IGOR STRAVINSKY
Igor Stravinsky conducts Stravinsky - Symphonies and concertos [3 CD set] Isaac Stern (violin) Benny Goodman (clarinet) Charles Rosen, Philippe Entremont (piano) / CBC Symphony Orchestra, Columbia Symphony Orchest [ Sony Classical Masters / 3 CD Box Set - released 26/Jan/2016 ] Hearing a composer conduct their own work offers a fascinating interpretive insight into their oeuvre, all the greater when the composer in question is one of the biggest and most-influential names in 20th century music, Igor Stravinsky. |
BIZET / MAHLER / BEETHOVEN / GERSHWIN / IVES / STRAVINSKY / BERNSTEIN / etc
Leonard Bernstein - Maestro on Record (12 CDs plus 224 page book) Andre Watts (piano) Zino Francescatti (violin) Glenn Gould (piano) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) / Conducted by Leonard Benstein [ Sony Music / 13 CD/Book - released 15/Sep/2023 ] Leonard Bernstein first signed with Columbia Masterworks in 1956, and up to 1979 he recorded over 500 compositions as conductor, pianist, and commentator for the label. Just a year before, legendary photographer Don Hunstein joined Columbia Records... |
WILLIAMS / MORRICONE / BONFA / PREVIN / BERNSTEIN / LEGRAND / etc
John Williams Conductor Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell (violins) Yo Yo Ma (cello) / Pittsburg Symphjony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, John Williams [ Sony Classics / 20 CD Box Set - released 20/Jan/2018 ] In 1980, composer John Williams became one of the most visible conductors on the planet after being named Music Director of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Since then he has lead hundreds of high-profile concerts with the Pops and with many other leading... |
MERCADANTE / MOZART / DEVIENNE / CIMAROSA / BACH / VIVALDI / etc
James Galway plays Flute Concertos [12 CD set] James Galway (flute) / I Solisti Veneti, Claudio Scimone / The Academy of St Martins in the Fields. Sir Neville Marriner, with Marisa Robles (harp) [ Sony Classical Masters / 12 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2011 ] The Man With the Golden Flute, Sir James Galway, is featured in these classic recordings, with harpist Marisa Robles and clarinetist Sabine Meyer. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Jascha Heifetz plays Beethoven [7 CD set] Jascha Heifetz (violin) with Arthur Rubinstein (piano), Emanuel Feuermann (cello) William Primrose (viola), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello) [ Sony Classical Masters / 7 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2012 ] "Heifetz gives an altogether admirable performance of the Beethoven, alike assured and restrained; and he is sensitively accompanied by the Boston orchestra." (Gramophone) |
BRAHMS / BACH / BRUCH / MOZART / PROKOFIEV / ROZSA / etc
Jascha Heifetz plays Great Violin Concertos [6 CD set] Jascha Heifetz (violin) with Erick Friedman (violin), Gregor Piatigorsky (cello) & William Primrose (viola) [ Sony Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2011 ] This new compilation assembles violinist Jascha Heifetz's landmark stereo recordings of some of the greatest violin concertos with an equally distinguished selection of guest artists including legendary cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, Sir Malcolm Sargent... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Fidelio (Complete opera recorded in 1982) Jeannine Altmeyer, Peter Meven, Theo Adam / Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Men's Choir Rundfunkchor Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur [ Sony Classical Opera / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Aug/2016 ] "The most telling contributions certainly come from conductor, orchestra and chorus. The playing here is in the highest class, and Masur's control of speed and balance is not to be questioned" (Gramophone) |
MOZART / VIVALDI / BOLLING / TELEMANN / HAYDN / BACH FAMILY / etc
Jean-Pierre Rampal - The Complete CBS Masterworks Recordings Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute) with Maurice Andre, Claude Bolling, Placido Domingo, Kathleen Battle, Juilliard String Quartet, English Chamber Orchestra [ Sony Classical Masters / 56 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] The most comprehensive boxed sets ever to feature the recordings of the great master of the flute: Jean-Pierre Rampal. |
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Leonard Bernstein conducts Bernstein [7 CD set] John Bogart (alto) Zino Francescatti (violin) Benny Goodman (clarinet) / New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein [ Sony Classical Masters / 7 CD Box Set - released 1/Sep/2011 ] Leonard Bernstein was perhaps the most influential figure in classical music in the last half of the twentieth century. Composer, conductor, author, lecturer and often controversial media personality, the American-born Bernstein had a dramatic impact... |
PROKOFIEV
Erich Leinsdorf conducts Prokofiev [6 CD set] John Browning (piano) Erick Friedman (violin) / Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf [ Sony Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2011 ] "All the hard work RCA have put in on their methods of recording the Boston Symphony seems to have been well worth while. The orchestral sound is splendidly solid but not thick, with excellent internal balance and a very full dynamic range." Gramophone |
W. A. MOZART
Eugene Ormandy conducts Mozart Wind Concertos John de Lancie (ob) Bernard Garfield (bassoon) William Kincaid (fl) Anthony Gigliotti (clar) Mason Jones (horn) / Philadelphia Orch., Eugene Ormandy [ Sony / RCA Classical Masters / 3 CD Box Set - released 26/May/2017 ] Rarely thought of as a Mozart conductor, Eugene Ormandy made delightful recordings of all the wind and brass concertos with his "Fabulous Philadelphians" between 1957 and 1962. Known best for its sumptuous strings, the Philadelphia Orchestra has also... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
The Guitarist (58CD Box + DVD) John WIlliams (guitar) with Julian Bream & guests [ Sony Classical / 58 CD Box Set - released 10/Jul/2016 ] Sony Classical has issued the first-ever complete collection of recordings by the incomparable John Williams. This Original Jacket Collection comprises 57 original albums made over four decades, including his style-crossing collaborations and a DVD. |
JOHN WILLIAMS
John Williams / Stephen Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection Orchestra conducted by John Williams [ Sony Classical / 4 CD/DVD Box Set ] Over the 90-year history of sound film, there have been a handful of instances where a director and a composer have formed a longtime partnership that resulted in a series of classical scores, creating music that stands the test of time. |
BACH / BEETHOVEN / BARTOK / DEBUSSY / RAVEL / COWELL / etc
Joseph Szigeti - The Complete Sony Recordings Joseph Szigeti (violin) with Myra Hess, Pablo Casals, Benny Goodman, Bela Bartok, etc [ Sony Classical / 17 CD Box Set - released 26/Mar/2021 ] "Full of immediacy - and star turns - these remastered recordings make for a compelling time capsule" The Guardian |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte (complete opera recorded in 1967) Judith Raskin, Tatiana Troyanos, Leontyne Price, George Shirley, Sherrill Milnes / New Philharmonia Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf [ Sony RCA Classical Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2013 ] "there's plenty of style there, above all in a wonderfully decorated 'E amore un ladroncello'. Leinsdorf paces well, and was this the first Così to include all the usually discarded numbers" Classical-Music "Troyanos is possibly the most engaging... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets (the 1982 Live recordings) Juilliard String Quartet [ Sony Classical Masters / 9 CD Box Set - released 13/Nov/2020 ] The Juilliard String Quartet, which was founded in 1946 is one of the world's most prestigious string quartets in the world. In February 2011, the quartet received the NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award for its outstanding contributions to music. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets (the 1964-1970 recordings) Juilliard String Quartet [ RCA / Sony Classical / 9 CD Box Set - released 20/Jul/2020 ] On the 'Sony Classical' label - In celebration of Beethoven's 250th anniversary year, Sony Classical is pleased to release the internationally renowned Juilliard String Quartet's recordings of Beethoven's String Quartets recorded from 1964-1970. The... |
MENDELSSOHN / MOZART / BRAHMS / BEETHOVEN / SCHUBERT / HAYDN
Juilliard String Quartet - The Complete EPIC Recordings Juilliard String Quartet [ Sony Classical Masters / 11 CD Box Set - released 16/Feb/2018 ] The first ever release of the Juilliard String Quartet's complete Epic recordings from 1956 to 1966 in a single 11-CD edition. |
W. A. MOZART
The Six Quartets dedicated to Haydn & Six String Quintets [6 CD set] Juilliard String Quartet, with Harold Wright (clarinet) [ Sony Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Sep/2011 ] Founded in 1946, this amazing group's current lineup has had only fifteen different members. The founding members were together until 1955 and the group only had two changes in the first twenty years. |
FRANZ SCHUBERT / JOHANNES BRAHMS
Juilliard String Quartet plays Schubert & Brahms [5 CD set] Juilliard String Quartet, with Walter Trampler, viola II [ Sony Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2012 ] The great Juilliard Quartet present a boxed set with late Schubert quartets and the Brahms quintets |