VOX presents an irresistible 6-CD set taken from Alfred Brendel's remarkable 36 album discography with the company. Made during the early years of his unique career, these recordings rightly established him as one of the foremost pianists of the century. The repertoire covered the complete works of Beethoven, most of Schubert's solo pieces, several Mozart concerti, some of the cornerstones of Franz Liszt's output and many other works. This set is fascinating because his early interpretations are different from his current ones and they show a towering artistic maturity shining through a young man's buoyant fiery energy.

Of Armenian heritage, Manoug Parikian was born on September 15, 1927 in Mersin, Turkey. After studies in England, he débuted as a soloist in 1947. In the course of his career, he was concertmaster of London's famed Philharmonia Orchestra and also held that post with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the English Opera Group Orchestra and the Yorkshire Sinfonia. In addition, he directed the Manchester Camerata and often performed at the Aldeburgh Festival. As a soloist, he was particularly noted for his magnificent interpretation of Mozart. Parikian also dedicated himself to the performance of contemporary violin concertos and several leading British composers wrote concertos for him. Parikian was an acclaimed teacher at the Royal Academy of Music for many years. He passed away on Christmas Eve, 1987. On the day of his death, the BBC broadcast a performance by him in the Antonio Stradivari Gala Celebration. Parikian was an outstanding musician and violinist. He was a great inspiration to other violinists and had great integrity and a marvelous ability to adapt and change style from one composer to another.

The Trio A Cordes Français was founded in 1959 by violinist Gérard Jarry (1936-2004), violist Serge Collot (1923-2015), and cellist Michel Tournus (1922-2006), and was active for over thirty years. They toured the world and made many notable recordings. At the age of fourteen, Gérard Jarry gained a Premier Grand Prix at the 1951 Concours Long-Thibaud. In addition to his many years performing with the Trio, he was concertmaster of the Orchestre de Chambre Jean-François Paillard, and a noted soloist. He was also a professor of violin at the Conservatoire de Paris. Serge Collot studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Maurice Vieux, one of the greatest viola virtuosos. Graduating with a Premier Prix in 1944, he had a long and distinguished career as a chamber musician. As well as his long tenure with the Trio, he was principal violist with the Orchestre de l'Opera National de Paris from 1957 to 1986, and also was a member of several string quartets - the Parrenin, the Radiodiffusion Francaise, and the Bernède. He was particularly influential in encouraging the composition of contemporary works for viola by such composers as Boulez and Berio. Like his colleague Jarry, he was professor of viola at Conservatoire de Paris for many years. Michel Tournus gained Premiers Prix in cello and in chamber music from the Conservatoire de Paris. Like his colleagues, he was also a member of several other chamber ensembles, including the Quatuor Indig and the Octuor de Paris. Like Collot, he was first cello with the Orchestre de l'Opera National de Paris. Active as a teacher at the Conservatoire de Musique de Versailles, and was the author of a cello method. This set contains many of the Trio A Cordes Français' recordings of Mozart.

MOZART, W.A.: Symphonies (Essential), Vols. 1-6 (Norrington)

This album features many extraordinary performances of 19th Century repertoire, but it also provides a glimpse of Schuricht's advocacy of 20th century composers such as Borish Blacher and Gunter Raphael. A bonus disc featuring Schuricht in rehearsal rounds out this second portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest conductors.

Joaquin Rodrigo's songs span the whole of his long creative life, and like much of his output is inspired by Spanish traditional music and ranges over intimate settings for piano (or guitar), chamber ensembles and full orchestral accompaniments. This set is a huge treasure trove of delightful, picturesque responses to Spanish poetry: all marked by Rodrigo's ready gift for melody and ear for instrumental colour.

Marking the centenary of his birth, this 17-CD box celebrates the long life and passionate, exotic music of this treasured French composer (who was also one of the greatest organists and pianists of his time). His rich romanticism and rhythmically complex creations depict what he called "the marvelous aspects of the faith" (he was a devout Roman Catholic); the artists here who tackle his complete organ works, piano works and songs include Willem Tanke, Peter Hill, Ingrid Kappelle and Hakon Austbo. Festivals worldwide are currently honoring Messiaen's legacy; join them as you hear L'Ascension; La Nativite Du Seigneur; Les Corps Glorieux; Livre D'Orgue; Messe de la Pentecote; Meditations Sur Le Mystere de la Sainte Trinite; Livre Du Saint Sacrement; Petites Esquisses D'Oiseaux; Visions de L'Amen; Harawi Chants D'Amour Et de la Mort; Chants de Terre Et de Ciel; Poems Pour Mi Premier Livre, and more!

This 4CD box set includes mostly unreleased performances of the First Prizes and winners of the audience prizes from the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in 2013 and 2016. You will find: Boris Giltburg (First Prize and Canvas-Klaraprijs 2013); Mateusz Borowiak (3rd Prize and Musiq3 Prize 2013); Lukáš Vondrácek (First Prize and Canvas-Klaraprijs 2016); and Alberto Ferro (6th Prize and Musiq3 Prize 2016). Four pianists with very different artistic personalities, each nonetheless having left his mark on two memorable piano sessions of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, and provided some magnificent musical moments to be found in this box set.

Léopold Simoneau & Pierrette Alarie, Vol. 1

This outstanding release was recorded live at The Library of Congress on January 28, 30, and February 1 1946, and this is the first time they have ever been available to the public! Beethoven’s 10 Sonatas for Violin and Piano are performed by Henri Temianka and Leonard Shure, two of the finest musicians of the first half of the twentieth century. This remastered recording has received glimmering reviews: “The performances are magnificent: bold and fresh, technically fluid and musically insightful… exciting…elegant…exceptional grace… this duo balances formidable power with magisterial command.” (The New York Times) “A great hit in the Beethoven discography… one of the most beautiful surprises to the discophile in recent years… makes you hold your breath constantly… A priceless treasure.” (Diapason)

Aïda Stucki's recognition as an artist is both inevitable and overdue. Her artistry is a timeless inspiration. Her interpretation incorporates bewitching sound, personal instinct coupled with great insight to the wishes of the composer. These recordings are a must for any string player and music lover. This second volume of her works shows her broad repertoire, and includes works from Brahms, Schumann, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Dvorak.

Like all the instrumental genres which were destined to last until today, the solo concerto – just like the sonata and the symphony – made its first appearance at the beginning of the XVIII th century in Italy and spread all around Europe to gain universal fame. This 10 album release features a precious and unmissable anthology of Italian violin concertos composed by Vivaldi, Bonporti, Locatelli, Tartini, Lolli, Nardini, Rolla, Viotti and Paganini. Album 1 is dedicated to Antonio Vivaldi, whose solo concertos best expressed his vibrant creativity and brought the genre of violin, strings and basso continuo concertos to fame throughout Europe. The following albums contain music composed by Vivaldi’s followers who aimed at finding their own personal voice.

Some composers such as Locatelli, Tartini and Paganini were destined to become famous all over the world, while some others were perhaps lesser known, but were able to leave their footprint in the musical field thanks to their unique style made of expressive freedom, instrumental vivacity and formal clarity which later defined the iconic Italian style. The last two albums contain music composed by Niccolò Paganini, whose daring and unattainable virtuosity brought this genre to its absolute peak.

REVIEWS:

Despite its Anglicized name, the Genoese Dynamic label specializes above all in disseminating Italian music, mainly opera, but also instrumental music. In recent years the label has released numerous recordings, in some cases complete sets dedicated to concerts by violinists-composers from the Baroque to Romanticism and which as a whole constitute a highly appreciable testimony of the evolution of the genre.

A selection and summary of this gramophonic plethora can be found in this articulated case that contains ten CDs, ten!, with violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Francesco Antonio Bonporti (1678-1749), Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695- 1764), Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), Antonio Lolli (1725-1802), Pietro Nardini (1722-1793), Alessandro Rolla (1757-1841), Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824) and Nicolò Paganini (1782-1840) in the interpretation of notable virtuosos including Luca Fanfoni, Federico and Giovanni Guglielmo, Carlo Lazari and Franco Mezzena. Particularly interesting are the last two albums, dedicated to Paganini, with four of his concertos, in which Massimo Quarta, a student and follower of Salvatore Accardo, has the opportunity to shine.

-- Ritmo

MOZART JUBILEE EDITION

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD
This incredible box set presents the best of Russian opera. Included in the set are Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Pique Dame, Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, and Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Recorded in renowned opera houses such as Teatro Regio, Torino, and De Nederlandse Opera, these performances are not to be missed.

Sound Format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS
Subtitles: EN, FR, DE, IT, ES, NE
Running Time: 919 mins

Designed to be the follow up to the best-selling 2012 'Ballets for Children' box set, Fairytale Ballets collects performances from the Paris Opera Ballet and Dutch National Ballet troupes of some of the most popular ballets in the repertory: Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Cinderella and Coppélia. With a handsomely bound box and individual slipcases for each ballet featuring a specially-commissioned cover illustration from the artist that designs the covers for the top-selling Terry Pratchett fantasy novels. Intended to specifically appeal to the 10-16 age group, but all fans of these immortal ballets will find much to be compelled by with this budget priced box set.

Mozart created 22 stage works in his lifetime. This 10 CD box comprises the world-famous ‘evergreens’ in historical recordings from Vienna 1955. Soloists are Christa Ludwig, Lisa Della Casa, Hilde Gülden, Alfred Poell, Cesare Siepi, Fernando Corena, Kurt Böhme and many more.

REVIEW:

Böhm's conducting creates a slim, fluid Mozart sound in which the dynamic pendulum could swing a little more impulsively here and there, but which still has an instinctive feel for theatrical and dramaturgical diction on the one hand and interaction with the singers on the other.​

-- Klassik.com

Remembrance of Things Past, Vol. 4: Sodom and Gomorrah (Unab

Deutscher Schallplattenpreis - The jury's statement: "Comprehensive and highly "Comprehensive and interpretatively high-ranking insight into the central creative field of an unjustly forgotten composer of the Schonberg generation, who stood in the Reger tradition and continued it not without a pronounced will to experiment. The edition of a young label enriches the record repertoire in an exemplary way and has a high information value." (Orgelwerke); "Excellent performance." (American Record Guide)

Conductor Sir Thomas Beecham was one of the two most influential pioneers of early orchestral recording history, alongside Leopold Stokowski, both artists strikingly displaying a new potential in the gramophone's capacity for quality orchestra reproduction through the brilliant sonorities and dynamic shadings of their discs. When Sir Thomas formed his handpicked London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1932, it is not an exaggeration to say that a new era of the very highest artistic and virtuosic orchestral quality was born, and he quickly discovered how to seize the kaleidoscopic colours, rhythmic panache and tight discipline of his LPO performances for the gramophone. He repeated the procedure again when he created his Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1946, and his prolific recording operations with both orchestras set legendary standards of artistry, virtuosity and sonority in gramophone history. All his mono recordings made for Columbia Graphophone and His Master Voice have been collected in this box set as a companion to Warner Classics' box of all his EMI stereo discs, revealing more vividly than ever before their luminous and exhilarating qualities. A lot of the recordings in this boxset have been specially remastered in HD from the original sources, many of them previously unreleased on CD.

A towering figure in French music of the later 19th century, Cesar Franck created a distinctive fusion of German Romanticism and French Classicism, enriching the symphonic, chamber, instrumental, vocal and sacred repertoires. As a teacher and mentor he gained admiration for his modesty and generosity while exercising a powerful influence on younger disciples such as Vincent d'Indy, Henri Duparc and Ernest Chausson. The Cesar Franck Edition gathers together all his masterworks - among them the Symphony in D, Violin Sonata, Prelude, Fugue et Variation and, of course, 'Panis Angelicus' - in enthralling performances by musicians of the first rank. Running to 16 CDs, the collection includes a CD of transcriptions and arrangements, proving their fascination for a still greater diversity of interpreters than Franck might have imagined. The five CDs of historical recordings - dating back as far as 1907 - testify to the continuing growth of his reputation after his death in 1890, and to the vibrant performing tradition engendered by his genius.

One of the 20th century's most questing and influential singers Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is celebrated above all for his extraordinary skill and insight in lieder. This complete collection of lieder and songs recorded for HMV, EMI Electrola, Teldec & Erato is brought together here for the very first time, showcasing not only his exceptional talent but also the evolution of his artistry and voice throughout his career, from 1951 to 1992. His relentless drive to renew the genre shines through as he explores a vast repertoire, from Schubert to Schoenberg, led by an unbounded curiosity that brought new dimensions to the art of singing. "... nobody could surely have prophesied that the singer would become such a prodigious phenomenon with a colossal achievement on record, never before matched and unlikely to be repeated in the future." Gramophone Magazine.

RECORDINGS FROM 1996-2021. A flautist with contagious enthusiasm, tirelessly exploring the repertoire of his instrument, Emmanuel Pahud offers here a formidable anthology of the flute concerto - a musical genre celebrating it's three centuries of existence today. And the story is not over, his exceptional talent continually inspiring composers around the world.

Sir Simon Rattle has long been a passionate advocate for British music, championing it's rich heritage and contemporary voices throughout his career. As music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic, he brought English orchestral music to global prominence. This collection traces that journey-from the romanticism of Elgar and the pastoral beauty of Vaughan Williams to the modern brilliance of Thomas Ades-showcasing the emotional depth and evolving identity of English music through Rattle's vivid interpretations.

For more than six decades, Adrian Boult was at the forefront of British music-making. He was the most skilled British conductor of his era, with the widest musical sympathies. Known for his conducting style characterized by it's clarity, discipline, and objectivity, his recordings are highly regarded for their integrity and musical insight. This edition includes all his mono recordings made between 1920 and 1957 for HMV, Pye Nixa and Parlophone labels. More than half of this box set is available for the very first time on CD, in HD remastering made from the original sources, and it includes several previously unreleased recordings. This first box devoted to the Mono recordings will be followed in January 2026 by another box devoted to the complete Stereo recordings by Adrian Boult on Warner Classics. The albums are presented as original pairing programs with original cover artwork.

David Oistrakh captured the hearts of listeners with his impeccable technique, rich tone and emotional power. Born in Odessa, he graduated from Conservatory aged 18 and a year later performed his debut with the Glazunov concerto under the composer's baton. Successful debuts in Leningrad and Moscow followed. His New York debut was 1955 and his entire career was full of searingly memorable performances with major worldwide orchestras and accompanists.