Two of the world's greatest orchestras turn 175 this year, and both are celebrating in style with the handsomely-packaged commemorative sets which head up this month's hot picks. There's also a very special 100th birthday tribute to one of the most iconic musicians of the twentieth century, plus a bumper DVD/blu-ray box of Handel from Glyndebourne, and one of my personal favourite Beethoven quartet cycles collected together for the first time and showcased in 24-bit glory!
A 25-CD set released in anticipation of the centenary of Bernstein's birth next year, including complete performances of West Side Story, Candide, Wonderful Town and On the Town, plus the Chichester Psalms, Symphonies and Mass.
Available Format: 25 CDs
Recorded between 1950 and 1969, this sixth instalment of the quartet's 27-CD edition focuses on Haydn's middle and late string quartets, including the Seven Last Words.
Available Formats: 5 CDs, FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
A 10-CD compendium covering core repertoire such as the Strauss and complete Mozart concertos (plus fragments) as well as rarities by Quantz, Sperger, Pokorny, Rosetti and Lortzing.
Available Formats: FLAC/ALAC/WAV, MP3
Three acclaimed Handel stagings from the Sussex opera-house, all made in the course of the past decade: Danielle de Niese's all-singing, all-dancing Cleopatra for David McVicar, Christopher Purves's visceral Saul for Barrie Kosky and Sonia Prina's schoolboy Rinaldo for Robert Carsen are all unforgettable.
Available Format: 5 DVD Videos
