From a landmark Janacek album to a previously unpublished Schubert/Mozart recording, this collection presents the Deutsche Grammophon, British and American Decca, and Westminster legacy of Rudolf Firkušný (1912-1994), acclaimed by Stereo Review as 'the outstanding champion of Czech piano music on the international circuit'.

Hungarian-born pianist Klára Würtz has amassed an astounding catalogue of recordings for Brilliant Classics, celebrated this year (a milestone birthday year for Klára) with this rich set of piano solos, song and chamber music collaborations, and concertante outings.

"Finesse and fire from a starry musical duo… A recital that showcased the very best in collaborative music-making," was how the Toronto Star described the concert at Koerner Hall in Toronto that formed the basis for this recording. The program for the album comprises two works by Chopin, his Sonata in A Major and his Polonaise brillante in C Major, and Franck's Sonata in A Major, a transcription by the 19th century cellist Jules Delsart of the Belgian composer's glorious violin sonata.

After an album of French songs (Néère, Alpha 215) that earned her a Gramophone Award in 2016, Véronique Gens presents her new recital, this time with orchestra, which gives her an opportunity to display the maturity of her ‘Falcon’ soprano, the central tessitura typical of French Romantic opera, which takes its name from Cornélie Falcon, who created the works of Meyerbeer and Halévy staged in the 1830s.

“Unquestionably one of the greatest pianists of all time” is how Gramophone magazine has described Martha Argerich. Her relationship with the label goes back to 1965 and her victory at the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Over several decades it has produced a rich catalogue of live and studio recordings, embracing a repertoire that spans three centuries, a diversity of genres, and collaborations with such figures as Charles Dutoit, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky and Itzhak Perlman. The complete recordings for EMI Classics, Teldec, Erato and Warner Classics are featured in this box.

Over 40 years of collaboration between Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra is among the most dazzling and longest connections in the history of classical music. In this unique edition, all mono recordings from the period from 1944 to 1958 appear on 120 CDs for the Columbia label. They also reflect an important section of record history in the changing cover design. Ormandy, a master of orchestral brilliance and timbres and also appreciated as an excellent companion, created the famous "Philadelphia Sound" with his orchestra.

Over 40 years of collaboration between Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra is among the most dazzling and longest connections in the history of classical music. In this unique edition, all mono recordings from the period from 1944 to 1958 appear on 120 CDs for the Columbia label. They also reflect an important section of record history in the changing cover design. Ormandy, a master of orchestral brilliance and timbres and also appreciated as an excellent companion, created the famous "Philadelphia Sound" with his orchestra.

Following up on the success of Sony Classical’s recent large-scale Ormandy collections – his monaural discographies with the Minneapolis Symphony and Philadelphia orchestras – the label now presents the conductor’s stereo recordings from Philadelphia containing all recordings released from 1958 to 1963 (plus some fillers from later years) Eugene Ormandy took over the music directorship in Philadelphia from Leopold Stokowski in 1938 and held the position for 42 years. During that time his name and the orchestra’s became inseparable as he cultivated and further developed the voluptuous sound that originated with his predecessor.

Some music lovers are familiar with Ce qu’on entend sur la montagne, Liszt’s symphonic poem based on Victor Hugo. But who knows that, ten years earlier, César Franck was inspired by the same poem? This early piece is recorded here by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Mikko Franck. They couple it with the famous Symphony in D minor, dedicated to Henri Duparc and premiered, without much success, in 1889. Even if the score is quite well-known today, in the end it is performed quite rarely, which is a pity, because it really has all the characteristics of a masterpiece: melodic and harmonic inspiration, refined orchestration, variety of mood, an ingenious structure.

Born in Tallinn in 1962, Paavo Järvi is renowned for his dynamic interpretations and innovative programming. He has held prominent positions with leading orchestras, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, or the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich more recently. Paavo Järvi's approach combines technical precision with expressive depth, making him a favourite among musicians and audiences alike.

When Jorge Bolet died in October 1990 the world lost one of its last ‘great Romantics’. Spirituality, a luxuriant tonal palette, a real sense of architecture, breadth, grandeur, all allied to a prodigious technique – these were just some of the qualities that informed his playing. Now, for the first time, Decca collects all the recordings he made for the label, from 1977 to 1990. Released for the first time and included in this set, is his last recording, a selection of Chopin’s Nocturnes and the Berceuse, recorded just seven months before his death.

An Original Jackets treasury of analogue-era pianism by legendary and lesser-known names from the catalogues of American Decca and Westminster.

Unanimously acclaimed by her peers, the music-loving public and the press, French pianist Catherine Collard (1947-1993) died far too soon. The memories of her concerts, master classes and generosity are still very much alive today. The recordings made for Erato and EMI gathered here bear witness to her exceptional talent.

This recording marks the beginning of the collaboration between the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and its new music director, the French conductor Alain Altinoglu, who conducts the leading European and American orchestras and has made a reputation for himself in every repertory – not forgetting opera at Salzburg, Bayreuth, and La Monnaie in Brussels, where he is music director. Their first disc pays tribute to a composer whose bicentenary is celebrated in 2022, César Franck, with the famous Symphony in D minor and two less well-known works, presented in new editions: the symphonic poem Le Chasseur maudit (1882) and the large-scale symphonic interlude from the oratorio Rédemption, composed in 1872 after the Paris Commune, performed here in its first version, long considered lost.

“The whole conception of performance in these days is too heavy, loud and blatant,” said Walter Gieseking in 1926, expressing his preference for “more delicacy and ethereal refinement of tone”. That same year the New York Times praised the German pianist for “achieving unusual richness and fineness of effect within a relatively small dynamic scale,” noting “his poetic sentiment and imagination, the intimacy of his musical expression and his exquisite adjustment of tone values.” Gieseking’s finesse, imagination and sureness of touch brought him special and lasting distinction in the solo piano works of Debussy et Ravel, which he recorded in their entirety.