Legendary performers and rising stars This month includes celebratory boxes of Julia Varady and La Scala
Herbert von Karajan’s takes on the Finnish composer Sibelius’s great orchestral works remain some of the most vital on record, and appear in Karajan – Complete Sibelius Recordings (DG 486 0651). As was his taste, he skipped the first three symphonies and so here we have just the final four, alongside Tapiola, Pelléas et Mélisande, Finlandia, The Swan on Tuonela and the Violin Concerto. The Berlin Phil, recorded in the city’s Jesuschristus-kirche 1964-76, are on blistering form, too, in this five-cd/one-blu-ray set.
That same church is also one of the venues featured in Julia Varady – The Orfeo Recordings (C 210086), a ten-disc set released to mark the Hungarian-born soprano’s 80th birthday. Reflecting her career, this collection is very much a German affair, with accompaniment from orchestras in Berlin and Munich, largely under the baton of her husband, the baritone Dietrich Fischer-dieskau. Taken from sessions as far apart as 1981 and ’99, it shows Varady’s range in works by seven composers, including Mozart, Wagner and Puccini.
The Berlin Phil are on blistering form in Karajan’s Sibelius
If you prefer to watch opera, then Teatro alla Scala’s Operas (C Major DVD: 758408; Blu-ray: 758505) is a small but impactful collection of five performances from the legendary Milan venue. Taking in Verdi and Mozart productions staged 201517 – Aida, I due Foscari, The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro and
The Abduction from the Seraglio – the set features some big names. A chance to bask in the glow of Diana Damrau, Plácido Domingo, Golda Schultz and Sabine Devieilhe among others. Starry.
Virtuoso – Pianists of the Sydney International Piano Competition (Eloquence 481 9497) is a marvellous 11disc collection of some 100 performances by 77 different pianists. Every four years, rising stars of the piano descend on the Australian city for what has become one of the most thrilling events on the calendar in the Southern Hemisphere. This retrospective takes in over two decades of music-making, the 55 represented composers taking listeners from the Baroque to the modern day, including a selection of Australian pieces.