Box Set Selections,
Boxed Set Selections - September 2021
September heavyweights include Wilhelm Furtwängler's complete studio recordings (plus extras), Karl Böhm's complete recordings for Decca and Philips, Igor Markevitch's complete Philips recordings, and Beethoven piano sonata cycles by Boris Giltburg and Rudolf Buchbinder. On the vocal front, Opera Rara present a limited edition set of three Donizetti rarities, Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber complete their survey of all of Schumann's lieder (with a little help from their friends), and Opus Arte bring together all of the live recordings which they made at Bayreuth between 2008 and 2014.
In addition to Furtwängler’s entire catalogue of studio recordings, this anthology also incorporates every live recording he made with a view to commercial release, including previously-unreleased material by Wagner, Johann Strauss II, Schubert and Tchaikovsky recorded in Vienna and Copenhagen. The vast majority of the recordings here have been remastered in high definition especially for this collection.
Available Format: 55 CDs
Highlights on this collection of Bartók's major works include András Schiff in the piano concertos with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer, Yehudi Menuhin in the violin concertos, Viola Concerto and Rhapsodies, the complete string quartets from the Alban Berg Quartett, Bluebeard's Castle with Anne Sofie von Otter and John Tomlinson, and Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman in the Duos for Two Violins.
Available Format: 20 CDs
This anthology from the Belgian period-instrument orchestra and their founder focuses on nineteenth and twentieth-century repertoire, and includes Orff's Carmina burana, Liszt's Mazeppa and Les Préludes, Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade and Russian Easter Festival Overture, Janáček's Sinfonietta, Dvořák's New World Symphony, and generous selections of shorter works by Johann Strauss II and Gershwin.
Available Format: 7 CDs
Originally released between 1998 and 2017, the Spanish pianist's survey of his compatriot's piano works prompted Classics Today to observe that 'there’s no doubt that Miguel Baselga’s impetuous temperament and skillful instrumental prowess suit the unfettered virtuosity that permeates much of Albéniz’s piano music', whilst MusicWeb International described his playing as 'pianism of the highest order'.
Available Formats: 9 CDs, MP3, FLAC
Giltburg celebrated Beethoven's 250th anniversary by tackling the complete piano sonatas (only nine of which were already in his repertoire) chronologically over the course of the year, sharing his progress on his YouTube channel; the results have been described as 'enormously pleasurable and at times revelatory' (BBC Music Magazine), 'genuinely vibrant, creative and inherently musical' (Gramophone), and 'refreshingly straightforward, and never contrived' (The Guardian).
Available Format: 9 CDs
Recorded at the Salzburger Festspiele in 2014 (when the Austrian pianist became the first person to perform the complete sonatas in one festival season), these performances were released on DVD and Blu-ray back in 2015/16, when Classical.Net described Buchbinder as 'a dedicated Beethovenian, an artist who knows Beethoven's piano works from top to bottom'.
Available Format: 9 CDs
The 'Chopin Masters' featured on this collection include Martha Argerich, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Géza Anda, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Emil Gilels, Krystian Zimerman, Maria João Pires, Maurizio Pollini, Ruth Slenczynska; the younger generation is represented by Seong-Jin Cho, Rafal Blechacz and Yundi Lin, all of whom won the International Chopin Piano Competition.
Available Formats: 28 CDs, MP3, FLAC
Frage, the first instalment of the German baritone’s survey of the complete Schumann songs, won the vocal prize at the 2019 Gramophone Awards, with Hugo Shirley declaring that ‘Gerhaher and Huber achieve an almost alchemistic feat in making so much artistry feel so natural’; the complete project, which has been fifteen years in the making, also features guest appearances from singers including Sibylla Rubens, Camilla Tilling, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Martin Mitterrutzner, and Julia Kleiter.
Please note that the booklet for this set does not include translations.
Available Format: 11 CDs
Nine complete operas, recorded live on the 'Green Hill' between 2008 and 2014: Der fliegende Holländer with Samuel Youn in the title-role, Lohengrin starring Klaus Florian Vogt and Annette Dasch, Tristan und Isolde with Robert Dean Smith and Iréne Theorin, Die Meistersinger with Franz Hawlata and Michael Volle, Tannhäuser with Torsten Kerl and Camilla Nylund, and the Ring Cycle with Linda Watson, Stephen Gould, Albert Dohmen, and Andrew Shore.
Available Format: 30 CDs
The home of 'live operatic archaeology' celebrates its fiftieth anniversary with this limited-edition set of three Donizetti rarities from the 1830s: Ugo conte di Parigi (starring Della Jones, Eiddwen Harrhy and Yvonne Kenny) was recorded in 1977, L’assedio di Calais (with Jones, Christian du Plessis and Nuccia Focile) in 1988, and the 'azione tragico-sacra' Il Diluvio Universale (featuring current Opera Rara regular Mirco Palazzi as Noè) in 2005.
Available Format: 7 CDs
This 15-DVD collection features 22 complete ballets, from repertoire favourites such as Giselle (with Natalia Osipova and Carlos Acosta), Swan Lake (with Marianela Núñez and Thiago Soares) and The Sleeping Beauty (with Alina Cojocaru and Federico Bonelli) to newer works including Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (with Lauren Cuthbertson and Sergei Polunin) and Wayne McGregor's Chroma, Infra and Limen.
Available Format: 15 DVD Videos
Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Available Format: 15 Blu-rays
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
