Genoa native Niccolò Paganini revolutionized violin playing like no other who came before or after him. Paganini was a solitary genius who, drive to constant advancement by a father whose methods verged on torture, pursued his path relentlessly from the Italian province to world success. These concertos did not appear until after Paganini's death. The recordings on this release were made in 1968 under the direction of Ernest Bour, whose attention was devoted to accuracy, clarity and elegance.

This album presents two major orchestral works by Claude Debussy – Images and La Mer – alongside the delightful Danses for harp and orchestra. The French conductor Sylvain Cambreling highlights all the charm of these colorful scores. French-born conductor Sylvain Cambreling is a musician with big ideas. A thought-provoking, colorful and dramatic artist, he has a flair for grabbing the attention of audiences, yet his originality is rooted in thorough knowledge of musicology. As the Chief Conductor of the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, and Principal Guest Conductor of Klangforum Wien, he has offered ample proof of his gifts for imaginative programme-planning and persuasive championship of contemporary music.

This release is a new installment of the SWR’s comprehensive series with recordings of the one-time tenor Fritz Wunderlich. This album contains a unique collection of Early Music repertoire written before the era of J. S. Bach. The recordings date back to the 1940s and the 1950s, and have been digitally remastered to ensure an exquisite audio experience. Although he never realized his due as a truly international star in his lifetime, Fritz Wunderlich has since become a favorite of opera lovers the world over. One has only to listen to his stunning voice to become a devotee for life. His vocal quality and strength combined with effortless expression and touching lyrical beauty make him one of the truly great tenors of the 20th century and probably of all time.

Complete Recording of Mozart’s Violin Concertos - Lena Neudauer belongs to the most famous violinists of her generation - In combination with the Deutschen Radio Philharmonie - Lena Neudauer already inspired with the complete recording of Schumann’s Works for Violin and Orchestra: „The sonorous voice of the Guadagnini-Violin of Lena Neudauer fills the whole sound stage.“ HifiRecords 2011 zu CD 93.285 At age 15, the young violinist Lena Neudauer had already won the famous Leopold Mozart International Competition in Augsburg, where she not only was awarded 1st prize, but also took home the Mozart Prize, Richard Strauss Prize for the best interpretation of Richard Strauss' Violin Concerto and the Audience Prize. Yet despite this spectacular accomplishment, she refused to be pushed into becoming another “child prodigy.” This well-balanced, clear-thinking side of her being plays a special role with her interpretations of Mozart's music. We are reminded of what father Leopold wrote to his son Wolfgang Amadeus in 1777: „You yourself do not know how well you play the violin; if only you will do yourself credit and play with energy, with your whole heart and mind...“. Lena Neudauer‘s beautiful, pure violin tone perfectly fits the spirit of these less-than-virtuoso, but supernaturally lovely concertos, her sensitivity illuminating these works from the inside. She is joined by conductor Bruno Weil, an expert in the music of the Viennese classicists and period instrument specialist, who transforms the German Radio Philharmonic into an aural carpet, upon which the soloist can move with quiet expression and grace.

Annie Fischer enjoys a singular reputation within the great tradition of Hungarian pianists due to her deeply moving and romantically intimate performances. She became famous and admired on account of her uncompromising spiritually absorbing interpretations. Like many other musicians, Fischer only left behind a few studio recordings however the few that were left became benchmark interpretations.

When these recordings were taken in 1952 and 1956, Clara Haskil was still climbing to stardom. Her perceptive artistry put her in a class above other pianists, and gave her the ability to interpret Mozart’s music in such an organic, natural way that these performances are definitely timeless. This release feature’s Clara Haskil’s performances of Mozart’s Concertos Nos. 9 and 19. Carl Schuricht conducting the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR is equally perceptive in his interpretation of the score, beautifully complimenting Ms. Haskill.

These legendary recordings of Alicia de Larrocha performing Mozart and Beethoven have been digitally remastered from the Original SWR tapes. The Mozart was performed with the Radio-Sinfonieorchester under the direction of Garcia Navarro. The original performance in 1986 proved Larrocha’s intimate relationship with the works of Mozart.; The Beethoven recording was made in 1977 when Larrocha was 54 years old. She performs the work with aplomb, alongside the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, under the direction of Ernest Bour.

Mothers are powerful muses. They represent a whole spectrum of attributes, both mythic and personal: they can be forces of nature and nurturing, guidance and inspiration, patience and strength, and of course, love: profound, fierce, unconditional. This album features musical compositions that pay tribute to the diverse aspects of motherhood, from the sacred “Ave Maria” to the saucy “Mrs. Robinson,” and everything in between. Motherhood, perhaps the prototype of creation, has compelled us to utilize our full creative potentialities as arrangers and interpreters. Queens and saints, homemakers and lawmakers, scientists and artists, goddesses and mortals: the rich complexity of motherhood inspires this musical tribute. Describe as “the most dynamic duo of this generation” (San Francisco Classical Voice), “rock stars of the classical music world” (Miami Herald), “exhilarating” (Gramophone), and “the very model of complete 21st century musicians” (The Washington Post), Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe are revolutionizing the piano duo experience for the 21st century. Together they aim to make classical music a relevant and powerful force around the world through their adrenalized performances, original compositions, notorious music videos, and more.

This release is the first of a ten-volume set of works conducted by legendary Michael Gielen. When it was announced on October 30, 2014 that Michael Gielen would no longer pursue conducting engagements because of health issues, it was decided that to honor this musician a detailed survey of his 50-year career would be made. Hence, the Michael Gielen Edition was born. Volume 1, presented here, is a 6-disc set that presents works from Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert, recorded between 1967 and 2010. The remainder of this ten-volume set will be released over the course of the next three years. The orchestras featured here are the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrucken, and Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR.

The orchestra leader, composer, arranger and pianist of world renown recorded 13 of her own pieces with the SWR Big Band, covering a broad spectrum from bebop powerplay to soft yearning ballads. Akiyoshi's compositional style is unmistakable. She mixes bebop, & big band jazz with Japanese elements of music. In May 2007 she had her first opportunity to work with the SWR Big Band.

Les Vendredis is a collection of string quartets by several Russian composers, who played a key role at the famous Friday evening concerts organized by the music publisher Belaieff at the end of the 19th century. Alexander Glazunov, Anatoli Liadov and Rimsky-Korsakov are among the illustrious names that formed that musical society. Belaieff, son and heir of a wealthy wood trader, was a music enthusiast and an excellent violist. Thus, it was only natural that he hosted string quartet concerts in his house and commissioned composers for new string quartet works. Some of these works were published in 1899 by Belaieff’s own publishing house, which he had founded in the 1880s. The works of this collection continue to fascinate to this day, but are, unfortunately, only rarely performed. The Szymanowski Quartet, who are known for their exciting and cleverly compiled concert programmes, perform this repertoire with both pleasure and passion. Their technical perfection suits the musical challenges and their soulful performance highlights the lyrical emotions of these Russian musical treasures.

Classical Music

The legendary conductor Kurt Sanderling has always been a great admirer of Rachmaninov’s music. This is a recording form 1995 of Sanderling conducting Rachmaninov’s 3rd Symphony. The eminent German conductor, Kurt Sanderling, was born to a Jewish family in Arys in East Prussia and took piano lessons as part of a private education. For his further studies he moved the short distance north to Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) and then to Berlin. When the Nazis rose to power, Sanderling’s world was turned upside down. He left for Moscow to live with an uncle, and it was there that he made his mark in a debut concert with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. It is therefore no surprise that Rachmaninov’s music spoke so deeply to him. He led a seven decade career, and passed away in 2011.

This is a re-release of an SWRmusic bestseller containing rarely performed cello concertos of the 20th century, here interpreted by János Starker, without doubt one of the greatest cellists ever. Janos Starker’s cello playing is often described as a “mixture of fire and ice,” and is characterized by an indomitably forward-driving power, a linear tension that leaves no room for narcissistic sentimentality. The key to it is his idea of “anticipatory playing,” that is, of constantly “forehearing,” which he demanded of his pupils, as well as clearly knowing that a constant distribution of the body tension as well as musical tension is part and parcel of virtuoso discipline, that only after the last tone has died out is there any room to really ease the tension. In the major solo concertos from the Romantic era on, he always saw his role as that of the protagonist, facing the orchestra on an equal footing. He considered the concertos as symphonic works of developing interaction and stressed that it was not a matter of keeping the soloist always in the foreground.

More valuable inscriptions from the legacy of Polish virtuoso Ida Haendel (b. 1928), taken from the archives of the SWR Stuttgart under Hans Mueller-Kray (1908-1969), in familiar repertory made newly exciting by the close application of Haendel’s considerable prowess and probing musicianship...Haendel found her perfect instrument in an 1896 Stradivarius that allows her to balance personal ardor and poetic form. –Gary Lemco, Audiophile Audition