Felix Mendelssohn

This 8-CD box set is released to commemorate the death of Wolfgang Sawallisch who died on February 22nd 2013.

It features performances of music by Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Mendelssohn and Orff.

Wolfgang Sawallisch performed extensively with the Berlin Philharmonic and held posts at the Bayreuth Festival, the Hamburg State Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Bavarian State Opera.

Sawallisch here performs with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and world-class soloists.

With his incomparable charm and erudition, André Previn plays 'Piano Pieces for Children', a collection of pieces by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky and Goddard Lieberson, played by one of the most versatile musicians of our day.

During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Decca recorded a number of albums with some of its key conductors of Overtures. Many of these were singled out by the press for their terrific sound quality (the fabled ‘Decca Sound’) and for their often adventurous programming. Some of them also included entr’actes and intermezzi. Prized as collectors’ items, many of the original LPs exchange hands at high prices. And most of these reissues, in Decca Eloquence’s ‘Romantic Overtures’ series appear in CD, in part or whole, for the first time.

Romantic Overtures – Volume 3 features a conductor who recorded for Decca over a span of 36 years, from the 78 / early LP era (1949) to 1985: Karl Münchinger. Best known for his recordings from the Baroque and Classical eras, made mostly with ‘his’ Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, he also recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic and made just one recording – of Schumann’s Manfred and Gluck’s Alceste Overtures – with L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (in 1954). Appearing on CD for the first time, they round off a 2CD set that includes, also for the first time on CD, Münchinger’s recording of Beethoven Overtures, as well as a remarkable recording ‘Romantic Overtures’ of music by Weber, Schumann, Schubert, Cherubini and Mendelssohn. Also included is Schubert’s Zauberharfe overture which appeared on Münchinger’s famous disc of the incidental music for Rosamunde.

On May 29th 2013, Helmuth Rilling, the founder and artistic director of the Gächinger Kantorei and the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, will celebrate his 80th Birthday.

The spiritual father of the complete edition of the works of J.S. Bach on 172 CDs, a distinguished guest conductor, who has performed with leading orchestras world-wide, has put together for this occasion a special collection documenting his recorded legacy with Haenssler Classics over the past decades, featuring the recordings of his most admired and critically acclaimed works.

Ten CDs, focusing on central moments of Helmuth Rilling’s artistic growth are presented; many of them have received international awards. They show the conductor not only for his profound understanding of J. S. Bach, but as equally familiar with masterpieces of Romantic era.

The Concerto in D minor for Violin, Piano and Strings is not one of Mendelssohn’s most well-known works; composed when he was 14, its first two public performances were given 134 years apart. The Octet is one of Mendelssohn’s most popular pieces and is expertly executed here in a clean and well-spaced recording.

Founded in 1975 the Australian Chamber Orchestra is internationally acclaimed as ‘ the best chamber orchestra on earth’ The Times

Roger Norrington was the first conductor to rediscover the original sound of the Romantic era. His recordings of famous overtures from Schubert to Wagner showed how fresh, indeed revolutionary an orchestra sounded in the early 19th century. Thanks to his careful studies of the instruments and performing practice of the time, Norrington brings out the poetry of the music in an unprecedented way, making his readings into true milestones of interpretation.

A 7-CD set, in a slim-line wallet box, which features one the most iconic violinists of the twentieth century. Grumiaux is presented in performances of all the Mozart Violin Concertos, a complete set of Beethoven Violin Sonatas and concertos by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Lalo. Super budget price.