Provocation! Anarchy! Scandal! All too often we encounter Arnold Schoenberg in writings as an enfant terrible, as a radical innovator who sacrificed late Romantic tonality for his highly complex system of "composition with twelve tones related only to each other". In this edition, the Berliner Philharmoniker and chief conductor Kirill Petrenko demonstrate that in Schoenberg's music "heart and brain" - as the composer entitled one of his essays - are in fact in balance, and that the twelve-tone technique is also entirely at the service of expression. Released in the aftermath of the 150th anniversary year of the composer's birth, it presents five central works that illustrate all of Schoenberg's stylistic periods.

For the first time, this cycle is now being released as a limited vinyl edition on 17 LPs. The edition brings together Berliner Philharmoniker recordings from the last ten years. It includes the nine completed symphonies and the Adagio of the Tenth, whose performance under the direction of Claudio Abbado on the 100th anniversary of Mahler's death is one of the highlights. In addition to chief conductor Kirill Petrenko and his predecessor Sir Simon Rattle, the edition features other outstanding Mahler interpreters closely associated with the orchestra: Gustavo Dudamel, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Andris Nelsons and Yannick N�zet-S�guin.

It was more than just breathing together in the music that made this relationship so extraordinary: Seiji Ozawa earned the respect and affection of the orchestra from the very first time he met the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1966. The young Japanese conductor knew exactly what he wanted on the podium and knew the scores down to the smallest detail. Nevertheless, the always polite and approachable conductor never imposed his views on the orchestra. The result was a partnership on an equal footing, which was not only rewarding on a personal level, but above all enabled music-making in which there was always room for freedom and spontaneity. Our edition is a tribute to this special friendship with Seiji Ozawa, who the Berliner Philharmoniker made an honorary member in 2016.

There is hardly a better way to approach Ludwig van Beethoven than through his piano concertos. Beethoven's own instrument was the piano, and in his improvisations - which made him the darling of the Viennese salons - he merged virtuosity and unbridled expression. The piano concertos give a clear idea of these performances. At the same time, they are prime examples of Beethoven's ability to create large orchestral works with seemingly endless arcs of tension. This release features his piano concertos nos. 1-5, performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker with special guest Mitsuko Uchida. Legendary pianist Mitsuko Uchida brings a deep insight into the music she plays through her own quest for truth and beauty. Renowned for her interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Beethoven, she has also illuminated the music of Berg, Schoenberg, Webern and Boulez for a new generation of listeners.

For Simon Rattle, Jean Sibelius is "one of the most staggeringly original composers that there is". And indeed, this music has a unique musical language whose many beauties are particularly succinctly conveyed in Sibelius's seven symphonies. There is sonorous warmth as much as there is austere Nordic folklore. Moreover, there is a conceptual boldness that takes the listener on exciting musical journeys of discovery. In 2015, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Sibelius's birth, Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker presented the cycle live, which was met with unanimous delight by audiences and critics alike. "The Philharmoniker show that with them and Simon Rattle, Sibelius is in excellent hands," wrote the Berliner Zeitung, "because the orchestra has that astringency and sheer power which is so important for this kind of music." Simon Rattle was familiar with the music of Jean Sibelius from childhood. When, as a ten-year-old, he heard the Fifth Symphony live for the first time, it struck him - to use his own words - "like a thunderbolt". The Berliner Philharmoniker can also look back on a long Sibelius tradition and the orchestra was conducted by the composer himself in 1902. However, the first complete performance of the seven symphonies was not realized until 2010 under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle, with the Third Symphony being performed by the Philharmoniker for the first time. For many music lovers in Berlin, this new encounter with Sibelius was an exhilarating experience, and so it was only natural to repeat the performance of the cycle in Sibelius's anniversary year.

The music of Rachmaninoff is of “enormous significance” to Kirill Petrenko. In it, he finds his “musical home”. His third edition together with the Berliner Philharmoniker is dedicated to the Russian composer, the 150th anniversary of whose birth was celebrated in 2023. It presents four key works: the Second Symphony, the Piano Concerto No. 2 and The Isle of the Dead – Rachmaninoff regularly performed them together until his emigration in 1917 – and the Symphonic Dances, which the composer wrote shortly before his death.

Unsuk Chin’s music is a magical realm: sometimes it unfolds labyrinths of innovative sounds and complex structures, then again moments of otherworldly beauty. Her astonishing ingenuity gives each work its own character – which makes the encounter with Chin’s music a "continuous adventure" for the Berlin Philharmonic.

For the orchestra, many highlights of this fruitful collaboration are linked to special memories: Chorós Chordón, for example, accompanied the Philharmonic on their last tour of Asia with Simon Rattle. This edition documents all the works by Unsuk Chin that have been performed by the Berlin Philharmonic to date.

In addition to the recordings on CD and Blu-ray and a bonus film, the hardcover edition features an attractively designed accompanying book with moiré effect art by Takahiro Kurashima, and introductory texts.

The Berliner Philharmoniker’s contribution to the great Russian composer’s anniversary year places a landmark performance of his perennially popular C minor Concerto by Kirill Gerstein and Kirill Petrenko in the illuminating context of his solo music.

Gerstein says that a feeling of love for Rachmaninoff’s music was palpable in his rehearsals with Kirill Petrenko and the Berlin Philharmoniker, and their love was shared with listeners to this performance at the Waldbühne Concert in June 2022. Such a deeply gratifying collaboration led naturally to a Rachmaninoff project, with Gerstein recording solo music at the Philharmonie to complement the concerto from the Waldbühne. In his selection, the pianist curates a glimpse into the evolution of Rachmaninoff’s creative vision. Starting out from the familiar Romantic brilliance of the Second Concerto, the pieces glance backward to the youthful style of his early works and forward to the pared-down harmonies of his late Variations on a Theme of Corelli. Rachmaninoff 150 is also a celebration of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s own ties to the man and his music: a tradition that dates back to 1903, when the C minor Piano Concerto became the first of his works to be performed by the orchestra. The composer played this same concerto in 1908 at his Berliner Philharmoniker debut, as did Kirill Gerstein at his debut with the orchestra in 2016. Accompanying the SACD/CD release with stereo and surround sound is an illustrated 76-page booklet containing atmospheric artwork by Thomas Struth as well as extensive texts.

Includes: 

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3: No. 3 Mélodie
Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42
Six Songs, Op. 4: No. 3 In the Silence of the Secret Night (Arr. Kirill Gerstein)

Fritz Kreisler
Old Viennese Dances: No. 2 Love's Sorrow (Arr. Sergei Rachmaninoff)

A “musical snapshot of the early collaboration between the Berliner Philharmoniker and myself, and at the same time the initial spark of our association”, as Kirill Petrenko describes the edition in the foreword. Three repertoire strands are outlined here: first, there is the music of Russia, which Kirill Petrenko grew up with, and is represented here by Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies No. 5 and 6. These are performances in which not only the passion and power of these works unfold fully, but also their details and fine nuances. Another of Kirill Petrenko’s interests is that of unjustly forgotten composers. As examples of this, the edition presents two composers on the cusp between late-Romanticism and Modernism: Rudi Stephan and Franz Schmidt. The latter’s Fourth Symphony is presented here: music full of sonority and pain and at the same time a favourite of Kirill Petrenko.

And then – as a further cornerstone of the partnership – there is German-Austrian Classicism and Romanticism. The importance of this repertoire to Kirill Petrenko is demonstrated by the prominent place Ludwig van Beethoven occupied in his concerts to open the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, when the Seventh and Ninth Symphonies respectively were programmed. Both performances are also documented here. Now, for the first time, these special recordings appear in a high-quality vinyl edition limited to 1,500 copies on 6 LP with a 56-page clothbound accompanying book and the option of hi-res download.

Kirill Petrenko describes Dmitri Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony as an “incredible psychological drama”. The composer wrote it while his life was in danger during the Second World War: between a perilous existence and Stalinist censorship. The Ninth and Tenth also bear vivid witness to Shostakovich’s confrontation with the regime – and his self-assertion. Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings now releases the recordings of Symphonies 8–10 as the orchestra’s second major hardcover edition with chief conductor Kirill Petrenko.

They are among the most striking recordings of classical music ever made: the radio recordings with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Wilhelm Furtwängler, made between 1939 and 1945. Made at the height of the collaboration between orchestra and conductor, Furtwängler’s artistic personality is conveyed here as vividly as nowhere else. You can experience performances whose immediate expressive intensity arises from the moment of performance – and in which not least the existential experience of the Second World War reverberates. In a limited vinyl box with 8 LPs, Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings is now releasing a selection of all the surviving radio recordings that have already appeared on the CD/SACD Wilhelm Furtwängler: The Radio Recordings 1939-1945. With the enclosed code you can also download all the recordings of this edition in studio quality. When he was elected chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1922, Wilhelm Furtwängler impressed the musicians with his unique charisma. It was based on an intriguing interpretative principle: his baton technique avoided very precise gestures and deliberately relied on the blurring of tonal contours. For the remastering of the radio recordings, the best available material was used, in particular original tapes that were taken to the Soviet Union after the end of the war and only returned to Germany in the early 1990s. The recordings were carefully restored before vinyl mastering, digitally scanned using state-of-the-art technology and remastered in 24-bit resolution.

The world’s great conductors are not the only important artistic companions of the Berliner Philharmoniker. It is also always exceptional soloists who perform regularly with the orchestra, providing individual inspiration in their collaboration and opening up stimulating perspectives on the music. The Berliner Philharmoniker enjoy a productive partnership with many of these esteemed companions – with some, even a friendship. One such friend is Frank Peter Zimmermann. He and the Berliner Philharmoniker have been closely connected ever since their first concert together at the Waldbühne in 1985. His performances have created a common thread between generations of musicians, and hardly any of the conductors who have shaped the orchestra over the years have not worked with this exceptional violinist.

The edition brings together Berliner Philharmoniker recordings from the last ten years. It includes the nine completed symphonies and the Adagio of the Tenth, whose performance under the direction of Claudio Abbado on the 100th anniversary of Mahler’s death is one of the highlights. In addition to chief conductor Kirill Petrenko and his predecessor Sir Simon Rattle, the edition features other outstanding Mahler interpreters closely associated with the orchestra: Gustavo Dudamel, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Andris Nelsons and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

There is hardly a better way to approach Ludwig van Beethoven than through his piano concertos. Beethoven’s own instrument was the piano, and in his improvisations – which made him the darling of the Viennese salons – he merged virtuosity and unbridled expression. The piano concertos give a clear idea of these performances. At the same time, they are prime examples of Beethoven’s ability to create large orchestral works with seemingly endless arcs of tension. One of the most revered artists of our time, Mitsuko Uchida is known as a peerless interpreter of the works of Mozart, Schubert, R. Schumann and Beethoven, as well for being a devotee of the piano music of Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and György Kurtág.

These discs are hybrid Super Audio CDs playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

The radio recordings between 1939 and 1945 with the Berlin Philharmonic and Wilhelm Furtwängler are among classical music’s most compelling sound documents. Created at the peak of the collaboration between orchestra and conductor, Furtwängler’s artist personality is conveyed more vividly than anywhere else. What can be heard is music in which inspiration and the expressive will know no bounds and in which, not least, the existential experience of the Second World War reverberates. For the first time, the Berlin Philharmonic are releasing a complete edition of these recordings.

Wilhelm Furtwängler is accorded almost mythical status to this day. Biographically and artistically rooted in the 19th century, he embodies a bridge to the late-Romantic period and the founding years of the Berlin Philharmonic, whose chief conductor he was from 1922.

Furtwängler’s auratic charisma stems from an intriguing basic interpretive concept which avoided authoritarian gestures and deliberately aimed at the blurring of tonal contours. The result was a warm, mixed sound, in which developments and intensifications never appear calculated, but seem to grow organically.

This edition not only brings together all surviving radio recordings of the period, but also draws on the best available material – in particular, original tapes, which were taken to the Soviet Union after the war and only returned to Germany from the early 1990s onwards. Especially for this edition, the recordings have been carefully restored, digitally sampled using state-of-the-art technology, and remastered in 24-bit resolution. A total of 21 concerts are presented here, in whole or in part. The edition’s features include numerous historical photos, articles on the history behind the recordings, plus an extensive essay by the American musicologist Richard Taruskin on Furtwängler’s art – all of which results in a release which provides an opportunity to discover and relive this great chapter in the history of the Berliner Philharmoniker in all its facets as never before.

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REVIEW:

Do you want this box? Yes, you do. Is it worth it? Again, yes, almost certainly, it is. For one thing, these are the recordings that have come, more than any other, to define this conductor’s identity, and his legacy. The audio restoration does wonders for the piano concertos in particular. These are the concerts that, so they said later, made life worth living for many Berliners. They matter.

– Gramophone