This comprehensive overview of Johannes Brahms's orchestral works includes several rarities, among them world premieres of two piano intermezzi orchestrated by Paul Klengel (brother of the Gewandhaus's long-standing principal cellist Julius Klengel) and the original first performance version of the Andante of Symphony No. 1 and the even rarer revised opening of the Fourth Symphony.

With this new recording, Decca has pretty much sewn up the market on three generations of outstanding Bohèmes. Tebaldi and Bergonzi represent the 1950s, Freni and Pavarotti represent the 70s, and now Gheorghiu and Alagna take us into the new millennium with a recording that ranks among the very best.

Riccardo Chailly and the Filarmonica della Scala’s new album Respighi aims to present the full complexity of the composer as well as the richness of his oeuvre by featuring two “triptychs” of his works: three rarities from his youth, and three mature compositions including two from his famous Roman trilogy. Thirty years of music are represented, spanning almost the entirety of Respighi’s output, from his student years to the outstanding examples from his maturity.