Exceptional artists
Three 20th-century icons are saluted in style
As we head into autumn, three major musicians of the 20th century are celebrated with suitably sizeable box sets.
Largest of the three is Decca’s Solti Chicago – The Complete Recordings (483 1375), celebrating the Hungarian maestro’s 22 years as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. There are 108 discs in total in this lavish collection, plus an accompanying book, filled with reminiscences of those that knew Sir Georg Solti and photos galore. One could happily lose oneself in it for weeks, whether exploring the complete symphony cycles by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and Mahler, major choral works by Haydn, Handel and Bach or Wagner and Verdi operas. Less expected Solti gems, meanwhile, include an exceptional Elgar Enigma Variations and Tippett’s Fourth Symphony.
Lest we get entirely lost in Solti wonderland, next up is Warner Classics’ 45-disc Maria Callas –
Live (9029584470), released to mark 40 years since the Greek soprano’s death. Three of those 45 discs are Blu-ray, containing filmed footage of Callas as Tosca and in concert. The other 42 are CDS of 20 complete operas, 12 of which the great diva never recorded in the studio. Dating from 194964, the live performances here include
Tosca and
Norma at Covent Garden and a famous Aida in Mexico City, 1951. Some of the recording quality is, yes, a little patchy but, given the nature of live recordings at the time, that is only to be expected.
And then there are the 75 discs that make up Sony Classical’s Rudolf Serkin – The Complete Columbia Album Collection
(88985404062), introduced by a very touching booklet note by the great Czech pianist’s son Peter (himself also a pianist, of course). Though Beethoven was famously Serkin’s calling card – and there is plenty of it here, in solo, chamber and concerto form – recordings of composers ranging from JS Bach to Reger, Chopin to Prokofiev affirm that he was no one-trick pony.
Solti is celebrated with a lavish 108-disc collection