Decca Set

It takes only 10 discs to contain the complete solo Decca recordings of Radu Lupu, one of the great pianists of the late 20th century. It's also amazing that these few recordings stretch over a quarter of a century, from 1971 to 1995, making Lupu one of the most infrequently recorded of the great pianists; even Argerich and Michelangeli have outdistanced him.

This set brings together for the first time Britten's complete Decca recordings as pianist and conductor in which he performs music by other composers - an astonishing variety of music that ranges from large-scale choral works by Bach and Purcell to Schumann and Elgar, as well as orchestral works by Mozart, Haydn and Schubert. Solo vocal repertory is generously represented with important works by Schubert and Schumann and early twentieth-century English song. Chamber music features Britten the pianist in partnership with two of Britten's closest collaborators: Mstislav Rostropovich and Sviatoslav Richter.

How do you describe Leopold Stokowski in one word? Showman, impresario, visionary, firebrand, agent provocateur, magician? Take your pick as he all that and more. It’s 40 years since the passing of one of the most colorful characters in Decca’s roster and one of the most indefatigable innovators in music performance history. His complete recordings for Decca/Phase 4 are presented together for the first time, with a bonus audio documentary featuring an interview with the maestro himself, in a handsome Limited Edition 23-CD boxed set.

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.

A massively comprehensive look at the earliest years of Ella Fitzgerald on record – the legendary recordings she made with the Chick Webb orchestra at the end of the 30s and start of the 40s! Ella was way more than just another singer with a band – as her presence in the Webb group really dominated its recording history, so much so that there were nearly five times as many Chick Webb singles with vocals by Ella as there were instrumentals by the group! Fitzgerald's placement was for good reason, too – as her singing abilities were landmark – almost more with the deftness of an instrument than most other singers who'd come before, and developed amazingly over the course of the seven years presented in the set. If you only know Ella from all her later famous sides – and plenty of those are wonderful, too – you'll find even more to love here – a beautifully remastered presentation of 187 titles that were originally issued on 78rpm singles, all collected here for the first time ever – with amazing notes, photos, and details on all the music. The set's not only a great illustration of the strength of the Webb and Fitzgerald team, but also of the way that Mosaic's talents for compilation can work especially well for the pre-LP years of jazz!

How do you describe Leopold Stokowski in one word? Showman, impresario, visionary, firebrand, agent provocateur, magician? Take your pick as he all that and more. It’s 40 years since the passing of one of the most colorful characters in Decca’s roster and one of the most indefatigable innovators in music performance history. His complete recordings for Decca/Phase 4 are presented together for the first time, with a bonus audio documentary featuring an interview with the maestro himself, in a handsome Limited Edition 23-CD boxed set.

Even though Vladimir Ashkenazy is most often celebrated for his brilliantly virtuosic interpretations of Romantic repertoire, his skills in playing works of the Classical era are just as worthy, as proved by this 10-disc set from London of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's piano concertos. These performances span a period from 1966 to 1988, capturing a youthful and vigorous Ashkenazy playing and conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra from the keyboard, in approved Mozartian fashion. All of the keyboard concertos are here, including the official 27 concertos for piano and orchestra, the Concerto for two pianos in E flat major, K. 365, the Concerto for three pianos in F major, K. 242, as well as the two Rondos K. 382 and K. 386. Ashkenazy's elegant playing has been highly praised by critics and placed on a level with his esteemed contemporaries Murray Perahia, Daniel Barenboim, and Alfred Brendel, all past masters of Mozart's primary medium of expression.

Leonard Bernstein was a musical titan of the 20th Century as a composer, a conductor and a communicator. This Limited Numbered Edition boxed set is the largest of DG’s suite of beautifully-conceived albums and sets marking the 2018 centenary of a remarkable human being and musical legends.
“The greatest pianist among the conductors, the greatest conductor among composers, the greatest composer among pianists … He is a universal genius” - Arthur Rubenstein.

Spanish conductor Ataúlfo Argenta cheated death many times in his short life; during the Spanish Civil War, he talked his way out of execution by a firing squad, contracted typhoid in prison, and survived that in addition to its recurrence later in his life.