Claude Achille Debussy

Many of the legendary opera performances and concerts that George Szell conducted in Salzburg are documented on the ORFEO label.To these, we now add two live recordings of concerts dating from 1957. In the first he is heard with the Berlin Philharmonic, which the Festival's new artistic director, Herbert von Karajan, had just introduced to Salzburg as its second great symphony orchestra alongside the Vienna Philharmonic. Szell had first conducted the Berlin Philharmonic four decades earlier in Berlin. In 1957 he was originally scheduled to give only one concert with the orchestra at the Mozarteum: an all-Mozart programme comprising the relatively little-known Symphony K201, the Piano Concerto in C major, with the then 29-year-old Leon Fleisher making his Salzburg Festival début. His precocious mellowness ideally blends with the Mozart style of Szell and the Berlin Philh. Barely a week later Szell was asked to step in at the last minute and rescue a concert in the old Festspielhaus. He conducted the concert without rehearsal from memory, reversing the planned order of pieces, ending the concert with an acclaimed performance of the'Eroica'.Yet Szell never gives the impression that in spontaneously taking over the concert he had limited himself to only the most basic essentials or that he had taken too great a risk by insisting on his own personal interpretation.Thanks to his precision and perfection the present archive recording affords further proof of George Szell's exceptional status among the leading conductors of the 20th century.

In recent years York Bowen, the composer, has enjoyed a spectacular revival, but until now his talents as pianist (barring a late recording of his own music for Lyrita) have not been heard since the days of 78s. At the height of his success, in the first decades of the 20th century, Bowen was as much known as pianist as composer and frequently performed at the Proms amongst other things. His first recording, a very rare disc on the Marathon label, was released in 1915, but the bulk of his work was done for Vocalion; after they went bankrupt in 1927 he appears to have made no further 78s. Pride of place must go to Bowen’s Beethoven 4th Piano Concerto. This was the very first recording of the work and its neglect has been due to the fact that it was one of the last recordings to be made under the old acoustic process which was superseded the year the work was issued. Bowen’s pianism is extremely fluent and he plays his own cadenzas! Through all the featured works we hear a pianist who plays in the ‘grand manner’ and that, and his preference for romantic repertoire, reveal him as somewhat atypical of the English pianist of his time. Perhaps his nickname ‘the English Rachmaninov’ did indeed hit the nail on the head.

On these best-selling CDs many classical masterpieces are given an original interpretation for choir. The Accentus Chamber Choir, under the direction of Laurence Equilbey, is unanimously recognised as one of the world’s finest vocal ensembles.

Bonus (audio): Interview with Laurence Equilbey / Recording of Der Doppelgänger (Schubert)

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson - 1 March 1954 - 3 July 2006

Wigmore Hall Live are proud to release on their Archive series this very special 1999 live recital by the great, beloved American born mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson who tragically died in 2006.

The dramatic intensity and passionate commitment to her material earned her countless comparisons to Maria Callas.

Noted for her interpretation of Handel and Bach, this recital of lieder by Schumann and Brahms demonstrates the breadth of her repertoire and her meticulous artistry.

After her death, she won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for her Rilke Songs and again in 2008 for her performance of her husband's Neruda Songs

A collection of music from the five most popular ballets of all time – Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Sylvia and Giselle as well as three of the most popular single dance works of all time – Khachaturian’s ‘Adagio’ from Spartacus, Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and the ‘Waltz’ from Khachaturian’s Masquerade.

Over 2 hours and 15 minutes playing time.

Full liner notes with synopsis of the featured ballets.

Laurent Korcia, one of the most distinctive violinists of his generation, shows a freedom, presence and imagination in his playing that are found in few violinists, past or present.He has the style, the technique, the ideas, and the charm. These two CDs present an exciting variety of repertoires, periods and colours.

44-Page Booklet