"Fiedler’s purely orchestral studio recordings are a great moment in the history of Brahms interpretation. No matter which performers of Brahms you prefer, I doubt you will hear the composer the same way after listening to Fiedler. He clearly was a remarkable musician" - Fanfare magazine on Fiedler's Brahms (PASC363)

Max Fiedler was one of only two recorded conductors with a direct connection to Brahms, and partly because of this - and partly because his only studio recordings were of music by Brahms - he's most often associated with the composer.

Here we get a glimpse of his wider talent, with music recorded for German radio rebroadcasts in 1936 which not only feature Brahms, whose Tragic Overture appears here. We also hear Mozart's 20th Piano Concerto (with pianist Lubka Kolessa), Beethoven's 5th Symphony, Schumann's 3rd Symphony and, a seasonal touch perhaps, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. All are new transfers from Mark Obert-Thorn of material previously unissued, captured on super-rare shellac pressings, and hark back to a playing style with its roots firmly in the late Romantic era. An incredible slice of musical history!

“Here’s a Planets crammed full of interpretative incident, superbly played by a legendary orchestra which had never previously set eyes on Holst’s masterwork.  Stokowski’s broadcast performance evinces a giant theatricality and abundant zeal that proves hypnotically compelling..." - Gramophone, 2000

This magnificent disc brings three very special recordings, all sourced from previously unheard near-mint acetates in superb condition and bestowing superb sound quality for the era: Stokowski's 1943 NBC SO performance of The Planets was the first American and the first continuous performance of this epochal work to be recorded. As magical as it is, at times, idiosyncratic, it deserves to be heard over and over.

Coupled with it are two shorter works: the only Stokowski performance of Butterworth's idyll A Shropshire Lad and a one-off entirely orchestral version of Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carols, rescored for orchestra only, bringing the release to a festive and magical conclusion.

"What an experience it must have been to be in the audience that evening to hear such an ensemble perform the first work in Wagner’s tetralogy almost to perfection."
- MusicWeb International on Das Rheingold

This week we reach the final instalment of Leinsdorf's 1961/2 Metropolitan Opera Ring cycle, with the performance of Götterdämmerung given on 27 January 1962. With superb performances from, in particular, Birgit Nillson, Hans Hopf and Gottlob Frick, and great sound quality from the live broadcast, it's an essential addition to your Wagner collection.

And with the completion of this Ring the entire cycle is now available to buy at a 5% discount on the individual release prices as a virtual box set.