What would today’s radio and CD producers give to be in a similar situation to that of Karl O Koch in the early 1950s! The long-time director of the WDR Music Division found himself in the unique position of recording large parts of the standard repertoire with first class artists. This, of course, was at a time when prominent musicians were still affordable and when only one or two versions of even the most popular works existed on gramophone discs.

In May 1951, when he recorded Mozart’s “Figaro” in the WDR’s new audience studio, only the 1935 Glyndebourne recording under Fritz Busch was on the market (the Karajan recording produced by Walter Legge with the Vienna Mozart ensemble in October 1950 was still on hold at that time).