Transmagic 2023

Fritz Busch studierte bei Fritz Steinbach in Köln. Mit 19 Jahren wurde er Kapellmeister in Riga, anschließend in Bad Pyrmont und in Gotha.

Fritz Busch was one the greatest German conductors of the first half of the twentieth century, noted for his illuminating performances and his ethical principles. His father was a former itinerant musician who became an instrument maker, and his brothers were violinist Adolf Busch and cellist Hermann Busch. Fritz Busch went to Cologne Conservatory in 1909, studying conducting with Steinbach. The city of Aachen hired him as music director in 1912.

Sixten Ehrling was one of the most famous Swedish conductors. He studied violin and piano as a child. When he entered the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm he continued with those instruments and also studied conducting and composition. He pursued conducting studies in London (with Albert Wolff) and in Paris. He briefly pursued the career of a concert pianist, but soon became an assistant to Karl Böhm in Dresden while also taking conducting lessons from him.

Although early advocates such as Robert Kajanus, Sir Thomas Beecham, and Serge Koussevitzky had conducted many of Sibelius's symphonies for gramophone in the 1930s and 1940s, none of these Sibelians recorded all seven. Instead, the earliest complete traversal dates to 1953, four years before the composer's death on 20 September 1957; it is by Sixten Ehrling and the Stockholm Radio Orchestra, recorded from 1952–1953 for the Swedish label Metronome Records (released by Mercury Records in the United States).

A recording of Bellini's Norma is essential for every Callas collection.

The fame and legacy of Maria Callas are nearly unsurpassed in the modern history of opera. Her fame has transcended the usual boundaries of classical music, and she has been the inspiration for several movies as well as the successful Broadway play "Master Class." Her extensive catalogue of recordings remains among the most coveted and controversial for both her fans and detractors.

Willie Nelson is probably the greatest living country star of our time. The Texan has been an institution of the genre for decades and is revered by generations of colleagues and fans. So it's no wonder that countless well-wishers celebrated this legend's 90th birthday with a unique concert. "Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90 Live At The Hollywood Bowl" now brings this historic event to your living room.

The Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet; founded in 1950; comprised the principal woodwinds and French horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra. They made their recording debut for Columbia in 1953: four players from the ensemble were joined by pianist Rudolf Serkin in the Beethoven and Mozart Quintets in E-flat. Serkin; a frequent soloist with the orchestra; had been so taken by the artistry and tonal colors of its first-chair winds that he approached them about making a record together. So began the group’s history at Columbia’s 30th Street Studio in Manhattan. It would span 15 years; during which the ensemble naturally focused on the many outstanding works scored for standard woodwind quintet. But guest performers often joined them on recordings as well as in concerts; extending their repertoire to include not only composers of their own time; but even music outside the classical sphere written by the legendary jazz trumpeter Ornette Coleman.

Anshel Brusilow was for many years the celebrated concertmaster of the legendary Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy. In 1965 he founded the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia with whom he recorded six albums for RCA Victor until 1968, now available for the first time, freshly restored and as a 24-bit remaster. The wide-ranging repertoire of the carefully selected musicians extends from symphonies by Haydn and Cherubini to the First Serenade by Brahms and the Fourth Suite by Tchaikovsky to works by Arensky, Ibert, Wolf, R. Strauss, Ravel, Francaix and a haunting cantata by Richard Yardumian (a composer whom Eugene Ormandy also supported).