“In the slow movement, I admire the beautiful balance the band secures in the light scoring ... This remarkably spacious movement ... has all manner of instrumental attractions, which could not, I think, be more graciously deployed than here. It never lags, never loses serenity. The minuet, alternately, resounds with the best Vienna pomp ... The finale is all martial clamour ... The triumphant drive of it is unforgettable.”- The Gramophone, 1938

Four symphonies, four overtures, Three German Dances, a piano concerto, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and the Requiem - what a collection there is of Mozart here! This 3-CD collection, curated by Mark Obert-Thorn, holds every Mozart recording made by Bruno Walter before 1939 (barring a handful of short works already available here at Pristine).

As well as conducting we also find Walter at the keyboard for the Piano Concerto No. 20, K.466, from where he directs the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He's joined for a live performance of the Requiem, made when the Philharmonic was on tour during the 1937 Paris Exposition, by  Elisabeth Schumann, Kerstin Thorborg, Anton Dermota and Alexander Kipnis - a recording that was never issued on 78rpm discs which has been newly transferred from rare vinyl test pressings.

"This is the performance I use most often to introduce Furtwängler to someone unfamiliar with his art. It has long been recognized as one of his greatest recorded documents ... From the intensity of the strings and timpani at the opening to the final chords, this is Brahms that grabs you by the throat and won't let go. It is at once dramatic and lyrical, genial and stern, heaven-storming, and intimate." - Fanfare, 2001

The reviewer goes on to state that "It has always been one of Furtwängler's best-sounding recordings" - and I'm sure he'll be utterly delighted with what a further near two-decades worth of technological advancement has done for the sound: this new XR remastering sounds truly gorgeous, a more than worthwhile upgrade on what came before.

If you don't know it, you really should. If you do know it, you really should take a listen to this. An absolutely top-notch performance in incredible sound. We just can't get enough of it!

"If the performance of the mass surpassed that of the requiem in intensity and in grandeur, it is because, after all, there are few compositions in all music that stand shoulder to shoulder with Beethoven’s. It does compass the sublime, in a spirit that is Michelangelesque. But it is seldom delivered in this fashion, because of difficulties almost insurmountable for the singers, and other difficulties, inherent in the nature of the music, which conductors seldom completely solve. Last night the fierce heat of Toscanini's inspiration and integrity of purpose pierced every problem and fused together the creative elements of a masterpiece so gigantic that it is seldom comprehended by either listener or performer." - New York Times, 1940

We recently completed the 6-concert 1939 Toscanini Beethoven Cycle, and last week had Jussi Björling in Puccini's Manon Lescaut, so what better time to bring the two supreme artistes together for this week's new release?

With soloists Zinka Milanov, Bruna Castagna and Alexander Kipnis, Björling complements Toscanini's white hot NBC Symphony Orchestra and the excellent Westminster Choir in this stunning 1940 performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, newly XR-remastered by Andrew Rose in unprecedented sound quality.