ICA Classics are offering a fantastic bargain: four choral masterpieces under the baton of some of the greatest conductors of the 20th century: William Steinberg, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Igor Markevitch and Gennadi Rozhdestvensky.

Here we have Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, one of the most awe-inspiring and supreme masterworks of the 19th century, conducted with great intensity by William Steinberg returning to Cologne, the city of his birth after his acclaimed years leading the Boston Symphony.

The monumental Berlioz Requiem is a sonic showpiece combining grandeur, emotion and theatre. Here it is directed by a conductor known for all these qualities, Dimitri Mitropoulos, whose electricity on the podium is palpable in every facet of this marvellous performance.

Igor Markevitch returned to Russia to give a blazing performance of Verdi's Requiem, one of the most popular and frequently performed choral works, starring Galina Vishnevskaya amongst others, and here sung with enormous tone and power by the Russian choirs assembled for the occasion.

A rarity, but one of Mahler's early masterpieces, Das klagende Lied, here featuring Dame Janet Baker, is given a wonderfully atmospheric and tautly directed performance by Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, one the highlights of the 1981 Royal Albert Hall Proms.

Contents:
ICAC5054
William Steinberg
BEETHOVEN: Missa solemnis
Heather Harper/Julia Hamari/Sven Olof Eliasson/Peter Meven/Kölner Rundfunkchor
Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester (1973)
‘A grand, noble and exalted Missa solemnis’ - Fanfare

ICAC5075
Dimitri Mitropoulos
BERLIOZ: Requiem
Nicolai Gedda/Kölner Rundfunkchor
Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester (1956)
‘A remarkable performance’ - Gramophone (Reissue of the Month)

ICAC5068
Igor Markevitch
VERDI: Requiem
Galina Vishnevskaya/Nina Isakova/Vladiimir Ivanovsky/Ivan Petrov/State Academy Chorus
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra (1960)
‘One of the great interpretations’ - The Guardian

ROSSINI: Six Overtures
Orchestre National de l'ORTF (1957)

ICAC5080
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
MAHLER: Das klagende Lied
Teresa Cahill/Janet Baker/Robert Tear/Gwynne Howell
BBC Symphony Chorus & Orchestra (1981)
‘A splendid CD’ - Classical Recordings Quarterly

JANÁCEK: The Fiddler's Child
BBC Symphony Orchestra (1979)