Several of the recordings on this disc date from 1960, when Otto Klemperer celebrated his 75th birthday and Wieland Wagner, the composer's grandson, saluted the conductor as "a unique artistic phenomenon". Klemperer's mastery of Wagner's music was rooted in the early years of his career: by the age of 30 he had conducted performances of Lohengrin, Der fliegende Holl�nder, Tannh�user, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Die Meistersinger von N�rnberg, Parsifal and Tristan und Isolde. "The performances on these records are all superbly played and recorded. Klemperer is a great Wagner conductor, probably the greatest in the world." Gramophone The German-born conductor Otto Klemperer, a towering figure in the musical history of the 20th century, died at the age of 88 on July 8th 1973, so 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of his death. His complete recordings on Warner Classics catalogue are being made available for the first time in 2 huge separate boxes; the first volume with the Symphonic Works, Concertos & Lieder (95CD) will be released in June 2023. All recordings are remastered in HD 192/24 from original sources.

Maria Callas is credited with changing the history of opera. Known as La Divina, she continues to fascinate as a supreme artist, but also as a woman and an icon of style. Her interpretations were as compelling for their dramatic truth as for their musical integrity. Her voice, with it's extraordinary range, was as distinctive as her infallible sense for a phrase. A magnetic presence, she brought operatic heroines to vivid life, magically shaping and colouring her tone, and making insightful use of the text of the libretto.

Maria Callas is credited with changing the history of opera. Known as La Divina, she continues to fascinate as a supreme artist, but also as a woman and an icon of style. Her interpretations were as compelling for their dramatic truth as for their musical integrity. Her voice, with it's extraordinary range, was as distinctive as her infallible sense for a phrase. A magnetic presence, she brought operatic heroines to vivid life, magically shaping and colouring her tone, and making insightful use of the text of the libretto. Assoluta Maria Callas BEST OF LIMITED EDITION CRYSTAL VINYL is a glittering selection of opera favorites that showcases, both in the studio (Side A) and on stage (Side B), her unique voice and her heartbreaking portrayal of tragic heroines. This LP has a completely different tracklist than the other best of LP La divina.

Sergei Rachmaninov was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor renowned for his emotive and virtuosic music. His works, characterized by lush harmonies and sweeping melodies, include the iconic Piano Concerto No. 2 and the hauntingly beautiful Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Despite facing personal and political upheavals, including emigration after the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninov's music maintained it's deeply expressive and romantic style. His legacy endures through his recordings and compositions, which continue to captivate audiences worldwide. Rachmaninov's artistry embodies the pinnacle of late Romanticism, blending technical brilliance with profound emotional depth. The artists performing on this vinyl, H�l�ne Grimaud, Nikolai Lugansky, Leif Ove Andsnes or Andr� Previn, are amongst the most inspired for this repertoire.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2022 release. "This album has been an utter joy to make [...] The concept of this project began decades ago, when I decided that Copland's Quiet City was a work that everyone needed to hear - especially so as Copland reveals the scene so brilliantly via the solo trumpet and cor. There is a true melancholy in this work that only a certain type of trumpet playing can achieve, and across the collection on the album I've tried to show that through the unique lens of the trumpet, the wonderful bridge and mutual respect between the classical composers and arrangers, and the jazz greats can be seen. For many of us, the sentiment behind Quiet City is pertinent at the moment, as we emerge from the loneliness of the pandemic and into another chapter of darkness in today's turbulent world."

With Farewells, Warsaw-born countertenor Jakub J�zef Orlinski, partnered by pianist Michal Biel, offers a panorama of Polish song. Often nostalgic in spirit, the program of the album spans 150 frequently turbulent years. "Michal and I started exploring the Polish art song repertoire when we were at the Juilliard School in New York," explains Orlinski, whose recordings until now have focused on the baroque era. "As a Polish duo we love to present Polish music to our public. I know that no language can present a barrier when it's set to music. I believe that music builds bridges and I am sure that those songs will get under the listener's skin." The album takes it's name from a triptych of songs written in 1948 by Henryk Czyz, who joins five other composers on the programme: Stanislaw Moniuszko (known as the 19th century's father of Polish opera), Karol Szymanowski (recognised around the world as a major post-Romantic composer), Mieczyslaw Karlowicz, Tadeusz Baird and Pawel Lukaszewski, a leading figure in contemporary Polish music.

George Szell's commitment to musical truth made him an intimidating figure - even among the other formidable conductors of the 20th century. His uncompromising quest for perfection drew performances of exalted quality from soloists and orchestras. In particular, his long tenure as the Cleveland Orchestra's music director (1946-1970) established it firmly as one of the world's great ensembles. This recording of Franz Schubert's masterwork, the "Great" Ninth Symphony, is one of the highlights of the discography Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra made for EMI. It is proposed here in the 2019 remastering done by Warner Japan.

Vinyl LP pressing. "Eden is an invitation to return to our roots. It is an overture to engage with the sheer perfection of the world around us, to consider if we are connecting as profoundly as we can to the pure essence of our being. It is a clarion call to contemplate if our collective suffering isn't perhaps linked to the aching separation from something primal within and around us. This is a vivid musical exploration through the centuries to remember and to create a new Eden from within." - Joyce DiDonato

Callas and Turandot. "To have Callas, the most flashing-eyed of all sopranos as Turandot, is the most natural piece of casting. With her Turandot was not just an implacable man-hater but a highly provocative female. [...] With her the character seems so much more believably complex than with others. [...] The conducting is so vivid that the limitations of the 1957 mono sound hardly seem to matter." Gramophone

I find it fascinating how each piano is different from the next, says the 30-year-old Munich-based composer. "Some instruments really open up your creativity. To play on a lot of different ones is the best way to come up with new ideas.[...] It's this fascination which drives CORRELATIONS. Having begun playing at an early age [...] CIPA launched his recording career in 2012 [...]. Since then he has expanded his artistic range, collecting instruments and building his own studio, culminating in 2019's Retronyms, an album he describes as "dedicated to the idea of creating my own sound world". With this new release, however, he has decided to return, in a sense, to his roots. "I wanted to simplify the process," he says, "by focusing again on the piano, but spreading the concept. " For CORRELATIONS, CIPA carefully selected six grand pianos, three uprights, a square piano and a Rhodes.

Debut album for Daniel Lozakovich on Warner Classics, a recital with pianist Mikhail Pletnev. Repertoire features C�sar Franck: Sonata for violin and piano in A Major FWV 8, and Edvard Grieg: Violin sonata No. 3, Op. 45.

This collection is reviving the most popular pieces from blockbuster movies by offering a full fledge state-of-the-art orchestral sound. As the Original Soundtracks for many tracks are recorded in sound quality of the 50s/60s or even in mono - this recording brings a truly revolutionary listening experience to those pieces.

Simon Rattle's original 1980 recording of The Planets with the Philharmonia Orchestra. This is still a reference version of this iconic work by Gustav Holst, together with the later version Rattle recorded with the Berliner Philharmoniker in the middle of the 2000s.

Vinyl LP pressing. His third album 'Retronyms' sees Carlos Cipa bring together his background as a classically trained pianist and composer with his interest for experimental forms and pop music. After numerous live performances throughout the years, a slew of collaborations and, amongst others, works for film and theatre performances, he invited different musicians to his Munich studio to record the eight pieces. On 'Retronyms', improvisation goes hand in hand with the high art of composition while acoustic (and partly unusual) instruments like the celesta meet with electronic production methods or analogue synthesizers. Between the avant-garde aesthetics of the opener 'Fanfare' to the orchestral 'Senna's joy' and the closing improvisational piece 'Paon', Cipa proves to have radically expanded his approach as a composer. Each note on this album is meticulously thought through and yet 'Retronyms' radiates with visceral liveliness.

Violinist Augustin Hadelich embarks on an American Road Trip, travelling the musical highways and by ways of his adoptive homeland in the company of pianist Orion Weiss. The duo perform works by a melting pot of American composers, writing in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries and drawing on a diversity of idioms, influences and inspirations... from European Romanticism to revivalist hymns; from blues and jazz to bluegrass; from the banjo and ukulele to Jimi Hendrix's guitar, and from a little Mexican star to exquisite Japanese carvings. Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives and John Adams take their place beside Amy Beach, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Eddie South, Howdy Forrester, Manuel M. Ponce and - flying the flag for today's composers along with Adams - Daniel Bernard Roumain and Stephen Hartke. Augustin Hadelich, born in Italy to German parents, moved to the USA at the age of 19 to study at New York's Juilliard School and became an American citizen in 2014. In the words of The Strad magazine, "Hadelich's playing brings together the best qualities of both American and European playing: passion, Polish and coherence, but also thoughtfulness, expressivity and nuance."