Eugene Ormandy’s unbroken forty-two-year association with the Philadelphia Orchestra was unique in history. Famous for its rich and powerful "Philly Sound”, the orchestra was described by Rachmaninov as “the greatest virtuoso orchestra in the world”…

Gioacchino Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle was written in 1863, "the last", the composer called it, of my "péchés de vieillesse" (sins of old age). For its first performance (1864) Rossini arranged the work with only two pianos and harmonium…

Famous violinist Itzhak Perlman and Eugene Ormandy, long-standing conductor of the Philadelphia orchestra recorded this fantastic Russian programme live at the Academy of Music Philadelphia in 1978 and 1979. Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985) was best known…

This DVD brings together two of the major figures of 20th-century music, Wilhelm Backhaus (1884-1969) and Karl Böhm (1894-1981), in a classical programme of Beethoven and Brahms. The recording of the Beethoven Piano Concerto, filmed in 1967, can…

This live performance – which drew superlative reactions from critics and audience alike – was Leonard Bernstein’s way of taking leave of Vienna only half a year before his death. Recorded at the Grosser Musikvereinssaal in spring 1990 in his last…

As part of the Mozart celebrations for the composer’s 250th birthday in 2006, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Manfred Honeck, perform W.A. Mozart’s most famous work related to or composed in Prague. The young clarinetist Sharon…

In this live recording from the Palazzo di Congressi Lugano in November 2005, Sir Neville Marriner conducts the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in a performance of an all-Mozart programme. On the advent of the Mozart Anniversary Year in 2006, this…

This DVD pays tribute to a representative of the famous conductor personalities of the last century: Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985), who was both energetic and graceful on the podium, was known for his infallible ear and prodigious memory. He became…

Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic set off fireworks of good humour and a contagious musical spirit at the traditional New Year’s Eve Concert in 2002. Simon Rattle chose Leonard Bernstein’s brilliant and entertaining musical comedy, “Wonderful…

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) and the Vienna Philharmonic guarantee great Mozart performances on this high quality DVD recording. Bernstein, a wonderful musician and communicator and one of the 20th century's most versatile and articulate conductors…