"I have admired the work of many conductors during my long career . . . But I think that of all those I have heard I would nominate Alexander von Zemlinsky as the all-round conductor who achieved the most consistently high standard, and that is a mature judgement. I remember a performance of the “Marriage of Figaro” by him in Prague as the most satisfying operatic experience of my life."
- Igor Stravinsky, 1964

This release celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871) with the first-ever release of his complete extant recordings. Today, Zemlinsky is known primarily as the composer of such late-Romantic works as the Lyric Symphony, Die Seejungfrau and the opera Der Zwerg. But this association only dates from the 1970s onward, as audiences interested in exploring Gustav Mahler’s contemporaries rediscovered Zemlinsky’s compositions. For most of his later career, as well as for decades after his death, Zemlinsky was primarily known as an opera conductor.

During the late 1920s and into the mid-‘30s, Zemlinsky made a small number of recordings for various labels, mainly opera overtures and vocal accompaniments, not a note of which he himself had written. They are all assembled here, including two tracks set down 94 years ago which are being presented for the first time. 

"La Bohème, which Decca have so successfully recorded, is an opera which depends on a first-rate ensemble, but Madama Butterfly first and foremost depends on the artist who sings the name part. Let it be said at once that Renata Tebaldi is not merely a good but a great exponent of the part. She is by far the best Butterfly I have heard since Destinn, than which there can be no higher praise. There is not a weak member of the cast and the opera has been produced with the same care for realistic detail." - The Gramophone, 1952

At the start of the 1950s, a time when recordings were still being made for 78rpm release as well as LP, and recording tape was still very much an infant technology. This is where Pristine's XR remastering can make a huge difference to the sound quality.

Madama Butterfly was the first of Renata Tebaldi's Decca recordings to be remade in stereo, a mere seven years after this production, with a different cast and conductor. Opinions will of course differ as two which is the better performance - we hope that the sonic upgrade offered here by this Pristine XR remaster will at help the earlier recording stand alongside the audio standards of the remake.

"The orchestral acoustic is still resonant, but it now has a warmth and glow throughout the dynamic range not present in the Dokumente reissue. Likewise, the sonority of the piano now takes on a uniform quality and beauty ... If Pristine Audio can maintain this level throughout the remainder of the cycle, it will be a tremendous and important achievement, indeed. Recommended with the greatest enthusiasm." - Fanfare magazine, 2021

This final instalment in our traversal of Wilhelm Kempff's 1950's Beethoven recordings for DGG - this year's Concertos set followed last years complete Sonatas - ending of course with the 'Emperor' Concerto, again with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Paul van Kempen.

It is paired with Kempff's earlier 1936 recording with the same orchestra of the Emperor, in a swifter reading conducted by Peter Raabe. Not only are both performances excellent - and presented in superb XR remasters - but they're sufficiently different to ensure both is well worth hearing.