Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954),one of the greatest of 20th century conductors, leads four equally distinguished mid-century violinists and three eminent European orchestras in live performances of violin concertos by Beethoven (Röhn, Berlin), Mendelssohn (de Vito, Torino), Brahms (Menuhin, Lucerne) and Sibelius (Kulenkampff, Berlin). + Recorded during and after WWII, these performances have been newly re-mastered for this release.

"Previously unreleased. This small trove of live recordings from conductor Claudio Abbado from the Lucerne Festival, approved for release by the conductor himself, is being issued in memory of his recent passing (Jan. 2014). The extensive multi-language booklet contains a portrait of Claudio Abbado by Peter Hagmann tracing the conductor’s long-standing activities in Lucerne; also included are previously unpublished photos from the Lucerne Festival archives."

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The highly distinguished conductor Rudolf Kempe (1910-1976) started as an oboist with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. During the Second World War, he was chief conductor of the Chemnitz Opera until 1946. He then worked at Weimar for the 1948-9 season, before joining the Dresden Opera and becoming chief conductor. From 1952 to 1954, he was chief conductor of the Bavarian State Opera, which he conducted at Covent Garden in 1953 to great acclaim. Mahler's Symphony No.4 is a new addition to the Kempe discography. The recording, which was discovered in the Music Preserved archive in York, is a real rarity. Similarly, Mendelssohn's Ruy Blas Overture is a new addition to the conductor's discography. It is heard here in a fiery performance captured live from the Royal Festival Hall in 1967 with the LSO. Kempe's account of the Prelude to Act I of Wagner's Parsifal, recorded in 1965, confirms his status as one of the greatest Wagnerian conductors of the 20th century. His Covent Garden performances of Parsifal in 1959 were landmarks for the company.

Brahms: The Symphonies, Haydn Variations & 8 Hungarian Dance

These four Salzburg Festival Opening Concerts are now available in a hardcover slipcase for a very attractive price! Top casts with Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Wiener Philharmoniker, Dorothea Roschmann, Elina Garanca, Klaus Florian Vogt, Rene Pape, Anna Prohaska, Anna Larsson and Johan Botha.

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

As part of C Major’s TUTTO VERDI project, this live-production of Otello from the 2008 Salzburg Festival features Ricardo Muti – one of the world’s best Verdi conductors – and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The cast includes young singers Marina Poplavskaya and Stephen Costello. The stage production is from Stephen Langridge, known from his work at London´s Royal Festival Hall, in Tokyo and Bregenz.

Giuseppe Verdi
OTELLO
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Otello – Aleksandrs Antonenko
Desdemona – Marina Poplavskaya
Jago – Carlos Álvarez
Emilia – Barbara Di Castri
Cassio – Stephen Costello
Roderigo – Antonello Ceron
Lodovico – Mikhail Petrenko
Montano – Simone del Savio
Un araldo – Andrea Porta

Salzburg Festival Children’s Chorus
Vienna State Opera Chorus
(chorus master: Thomas Lang)
Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, conductor

Stephen Langridge, stage director
George Souglides, set designer
Emma Ryott, costume designer
Giuseppe di Iorio, lighting designer

Recorded live at the Salzburg Festival, 5–10 August 2008

Bonus:
- Introduction to Otello

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese
Running time: 143 mins (opera) + 10 mins (bonus)
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

Oberto was Verdi's first staged operas and was heard for the first time at La Scala, Milan in November 1839. As a young and unknown composer, Verdi was subject to the rules governing the opera industry in Italy. Even so, there are many scenes in this early work that reveal unmistakable signs of the composer's individual style.

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Overtures

Calm music to help you while away a lazy day and be a little self-indulgent! Put your feet up, read your favorite book, open a box of chocolates and relax in the company of some of the world's greatest composers.

Verdi & Wagner: Overtures

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The successful BR-KLASSIK WISSEN ((BR-Klassik Knowledge) series is now being continued with an audio biography entitled Feuerzauber, Weltenbrand ("Magic Fire - World Conflagration"). On four CD's, narrator and noted voice actor Udo Wachtveitl guides us through the turbulent and complex life and music of the composer Richard Wagner- supported by musical selections from canonical recordings featuring conductors Leonard Bernstein, Bernard Haitink, Rafael Kubel�k, Wolfgang Sawallisch and many others. Additionally, the release features the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Mariss Jansons with four complete orchestral selections, interludes from Wagner's operas to complete this odyssey into the life of Wagner.