Gustav Mahler

Leonard Bernstein is widely considered to be one of the most influential musicians of the 20th Century. His unrivalled combination of the highest musical standards and personal warmth shine through in his conducting and are attractively showcased in this unique Collector’s Edition boxset.

The LEONARD BERNSTEIN SYMPHONY EDITION brings together his complete symphonic recordings from 1953 to 1976. These unparalleled versions of the mainstays of the symphonic canon are collected together for the first time to celebrate the genius and impact of Leonard Bernstein in a 60 disc very limited deluxe edition, in LP-size format, also containing a 32 page LP-sized illustrated book providing unique insight into the life and work of Leonard Bernstein.

Having completed several cycles, among them the complete Beethoven symphonies (with over 1 million copies sold internationally), in 2007 David Zinman embarked on this recording of Mahler’s complete symphonies with Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich. This is the final issue, completing a cycle of recordings which has become one of the most an highly praised of all the Mahler cycles. A complete box set is to follow in 2011.

Recording locations: Jesus Christus Kirche, Berlin, Germany, January 1996 (Schoenberg); Konzerthaus Schauspielhaus, Berlin, Germany, June/August 1995 (Mahler)

Two gargantuan late-Romantic Austrian works are coupled on this very rare recording by Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin. The recording had limited release in Germany and this is its first international release.

Mahler’s Third Symphony is the longest symphony by any composer to be part of the basic repertoire and, at first, had subtitles attached to each of the movements. But the composer had a distrust for programmatic music and by the time the symphony was published and premiered, these verbal explications had been removed.

Mahler and Schoenberg met in 1904 at a rehearsal of Schoenberg’s string sextet Verklärte Nacht. The older composer became a defender of Schoenberg’s work, conducting it when he could. Schoenberg, whose outlook on Mahler’s work was at first unfavourable, was bowled over by the Third Symphony and regarded it as a work of genius. His own Pelleas und Melisande based on Maurice Maeterlinck's play, is a gargantuan symphonic poem and was his first completed orchestral work. The orchestral forces (as with the Mahler Symphony) are huge, and although Schoenberg includes no vocal parts, the orchestra is handled with considerable bravura and includes 64 strings (plus two harps), 17 woodwinds, 18 brass and 8 percussion.

"The results of this recording are glorious: here is Rattle at the helm of an orchestra whose profile and reputation he raised to extraordinary heights." Gramophone Magazine

EMI MASTERS celebrates the full glory of the greatest performances from the world's greatest catalogue of recorded music. Digitally remastered at Abbey Road Studios direct from the original master tapes, these classic recordings emerge with unparalleled immediacy. You will be left in no doubt that you are in the presence of legendary musicians and ageless interpretations.

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony bring their historic Mahler recording cycle to a close with the composer’s three song cycles. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, who launched their historic Mahler recording cycle in 2001, complete the best-selling, critically acclaimed and award winning project with the composer’s atmospheric song cycles. The live recordings, taken from concerts in the orchestra’s Davies Symphony Hall, features two of America’s most lauded singers, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in Rückert-Lieder, and baritone Thomas Hampson in Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, and selections from Das Knaben Wunderhorn.

The release coincides with international celebrations Mahler’s music, as 2010 is the 150th anniversary of his birth, and 2011 marks the 100th year of his death. The SFS and MTT, among the world’s leading interpreters of Mahler’s music, will play a significant role in the global commemoration of Mahler, through concerts, prominent media projects, and extensive international tours. The MTT/SFS Mahler cycle has won seven Grammy Awards, including three for Best Classical Album, and has sold over 140,000 recordings world-wide. This final instalment puts the crowning touch on every collector’s CD shelf.