This 23-CD box set bears witness to Zubin Mehta’s work in the recording studio for Decca between May 1965 (Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony with the Wiener Philharmoniker) and July 1980 (Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio italien with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra). The bulk of the recordings date from the 1970s, and the period of white-hot inspiration when Mehta achieved and consolidated his international reputation. There are textbook performances here: the orchestral conflicts found in Mahler’s Second Symphony, for example, or the visionary build-up of internal tension in the final movement of the same composer’s Third; the highly individual manner in which Mehta plumbs the depths of Beethoven’s Seventh, and the cycle of Schubert symphonies; the macabre echo of the Trauermarsch in Mahler’s Fifth, and the rational and yet sensuous quality of Mehta’s responsiveness to Strauss.

Contents:

CD1
Beethoven - Symphony no.7
Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra
(Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD2
Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique (New York Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD3
Bruckner - Symphony no.9 (Wiener Philharmoniker)

CD4
Tchaikovsky - Symphonies 1 & 2 (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD5
Tchaikovsky
- Symphony no.3, 1812 Overture (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)
- Capriccio italien (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD6
Tchaikovsky
- Symphony no.4 (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)
- Swan Lake (excerpts) (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra)
- Marche slave (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD7
Tchaikovsky
- Symphony no.5 (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)
- Nutcracker Suite (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD8
Tchaikovsky - Symphony no.6, Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD9
Dvořák - Symphony no.7 (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra)
Liszt - Les Préludes (Wiener Philharmoniker)

CD10
Dvořák - Symphonies 8 & 9 (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD11-12
Mahler - Symphony no.3 (Forrester/Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), Symphony no.1 (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD13
Berlioz - Harold en Italie
(Daniel Benyamini, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD14
Mahler - Symphony no.2 (Wiener Philharmoniker)

CD15
Mahler - Symphony no.4 (Hendricks/Israel Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD16
Mahler - Symphony no.5 (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD17-20
Schubert - Complete Symphonies, Overture Die Zauberharfe, Rosamunde extracts (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra)

CD21-23
R Strauss - Eine Alpensinfonie, Symphonia Domestica, Ein Heldenleben (Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)