• Constantin Silvestri: Shostakovich Symphony No. 8, Kabalevsky Colas Breugnon Overture

    This recording is a rarity and belonged to Silvestri, only discovered after his death. The live performance from 1961 of Shostakovich Symphony No.8 is a new addition to Silvestri's discography, as is Kabalevsky’s Colas Breugnon Overture. The recording captures Silvestri’s electrifying performance of Shostakovich’s greatest symphony. During his early years in Moscow, Silvestri conducted Shostakovich and was praised by the composer. Silvestri’s only other Shostakovich recording was Symphony No.5 with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1960

  • Pierre Monteux (Richard Itter Collection)

    MP3 Album:
    The great French conductor Pierre Monteux  (1875-1964) was naturally considered a specialist of his native country’s music, though he would never allow this to restrict him. This new set of previously unpublished recordings seeks to set the record straight, with a strong representation of German repertoire, notably Brahms’ Symphony No.3 with the Boston Symphony, which he never recorded commercially, in a rare ‘live’ performance from the 1956 Edinburgh Festival. More Brahms featuring two celebrated virtuosos – the Violin Concerto with the French violinist Zino Francescatti, and the Double Concerto where he is joined by his compatriot Pierre Fournier, both ‘live’ recordings from the Royal Festival Hall in 1955. Both are previously unpublished.

  • BBC Legends Vol. 2

    MP3 Album:
    ICA Classics are proud to release a second volume of the best selling BBC Legends box, featuring 20 CDs of some of the greatest artists of the 20th Century. Volume 1 was released in 2013 and comprised 20 CDs taken from the award winning BBC Legends catalogue (unavailable since 2010). Here is the follow-up with a further 20 CDs. The artists include Arturo Toscanini, David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, Kirsten Flagstad, Victoria de los Angeles, Sir Thomas Beecham, Carlo Maria Giulini, Igor Stravinsky, Pierre Monteux, Yehudi Menuhin, Andres Segovia, Dame Myra Hess, Nathan Milstein, Walter Gieseking, Arthur Rubinstein, Geza Anda, Claudio Arrau, Eduard van Beinum, Sir William Walton, Pierre Fournier, Benjamin Britten and the Borodin Quartet. Contains interviews/memories of Kirsten Flagstad and Carlo Maria Giulini.
  • The Dream of Gerontius

    The Dream of Gerontius

    Filmed in colour from Canterbury Cathedral in 1968, this DVD represents the only existing film of Sir Adrian Boult conducting The Dream of Gerontius. Sir Adrian Boult championed Elgar’s music throughout his life, following the composer’s prophetic words in a letter to the conductor: ‘I feel that my reputation in the future is safe in your hands’. Featuring a stellar cast of soloists including Dame Janet Baker, this performance is redolent of Sir Adrian Boult’s ‘commendable energy and typical humanity’ (The Gramophone Guide review of Boult’s 1975 studio recording of The Dream of Gerontius). This DVD also features a 60-minute documentary on Sir Adrian Boult produced by the BBC in 1989 to celebrate the centenary of his birth.