Box Set Selections,
Boxed Set Selections - August 2024
Covering the pianist’s first decade as a recording artist, this set includes his debut solo recording on Telarc (a recital from the 2000 Tanglewood Festival featuring Balakirev's Islamey), Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concertos No. 1 with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chopin piano concertos with Zubin Mehta and the Wiener Philharmoniker, two recitals from Carnegie Hall, the 2006 album Dragon Song, and Rachmaninov & Tchaikovsky piano trios with Vadim Repin and Mischa Maisky.
Available Format: 12 CDs
Made between 1973 and 1990, this collection of recordings by the French pianist (1947-93) includes Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze, Kinderszenen, Papillons and Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2, d'Indy's Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français, violin sonatas by Franck, Lekeu, Schumann and Prokofiev with Catherine Courtois, and (with Collard's frequent duo partner Anne Queffélec) Satie's Trois morceaux en forme de poire and La belle excentrique.
Available Formats: 7 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Campoli first recorded for Decca in 1931, and the recordings here date from the very beginning of the relationship until 1978; this set encompasses early 78s (newly remastered by Mark Obert-Thorn) and a number of previously unpublished tracks, such as 1940 recordings of transcriptions by Chopin, Grainger and Stephen Foster. Other highlights include a 1954 recording of the Elgar Violin Concerto with Adrian Boult, and CD stereo releases of Saint-Saens's Violin Concerto No. 3 & Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1.
Available Format: 21 CDs
In addition to the fifteen symphonies, this set includes the Cello Concerto (with Truls Mørk), the piano concertos (with Mikhail Rudy), the Chamber Symphony which Rudolf Barshai arranged from the String Quartet No. 8, Tahiti Trot, the two Jazz Suites, the suite from The Gadfly, and Shostakovich's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death (with Robert Lloyd).
Available Formats: 13 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Issued to mark the centenary of the French conductor's birth (which fell on 14th August), this set celebrates Prêtre's relationship with the SWR, of which he was Chief Conductor for two years and honorary conductor for many more. The repertoire includes Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel and Don Juan, Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, Ravel's La Valse & Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé, Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Respighi's Pines of Rome & Fountains of Rome, and symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and Dvořák.
Available Formats: 8 CDs, MP3, FLAC/ALAC/WAV
Prêtre enjoyed a special relationship with Poulenc's music, conducting the premiere of La voix humaine in 1959 and the first French performance of Sept répons des ténèbres four years later. Both works are included on this collection of recordings from 1959-1988, with other highlights including L'Histoire de Babar (narrated by Peter Ustinov), the Piano Concerto and Aubade (with Gabriel Tacchino), and the Organ Concerto (with Maurice Duruflé).
(*Despite the title, Prêtre conducts rather than plays!)
Available Format: 7 CDs
Described in 2019 by Gramophone as 'performances [which] are unique in their breadth, attention to detail and almost hypnotic control of the musical line', these live recordings were made between 1982 & 1995. Released for the first time on Hybrid SACD, they have been remastered by Japanese studio engineer expert Atsuo Fujita using Overtone Reconstruction Technology, which supplements the high-frequency components above 20 kHz that are typically cut off in the CD format.
Available Format: 12 SACDs
