Mozart Serkin 23

On the eve of his centenary in 2018, Sony Classical releases the most important collection, Leonard Bernstein’s classic American Columbia recordings, remastered from their original 2- and multi-track analogue tapes. This has allowed for the creation of a natural balance (for example, between the orchestra and solo instruments) that brings the quality of these half-century-old recordings, excellent for their time, up to the standards of today’s audiophiles. In addition, there has been a meticulous restoration of some earlier masterings in which LP surface noise was too rigorously eliminated at the expense of the original brilliance.

The most prestigious classic collection.
This collection contains 100 numbered CD containing various works of classic authors of the 16th century to the 20th century. It offers an exclusive window on classical music, for addressing styles and eras.

Now many of the world’s most serious and significant pianists (Schnabel, Serkin, Brendel, Goode, etc.) have devoted a great deal of thoughtful study to the Beethoven sonatas; in general, performance of this music represents a level of erudition and deep contemplation probably unequaled by the works of any other mainstream composer. Serious pianists study every aspect of these works in minute detail; virtually everything is taken into account except those instruments which inspired Beethoven, and which he had in mind when he composed.

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.

There have been great performances of Beethoven's works for cello and piano before – the classic Casals/Serkin, the magisterial Rostropovich/Richter, the magnificent Fournier/Kempff but for sheer passion and power, these recordings by cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Martha Argerich simply cannot be bettered. Maisky has a virtuoso technique coupled with a warmly singing tone; Argerich has a super-virtuoso technique coupled with fiery interpretations; together they play like lovers who know every way to excite and satisfy each other.

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of Glenn Gould’s legendary Goldberg Variations.
Glenn Gould Remastered – The Complete Album Collection refurbishes Gould’s complete approved studio recordings using state-of-the-art Direct Stream Digital (DSD) transfer and 24 bit/96 kHz mastering technology in a 81 CDs limited edition. The 416 page book includes complete original liner notes (many penned by Gould himself), a wealth of facsimile documents, rare photographs, full discographical information, and a newly commissioned introductory essay by Gould scholar and biographer Kevin Bazzana.