Liszt Hungarian Dances

Success in Europe quickly followed and he appeared with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras as well as local orchestras in London, Stockholm, Edinburgh, Lucerne, Milan, Salzburg and Paris. It is from this time that the superb recordings in this 21-CD set were made. Here is a special selection of some of EMI's celebrated Furtwängler recordings, some recorded live at concerts and some made in the studios.

A limited-edition 55-CD set of legendary and critically acclaimed recordings celebrating the famous PHILIPS heritage. An alliance of great artistry and superb sound. Classic-status albums spanning over half a century of recording and showcasing a wealth of international talent.
An unrivaled collection that that embraces all musical genres - from solo piano and chamber music through to large scale choral works and opera.

Phillips' Great Pianists of the 20th Century issue has gotten a lot of publicity in the ten or so years since it has been released. In a musical niche suffering from falling revenues, it was a decent seller. But it left many connoisseurs disappointed, as the quality was limited to the fancy packaging.

Filling a gap in the nineteenth century piano repertoire that many listeners would not have suspected was there, this excellent 2006 disc by English pianist Kathryn Stott of piano music by Bohemian composer Bedrich Smetana admirably serves its purpose. Opening with the half-hour-long, six-movement cycle Dreams and closing with several piquant Czech Dances, the program shows Smetana to have been a composer not only of ethnic creations but of virtuoso piano music in the Liszt mold as well. While there have been other excellent recordings of these works before, they have always been by Czech pianists who seemed to have instinctively grasped the specific rhythmic accent of Smetana's music, and this recording proves that you don't have to be Czech to play Smetana. Stott clearly has the big technique to tackle the extreme difficulties of the Concert Étude in C major and the more extravagantly virtuosic movements of Dreams, but she also has the sensitivity to handle the sweetness of "On the Sea Shore – a memory" and "Faded Happiness" (from Dreams) and the rhythmic verve to dance through the Fantasia on Czech Folksongs and the Czech Dances.

Composer: Béla Bartók
Conductor: Iván Fischer
Orchestra/Ensemble: Budapest Festival Orchestra, Slovak Folk Ensemble Chorus, Hungarian Radio Chorus

In recognition of his 40th anniversary with the label, Sony Classical is proud to present Murray Perahia: The First 40 Years. This limited- edition box set includes the artist’s complete recordings for Sony Classical on 68 CDs packaged in mini sleeves featuring the original album cover artwork.

Scherchen recorded an unusually wide range of repertoire, from the baroque to the contemporary. His Mahler recordings, made before Mahler became a part of the standard repertoire, were especially influential; so too were his recordings of Bach and Handel, which helped pave the way for the period-performance practice movement.

The Masterworks Heritage series, issued in the Mid 90's, received outstanding critical acclaim for the choice of repertoire and recordings, for the editorial /packaging and the splendid remastering of early mono and stereo tape masters. This excellent value, budget-priced, 28-CD-box set contains 20 of the best Masterworks Heritage releases. The CDs are in paper-sleeves with the original artwork of the former CD/LP. The booklet with tracklisting and the original liner notes in in English, all presented in special 2-part-box with slider. Featured artists: Claudio Arrau, Gregor Piatigorsky, Eugène Ysaÿe, Budapest String Quartet, Mstislav Rostropovich, Robert Casadesus, Leon Fleisher, Martina Arroyo, Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowski, Bruno Walter, George Szell, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Thomas Schippers, Fritz Reiner, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.