September 15th 2026 will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of one of the most influential conductors of the 20th century: Bruno Walter (1876-1962). This comprehensive box set brings together his complete HMV and Columbia Graphophone (Columbia UK) recordings. Spanning the 78-rpm era from 1924 to 1939, this collection also features the landmark 1949 magnetic tape recording of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder featuring Kathleen Ferrier, offering the first release of two previously unpublished takes. To ensure the highest fidelity, the finest available materials have been sourced, including pristine test pressings on vinyl from original metal work and near-mint superior commercial pressings. After undergoing high-definition digitization, the recordings were meticulously restored by Art & Son Studio in Annecy, adhering to the most rigorous modern standards to provide a superlative listening experience. This collection finally sheds a truer and more precise light on the artistry and genius of Bruno Walter.
This is not Julien Libeer's first Ravel recording, but for a long time he has wanted to explore the whole of Ravel's piano works, even a little more. For only the complete works, or nearly, are essential in order to square the circle. "And yet, we keep studying them with 'all we can bring as an offering', as Lipatti used to say. His music - lucid, ardent - wakes you up, keeps you on the edge. In passing, it seems to make amends for all that's imperfect about the world."
In his exploration of the vocal music of Mozart and his contemporaries, soprano Bruno de Sa evokes Mille affetti - a thousand emotions - and adds six world premiere recordings to the catalogue: arias by Luigi Cherubini, Luigi Caruso, Felice Alessandrini, Franz Seydelmann, Johann Friedrich Reichardt, and Niccolo` Antonio Zingarelli. Joining him for this adventurous programme of sacred and secular repertoire are the Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra, organist Marcin Szelest, the NFM Choir and conductor Jaroslaw Thiel. For his debut Erato album, Roma Travestita, Bruno de Sa focused on Baroque repertoire, causing BBC Music Magazine to marvel at his "immaculate legato, gift for scintillating decoration, dramatic octave drops and stratospheric ascents above the stave." Now he applies those talents to the Classical era. "This seemed like the moment to explore different musical possibilities," he says, "and also a period that really speaks to me - emotionally, musically and technically. There are some very virtuosic things here, but I've never struggled with them because they are such a joy to sing. I hope that people feel and hear that." Repertoire features: W.A. Mozart: Exsultate Jubilate, Franz Seydelmann: excerpts from Il Turco in Italia, Johann Friedrich Reichardt: excerpts from Andromeda, Niccolo Antonio Zingarelli: Salve, Regina, and more (repertoire selection by Yannis Francois).
From the overt Romanticism of Saint-Saens to the nostalgia-laden modernity of Poulenc, Bruno Philippe takes us on a journey through (almost) a century of French cello music. Alongside Tanguy de Williencourt, he also performs the cello version of Franck's famous Violin Sonata, one of the absolute peaks of nineteenth-century chamber music.
Renaud Capucon recognises Vivaldi's Four Seasons as "a highlight of the violin repertoire", but it has taken him some time to add it to his discography. "For years, I refused to play it," he explains. "I'd heard it too much in the corridors of the Metro in Paris and as holding music on the phone. But once I'd accepted to play it, I was blown away by the power of the music... I realised that it's famous because it's amazing! It's a masterpiece. I've now played it frequently with Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and it feels fresh and new every time." He has chosen to complement Vivaldi's four concertos with two sparkling concertos composed in Paris some 40 years after Vivaldi's death. They are by Chevalier de Saint-George (1745-1799), born in Guadeloupe of French and African descent, who became a prominent and influential figure in Paris. He has been described in the New York Times as a composer who holds a "truly unique place in Western classical music history".
C.F. Abel: Cello Concertos / Delepelaire, Berlin Baroque Soloists
Haenssler Classic
CD
$20.99Oct 21, 2022
It is a constant source of amazement that to this very day, musical gems even by famous composers often fail to receive the exposure they deserve or have even – despite modern digital access – been unjustly consigned to oblivion. The four works by Carl Friedrich Abel presented here are just such treasures, and two of them – the Sinfonie Concertanti WKO 42 and 43 – are released on record for the very first time to mark the composer’s tercentenary in 2023. The reason for this is surely that Abel’s activity and fame as a viola da gambist and as a composer for his instrument has obscured the fact that he wrote these four important concertante works for the violoncello. The present recording seeks to help restore the reputation that these works deserve.
Bruno Philippe conceives Bach's Suites for solo cello as a veritable existential journey, from life to death and resurrection. Forgoing metal strings for their historical gut equivalents, the young French artist offers us an inward, deeply moving reading of this monument of instrumental music.
Rossini: 6 Sonate a Quattro / Bruno, Fewer, Silver, Quarrington
Leaf Music
CD
$9.49$18.99Save 50%Mar 19, 2021
Sonate a Quattro are the brilliant compositions from Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, written during the summer of 1804 at the young age of 12. These works, at the time, were commonly performed by wind quartet and it wasn’t until 1954 when the original manuscripts were discovered in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. showing their original arrangement for string quartet. The world premiere recording of Rossini: 6 Sonate a Quattro features two of Canada’s most respected and beloved performers - Mark Fewer (violin), and Joel Quarrington (bass) - and two of North America’s rising stars - Yolanda Bruno (violin), and Julian Schwarz (cello) and produced by JUNO award-winning producer John D.S. Adams. These performances, from November 2017, were recorded in collaboration with the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance using the newly released (2014) Critical Edition published by the Fondazione Rossini Pesaro.
Get Lost is Bruno Bavota's first studio album since the 2016 release of Out of the Blue helped thrust him into that peculiar world of anonymous but significant success via high-volume streaming playlists and high-profile TV commercials. Out of the Blue marked the beginning of Bavota's drift from immaculate, traditional piano music. If Get Lost isn't a complete reinvention, it is at the very least a radical new direction. Rather than obsess over the sound of the piano itself, Bavota now explores the sounds around the piano - the resonance, the silence, and the acoustic ambience of the living, breathing space in which the piano resides. He employs an array of outboard effects pedals and processors to not just capture those sounds that are often overlooked, but to sample, loop, and reposition them as central figures in a story. Bruno Bavota gave Get Lost it's name when he found himself drifting deeper into the darker side of his music. Inspired by a familiar observation of modern life, Bavota confessed, "I think people are becoming more selfish and don't seem to have time to listen to other people who need to be heard. We don't show much empathy." Much like Bavota's evolving approach to the piano, he has discovered profound purpose and influence in the people and places least visible but most meaningful.
Get Lost is Bruno Bavota's first studio album since the 2016 release of Out of the Blue helped thrust him into that peculiar world of anonymous but significant success via high-volume streaming playlists and high-profile TV commercials. Out of the Blue marked the beginning of Bavota's drift from immaculate, traditional piano music. If Get Lost isn't a complete reinvention, it is at the very least a radical new direction. Rather than obsess over the sound of the piano itself, Bavota now explores the sounds around the piano - the resonance, the silence, and the acoustic ambience of the living, breathing space in which the piano resides. He employs an array of outboard effects pedals and processors to not just capture those sounds that are often overlooked, but to sample, loop, and reposition them as central figures in a story. Bruno Bavota gave Get Lost it's name when he found himself drifting deeper into the darker side of his music. Inspired by a familiar observation of modern life, Bavota confessed, "I think people are becoming more selfish and don't seem to have time to listen to other people who need to be heard. We don't show much empathy." Much like Bavota's evolving approach to the piano, he has discovered profound purpose and influence in the people and places least visible but most meaningful.
Vinyl LP pressing including digital download. 2016 release, the highly-anticipated third album from critically-acclaimed, multi-Grammy winning international megastar Bruno Mars. 24K Magic is Bruno's first solo release in nearly four years. Written and produced by Shampoo Press & Curl, the first single and title track, 24K Magic sees Bruno bringing the bounce to his adoring fans. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age and performed in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood. After being dropped by Motown Records, Mars signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 2009. The rest is history
2016 release, the highly-anticipated third album from critically-acclaimed, multi-Grammy winning international megastar Bruno Mars. 24K Magic is Bruno's first solo release in nearly four years. Written and produced by Shampoo Press & Curl, the first single and title track, "24K Magic" sees Bruno bringing the bounce to his adoring fans.
Vinyl LP pressing. 2012 sophomore album from the singer, songwriter and international superstar. The album includes production from Mark Ronson, Jeff Bhasker, Emile Haynie, Diplo and Supa Dups, as well as the Smeezingtons, Mars' three-man songwriting and production team. He notes that the album is more musically varied and refuses to "pick a lane". "Locked Out of Heaven" was released as the lead single from the album. It has been described as having strong influences of New Wave, with striking resemblances to "Message in a Bottle" and "Roxanne" by the Police, the Romantics' "Talking in Your Sleep", and even Michael Jackson's "Beat It", while some have mildly referenced it to the Outfield's "Your Love".
CLEAN. 2012 sophomore album from the singer, songwriter and international superstar. The album includes production from Mark Ronson, Jeff Bhasker, Emile Haynie, Diplo and Supa Dups, as well as the Smeezingtons, Mars' three-man songwriting and production team. He notes that the album is more musically varied and refuses to "pick a lane". "Locked Out of Heaven" was released as the lead single from the album. It has been described as having strong influences of New Wave, with striking resemblances to "Message in a Bottle" and "Roxanne" by the Police, the Romantics' "Talking in Your Sleep", and even Michael Jackson's "Beat It", while some have mildly referenced it to the Outfield's "Your Love".
In October 2012, Mars premiered the first single, "Locked Out of Heaven," from his highly-anticipated sophomore album UNORTHODOX JUKEBOX. On October 20th, Mars made his comeback to national television when he joined the elite club of hosts and performers for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE alongside the likes of Mick Jagger, Justin Timberlake and Elton John. Mars not only showcased his comedic talent to the millions watching, but also debuted the first live performance of "Locked Out of Heaven" and premiered a brand new song, "Young Girls," from the historic stage in New York City. UNORTHODOX JUKEBOX is due in stores December 11th. Mars and his songwriting/production team the Smeezingtons (Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine) partnered with heavyweight producers including Jeff Bhasker, Mark Ronson and Diplo to create the 10-track album.
Bruno Walter Edition - Bruckner: Symphony No 7 / Columbia SO
Sony Masterworks
CD
$17.99Sep 16, 2010
"Sony's new transfer boasts greater definition in the treble and bass, with extra bloom in the strings. What's more, the finale no longer spills over to a second disc, enabling the listener to hear Bruno Walter's Bruckner 7th uninterrupted on one CD...Walter communicates his kinder, gentler vision of this music with love, authority, and conviction." -- Jed Distler
Bruno Walter Edition - Beethoven, Mendelssohn: Concertos
Sony Masterworks
CD
$17.99Aug 05, 2010
Having already enjoyed substantial reissue programmes devoted to Furtwangler, Klemperer and Toscanini, I was delighted to receive the initial instalment of Sony Classical's admirable "Bruno Walter: The Edition", doubly so in view of its superb presentation, exceptional technical quality (the best of Walter's stereo recordings were always remarkably lifelike) and its rich trawl of topdrawer repertory. This particular feast includes two violin concertos: the Beethoven with Szigeti, and the Mendelssohn with Milstein-interpretatively worlds apart but instructive in that Walter's accompaniments reflect (and respect) the very different styles of his two soloists. Then there is a two-CD Wagner compilation [ Sony 64459] that gathers together all the stereo Columbia Symphony material and adds a 45-minute Siegfried Idyll rehearsal, and a magnificent run of Mahler: the NYPO Dos Lied von der Erde (with Ernst Haefliger and Mildred Miller—and in my view one of the most profoundly inspired ever made, certainly in terms of the conducting and orchestral playing [ Sony 64455]), the NYPO Fourth and Fifth Symphonies (from 1945 and 1947, respectively), the Lieder und Gesfinge aus der Jugendzeit (with Desi Halban and Walter at the piano) and the stereo Mahler recordings—the First, Second and Ninth Symphonies (the latter appended with "A Talking Portrait" and "A Working Portrait"), and the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Mildred Miller.
Bruno Walter Edition - Mozart: Violin Concertos, Etc
Sony Masterworks
CD
$17.99May 06, 2010
Zino Francescatti never made a better disc than his 1958 coupling of Mozart's Violin Concertos Nos. 3 in G, K216 and 4 in D, K218. The Californian sound is again warm and well balanced and Walter and the Columbia Symphony provide affectionate, immaculately turned accompaniments. The slow movements are slightly romantic in feeling, but agreeably so, and the overall impression is one of freshness combined with the performers' love for the music.
Bruno Walter Edition - Brahms Symphony 4, Tragic Overture, Schicksalslied
Sony Masterworks
CD
$17.99Apr 26, 2010
The Columbia Symphony may not have been a first-class orchestra, but Bruno Walter trained to do the right things, and it responded with first-class accounts of the Brahms symphonies. While there are instances of less-than-crack ensemble, there is also some very fine first-desk playing, and the performances as a whole are marked by a natural feeling of movement, phrasing, and expression. Walter’s approach to the music is kindly, caring, wonderfully whole – sunny but not overly brilliant, warm but not overly heated, sincere but not overly impassioned. Anyone who thinks that means the conductor was slow, shapeless, or indulgent should listen. There is thrust here, and plenty of momentum. The recordings are closely miked and somewhat bass-heavy, but in Sony’s 20-bit remastering the sound is wonderfully alive and direct. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection
The Creation is potentially the most life-enhancing work in the choral repertoire but it hasn’t been particularly well served on record, partly because it is difficult to sustain the necessary fervour in studio conditions. Sony has found performers who are both able and willing: Tafelmusik’s playing is predictably immaculate, and the Tölz Boys Choir (with fresh-voiced tenors and basses) is radically more accomplished than many all-male groups.
The big, set-piece choruses are very exciting, though some may find Weil’s speeds shockingly fast, and the impact would have been greater had the balance favoured the choir just a touch more. He is not afraid of greater expression in slower numbers (such as the introduction to Part 3), though on occasion the result is, I fear, too pretty for its own good.
All three soloists have something to offer: Ann Monoyios boasts a light, clear soprano ideally suited to her decorative arias in Parts 1 and 2; Jörg Hering’s warm tenor brings fluent musicality throughout; and Harry van der Kamp’s distinctive low-vibrato bass is deployed with great intelligence.
The overall style of performance is relatively intimate, so it’s a shame that the engineers give us quite so much resonant church acoustic; but the well-articulated German text is never under threat. Anyone not allergic to period-instrument Haydn will find much to enjoy here.
Bruno Walter Edition - Schubert: Symphonies 5 & 8, Etc
Sony Masterworks
CD
$17.99Apr 29, 2009
Poised and patrician interpretations that concentrate on lyricism, warmth, and spacious breadth rather than incipient tension.
Walter’s 1960 B flat recording hasn’t Beecham’s geniality or élan but it does have an unhurried and patrician affection that is hard to gainsay. The generosity of the phrasing never descends to Casals’s rather heavy-handed loving kindness; the sectional balance is fine, the direction remains crisply understated but affectionate. The wind and horn principals distinguish themselves in the slow movement where Walter brings out detail with candour but without any kind of finicky over-scrupulousness. Genial and leisurely – and without any crunching tutti weight – the finale is of a piece with Walter’s mature perception of the symphony. It’s a young man’s work but seen somewhat through avuncular and retrospective eyes.
The Unfinished was recorded two years earlier, this time in New York. Poised and patrician once more this is a reading that concentrates on lyricism rather than incipient tension or internal dynamic contrasts. The orchestra sounds notably fine and Walter’s direction retains a grand seigniorial approach, one that will perhaps disappoint those who might have missed the spirit of his fiery wartime performances with this orchestra, a time when he seemed on occasion hell bent on recreating Toscanini’s sweeping dynamism. Nevertheless his later approach certainly makes up in warmth and spacious breadth – especially the second movement – what it lacks in velocity and power.
-- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International [reviewing Sony 78741]
