DECCA - VIENNA PHILHARMONIC - THE ORCHESTRAL EDITION
DECCA 002227902 (65 DISKS)

 

What a magnificent, important set this is!!. The famed Viennese orchestra recorded profusely for DGG and Decca, and this set presents many of their major recordings for the latter (as well as some less important) made from the early '50's. Producers have generally done a fine job in selecting from the hundreds of available recordings. The earlier recordings are mono,; the later are stereo. Most are of major repertory. All have been digitally remastered with remarkable results.

Highlights include all of the Beethoven symphonies led by five conductors, the Brahms symphonies with four conductors, and the Bruckner symphonies with six. We have a wide variety of composers including works of Blacher, Leimer and Einem. Many major performances are here—but one might question inclusion of recordings by Horst Stein, a respect ble conductor—but hardly of the stature of others. It is unfortunate more of Maazel's Sibelius symphony cycle isn't included (we have only 4 and 7, or his Tchaikovsky cycle (we have only No. 4). It might seem odd that an orchestra so closely associated with Mahler over the years should have so little of his music in this set. They did record all of the Mahler symphonies, sometimes multiple times, but for other labels. Wisely, producers have included duplicate recordings of three works when both are major: Mahler Das Lied von der Erde (Bernstein/Walter), and Dvorak Symphony 9 (Kertesz / Kondrashin), Brahms Piabi Concerto No. 2 (Ashkenazy/Haitink), (Backhaus/Schuricht).

Obviously Decca could easily issue at lerast one more multiple-disk set containing more major recordings. But let us be grateful for what we have. The presentation is very attractive, and a large (200 page, 5" x 10") booklet contains articles about the orchestra, recordings and artists, with many photos—and original LP covers. Each disk comes in its own cardboard jacket with gold lettering on a black background. This is a class production.

And don't forget to investigate the DECCA multiple-disk set called THE DECCA SOUND which includes many other recordings at budget price (REVIEW)—and the DECCA MONO SOUND box of recordings from 1944-1956 (REVIEW).

And Thank You DECCA!!

 

REPERTORY

ADAM: Giselle Ballet Suite (Karajan)
BARTOK: The Miraculous Mandarin Suiite / Two Portraits (Dohnanyi)
BEETHOVEN: Music for Egmont (Szell)
BEETHOVEN: Fidelio Overture (Krauss)
BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overturse Nos. 2 and 3 (Krauss)
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No 1 (1 (Gulda/Böhm)
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No 2 (Ashkenazy/Mehta)
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Gulda/Stein)
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 4 (Gulda/Stein)
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No 5 (Curzon/Knappertsbusch)
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in F, Op, 94 (arr.Mahler) (Dohnanyi)
BEETHOVEN: Symphohny No. 1 (Monteux)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 2 (Schmidt-Isserstedt)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 (E. Kleiber)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 4 (Schmidt-Isserstedt)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5 (Solti)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 (Monteux)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7 (Solti)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 8 (Abbado)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No 9 (Schmidt-Isserstedt)
BERG: Suite from Lulu (Dohnanyi)
BLACHER: Variations on a Theme by Paganini (Solti)
BRAHMS: Hungarian Dances (Reiner)
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Backhaus/Böhm)
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Ashkenazy/Haitink) (Backhaus/Schuricht)
BRAHMS: Piano Quartet in G minor (Dohnanyi)
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 (Mehta)
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 2 (Schuricht)
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 3 ((Böhm)
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 (Kertesz)
BRAHMS: Tragic Overture (Mehta)
BRAHMS: Variations on a Theme by Haydn (Kertesz)
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 1 (Abbsado)
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 2 (Stein)
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 3 (Böhm)
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4 (Böhm)
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 5 (Maazel)
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 6 (Stein)
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 7 (Solti)
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 8 (Solti)
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9 (Mehta)
CHERUBINII: Anacreon Overture (Munchinger)
DVORAK: Piano Concerto (Schiff/Dohnanyi)
DVORAK: Slavonic Dances (Reiner)
DVORAK: Symphony No. 9 (Kertesz) (Kondrashin)
EINEML Philadelphia Symphony (Mehta)
ELGAR: Enigma Variations (Solti)
HAYDN: Die Schöpubg (Munchinger)
HAYDN: Missa Brevis (Munchinger)
HAYDN: Symphonies 94 and 101 (Monteux)
HAYDN: Symphony No. 104 (Karajan)
HEUBERGER: The Opera Ball Overture (Boskovsky)
HOLST: The Planets (Karajan)
JANACEK: Glagolitic Mass (Chailly)
JANACEK: Suite from The Cunning Little Vixen (Mackerras)
JANACEK: Sinfonietta/Taras Bulba (Mackerras)
KHACHATURIAN: Suites from Gayne and Spartacus (Khachaturian)
KHACHATURIAN: Symphony No. 2 (Khachaturian)
KODALY: Peacock Variations (Solti)
KOMZAK: Bad'ne Madl'n (Knappertsbusch)
KORNGOLD: Passover Psalm (Chailly)
LEHAR: Gold and Silver Waltz (Boskovsky)
LEIMER: Piano Concerto No. 4 (Leimer/Wagner)
LISZT: Les Preludes (Mehta)
MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde (Ferrier/Patzak/Walter)(King/Fischer-Dieskau/Bernstein)
MAHLER: Kindertotenlieder/Ruckert Lieder (Flagstad/Boult)
MAHLER: Songs of a Wayfarer (Flagstad/Boult)
MAHLER: Symphony No 2 (Mehta)
MENDELSSOHN: Athalie Overture/ Die erste Walpurgisnacht (Dohnanyi)
MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 3 (Dohnanyi)
MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 4 (Solti)
MOZART: Clarinet Concerto (Prinz/Munchinger)
MOZART: Concerto for Flute and Harp (Tripp/ Jelinek/Munchiunger)
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 15 (Bernstein)
MOZART: Piano Concerto Nos .22, 23 and 27 (Curzon/Szell)
MOZART Requiem (Solti)
MOZART: Symphony No 36 (Bernstein)
MOZART: Symphony No 40 (Karajan)
NICOLAI: The Merry Wives of Windsor Overture (Knappertsbusch) (Boskovsky)
REZNICEK: Donna Diana Overture (Boskovsky)
SCHMIDT: Symphony No. 4 (Mehta)
SCHOENBERG: Orchestral songs (Silja/Dohnanyi)
SCHUBERT: Rosamunde Incidental Music (Munchinger)
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 5 (Kertesz)
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 8 (Krips)
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 9 (Solti)
SCHUMANN: Genoveva Overture (Munchiuger)
SCHUMANN: Overture, Scherzo and Finale (Solti)
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 1 (Solti)
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 2 (Solti)
SIBELIUS: Symphonoes Nos. 4 and 7.Tapiola (Maazel)
SMETANA: Ma Vlast (Kubelik)
EDUARD STRAUSS, JOHANN STRAUSS, JOHANN STRAUSS JR/JOSEF STRAUSS: varied waltzes, polkas and other works (Boskovsky/Knappertsbusch/Karajan/Dorati/Krips/Krauss)
STRAUSS: Death and Transfiguration/Till Eulenspiegels Merry Pranks (Reiner)
STRAUSS: Also sprach Zarathustra (Karajan)
STRAUSS: Aus Italien/Don Quixote/Sinfonia Domestica (Krauss)
STRAUSS: Final scene from Salome (Silja/Dohnanyi)
STRAUSS: Ein Heldenleben (Solti)
STRAUSS: Le Bourgeoise gentilhomme (Krauss)
STRAUSS: Four Last Songs (Te Kanawa/Solti) (Della Casa/Böhm)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Suites from Nutcracke, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake (Karajan)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4 (Maazel)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Curzon/Solti)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Suite No. 3 (Maazel)
VERDL: Ballet music from Otello (Karajan)
IVERDI: Requiem (Solti)
WAGNER: Flying Dutchman Overture, Overture and Bacchanale from Tannhäuser (Solti)
WAGNER: Wesendonck Lieder/excerpots from Lohengrin/Parsifal/Die Walküre) (Flagstad)
WAGNER: Siegfried's Funeral March/Siegfried Idyll/Rienzi Overture(Solti)
WAGNER: Kinderkatechismus (Vienna Boys Choir)
WAGNER: Prelude to Act I of Parsifal (Mehta)
WEBER: Five Overtures, Invitation to the Dance. (Stein)
ZEMLINSKY: Psalm 83 (Chailly)