A remarkable 30-CD collection brings together 30 world-class conductors representing the cream of the crop - including Herbert von Karajan, Arturo Toscanini, Otto Klemperer, Pierre Monteux, Eugene Ormandy, Bruno Walter, Sir Thomas Beecham, Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Stokowski, Sir Georg Solti and George Szell.

In classical music, the 20th century was the era of the conductor. Before then, enthusiastically received soloists dominated the scene. After World War II stage directors began to command attention too, at least in the world of opera. Still, charismatic conductors stood at the helm of orchestras, which they themselves had moulded into ensembles of international renown. Furtwängler in Berlin, Ormandy in Philadelphia, Reiner in Chicago, Mitropoulos in New York, Mravinsky in Leningrad, Münch in Boston, Ansermet in Geneva, Barbirolli in Manchester, and Toscanini with his NBC Symphony Orchestra are a few of the famous partnerships in this very Special Edition.

The Vienna Philharmonic can be heard under Clemens Krauss, Rafael Kubelik, Erich Kleiber, Erich Leinsdorf, Lorin Maazel, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Wilhelm Furtwängler, and the latter is also one of three conductors - the others are Karl Böhm and Rudolf Kempe - in charge of the Berlin Philharmonic.

The diverse repertoire also paints a vivid picture of the concert life in Europe and the US during this period - covering mostly the 1950s and 60s - that has never been available in such a collection before.

Contents:
CD 1: ERNEST ANSERMET (1883–1969)
Bizet: Carmen (orchestral excerpts)
Delibes: Coppélia (excerpts)
Dukas: La Péri
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (excerpts)
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps (Part One)
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Ansermet (1957-60)

CD 2: SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI (1899–1970)
Elgar: Symphony No.1 in A major / Elegy, Op.58 / Enigma Variations (excerpts)
Hallé Orchestra / Barbirolli (1956)

CD 3: SIR THOMAS BEECHAM (1879–1961)
Haydn: Symphony No.100 in G major ‘Military’ / Symphony No.101 in D major ‘The Clock’ / Symphony No.103 in E flat major ‘Drum-roll’
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Beecham (1958-59)

CD 4: LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918–1990)
Dvořák: Symphony No.9 in E minor ‘From the New World’ [New York Stadium Symphony Orchestra / Bernstein (1953)]
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue [Leonard Bernstein (piano), Columbia Symphony Orchestra / Bernstein (1959)]
Bernstein: On The Town, ballet music [‘On the Town’ Orchestra / Bernstein (1947)]

CD 5: KARL BÖHM (1894–1981)
Mozart: Symphony No.35 in D major ‘Haffner’ / Symphony No.38 in D major ‘Prague’ / Symphony No.41 in C major ‘Jupiter’
Berliner Philharmoniker / Böhm (1960, 1962)

CD 6: ANDRÉ CLUYTENS (1905–1967)
Bizet: L’Arlesienne, Suites I & II [Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française / Cluytens (1953)]
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 in C minor ‘Organ Symphony’ [Henriette Roget (organ), Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Paris / Cluytens (1955)]

CD 7: ANTAL DORATI (1906–1988)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espaňol / Russian Easter Festival Overture [London Symphony Orchestra / Dorati (1959)]
Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien [Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra / Dorati]
Overture ‘1812’ [Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Brass Band of the University of Minnesota, Bells and cannons / Dorati (1954)]

CD 8: FERENC FRICSAY (1914–1963)
Ravel: Bolero
Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture
Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Prokofiev: ‘Classical’ Symphony
Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia
Mussorgsky: A Night on the Bare Mountain
RIAS Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestre Lamoureux / Fricsay (1959, 1956, 1953)

CD 9: WILHELM FURTWÄNGLER (1886–1954)
Schubert: Symphony No.8 in B minor ‘Unfinished’ [Berliner Philharmoniker / Furtwängler (1952)]
Beethoven: Symphony No.6 in F major ‘Pastoral’ [Wiener Philharmoniker / Furtwängler (1952)]

CD 10: HERBERT VON KARAJAN (1908–1989)
Beethoven: Symphony No.3 in E major ‘Eroica’ / Egmont Overture / Leonore Overture No.3
Philharmonia Orchestra / Karajan (1953)

CD 11: RUDOLF KEMPE (1910-1976)
Brahms: Symphony No.1 in C minor [Münchner Philharmoniker / Kempe (1975)]
Wagner: Lohengrin - Prelude Act I [Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper, München / Kempe (1951)]
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Preludes Acts I & III [Berliner Philharmoniker / Kempe (1956)]

CD 12: ERICH KLEIBER (1890-1956)
Beethoven: Symphony No.9 in D minor ‘Choral’
Hilde Güden (soprano), Sieglinde Wagner (contralto), Anton Dermota (tenor), Ludwig Weber (bass)
Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Wien, Wiener Philharmoniker / Kleiber (1956)

CD 13: OTTO KLEMPERER (1885-1973)
Bruckner: Symphony No.4 in E flat major ‘Romantic’ (version: 1878/ 80, rev. 1886)
Hindemith: Nobilissima Visione, Orchestral Suite
Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester / Klemperer (1954, live)

CD 14: CLEMENS KRAUSS (1893-1954)
Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra / Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks / Don Juan
Johann Strauss II: The Blue Danube Waltz
Wiener Philharmoniker / Krauss (1954, 1950)

CD 15: RAFAEL KUBELIK (1914-1996)
Smetana: Má Vlast
Wiener Philharmoniker / Kubelik (1960)

CD 16: ERICH LEINSDORF (1912-1993)
Wagner: Die Walküre - Prelude Act II
London Symphony Orchestra / Leinsdorf (1961)

Wagner: Die Walküre - Ride of the Valkyries and Magic Fire Music (concert version) /
Wagner: Lohengrin - Prelude Act III
Wagner: Tannhäuser Overture
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Dance of the Apprentices and Procession of the Masters
Wagner: Götterdämmerung - Siegfried’s funeral music
Concert Arts Symphony Orchestra / Leinsdorf (1958)

Mozart: Don Giovanni Overture
Wiener Philharmoniker / Leinsdorf (1961)]

Ponchielli: La Gioconda - Dance of the Hours
Concert Arts Symphony Orchestra / Leinsdorf (1958)

CD 17: LORIN MAAZEL (1930-2014)
Falla: Dances from ‘The Three-Cornered Hat’ [Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Maazel (1958)]
Khachaturian: Gayaneh (excerpts) / Spartacus (excerpts) [Wiener Philharmoniker / Maazel (1962)]
Stravinsky: The Firebird (excerpts) [Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Maazel (1958)]

CD 18: IGOR MARKEVITCH (1912-1983)
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Bizet: Carmen, Suite No.2
Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, Paris / Markevitch (1961)

CD 19: DIMITRI MITROPOULOS (1891-1960)
Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé, Symphonic Suite
Shostakovich: Symphony No.5 in D minor
New York Philharmonic / Mitropoulos (1956, 1952)

CD 20: PIERRE MONTEUX (1875-1964)
Stravinsky: Petrouchka (complete original 1911 version)
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Monteux (1960)

Debussy: Prélude à l’àpres-midi d’un faune
Ravel: Rhapsodie Espagnole / Pavane pour une infante défunte
London Symphony Orchestra / Monteux (1961)

CD 21: EVGENY MRAVINSKY (1903-1988)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 in B minor ‘Pathétique’
Glazunov: Symphony No.4 in E flat major
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra / Mravinsky (1956, 1948)

CD 22: CHARLES MÜNCH (1891-1968)
Ravel: La Valse
Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings in C major
Barber: Adagio for strings / Medea’s Meditation & Dance of Vengeance
Elgar: Introduction & Allegro for strings
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Münch (1957)

CD 23: EUGENE ORMANDY (1899-1985)
Respighi: Pines of Rome / Fountains of Rome / Feste Romane / Rossini: La Boutique Fantasque
Philadelphia Orchestra / Ormandy (1960/61, 1958, 1957)

CD 24: FRITZ REINER (1888-1963)
Strauss: ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ Waltzes (arranged by Fritz Reiner) (1958)
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Symphonic Poem (1954)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Reiner

CD 25: WOLFGANG SAWALLISCH (1923-2013)
Wagner: The Flying Dutchman Overture / Rienzi Overture / Tannhäuser - Venusberg Music / Siegfried Idyll [Wiener Symphoniker / Sawallisch (1961)]
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Preludes to Acts I & III [Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele / Sawallisch (1957, live)]

CD 26: SIR GEORG SOLTI (1912-1997)
Mendelssohn: Symphony No.3 in A minor ‘Scottish’ [London Symphony Orchestra / Solti (1952)]
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A major ‘Italian’ [Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Solti (1958)]

CD 27: LEOPOLD STOKOWSKI (1882-1977)
Holst: The Planets [Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra / Stokowski (1956)]
Enesco: Romanian Rhapsody No.1 [RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra / Stokowski (1960)]
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 [RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra / Stokowski (1960)]

CD 28: GEORGE SZELL (1897-1970)
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (excerpts)
Schubert: Rosamunde (excerpts)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam / Szell (1957)

CD 29: ARTURO TOSCANINI (1867-1957)
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel)
Sibelius: En Saga
Tchaikovsky: Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker
Weber: Invitation to the Dance
Brahms: Hungarian Dances Nos 1, 17, 20, 21
NBC Symphony Orchestra / Toscanini (1951, 1952, 1953)

CD 30: BRUNO WALTER (1876-1962)
Mahler: Symphony No.1 in D major ‘Titan’ [Bayerisches Staatsorchester / Walter (1950, live)]
Mozart: Symphony No.40 in G minor [Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam / Walter (1952, live)]