson are also included on this four-disc compilation.