“For Mahler,” Sir Simon Rattle has said, "the symphony is where you can tell the most important truths.” The composer’s works have been crucial to his career – indeed, it was the epic Symphony No. 2 that first inspired him to become a musician. Spanning nearly two decades, these recordings of the complete symphonies, including Deryck Cooke’s completion of No. 10, were made with the two ensembles most closely identified with Rattle’s name: the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Berliner Philharmoniker.

this recording of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana was authorized by the composer himself. It follows, therefore, that the present recording met with the high requirements of the composer himself and so represents an unusual collector's item. Orff intended not just to copy the medieval lyrics but to express the mood of that era. His highly rhythmic compositional style reflects the archaic character of the vocal line. The listener experiences not only the vital primordial pulse of the music in this thrilling interpretation but also the mystery of Fate through the tender lyrical passages. Orff's homage to wine, women and song of the Middle Ages, closely bound up with spring and love, is supported by balanced and precise sound technology. The listener is spirited away to the musical world of Carmina Burana by this recording.

This live recording of the concert of 31st March 1985 document the performances of the Passion which have been given annually by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concertgebouw Orchestra for ten years now.

This is a fine recital of 23 Schubert Lieder, including some popular favorites like Gretchen am Spinnrade, Ganymed, Du bist die Ruh', An Silvia, etc., alongside some less well-known works. Arleen Auger was a celebrated interpreter of this repertoire and sings beautifully. She is accompanied by Lambert Orkis on a fortepiano, so this is one of the few available Schubert song recitals with period accompaniment.

Blegen’s technically flawless and musically peerless rendition (Exsultate, jubilate) is a pure celebration of beautiful singing and of the wonder of Mozart’s dazzling masterpiece. The sound is as clear and immediate as if it had been recorded yesterday, and Pinchas Zukerman’s direction is exemplary. Not so exemplary is this version of the Mozart/Süssmayr Requiem, although it certainly is one of the sturdier and more durable performances on disc (and the quartet of soloists is unsurpassed).

The composition is a tour de force, written by Handel at the age of 22 to showcase his skill in choral music – which this recording certainly does. Outstanding historically informed performance led by Simon Preston. Of particular note: an inspired rendering of the soprano duet "De Torrente" by Diana Montague and the legendary Arleen Augér.

Those inclined to take for granted Gluck's remarks concerning opera seria (''florid descriptions, unnatural paragons and sententious, cold morality'') could do a lot worse than listen to Handel's Orlando. Based at some remove on an episode from Ariosto's epic poem Orlando furioso, it's a work which in place of posturing heroes and unlikely dilemmas offers credible characters and situations, all drawn with that touching human sympathy and understanding that were such an important part of Handel's creative personality. First staged in London in 1733, it is one of the greatest operas the eighteenth century produced, yet it almost goes without saying that the very musical and dramatic qualities that place it beyond Gluckian criticism were at least partly responsible for the limited success it enjoyed in its own day.

This imaginatively-curated, generously-filled Christmas package is sure to find favor during this and future holiday seasons. Why? Because it packs in every conceivable carol, tune, choral work or song in timeless performances from the greatest artists in the world: singers of immense communicative gifts including Cecilia Bartoli, Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming and Luciano Pavarotti to name but four. It truly offers something of every Christmas mind, spirit, and looks fantastic.

This Sony-made 30CD classical music collection covers almost all classical music, from the early Baroque period represented by Bach to the schools of classical music by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms represent romantic, national and even modern musical schools led by Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, etc. representative, everything wonderful and vivid.

Helmuth Rilling is an excellent conductor and interpreter of Bach's sacred music. Recorded from 1969 to 1985, over a longer period of time than most other sets, there is a lot of change throughout the series. Rilling's recordings are more dense and lush than others, and his tempi are often slower than HIP recordings - no "original instruments" for Rilling. But he creates such a detailed sound-world that any fan of these works should want to hear Rilling's versions to compare with others. This said, Rilling often uses a technique that I find a bit disturbing. He'll have one instrument or group of instruments sequestered to one track, and others on the other track, giving a sound similar to that of early Beatles' stereo mixes, where vocals were on one track and instruments on the other.

This 10 CD-Set offers a collection of the most popular Mass compositions from the Viennese Classics up to the romantic period. It includes famous masterpieces like Mozart’s „Coronation Mass“, Beethoven Missa solemnis, Haydn „Harmony Mass“, Gounod St. Cecilia Mass but also rarities like „Missa Sancti Joannis Nepomuceni“ by Michael Haydn, the „Coronation Mass“ by Cherubini, „Missa sacra“ by Robert Schumann and the „Misa solemnis“ of the german romantic composer Friedrich Kiel. Performed by well known artists like the Vienna Boys’ Choir, RIAS Chamber Choir, Tölzer Boys’ Choir, Wiener Akademie and last but not least also includes the spectacular recording of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with conductor Michael Gielen.

This DVD presents three of Mozart's best-loved sacred works, filmed in the magnificent Baroque Basilica of Waldsassen, Bavaria. "It is the time and the place for Mozart, that he may strengthen us, bless us, and help us finally to archieve peace of earth", declared Leonard Bernstein, introducing this concert in 1990 - the year of his death. Featuring superb soloists, his inspirational performance of the great C minor Mass found widespread critical acclaim.

The casting of the radiant Helen Donath as Gretel, the theatrical Christa Ludwig as the witch, the vibrant Anna Moffo as Hansel, and the noble but lovable Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as the father would have been sufficient to secure this recording's fame as the best version of "Hansel and Gretel" ever committed to disc. However, to cast Lucia Popp as the Dew Fairy and Arleen Auger as the Sandman was a master stroke. And, the excellent Charlotte Berthold is an added bonus as the mother. Leading this array of vocal riches, Kurt Eichhorn produces a reading that accentuates the detail and color of the score more than any other, drawing out the richness of the orchestration with astonishing success.

There’s not much cruelty, corruption or ruthlessness in Arleen Auger’s exquisitely sung portrayal of the manipulative Poppea, but this hardly detracts from her otherwise radiantly expressive performance. This welcome reissue is not just exhilaratingly played by the City of London Baroque Sinfonia with a spareness and verve that keeps the drama taut, but impressively cast. James Bowman is an elegantly spurned Ottone; Gregory Reinhart a noble Seneca; and the wonderful Della Jones a spirited, quite convincingly masculine Nero. The only snag is Linda Hirst’s unlovely, rather hectoring Ottavia; it doesn’t do, somehow, to sympathise with Nero’s decision to dump her.

Belshazzar (HWV 61) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. The libretto was by Charles Jennens, and Handel abridged it considerably. Jennens' libretto was based on the Biblical account of the fall of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus the Great and the subsequent freeing of the Jewish nation, as found in the Book of Daniel.