Great Recordings of the Century

The songs of the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ('Songs of a Wayfarer') are quoted from Mahler's First Symphony and the fresh, springtime atmosphere is shared by both works. The orchestration... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010More…

A classic, with extra electricity derived from the hasty recording, with Beecham's living, vivid conducting and a superb cast, both stellar and supporting, even though the mono sound is less... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010More…

As a former pupil of Cortot, it wasn't perhaps surprising that Lipatti always kept a special place in his heart for Chopin. And thanks primarily to the 14 Waltzes, played in a non-chronological... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010More…

Karajan's Ariadne is perfectly cast, magnificently performed, and very well recorded. The scoring, for a small orchestra, demands virtuoso playing from what, in effect, is a group of soloists;... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010More…

Glyndebourne's epoch-making production, taken to the recording studio two years later, helped cement the work's reputation as one of the greatest 20th-century operas. — BBC Music Magazine, April 2006, 5 out of 5 starsMore…

this superb set at last does justice to a musical of the 1920s which is both a landmark in the history of Broadway and musically a work of strength..von Stade gives a meltingly beautiful performance,... — Penguin Guide, 2011 editionMore…

Ludwig presents them with disarming dedication and to hear the hackneyed Ave Maria sung like this is to realise afresh the beauty which all too often is jellied over with sentiment. Gervase... — Penguin Guide, 2010 edition, 4 out of 4 starsMore…