Matmatah Nous y Sommes

With this original jackets’ box set Deutsche Grammophon concludes its series of 4 grand sets that present almost the totality of Herbert von Karajan’s output for the Yellow Label – and hence perhaps the most magnificent legacy in the history of recorded music. On 70 CDs “KARAJAN – THE OPERA RECORDINGS” features the 14 operas Karajan recorded for DGG – from “Carmen” to “Parsifal”, from “The Merry Widow” to “Rosenkavalier”, from Mozart to Puccini. And, of course, the complete “Ring”.

Among modern recordings of the opera, this one is a safe bet, assuming you want a safe version of this opera. Unlike Herbert von Karajan's oppressively string-heavy reading with the Berlin Philharmonic on EMI, this is a balanced, idiomatic account of the score, given a special luster by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra's coloristic instincts and the warm recording acoustic at St. Eustache Church. Conductor Charles Dutoit has a fine instinctive feel for Debussy in general and this score in particular. The singers in the title roles–Didier Henry and Colette Alloit-Lugaz–have both come to terms with the opera's enigmatic dramaturgy. However, it's very much a symphonic rather than operatic performance, clearly a product of the recording studio rather than of the stage.

Sir Simon Rattle leads an all-star cast in this highly anticipated new recording of Debussy’s evocative opera Pelléas et Mélisande. It was captured in January 2016 during performances of an innovative collaboration between Rattle and Peter Sellars, two of the boldest creative minds in music and theatre today. Supported by the London Symphony Chorus, prepared by renowned choral director Simon Halsey, it is a moving statement of intent for Rattle’s tenure as LSO Music Director.

Claude Debussy, who died 100 years ago in March 1918, is one of history's greatest composers and the most influential of all French composers. A father of modern music, Debussy lived in the early days of the recording era.

The Italian conductor Claudio Abbado is one of the most outstanding conductors of the 20th century. It was his unique ability to make sound and music shine (Deutschlandfunk Kultur), for which he was celebrated internationally by both the press and the audience. In addition to his long-standing relationship with the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Vienna Philharmonic, he has also been chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra for many years (1979 to 1986), with which he has recorded a rich discography over the years.