Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber

Sergiu Celibidache (1912-96) continues to enjoy the reputation of a revolutionary genius, a conductor uniquely capable of realising his interpretations without any concessions. It was a reputation that accrued to him not only during his early years in Berlin and in the final stage in his career in Munich, but also in the late 1950s, when he spent just over two years as permanent guest conductor of the Cologne RSO (now the West German RSO, Cologne), a period which, in spite of his well-known aversion to recordings, is extremely well documented in the form of the tapes held by the archives of West German Radio.These recordings, released with the active participation of the Sergiu Celibidache Foundation, convey a fascinating impression of the conductor's concert repertoire at this time. For what we find here is not just the monumentality familiar from other recordings by Celibidache such as those of Ravel's Ma mère l'oye and the Second Daphnis et Chloé Suite and Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, but also an abundance of the youthful passion remembered from his earlier career. Listeners keen to hear Celibidache in a vocal work, a field that he rarely explored, will be pleased to encounter his recording of Brahms's German Requiem. Like the same composer's First Symphony, it features in this new five-CD compilation of Celibidache's work and attests to the conductor's great affinity with Brahms.

Between February 1966 and January 1969 he made a series of 9 LP recordings for Decca. This small legacy already gives a clear indication of Abbado’s musical sympathies and the range of repertory he was conducting in the concert hall and on record, and which would continue to characterize his future career. This set brings together Abbado’s complete Decca studio recordings for the first time.

“The IPO has recorded a significant repertoire of masterworks during the years. In this special anniversary tribute album, you can find a representative selection of some of the orchestra's best recordings of the last 50 years. In its 70th anniversary (which is also my 70th birthday), I would like to wish the orchestra and all music lovers many years of great music of the highest possible standard." Zubin Mehta

The Anthology of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a transcription in sound of the concert-giving history of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, based upon radio recordings from the archives of Dutch Radio and Radio Netherlands World Service. Six decades of the 20th century are put under the spotlight in six boxes, each containing 14 CDs. The RCO have chosen not only legendary performances by chief conductors of the Orchestra but also concerts led by countless guest conductors of both greater and lesser renown. Famous soloists make their debuts alongside world premieres of works that have since become classics of the repertoire.

This sixth volume of the Anthology features the radio recordings made by the orchestra in the 1990s, presenting an overview on 14 CDs of the orchestra’s artistic development under various conductors during that period.

The RCO will celebrate their 125th anniversary in 2013, when Volume 7 will be issued and limited print runs of the early volumes.