This compilation covers 20 years of live recordings made by conductor Yevgeny Mravinsky and the then-named Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra for Erato. Mravinsky led that orchestra for nearly 50 years, from 1938 until his death. His last recording was that of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 12, made in 1984, found on Disc 3 here. His interpretations of Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky were highly regarded, so it's not surprising that several of their symphonies are here. There are also symphonies by Mozart and Beethoven in this set; tone poems by Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky; and orchestral excerpts from operas by Wagner, Glinka, and Glazunov. The final disc contains a rare recording of a rehearsal led by Mravinsky, something few outsiders were ever allowed to witness. Even though he was an elder statesman of Russian music at the time of these recordings, there is still precision and energy in his interpretations.

Classics in Pop is a spectacularly vibrant, deeply passionate, and masterfully structured classical crossover tour de force by the elite Latvian violin virtuoso Raimonds Ozols, released in 2004 by the renowned European label Zyx Classics. Spanning nearly 42 minutes across nine hyper-polished studio tracks, this high-fidelity archive captures the absolute peak of Ozols' ability to bridge traditional classical masterpiece themes with contemporary pop, rock, and electronic rhythms. Serving as the long-time concertmaster of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Ozols brings a flawless, elite concert-hall technique to these high-energy modern arrangements, transforming his acoustic and electric violins into a soaring, dramatic voice. The tracklist is an absolute masterclass in symphonic restructuring, navigating legendary operatic and orchestral architectures by Verdi, Wagner, Mascagni, Berlioz, and Rossini. Listeners are treated to the sweeping emotionalism of the Prelude from "La Traviata," the driving, rhythmic momentum of the Overture from "Guillaume Tell," and the sprawling, progressive jazz-tinged finale of his Swing Concerto. Exceptionally preserved in pristine lossless audio quality with full booklet retail scans, this rare Baltic treasure stands as an absolute mandatory cornerstone and a prized collector's holy grail for global purists of instrumental pop, virtuoso violin crossover, and modern symphonic fusion history.

The youngest musician ever to win the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division, exciting American cellist Zlatomir Fung has collated an album of opera fantasies including Fantasy on Jenůfa which he arranged himself and a Fantasy written especially for him - Fantasia Carmèn - by composer Marshall Estrin. After extensive research Fung found these fantasies for cello used recognizable tunes from famous operas to create a free medley and that there are few rules beyond the pure expression of the composer’s personality, interests, and strengths as a cellist.

The Staatskapelle Dresden plays spotlessly for Marek Janowski … An excellent 'Ring' experience." Das Rheingold is dominated by Siegfried Nimsgern's vibrant, articulate Alberich, Peter Schreier's wonderfully vital, strikingly intelligent and articulate Loge and Theo Adam's experienced Wotan. But Fricka, the Giants and Rhinemaidens are all well cast, and the whole performance grips one's attention from start to finish.

On the surface, this Ring cycle recording might seem like a poor relation to those by Sir Georg Solti, Herbert von Karajan, James Levine, and others, or to the live recordings from the 1950s by the likes of Wilhelm Furtwängler, Clemens Kraus, and Hans Knappertsbusch. The very names constitute big guns in opera, and their respective casts are not exactly weak either. Complicating matters further is the fact that Marek Janowski's Ring was originally released by Eurodisc/Ariola, a European-based label that, while huge over there, never had the profile or prestige of Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, orEMI; the fact that it's now on RCA/BMG doesn't exactly help, either, as the latter has lost a good deal of its luster as a major label since the 1980s. But the Janowski Ring also occupies its own place in history…

Recorded live at the Bayreuth Festival in 2008, this production stars a host of international stars including Michelle Breedt, Albert Dohmen, Stephen Gould, Hans-Peter Konig, Linda Watson & Eva-Maria Westbroek. Christian Thielemann, one of the most sought-after conductors in the world, takes the baton with the Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra.

Schoenberg's Pelleas & Melisande is just Opus 5 in Schoenberg's catalog, but it comes right on the cusp of the young composer's transition to serialism. Based on Maurice Maeterlinck's stage play, it's an exuberant, youthful work that won the 29-year-old composer the recognition he had yet to receive. The work shows some influences of Richard Strauss, who had befriended Schoenberg in 1901 in Berlin. Mahler is also present. Still, for all that, this work is sui generis, a stand-alone masterpiece. It's followed by Wagner's Siegfried-Idyll, a tone poem based on the birth of his son, Siegfried. Both works are moody tone poems and maestro Christian Thielemann lovingly captures their spirit. Boulez might give Schoenberg more drama, but Thielemann sculpts both works with rounder edges and softer textures.

Featuring a true golden-age cast, this 1967 Radio Broadcast hums and bubbles with invigorating warmth and unquenchable passion under the sprightly baton of Rafael Kubelik. Thomas Stewart is a intelligent Sachs, who brings real weight and power to the great Act III monologue but who retains real lyricism for the role's more tender moments. It would be inconceivable that Gundula Janowitz's creamy-voiced Eva would pass him over if it were not for the ardent, fiery Walther of Sándor Kónya, who gives voice to an ethereal rendition of the Prize song. Thomas Hemsley is an nuanced Beckmesser thankfully devoid of caricature, and Franz Crass is a warm, fatherly Pogner. Brigitte Fassbaender may be the most sensuous Magdalena on record, and is paired expertly by the great Gerhard Unger, at his considerable best as David.

This is a fine album for Wagner fans who want to check out the composer's non-operatic output. The Symphony in C (written at age 19) may be familiar, and is actually available in other CDs. However, the Symphony in E, Wagner's uncompleted creation from age 21, may not. This CD features Wagner's 1882 revision of the Symphony in C which was performed two months before his death. Wagner completed the first movement of the Symphony in E but only 29 bars of the second movement. In 1887, a performance version based on these 29 bars was prepared by conductor Felix Mottl at the request of Wagner's widow Cosima. This performance version of the second movement is included on this disk.

When we turn to live recordings, we enter another world, one in which the performances have, on the whole, a greater consistency of thought and execution. That applies in spades to the famous Bayreuth set of 1966. Karl Böhm's swift, incandescent, very theatrical interpretation isn't to everyone's liking. Yet, for all the fast speeds, the charge of superficiality is misplaced. Böhm's direct, cogently thought through reading, in which tempo relationships, inner figures (as one might expect from a Mozart and Strauss specialist), and instrumental detail are all carefully exposed and related to each other, offers rich rewards. Expressive intensity is here married ideally to a transparency of texture.

Lise Davidsen has recorded Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer in a live performance at her home opera house, Oslo. Her first full length opera recording on Decca Classics. These live performances were the only time she will ever perform the role of Senta, and this album forms an important part of her future legacy. Gerald Finley stars as The Dutchman, a role in which he has won international acclaim for his superb acting and lieder-like vocal finesse. The concert marked the inauguration of Edward Gardner as the new Music Director at Oslo Opera House.

Grammy-winning conductor Andris Nelsons and his "superb" (The Guardian) Gewandhausorchester Leipzig continue their acclaimed couplings of Bruckner symphonies and Wagner masterpieces with Symphony No. 6 and Symphony No. 9. The symphonies are accompanied by the Wagner's Prelude to his last complete opera, Parsifal, and the Siegfried Idyll.

Music is a crucial element in every Oscar-winning film. In this concert you will be taken on a musical journey through the sounds of the greatest Oscar winners of all time, from classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to monumental cinematic works like The Godfather and blockbusters like Forrest Gump - blockbusters with music, that for almost a century have made us shudder, melt and cry in the darkness of the cinema.

1931 was the breakthrough year for 32-year-old Hungarian immigrant Eugene Ormandy. First, he was engaged by the Philadelphia Orchestra to deputize for his idol Toscanini, who was briefly indisposed. Then, a few months later, he was asked to step in for the conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, also indisposed – but in this case permanently. Soon Ormandy was hired to take over that rising Midwestern orchestra. At the end of his five-year tenure in Minneapolis, which produced a considerable discography for RCA Victor (available in an 11-CD Sony Classical box set), Ormandy was called back to Philadelphia, this time to become its co-conductor with Leopold Stokowski. In 1936, he began recording regularly for Victor with his new orchestra, picking up the pace in 1938 when he became its sole music director.

The unrivalled Bayreuth Centenary Ring by Boulez/Chéreau sent ripples through art and society even before the curtain was lifted. Leaflets were distributed, signatures were collected and musicians left the orchestra pit in disgust, all because of disagreements over the bold new interpretation of Wagner's Ring Cycle by conductor Pierre Boulez. The festival hired 31-year-old film and theatre director Patrice Chéreau, a relative unknown. Chéreau's submitted concept for the multi-part, many hours long Ring Cycle had fitted on a single typewritten page. Once hired, he had just four months to prepare the monumental dramatic work.