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Originals
Legendary Recordings generally originally released on vinyl.
In addition to the huge number of releases Deutsche Grammophon have re-issued onto this series, Decca and Philips have recently joined in.
There are now over 200 classic reordings available at very reasonable prices.
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Special offer. Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7
RecommendedVienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber
an essential recommendation for any collection. These are performances which seem to present a Beethoven 'for the ages', a distillation of a long interpretative tradition, without concern for... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, 100 Greatest Recordings
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Building a Library, October 1999, First Choice
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Building a Library, October 2007, First Choice
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Building a Library, January 2016, First Choice
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Presto Favourites, Recommended Recording
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Special offer. Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4 - 6
RecommendedLeningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Evgeny Mravinsky
Mravinsky's legendary stereo London recordings now remastered, at half the price they used to be. Great performances makes this essential for every library. — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, April 2007, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
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Building a Library, January 2017, Also Recommended
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Britten: War Requiem, Op. 66
RecommendedGalina Vishnevskaya (soprano), Peter Pears (tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) & Simon Preston (organ)
London Symphony Orchestra, Melos Ensemble, London Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Highgate School Choir & The Bach Choir, Benjamin Britten
Britten was writing personally for three muses who had all shared the wartime experience...His incandescent commitment to pacificism and horror at the failure of humanism blazes forth...As you... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, November 2009, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
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Grammy Awards, 6th Awards (1963), Best Choral Performance
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Grammy Awards, 6th Awards (1963), Best Contemporary Classical Composition
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Grammy Awards, 6th Awards (1963), Best Contemporary Classical Composition
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Richard Strauss - Vier letzte Lieder and Other Lieder
RecommendedJessye Norman (soprano)
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur
[Norman is] grand, impassioned, noble, dignified, unmannered in this unforgettable interpretation — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Awards, 1984, Winner - Solo vocal
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1980s
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Building a Library, July 2019, Also Recommended
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Special offer. Dvorak & Tchaikovsky: Works for Cello & Orchestra
RecommendedMstislav Rostropovich (cello)
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
There have been a number of outstanding recordings of the Dvorák Concerto since this DG record was made, but none to match it for the warmth of lyrical feeling, the sheer strength of personality... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, 100 Greatest Recordings
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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Special offer. Tchaikovsky: Ballet Suites
RecommendedBerlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich
Awards:
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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These accounts are quite magnificent, and their claims on the allegiance of collectors remain strong. Their freshness and vigour remind one of what it was like to hear these symphonies for the... — More…
Awards:
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Gramophone Magazine, 100 Greatest Recordings
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
Purchase product
CD
Original price ($10.75) Reduced price $9.13 -
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Special offer. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra
RecommendedBerliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
[Zarathustra] Karajan’s 1973 version is definitive in a way that few recordings are: a seamless meeting of minds between composer and conductor. — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, December 2008, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1970s
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Régine Crespin: Shéhérazade
RecommendedRégine Crespin (soprano)
L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Sumptuous of tone, supremely sensitive, Crespin was born to illuminate the art of French song. Whether floating the seductive allure of Ravel or revelling in the wit of Poulenc these recordings... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, September 2007, First Choice
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
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Penguin Guide, Rosette
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These performances come from the first ever complete set of Mozart symphonies (reviewed above), and they still represent 'big orchestra' Mozart at its most congenial. The contrast between Böhm's... — More…
Awards:
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Building a Library, November 2002, Mid-Price Choice
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