Fine selection celebrates Celibidache This month’s round-up also features a ring, a café and an odyssey
Naxos has now gathered together all four of conductor Jaap van Zweden’s recordings of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (Naxos 8.501403) in an attractive box. Performed by the Hong Kong Philharmonic and a cast that includes Matthias Goerne, Michelle Deyoung and Stuart Skelton, the performances were captured live over a four-year period. As well as the discs and booklet, the box includes a nifty plastic card with an unfolding USB stick; it includes full librettos, a set of performance photographs and 19 minutes of video interviews.
Named after an 18th-century Leipzig coffee house and weekly concert venue, Café Zimmerman (Alpha ALPHA 434) marks the ensemble’s 20th anniversary with an appealing 16-disc collection. In the gold-edged box you’ll find a veritable banquet of JS Bach (eight discs), CPE Bach (two discs) and a further peppering of Vivaldi, Charles Avison and Jeanhenry d’anglebert. From keyboard works and symphonies to concertos and cantatas, it’s a gilded selection. Sergiu Celibidache – The Munich Years (Warner Classics 9029558154) is a collection that takes in
The box includes a nifty USB stick with full librettos and photos
the Romanian conductor’s 17 years with the Munich Philharmonic, from 1979 to his death in 1996. In that time he breathed new fire into the orchestra and reignited its status on the international stage. The 48-disc set, cloaked in striking red and black, features works by an abundance of composers, with the emphasis on Bruckner (12 discs), Beethoven (6 discs), Tchaikovsky (4 discs) and Brahms (3 discs). His 1948 recording of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 with the Berlin Phil is a bonus.
Another legacy is celebrated in Berlioz
Odyssey – The Complete Sir Colin Davis Recordings
(LSO Live LSO0827), which draws in all of the late British conductor’s Berlioz recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra, just ahead of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death. Comprised of 16 discs – six of which are SACDS – it’s a comprehensive account of Davis’s feted interpretations and includes the double Grammy-winning recording of Les Troyens, all in smart clamshell packaging. LSO Live’s artwork is typically arresting, and the booklet notes are pleasingly comprehensive.