I can't say enough good about this release! DG/Universal have released some great mono recordings from the 1950s + some later Stereo issues of Karl Bohm (1894-1981) with the Vienna Philharmonic, Dresden State Orchestra, and Berlin Philharmonic, some which have never been on CD, or have been out of the catalog for years.

The Effect:

"There was a great deal to enjoy in this compilation of superlative magical excellence, and the show was a great and golden credit to its makers. The magical content was almost uniformly superb, and all but the most obsessive magic fans will have seen items they hadn't seen before"

Decca's 5CD sets are a great way to start a classical collection or to complete an existing one. Even if you already have the music in different performances, it's worth looking here because Decca's catalog features many great recordings.

Stephen Hough joins the celebrations for Chopin s 200th birthday with a disc containing much of the composer s most extraordinary music, written in the last years of his life where the expressive possibilities of his art were constantly unfolding and he imbued his favored forms with previously unknown levels of complexity and emotional depth. This disc includes the intoxicatingly ornamented Berceuse Op 57 and the sublime Barcarolle in F sharp major as well as the Polonaise-Fantasy in A flat major and the towering Piano Sonata No 3 in B minor. Also included are two late Nocturnes that demonstrate how Chopin s art had evolved since he first composed in that genre in his youth. The program is completed by a selection of Mazurkas, each a tiny jewel, containing no less mastery than their larger counterparts, and providing moving sonic evidence of the contemplative profundity of Chopin s late style. Stephen Hough s extraordinarily sensitive playing is informed by his limitless technique and engaging musical imagination.