From time to time, the general idea gains currency that national anthems are nowadays an anachronism. According to the critics' arguments, these anthems were the product of a period of awakening nationalism. Today, however, there is wide endeavour to overcome narrow, national ways of thinking and acting, with the great aim of promoting the peaceful community and union of nations, to realize which should be the first principle for politicians all over the world. Criticism of this kind may surely be justified, considered from the standpoint of those seeking a United Europe. On the other hand we must not underestimate the sanctity accorded national anthems, carefully guarded symbols which enjoy the same respect and protection as national flags. They express love of the fatherland, pride in the native country, and trust in the nation. This is the reason for the sincerity with which people regard and sing their own national anthem, and the respect accorded to the anthems of other peoples. The solemn, dignified start and close of each official meeting between peoples divided by national borders is provided by national anthems. Yet when before have meetings between representatives of different nations been as frequent as today? Peoples meet at sporting events, at international youth gatherings, or at political conferences, heads of the states and delegations are received, cultural weeks and festivals are celebrated, and on such occasions the national anthems surely contribute to the understanding of other peoples, as well as offering the occasion for personal contact among individuals. Nothing, then, is more important in our time than mutual understanding, since misunderstandings and prejudices have in the past brought so much disaster to the nations of the world. Since publication of the CD-set Complete National Anthems of the World, Vols. 1-6 (Marco Polo 8.206001) in 1998, the following independent states have introduced new national anthems, restored from former anthems of the earlier history of their respective countries: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Congo-Kinshasa (formerly Zaire), Georgia, Iraq, Mozambique, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia and Turkmenistan. It has therefore been necessary to produce a complete new set to replace the previous series. In addition to the national anthem of the newly independent state of East Timor, the Grand Ducal Hymn of Luxembourg and the Swedish Royal Song, the previous set furthermore included many state hymns of autonomous dependencies, overseas territories, other regional administrative bodies and ethnic groups, as well as the hymns of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the United Nations Organization, the European Union and the International Olympic Committee. The anthems are performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava under the conductor Peter Breiner (born 1957), who has arranged and orchestrated all the anthems with great sensitivity. It is a highly successful undertaking which will arouse the enthusiasm of music collectors, ethnologists, heads of protocol and sports promoters.

This was the eighth release in Pentatone’s successful Wagner Edition and the second in the exciting Wagner Year of 2013. Previous releases in the edition have garnered rave reviews from major quarters: “…unquestionably the finest modern version on disc” (BBC Music Magazine). PentaTone’s Wagner Edition is an unprecedented project, uniting the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and acclaimed music director Marek Janowski with the greatest Wagner singers in the international opera scene today.

“We are in the presence of one of the greatest virtuosos of our time. I do not see in her generation any other pianist who possesses an equal mastery of the keyboard, in the service of such a mature mind so rich in imagination.”
— Marc Pincherle Nouvelles Litteraires, France 1959

“No doubt remained as soon as the piano began to reverberate: on the stage was a first class musician and a maestro. A complete freedom went hand in hand with Idil Biret’s interpretations. One has the feeling that she plays as easily as she breathes. With an extraordinary plasticity, she moulds each musical phrase like wax with her fingers. But, the freedom in Miss Biret’s interpretation is not accidental. Her attitude towards the works she is playing is the result of meditation. The art of Idil Biret gives joy and emotion.”
– D. Blagoy SOVIETSKAIA KULTURA – USSR 1960

“All the works [on this LP] require a pianist of true class, because each of them presents challenges demanding something quite different from traditional technique. It has to be said that the young Idil Biret exceeds all expectations. This Turkish artist appeared in Brussels (1959) at the tender age of eighteen. Her virtuosity is astonishing, encompassing clarity, rhythmical rigour, precision and strength or delicacy, as required. She can play at great speed and maintain runs of impeccable luminosity. Her flexible touch conjures a thousand surprising effects; some notes and chords explode like whip-cracks, while others caress the keys, and there is an extraordinary purity to her polyphonic playing. In the hands of an artist of such superior qualities, the very particular characteristics of both Bartók’s and Prokofiev’s piano writing are brought out to the full. Taking into account her passionate vitality and lively musical intelligence as well, I believe her talent offers more than enough to be met not simply with satisfaction but with genuine enthusiasm.”
– Jacques Stehman, LA REVUE DES DISQUES (Belgium) 1962

“This is the most successful direct-to-disc piano recording I have heard. Having an artist as sensitive and accomplished as Idil Biret at the keyboard is an enormous help. Her fluency seems limitless and her ability to control, even at the softest dynamics, is all too rare these days…Hers is a bona fide virtuoso rendition.”
– HIGH FIDELITY – USA 1977

This material represents some of the earliest televised concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and three of their eminent music directors, Charles Munch, Erich Leinsdorf and William Steinberg. This historical footage has been restored using the greatest care and state-of-the-art techniques. It is of exceptional musical interest and historical value, and has been described by critics as a "rare treat" (Gramophone) and "welcome documentations" (BBC Music Magazine).

Picture format: NTSC 4:3 Sound format: LPCM Mono (DVD 1) / LPCM Stereo (DVD 2) / Enhanced Mono (DVD 3, 4, 5) Region code: 0 (worldwide) Menu language: English Running time: 6 hours 14 mins No. of DVDs: 5

This set contains the following 5 DVDs:

CHARLES MUNCH
RAVEL Ma Mère l’Oye – Suite; DEBUSSY Ibéria, La Mer (1958 & 1961)

ERICH LEINSDORF
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9 "Great"; SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4; WAGNER Parsifal – Good Friday Music (1962, 1963 & 1964)

BEETHOVEN Egmont Overture; TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5; MOZART Serenade No.9 "Posthorn" – Minuet I (1963 & 1969)

WILLIAM STEINBERG
HAYDN Symphony No. 55; BEETHOVEN Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 (1962, 1969 & 1970)

BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8 (2nd revised edition) (1962)

Eric Satie, known as a brilliant pianist and composer, was an integral part of the 20th century Parisian avant-garde. Included in this box of Satie piano works are the Ogives, inspired by the Notre Dame cathedral; the hauntingly beautiful works of Trois Nocturnes, and the calming Reverie du Pauvre. Satie's compositional brilliance, along with Kormendi's virtuosity will surely make this a treasured item for collectors and classical music loves alike.

"Seculi sui Musicus excellentissimus" was the epitaph inscribed on his tombstone in the old Frauenkirche of Dresden -- to his contemporaries, the Saxon-born Heinrich Schütz was one of the most outstanding composers of the century, and even writers of music history today refer to him as 'Musicus poeticus ecclesiasticus', whose works were and are still the epitome of Protestant church music.

This collection is a tribute to the great Baroque composer, who received most of his training in Venice from the organist of St Mark's, Giovanni Gabrieli. The richness of colour and musical splendour of the Psalmen Davids, scored for several choruses and first to feature on the release, reflects the arts-minded Saxon court for which they were composed; next comes a collection of motets, which similarly follow in the footsteps of Venetian composition through 'painting in sound' the content of the text and dividing the choir into two or more tonal groups. The motet played a significant role in church service music, and Schütz also wrote a number of polychoral concertos for festive occasions, the affective Magnificat anima mea SWV468 for Christmas among them. Rounding off the compilation is the composer's Schwanengesang, literally meaning 'Swan Song' and deemed to be his parting gift to the world -- here Luther's version of the 'German Magnificat' at the end of the piece reveals Schütz's taking on the role of musical interpreter in the cause of Lutheran teaching.

The renowned Dresden Kreuzchor became closely associated with the works of Schütz under the directorship of Rudolf Mauersberger, who made the choir an instrument of singular appeal. Here they feature alongside a number of other distinguished German choral groups and ensembles, including the Berliner Solisten, to perform the works of a composer who represented an important transitional phase in sacred music.

Other information:
- Recordings made in 1965, 1970 and 1983--4.
- Heinrich Schütz was no doubt one of the most important composers from the period of transition from Renaissance to Baroque, a German who imbued the strict german polyphony with Italian melos of warmth and emotion. Johann Sebastian Bach considered him the greatest of his predecessors.
- Brilliant Classics has given Schütz ample due in its Schütz Edition volumes 1-4, and this new set presents some of his grandest works, the splendid Psalms of David, Polychoral Concertos and Motets and his moving Schwanengesang, music both magnificent and intimate.
- Performances in the best german choral tradition by the famous Dresdner Kreuzchor, Capella Fidicina and the Berliner Solisten.
- Booklet contains detailed notes on the composer and his music.

LA TRAVIATA
Mireille Delunsch • Matthew Polenzani • Zeljko Lucic
Orchestre de Paris, Conducted by Yutaka Sado
staged by Peter Mussbach
Recorded at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (2003)

AIDA
Nina Stemme • Salvatore Licitra • Luciana D’Intino Juan Pons • Matti Salminen
Zurich Opera Orchestra, Conducted by Adam Fischer
staged by Nicolas Joel
Recorded at the Opernhaus Zürich (2006)
BBC Magazine DVD of the month (august 07)
Gramophone DVD of the month (august 07)

MACBETH
Dimitris Tiliakos • Violeta Urmana • Ferruccio Furlanetto • Stefano Secco
Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris, Conducted by Teodor Currentzis
staged by Dmitri Tcherniakov
Recorded at the Opéra national de Paris (2009)

Three masterpieces by Verdi in a limited edition 5-DVD box set: internationally acclaimed productions from Aix Festival, Zurich Opera House and paris Opera, by Peter Mussbach (Traviata), Nicolas Joel (Aida) and Dmitri Tcherniakov (Macbeth). Artists as Mireille Delunsch, Nina Stemme, salvatore Licitra, Violeta Urmana and world famous conductors as Yutaka Sado, Adam Fischer and Teodor Currentzis.

Classical Music

R E V I E W S of some of the recordings that make up this set:

It's always fascinating to go back to the early recordings of artists who are firmly ensconced in the classical music pantheon. Such is the case with this recording of the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius concertos made by Itzhak Perlman in the late 1960s.
The Tchaikovsky concerto was written for virtuoso violinist Leopold Auer who actually thought the work unplayable. The young Perlman brings passion and flash to the concerto; his playing is suitably poetic in its sentimental moments and fiery in its finale. Sibelius's concerto was written about the same time that he wrote his second symphony. Perlman grasps the concerto's romantic soul while standing up to its demanding modernist technical challenges. As an added bonus the recording includes Dvorák's Romance, a gentle idyll that displays Perlman's lovely legato playing. -- MUZE [review of RCA 63591]

This album continues the tribute to classic film music from John Williams and Itzhak Perlman's CINEMA SERENADE disc. It is an undeniably old-fashioned and romantic album, befitting the era the music is drawn from. On "As Time Goes By" from CASABLANCA, Perlman proves that he's still one of the world's premier concert violinists, playing the theme with palpable ache. Most of these compositions are by the classic film composers--Alfred Newman, Miklós Rózsa, Max Steiner--with one notable exception. William Walton's theme for HENRY V gets a suitably regal, yet restrained, treatment. Perlman sounds as if he's having a good time with the sprightly Irish motifs of "The Quiet Man." The orchestrations are rich and dramatic, and the recording quality is superb. This album is highly recommended to anyone who remembers when a soundtrack was more than just a bunch of flavor-of-the-month pop tunes. -- MUZE [review of SONY 60773]

Prokofiev's F minor Sonata—surely his greatest chamber work—opens bleakly, then flowers to harmonic richness before switching to a sharp-edged Allegro brusco, a deeply introspective Andante and a closing Allegrissimo that recalls (or anticipates, depending on its precise chronology in Prokofiev's thinking) the finale of the great Eighth Piano Sonata... Perlman's is an immensely assured, sweet-centred reading, delicate where needs be (the ''wind in a graveyard'' passages of the first movement, for example) and yet with a Heifetzian resilience that both sonatas willingly respond to... When it comes to the delightful Second Sonata—of rather less import, and a second-hand utterance (the original was for flute and piano)—Perlman and Ashkenazy play with astonishing virtuosity and here their visceral virtues win hands down, especially in the Scherzo... the playing has real class, the recording is clean and there's a substantial bonus in Perlman's accomplished 1966 version of the Second Violin Concerto, where Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony trace and characterize the score's every subtle detail—especially among the woodwind. That, for me, is the disc's most indelible interpretative feature. -- Gramophone [review of RCA 61454]

• A truly legendary performance led by conductor Clemens Krauss, recorded at Bayreuth, 1953. • A stellar cast of Wagnerian singers, including Ramón Vinay (Parsifal), Martha Mödl (Kundry), Hermann Uhde and George London. • Clemens Krauss left precious few recordings before his untimely passing in 1954."

From the mythological setting of Idomeneo via the sparkling wit of Le nozze di Figaro and powerful tragicomedy of Don Giovanni to the fantastical workings of the late Singspiel Die Zauberflöte, Mozart’s mature operas stand among the greatest achievements of Western art, dramas that illuminate the composer’s creativity as a whole and which stood out in their own time for the new level of characterisation, wit and lessons on life and humanity they brought to the musical stage. Featuring recordings made during the last ten years from some of the world’s leading opera houses, this collection offers an acclaimed series of productions that present consummate interpretations of Mozart’s scores through striking set designs and peerless singing, paying homage to a group of masterpieces which are just as relevant today as when they were first performed.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
THE GREAT OPERAS
(13-DVD Box Set)

Idomeneo


Idomeneo - Ramón Vargas
Idamante - Magdalena Kožená
Ilia - Ekaterina Siurina
Elettra - Anja Harteros
Arbace - Jeffrey Francis


Salzburg Bach Chor
(chorus master: Alois Glassner)
Camerata Salzburg
Roger Norrington, conductor


Karl-Ernst Hermann, stage director, set and costume designer
Ursel Herman, stage director


Recorded live from the Salzburg Festival, 2006


  Die Entführung aus dem Serail


Konstanze - Laura Aikin
Belmonte - Edgaras Montvidas
Osmin - Kurt Rydl
Blonde - Mojca Erdmann
Pedrillo - Michael Smallwood
Bassa Selim - Steven Van Watermeulen


Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera
The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra
Constantinos Carydis, conductor


Johan Simons, stage director


Recorded live at Het Musiektheater, Amsterdam on 2, 7 and 19 February 2008

Le nozze di Figaro


Il Conte di Almaviva - Peter Mattei
La Contessa di Alamviva - Christiane Oelze
Susanna - Heidi Grant Murphy
Figaro - Lorenzo Regazzo
Cherubino - Christine Schäfer
Marcellina - Helene Schneiderman
Bartolo - Roland Bracht
Don Basilio - Burkhard Ulrich
Don Curzio - Eberhard Francesco Lorenz
Barbarina - Cassandre Berthon
Antonio - Frederic Caton


Paris National Opera Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Peter Burian)
Sylvain Cambreling, conductor


Christoph Marthaler, stage director
Anna Viebrock, set and costume designer
Olaf Winter, lighting designer
Thomas Stache, choreographer


Recorded live at the Palais Garnier, Paris, 2006

Don Giovanni


Don Giovanni - Carlos Álvarez
Commendatore - Alfred Reiter
Donna Anna - María Bayo
Don Ottavio - José Bros
Donna Elvira - Sonia Ganassi
Leporello - Lorenzo Regazzo
Masetto - José Antonio López
Zerlina - María José Moreno


Madrid Teatro Real Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Jordi Casas Bayer)
Victor Pablo Pérez, conductor


Lluis Pasqual, stage director
Ezio Frigerio, set designer
Franca Squarciapino, costume designer
Wolfgang von Zoubek, lighting designer
Nuria Castejón, choreographer


Recorded live at the Teatro Real de Madrid, 8, 10 and 12 October 2005

Cosi fan tutte


Ferrando - Topi Lehtipuu
Guglielmo - Luca Pisaroni
Don Alfonso - Nicolas Rivenq
Fiordiligi - Miah Persson
Dorabella - Anke Vondung
Despina - Ainhoa Garmendia


The Glyndebourne Chorus
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Iván Fischer , Conductor


Nicholas Hytner, Stage Director


Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in June and July 2006

La Clemenza di Tito


Sesto - Susan Graham
Annio - Hannah Esther Minutillo
Vitellia - Catherine Naglestad
Servilia - Ekaterina Siurina
Publio - Roland Bracht
Tito - Christoph Prégardien


Paris National Opera Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Peter Burian)
Sylvain Cambreling, conductor


Ursel Herrmann, stage director
Karl-Ernst Herrmann, stage director


Recorded live at the Palais Garnier, Paris, May and June 2005

Die Zauberflöte


Sarastro - Günther Groissböck
Tamino - Saimir Pirgu
Queen of the Night - Albina Shagimuratova
Pamina - Genia Kühmeier
Papagena - Ailish Tynan
Papageno - Alex Esposito
Monostatos - Peter Bronder


Milan La Scala Chorus and Orchestra
Roland Böer, conductor


William Kentridge, stage director


Recorded live at La Teatro alla Scala, 20 March 2011


Bonus:
- Overview of The Magic Flute
- Illustrated synopsis

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Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian + Chinese (Idomeneo) / Dutch (Serail)
Running time: 24 hours 20 mins
No. of DVDs: 13

Simeon ten Holt’s unmistakable minimalist style is the driving force behind Canto Ostinato, one of the composer’s most famous works. Canto Ostinato is the best-loved Dutch piano composition of the 20th century, with its mesmerising melodies never failing to soothe the mind.

The instruments and number of performers for the piece are unspecified; written ‘for keyboard instruments’, the work has been recorded many times with piano, but this unique set brings together 12 arrangements of the work – for piano, as well as for organ, marimba and synthesizer. With a variety of recording venues ranging from throughout The Netherlands to Canada, this compilation is a must-have addition to any classical music collection.

Jeroen van Veen is a leading light in modern piano performance, as well as a successful composer. Chairman of the Simeon ten Holt Foundation, he has won critical acclaim with ensembles such as The International Piano Quartet, DJ Piano and Jeroen van Veen & Friends.

Other information:
- Recorded in 1999 - 2013.
- Anyone having experienced the power of Canto Ostinato by Simeon ten Holt will come under the spell of the hallucinatory effect of this iconic work, the most famous Dutch work for piano of the 20th century, one of the “classics” of minimal music.
- Jeroen van Veen and friends present the work in a variety of arrangements, ranging from piano solo through multiple pianos, organ, marimbas and synthesizers, each revealing other aspects of this deceptively simple work in which the harmonies shift imperceptibly in slowly changing waves.
- Liner notes on the composer by the artist, who worked in close collaboration till the composer’s death last year.

"• Recorded on four different organs, J. S. Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, 48 Préludes and Fugues equally divided into two books, is a veritable manifesto of the art of the keyboard and a founding work of all future keyboard literature. • Organist Frédéric Desenclos clearly reveals the architecture of these gems of imagination and compositional skill, originally composed for harpsichord. • Mr. Desenclos was a student of famed French organists Gaston Litaize and Andre Isoir. • Complete on 4 CD's; digibox."

" In 2014, Fuga Libera celebrates the 25th anniversary of the baroque orchestra Il Fondamento. Founded in Belgium by the oboist Paul Dombrecht - renowned for his interpretations of baroque music -, the ensemble has gained an international interpretation, cand opposing less-known works with masterpieces. This set of three recordings by Johann Heinrich Fasch, Albinoni, and Bach were all highly acclaimed by the international press (Diapason d’or, R10 Classica, Supersonic pizzicato…)!"

Lorin Maazel and the Philharmonia Orchestra perform Mahler’s Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. This four-disc box is the second set in a series that will encompass Mahler’s Nine Symphonies, featuring live orchestral recordings from London’s Royal Festival Hall of Maazel and the Philharmonia’s much-lauded Mahler Cycle.

The third volume of the Musical portraits series is dedicated to André-Modeste Grétry (1741-1813). This 5CD box set includes highlights of several operas (La caravane du Caire, L'amant jaloux, Le jugement de Midas), his Six Quartets, op. 3 (Paris, 1773) and some partial adaptations of his operas (by Mozart and Franck, among others). These works demonstrate Grétry‘s fine melodic sensibility, harmonic panache and accomplished artistry.

This 5-disc set features four outstanding 20th century conductors, William Steinberg (1899-1978), Dimitri Mitropoulos (1896-1960), Igor Markevitch (1912-83) and Gennadi Rozhdestvensky (b. 1931) thrillingly directing several Great Choral Classics of the 19th century, including Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Verdi’s Requiem. Sopranos Galina Vishnevskaya and Dame Janet Baker, among other stellar singers, feature prominently in these performances.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

The 32 Piano Sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven are often referred to as the ‘New Testament’ of the keyboard literature, following on the ‘Old Testament’ of J.S. Bach's 48 preludes and fugues in the Well-Tempered Clavier. Composed over a period of almost three decades, from 1795 to 1822, the sonatas constitute a fascinating panorama of an artistic career which underwent numerous changes – not to say upheavals – but nevertheless remained remarkably consistent. Ever since the first recording of the entire cycle, by Artur Schnabel in the 1930s, a number of the world's leading pianists have given us their performances of this monumental collection on disc. One of the latest cycles is that of Ronald Brautigam, released on single discs between 2004 and 2010. Performed on the fortepiano, as part of a series of Beethoven's complete solo keyboard works, Brautigam's recordings have been described as ‘riveting’, ‘compelling’ and ‘revolutionary’. The eight discs with the 32 sonatas are now being released as a boxed set, along with a ninth disc containing the early, unnumbered sonatas. Contributing factors to the ‘refreshing directness’ that reviewers have experienced in these performances are the widely praised recorded sound and the carefully selected instruments, built by Paul McNulty after originals from 1788-1819 by the foremost Viennese makers of fortepianos. For this boxed set, the original SACD format has been retained – along with the possibility of listening to the performances in surround – thus offering the opportunity of sharing the experience of one reviewer: ‘One has almost the impression of being a contemporary of Beethoven’s: one of the first, infinitely startled – not to say shocked – witnesses to this music’ (Süddeutsche Zeitung).

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REVIEW:

Much of the playing here is sensational. Notice the pronounced rhetorical emphasis yet intensely focused dotted rhythms in the Pathétique’s introduction, or the revelatory continuity from one variation to the next in Op 14 No 2’s uncommonly quick central movement. Those who think that even Brautigam’s sturdy fortepiano cannot approximate an orchestra should check out Op 22’s first movement, where the full-bodied octaves and brilliantly judged ‘Rossini’ crescendo just before the recapitulation make a pulverising impact.

And what about the Moonlight finale’s controlled fury and slashing momentum that remain musical to the core, or how those Op 10 No 1 and 2 finales rock and roll while retaining maximum linear clarity? Few others rightly feel Op 10 No 3’s Minuet as one beat to a bar and effectively spin out the left-hand counterlines. Among the heroic middle-period works, perhaps Brautigam’s Waldstein and Appassionata make a cogent case for period instruments in regard to textural differentiation between registers, shorter pedal resonances, and being able to truly perceive rather than merely infer each pitch within low-lying chords and runs, abetted by Brautigam’s subtle yet expressively powerful tempo modifications and telling accents.

Brautigam’s late sonatas are never less than masterful.

– Gramophone

KLASSIKER DES THEATERS

Following the Walhall release of Wagner's Die Walküre, the label closes it's legendary 1958 Bayreuth Festival Ring tetralogy publication with the 1st, 3rd and final operas, led by the mid-20th c. Bayreuth pit regular and esteemed Wagnerian conductor Hans Knappertsbusch. The sound, benefitting from 24bit/96kHz re-mastering technology is great, far better than any other label's previous issue, Walhall also reaping the sound reward from the use of the original broadcast mastertapes. Featured Wagnerian vocal luminaries include Hotter, Windgassen, Varnay, Konya, Grümmer, et al.

Performed for the first time in its original uncut version, this production of Guillaume Tell was the jewel in the crown of the 25-year history of the ‘Rossini in Wildbad’ opera festival. Rossini’s final, great, operatic masterpiece is a story of liberation, the oppressed Swiss attaining their ideal of emancipation by hounding the tyrannical Habsburgs out of their country. Although it was composed for the complex demands of the Paris Opéra, numerous dances, choruses and arias were dropped for reasons of practicality. These are restored in the present recording which also includes the stunning finale of the shorter 1831 version of the opera.