Max Reger’s art was one of perpetual creative celebration and his orchestral output defies any easy categorization. Reger was a remarkable musical innovator yet a traditionalist at heart. Like his beloved Bach, he had one foot in the past, and one securely in the future: Schoenberg was an active champion. Reproached for the density of his instrumentation and ambiguously thick textures, Reger’s work could also be extraordinarily subtle: he was a master of silences and impressionistic suggestion.

The present anthology of recordings provides a unique record of Max Reger’s varied, idiosyncratic and complex orchestral output. Released in the wake of the centenary of the composer’s death, it is a long overdue survey of his oeuvre, and is the most comprehensive edition of his orchestral works. Produced with the support of the Max Reger Institute and featuring definitive interpretations by Horst Stein and the Bamberger Symphoniker, it includes recordings made in co-operation with Bayerischer Rundfunk, Norddeutscher Rundfunk and Deutschland Radio (formerly RIAS).

The most comprehensive edition of Reger’s orchestral works – an expanded reissue of the critically acclaimed and much sought-after Reger Edition on the Koch-Schwann label.

Includes many definitive Reger interpretations by the legendary conductor Horst Stein and his Bamberger Symphoniker – an orchestra with a special relationship to Reger’s oeuvre and located close to Reger’s hometown.

First CD release of Gesang der Verklärten, op.71

Booklet includes an essay by the renowned Reger authority Prof. Dr. Susanne Popp, co-director of the Max Reger Institute, Karlsruhefull; and a chronological list of works.

“Take two parts Brahms, one each of Bach and Wagner, then add a pinch of Bruckner, and you have the essence of Max Reger, twentieth-century music's weightiest enigma.” – Gramophone

“Max Reger was the last giant in music.” – Paul Hindemith

“I consider him a genius.” – Arnold Schoenberg