Conducting legends and world tours This month’s celebratory box sets reveal a German connection
Paul Fromm was a German immigrant to the US whose success as a wine importer allowed him to turn his passion for new music into a foundation that commissioned some 478 works. In Twentieth Century Composers Series (Sony 19439715642 – see illustration below) the Fromm Music Foundation’s banner initiative, which recorded new classical music with top players from 1956-63, is celebrated across ten discs. These include recordings outside of the series, but each represents the massive impact Fromm had on new American music. Composers here include Elliott Carter, Lukas Foss and Leon Kirchner.
American works kick things off in Choir Music of the World (SWR SWR19100CD; 9 discs), a series recorded from 2012-19 by the SWR Vokalensemble. The release marks the end of a long collaboration with conductor Marcus Creed and is a richly varied tour of international works and composers. After the US, the nine discs take the listener to Russia, Italy, Great
Britain, Poland, Finland, France,
Japan and the Baltic States. From Copland to Maxwell Davies via Takemitsu, Sibelius and Arvo Pärt, it’s an illuminating collection.
Quatuor Ebène has also packed its bags for a world tour and its recently released Beethoven Around the World (Erato 9029533981; 7 discs) collates recordings of the complete quartet cycle from seven great cities across the globe. The handsomely packaged set includes a glossy booklet featuring tour photos from the locations, which included Philadelphia, Vienna, Tokyo, São Paulo, Melbourne, Nairobi and Paris.
450 Years: Staatskapelle Berlin Great Recordings (DG
483 7887; 15 discs), compiling recordings from 1927-2012, is quite the collection, but one that is a mere snip compared to the ensemble’s long history. Each disc honours one of the Staatskapelle’s great baton wavers – and what a roster it is: there’s Klemperer, Karajan, Keilberth, Boulez, Mehta and Celibidache on the podium, not to mention Richard Strauss.
Fromm imported wine, allowing him his passion for new music