Great Conductors of the 20th Century is a joint venture between the production and licensing expertise of IMG Artists and the international marketing and distribution clout of EMI. Sixty volumes were planned with hopes for even more. Unfortunately, though, perhaps reflecting our leaner climate for classical projects, the producers now advise that only forty will be issued. Thus, rather than a proud celebration of the full wealth of this keystone of classical art,six of the Great Conductors of the 20th Century volumes the truncated result is tinged with regret for what might have been. Even so, the edition stimulates many thoughts, not only about its particular subjects but of trends and issues that transcend the specific contents.

Track List:

Vol. 36 HERBERT von KARAJAN # 5 85869 2 4
CD1
Johann Strauss II: Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka
Musikvereinssaal, Vienna, October 1949
Wiener Philharmoniker
Walton: Symphony No.1
Live recording: Auditorium del Foro Italico, Rome, December 1953
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI
Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel) Pictures at an Exhibition
Kingsway Hall, London, October 1955 & June 1956
Philharmonia Orchestra
CD2
Waldteufel: ‘Les Patineurs’ September 1960
Sibelius: Symphony No.4 July 1953
Kingsway Hall
Philharmonia Orchestra
Wagner: Death of Isolde (‘Tristan und Isolde’) (with Helga Dernesch)
Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin-Dahlem, December 1971
Berliner Philharmoniker
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 (orch. Liszt/Doppler) January 1958
Weinberger: Polka (‘Schwanda the Bagpiper’) September 1960
Chabrier: Espana & Joyeuse Marche September 1960
Offenbach: Barcarolle (‘Les Contes d’Hoffmann’) January 1959
Kingsway Hall
Philharmonia Orchestra
Vol. 37 FRITZ REINER # 5 85866 2
CD1
Beethoven: ‘Coriolan’ Overture May 1959
Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2 (with Emil Gilels) February 1958
Mozart: Symphony No.36 ‘Linz’ April 1954
Orchestra Hall, Chicago
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Mendelssohn: Scherzo (‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’)
Academy of Music, Philadelphia, June 1951
The Robin Hood Dell Orchestra (Philadelphia Orchestra)
CD2
Brahms: Tragic Overture December 1957
Wagner: Siegfried’s Rhine Journey (‘Gotterdammerung’) April 1959
Bartok: Swineherd’s Dance (from Hungarian Sketches) December 1958
Orchestra Hall, Chicago
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel
Carnegie Hall, New York, September 1950
RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra
Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
Carnegie Hall, January 1952
NBC Symphony Orchestra
Falla: El amor brujo (with Carol Brice)
Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, February 1946
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Vol. 38 RAFAEL KUBELIK # 5 85863 2
CD1
Dvorak: Slavonic Rhapsody No.3
Kingsway Hall, London, January 1959
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Martinu: Symphony No.4
Studio Domovina, Prague, June 1948
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Berlioz: Ballet des sylphes (‘La Damnation de Faust’) May 1950
Philharmonia Orchestra
Mendelssohn: Overture to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ February 1953
No.1 Studio, Abbey Road Studios, London
Philharmonia Orchestra
Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Orchestra Hall, Chicago, April 1953
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
CD2
Schumann: Genoveva Overture
Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin-Dahlem, September 1964
Berliner Philharmoniker
Schubert: Symphony No.3
Musikvereinssaal, Vienna, January 1960
Wiener Philharmoniker
Mahler: Symphony No.10 - Adagio
Herkulessaal, Munich, April 1968
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Janacek: Sinfonietta
Musikvereinssaal, March 1955
Wiener Philharmoniker
Vol. 39 SERGIU CELIBIDACHE # 5 62872 2
CD1
Nielsen: Overture ‘Maskarade’
Live recording: Danish Radio Concert Hall, Copenhagen, December 1970
Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Berwald: Symphonie singuliere
Live recording: The Academy of Music, Stockholm, June 1967
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Mendelssohn: Symphony No.4 ‘Italian’
Live recording: Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin-Dahlem, November 1953
Berliner Philharmoniker
Tchaikovsky: ‘The Nutcracker’ - 4 dances from Suite Op.71a
Kingsway Hall, London, December 1948
London Philharmonic Orchestra
CD2
Hilding Rosenberg: ‘Marionetter’ Overture
Live recording: Konserthus, Gothenburg, October 1962
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Heinz Tiessen: ‘Hamlet’ - Suite
Live recording: Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin-Dahlem, October 1957
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Mozart: Symphony No.25 K183
Kingsway Hall, London, December 1948
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Prokofiev: Symphony No.1 ‘Classical’
Zwolf-Apostel-Kirche, Berlin, February 1948
Berliner Philharmoniker
Johann Strauss II: Overture ‘Die Fledermaus’
Annen-Polka & Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka
Johann Strauss I: Radetzky March
Live recording: Concert Hall, Copenhagen, December 1970
Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Vol. 40 WILHELM FURTWANGLER # 5 62875 2
CD1
Beethoven: Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’
Live recording: Herkulessaal, Munich, September 1953
Wiener Philharmoniker
Beethoven: Symphony No.9 ‘Choral’ (beginning)
CD2
Beethoven: Symphony No.9 ‘Choral’ (conclusion)
(with Erna Berger, Gertrude Pitzinger, Walther Ludwig & Rudolf Watzke)
Live recording: Queen’s Hall, London, May 1937
Philharmonischer Chor Berlin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Beethoven: Symphony No.5
Live recording: Staatsoper, Berlin, February 1944
Berliner Philharmoniker

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