Heavyweight sets from the last couple of months include anthologies devoted to Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Aldo Ciccolini and John Williams, plus Max Reger's complete solo piano works from Markus Becker.
A titan of the English musical scene - founding both the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Sir Thomas Beecham's tastes on the podium were wide-ranging, from the Baroque to the most contemporary composers of his time. This box-set begins at the very dawn of stereo recordings, with a 1934 recording that is the first ever made using Alan Blumlein's dual-microphone technique. Also featured are a wealth of orchestral works by Delius, whose music Beecham particularly championed.
Available Format: 35 CDs
A number of important recordings receive their CD premiere on this 16-disc set: a set of overtures by Rossini, Berlioz and Suppé, Elgar's Pomp & Circumstance March No. 5, and the ballet-suite The Good-Humoured Ladies (arranged by Vincenzo Tommasini from keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti). Other highlights include Tchaikovsky and Dvořák concertos with Ruggero Ricci, a live 1949 recording of Sargent accompanying Kathleen Ferrier in his own orchestration of Brahms's Four Serious Songs, and complete accounts (without dialogue) of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard and Princess Ida from the mid-1960s.
Available Format: 16 CDs
The Italian-born French pianist signed a recording-contract with EMI in 1949, shortly after winning the Marguerite Long–Jacques Thibaud Competition (for which he later served as juror). Released to mark the centenary of his birth, this anthology brings together his complete discography for EMI, Warner and Erato, including complete piano cycles by Liszt, Saint-Saëns, and Séverac and several recordings which are new to disc: two Salieri concertos, a studio session of favourite encores, and recitals from the Nohant Festival. In the latest edition of Gramophone, Jed Distler declared that 'those who have the time and inclination to invest in and explore this collection will surely find Aldo Ciccolini's generous and well-rounded artistry engaging and rewarding.'
Available Format: 60 CDs
John Williams: The Anthology Vol. 1
London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra et al, John Williams
Endorsed by Steven Spielberg, this first instalment of a projected survey of the American composer's music celebrates his film work from 1969-1980, beginning with the Steve McQueen movie The Reivers (the catalyst for his enduring partnership with Spielberg) and also including the scores for Jaws, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Dracula, and Superman. Each individual jacket features artwork from the original releases.
Available Format: 22 CDs
This limited-edition set brings together all of the recordings which Kaufmann made for Decca between 2002 and 2012, including three complete operas: Weber's Oberon (with John Eliot Gardiner), Humperdinck's Königskinder (with Armin Jordan), and Beethoven's Fidelio (with Claudio Abbado). Other highlights include a recital of verismo arias with Antonio Pappano, the multi-award-winning Wagner album from 2013, Die schöne Müllerin with Helmut Deutsch, and the Verdi Requiem (with Daniel Barenboim); bonus material includes an aria from Mascagni's Iris, an ensemble from Puccini's La rondine, and an interview in which Kaufmann discusses Wagner (in German and English).
Available Format: 15 CDs
This fully-remastered set captures as never before Giulini's phenomenally broad legacy, with orchestras in London, Chicago and elsewhere; of particular interest to collectors will be some previously unreleased recordings of Weber, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky. Iconic recordings such as the 1959 Don Giovanni with Joan Sutherland, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Eberhard Wächter (still in many ways the benchmark for all subesequent accounts) are of course featured.
Available Format: 60 CDs
These live recordings were made on the 'green hill' between 1951 and 1974 by Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and Philips; the set comprises a 1951 Parsifal with Hans Knappertsbusch, a 1953 Lohengrin with Joseph Keilberth (both in mono), a 1955 Der fliegende Holländer with Keilberth, Knappertsbusch's 1962 Parsifal (with Irene Dalis and George London), Tannhäuser with Wolfgang Sawallisch from 1962, Karl Böhm's 1966 Tristan und Isolde, and Silvio Varviso's 1974 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (all in stereo). The singers include Wolfgang Windgassen, Birgit Nilsson, Astrid Varnay, Grace Bumbry, and Jess Thomas.
Available Format: 25 CDs
Becker won an Opus Klassik Award in 2019 for his recording of Reger's Piano Concerto with the NDR Radiophilharmonie and Joshua Weilerstein, and now presents the composer's entire oeuvre for solo piano - a concert-pianist himself, Reger's substantial body of work for the instrument includes the four-volume Aus meinem Tagebuche, sets of variations on themes by Bach and Telemann, four sonatinas, and Aus der Jugendzeit.
Available Format: 12 CDs
Perhaps best-known as 'Karajan's producer', Gerdes studied conducting with Hermann Abendroth before joining Deutsche Grammophon's production team in 1956, and returned to the podium in earnest in the mid-1960s after being dismissed from his position with the label for inadvertently offending the maestro. This collection includes a complete Tannhäuser with Birgit Nilsson and Wolfgang Windgassen, excerpts from Eugene Onegin (sung in German) with Evelyn Lear and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Brahms's Symphony No. 4, Dvořák's 'New World' Symphony, operatic intermezzi, and a complete album of Hugo Wolf’s orchestral music which receives its first complete release on CD.
Available Format: 11 CDs
