SCHOENBERG: Moses und Aron

Even though it is one of the important operas of the twentieth century, Arnold Schoenbergís Moses und Aron is, perhaps, more esteemed than performed.

HINDEMITH: Cardillac

Premiered in 1926, Paul Hindemithís opera Cardillac is a three-act work based on E. T. A. Hoffmannís short story Das Fr‰ulein von Scuderi.

WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde

In the 1983 production designed, staged, and directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, this recording of Richard Wagnerís Tristan und Isolde is a solid and well-thought performance that has much to offer.

STRAUSS: Opernszenen | Scenes of Operas.

Recorded between 1938 and 1942, the excerpts from performances of Der Rosenkavalier, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Arabella, and Daphne at the Dresden Staatsoper are all conducted by Karl Bˆhm.

Karajan: The Music, the Legend.

At the centenary of the birth of the conductor Herbert von Karajan various commemorations are occurring, an among them is the concise CD and DVD release by Deutsche Grammophon, with both discs bound into a booklet that includes a short prose tribute to the man illustrated with some well-chosen photographs from various parts of his career.

French Opera highlights on Classics for Pleasure

Consumers might opt for a highlights set instead of a full recording of an opera for many reasons.

THOMSON: The Plow that Broke the Plains

Naxos’s DVD division has already released the performances on this disc of Virgil Thomson’s scores for The Plow that Broke the Plains and The River, as soundtracks for a re-release…

Bruckner: Symphony no. 8 in C minor, WAB 108 (1890 [Second Version])

As difficult as it is to identify a single score as representative of its composer, Symphony no. 8 in C minor by Anton Bruckner is an essential work that may be regarded as the quintessence of his accomplishments in the form.

BELLINI: Norma

This production offers a different view of Norma. As Stage Director Guy Joosten explains in the introduction on the first of a 2-disc set, he wanted to give the audience ìmoreî of what he believes the modern audience expects.

KUMMER: Cello Duets

If Friedrich August Kummer is not a household word in your home, no reason for concern ó he is one of the prolific Kleinmeistern of the post-Beethoven generation, a generation for which the cost of printing had dropped so much that it was financially possible for a composer to produce hundreds of published opuses.