Levine Brahms

This is a rather brisk reading of Brahms' masterpiece, the most ambitious work in his output and one of the greatest compositions of its type. Though Herreweghe's tempos often pushed the music to its limits here (except for the first section), the performance never actually sounded fast, or at least not offensively fast. In fact, it challenges the Levine/RCA effort.

Tout le monde devrait connaitre certaines oeuvres classiques. Les requiems de Mozart ou de de Saint Sens en font parti, à mes yeux.

Recorded for two different record companies over 14 years in five different locations, Emanuel Ax's Brahms concertos plus his Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79; Three Intermezzos, Op. 117; and Four Piano Pieces, Op. 119, are joined together for the first time here on two discs. Given the span in space and time, Ax is surprisingly quite consistent in his approach. The same emphasis on content over form, on heart over mind, on lyricism over drama is equally present in both concertos as well as in all the solo works.

Something new is always to be expected whenever Nikolaus Harnoncourt turns his attention to an important piece of music. In recent years he has been giving audiences a fresh view on some of the masterpieces of Romantic and late-Romantic music. His account of Brahms’ German Requiem is based on a thorough study of the composer’s ideas on how it should be performed.

175 years ago, on March 28th 1842, Otto Nicolai raised the baton for the first ever concert of a new ensemble destined to become one of the world's great orchestras. The Wiener Philharmoniker 175th Anniversary Edition offers a hand-picked selection on 44 CDs of the best albums of the orchestra released on the label. Presented in a luxury box with matt lamination and hot-foil printed gold, the box includes original cover art, rare photographs from the Wiener Philharmoniker Archives as well as two new essays by Dr. Silvia Kargl, Head of the Historic Archive of the Vienna Philharmonic, and Richard Evidon. With a Bonus DVD of the famous 1989 New Year's Concert conducted by Carlos Kleiber.

Created from the legendary Deutsche Grammophon Catalogue, The History of Classical Music in 24 Hours is a collection that can spark a life-long interest in classical music. Thematically arranged on 24 discs, The History weaves its way from Medieval Music to Minimalism, with many stops along the way: The Renaissance, Baroque (vocal and instrumental), the great Concertos, the Rise of the Virtuoso, a three disc focus on opera and more.

Created from the legendary Deutsche Grammophon Catalogue, The History of Classical Music in 24 Hours is a collection that can spark a life-long interest in classical music. Thematically arranged on 24 discs, The History weaves its way from Medieval Music to Minimalism, with many stops along the way: The Renaissance, Baroque (vocal and instrumental), the great Concertos, the Rise of the Virtuoso, a three disc focus on opera and more.