A view abstracts from Andrew McGregor talking about the performance of Dvořáks Symphony No. 8:

- orchestra with its own signature sound
- they sound as though they really love playing for him [George Szell]
- it’s a vivid and warm recording, loads of detail, a welcoming recording

Ivan Hewett added:

- it’s that wonderful combination of the extraordinarily characterful playing and the sound of the orchestra itself
- that famous Szell clarity is there as well
- an extraordinarily vivid sense of place and occasion

Anyone who attended the concerts of Sergiu Celibidache from the 1970s through to the late 1990s, with their uncommonly spacious tempi, long-breathed phrases and transparent textures, may well be surprised by the fiery, even elemental mood of certain of his Berlin recordings from the mid-1940s and 1950s. Audite has already released 'The Complete RIAS Recordings' (9/11) and now offer a generous and often revealing 13-disc follow-up, 'The Berlin Recordings 1945-1957'. Some of this material has already surfaced from other sources, though for the most part in less good sound (Audite had access to the original radio tapes).

The orchestras featured are the BPO, the Berlin Radio SO and the DSO Berlin, and the range of repertoire takes us from beefy, 'Philharmonic' style Baroque (Purcell and Vivaldi) to such interesting 20th-century rarities as Günter Raphael's Fourth Symphony, Chavez's First, Rudi Stephan's Music for Orchestra and the imposing Vorspiel zu einem Revolutionsdrama by Celibidache's composition teacher Heinz Tiessen. Copland's Appalachian Spring enjoys marginally more repose than its RIAS predecessor (the two performances are merely two days apart), both of them bright and bushy-tailed, if a little stubbly at times. Works by Milhaud (Suite francaise and excerpts from his Suite symphonique No 2) are convincingly played, as are Barber's Capricorn Concerto, Walter Piston's Second Symphony and Shostakovich's Ninth (though the opening notes are snipped). Celibidache brings a relaxed sense of wit to Stravinsky's Jeux de cartes whereas in Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel, wit and drama combine to generate dazzling levels of energy and excitement.

Of the various works with soloists or singers, Margarete Klose is in truly wonderful voice for five orchestrated Wolf songs and a German-language version of Saint-Saens's 'Softly awakes my heart'. The perennially girlish Erna Berger remains securely skybound in Gliere's Concerto for coloratura soprano. Although undoubtedly historically important, pianist Raoul Koczalski neutralises the colour potential in Chopin's Second Concerto. The wonderful Hungarian-born cellist Tibor de Machula had been Furtwängler's desk-leader with the BPO for the duration of the war and although his 1945 account of Dvorak's Concerto offers plenty of expressive ardour, there are roughshod moments that for some may prove difficult to tolerate on repetition.

Celibidache's August 1945 account of Mendelssohn's Fair Melusine Overture must have been among the first signs of the composer's German rehabilitation after his banishment by the Nazis, though the performance is conspicuously lacking in finesse. An Italian Symphony from eight years later is both more secure and more affectionately played, and there are sparkling performances of Bizet's Symphony in C and two Berlioz overtures. Tchaikovsky is represented by a hot-blooded Romeo and Juliet and an erratic Little Russian Symphony, while the 1945 performance of Rimsky's Russian Easter Festival Overture is best forgotten. Just compare it with Celibidache's blistering Brahms's Fourth, another 1945 production, where the BPO play virtually as passionately as they did for Furtwängler, and where the second movement stretches to a very leisurely 13 minutes. Then there's Celibidache's Debussy: 'Fetes' with a funereal central procession, a volatile La mer and an account of the endlessly fascinating 'poeme danse' Jeux that trades subtlety for impulsiveness.

I was surprised that Celibidache in 1946 approached Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Second Suite with the same aching solemnity that distinguished his live 1970s LSO reading, while the Classical Symphony is graced by memorably deft outer movements. Also included are works by Roussel, Busoni, David Diamond, Britten and Haydn, and an incomplete Beethoven Seventh, where this maverick genius of the baton shouts his way through roughly two thirds of the score and where the (complete) first movement is uncommonly broad. There's hardly a dull moment, and while sticklers for literal interpretation will likely turn up their noses, those who relish individual interpretation will have a ball. Aside from one or two tape glitches, the sound is good for its age and the annotation both comprehensive and interesting.

[...] the touch is always light, and Holliger's ear for texture acute. Schumann's freewheeling genius may not always have been attuned to symphonic thinking, but what he brought to the form was always fresh and distinctive.

Diese echten Aufnahmeraritäten, die in der noch völlig zerstörten Stadt unter widrigsten Umständen entstanden (nur einige wurden bisher veröffentlicht), sind nun von Originalbändern digitalisiert worden und bieten ein erstaunlich transparentes Klangbild. Sie offenbaren eine ungeheuer sichere, selbstbewusste Handschrift und höchst differenzierte Werksicht des Dirigenten.

An der Spitze der dafür berufenen Tschechischen Philharmonie trifft der gebürtige Ungar [...] das heimatliche Kolorit der Musik kongenial. [...] Das spontane lebendige Live-Gefühl lässt den Mitschnitt zur interessanten Alternative seiner Studioeinspielung mit dem Cleveland Orchester werden.

Now 40 years old, the Audite label, based in Detmold in Germany, has built up a remarkable catalogue of classical recordings. Audiophile connoisseurs can find many new recordings of the highest standards on Audite SACDs, as well as a steadily growing number of carefully remastered historical recordings, especially from German broadcasting archives – the former RIAS for example. It is important to stress that Audite has access to original tapes, and so the sound quality on its editions is better than on unlicensed versions of the same performances from second-generation sources available elsewhere.

On 23 June the label celebrated its birthday in Berlin. This was a convenient opportunity to introduce a new series of historical recordings from the Luzern Festival, which was founded in 1938. In cooperation with Audite the Swiss Festival authorities are now releasing outstanding concert recordings of great artists who have shaped its history and tradition. Most of the recordings are previously unreleased, and come from the archive of Swiss Radio and Television (SRF), which has regularly broadcast events from the Luzern Festival. The first three CDs are newly available, and they are real highlights. Clara Haskil is the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, KV 466, with Otto Klemperer conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra (1959). This wise, reflective reading is coupled with Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, with Robert Casadesus and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra und Dimitri Mitropoulos, from 1957 (CD 95.623).

The second CD is dedicated to Isaac Stern. Live recordings with Stern are true rarities. At Luzern Festivals in 1956 and 1958 he played the Second Violin Concerto of Béla Bartók (1956) and the Tchaikovsky Concerto (1958). These are fiery and full-blooded interpretations. The Swiss Festival Orchestra is conducted respectively by Ernest Ansemet and Lorin Maazel, whose Festival debut this was (CD 95.624).

The third release is released in homage to George Szell, who conducts the Swiss Festival Orchestra in Brahms’s First Symphony (1962) and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8, taped in 1969. There was always a special kind of chemistry between Czech performers and Dvorák. Every accent is in the right place, and the music comes directly from the heart. Nothing will go wrong here and when a conductor like Szell takes the baton something outstanding is likely to happen (CD 95.625).

A set of seven CDs from Audite is of special interest to chamber music enthusiasts and admirers of the Amadeus Quartet. From the beginning of its career this ensemble regularly came to the RIAS studios at Berlin, and over 20 years recorded a cross-section of its repertoire. Audite is releasing these documents in six volumes. The first is dedicated to Beethoven (CD 21.424). Between 1950 and 1967 the Amadeus Quartet recorded the whole cycle in Berlin, except Op. 74. The set is supplemented by the String Quintet, Op. 29, with viola player Cecil Aronowitz. Listeners have the opportunity here to follow the development and changes in the Amadeus style over a span of two decades. It is important to stress that all the movements were recorded in single unedited takes. It is interesting to have these Beethoven recordings as companions to the studio recordings made for DG by the Quartet between 1959 and 1963. […]

Now 40 years old, the Audite label, based in Detmold in Germany, has built up a remarkable catalogue of classical recordings. Audiophile connoisseurs can find many new recordings of the highest standards on Audite SACDs, as well as a steadily growing number of carefully remastered historical recordings, especially from German broadcasting archives – the former RIAS for example. It is important to stress that Audite has access to original tapes, and so the sound quality on its editions is better than on unlicensed versions of the same performances from second-generation sources available elsewhere.

On 23 June the label celebrated its birthday in Berlin. This was a convenient opportunity to introduce a new series of historical recordings from the Luzern Festival, which was founded in 1938. In cooperation with Audite the Swiss Festival authorities are now releasing outstanding concert recordings of great artists who have shaped its history and tradition. Most of the recordings are previously unreleased, and come from the archive of Swiss Radio and Television (SRF), which has regularly broadcast events from the Luzern Festival. The first three CDs are newly available, and they are real highlights. Clara Haskil is the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, KV 466, with Otto Klemperer conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra (1959). This wise, reflective reading is coupled with Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, with Robert Casadesus and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra und Dimitri Mitropoulos, from 1957 (CD 95.623).

The second CD is dedicated to Isaac Stern. Live recordings with Stern are true rarities. At Luzern Festivals in 1956 and 1958 he played the Second Violin Concerto of Béla Bartók (1956) and the Tchaikovsky Concerto (1958). These are fiery and full-blooded interpretations. The Swiss Festival Orchestra is conducted respectively by Ernest Ansemet and Lorin Maazel, whose Festival debut this was (CD 95.624).

The third release is released in homage to George Szell, who conducts the Swiss Festival Orchestra in Brahms’s First Symphony (1962) and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8, taped in 1969. There was always a special kind of chemistry between Czech performers and Dvorák. Every accent is in the right place, and the music comes directly from the heart. Nothing will go wrong here and when a conductor like Szell takes the baton something outstanding is likely to happen (CD 95.625).

A set of seven CDs from Audite is of special interest to chamber music enthusiasts and admirers of the Amadeus Quartet. From the beginning of its career this ensemble regularly came to the RIAS studios at Berlin, and over 20 years recorded a cross-section of its repertoire. Audite is releasing these documents in six volumes. The first is dedicated to Beethoven (CD 21.424). Between 1950 and 1967 the Amadeus Quartet recorded the whole cycle in Berlin, except Op. 74. The set is supplemented by the String Quintet, Op. 29, with viola player Cecil Aronowitz. Listeners have the opportunity here to follow the development and changes in the Amadeus style over a span of two decades. It is important to stress that all the movements were recorded in single unedited takes. It is interesting to have these Beethoven recordings as companions to the studio recordings made for DG by the Quartet between 1959 and 1963. […]

Now 40 years old, the Audite label, based in Detmold in Germany, has built up a remarkable catalogue of classical recordings. Audiophile connoisseurs can find many new recordings of the highest standards on Audite SACDs, as well as a steadily growing number of carefully remastered historical recordings, especially from German broadcasting archives – the former RIAS for example. It is important to stress that Audite has access to original tapes, and so the sound quality on its editions is better than on unlicensed versions of the same performances from second-generation sources available elsewhere.

On 23 June the label celebrated its birthday in Berlin. This was a convenient opportunity to introduce a new series of historical recordings from the Luzern Festival, which was founded in 1938. In cooperation with Audite the Swiss Festival authorities are now releasing outstanding concert recordings of great artists who have shaped its history and tradition. Most of the recordings are previously unreleased, and come from the archive of Swiss Radio and Television (SRF), which has regularly broadcast events from the Luzern Festival. The first three CDs are newly available, and they are real highlights. Clara Haskil is the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, KV 466, with Otto Klemperer conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra (1959). This wise, reflective reading is coupled with Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, with Robert Casadesus and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra und Dimitri Mitropoulos, from 1957 (CD 95.623).

The second CD is dedicated to Isaac Stern. Live recordings with Stern are true rarities. At Luzern Festivals in 1956 and 1958 he played the Second Violin Concerto of Béla Bartók (1956) and the Tchaikovsky Concerto (1958). These are fiery and full-blooded interpretations. The Swiss Festival Orchestra is conducted respectively by Ernest Ansemet and Lorin Maazel, whose Festival debut this was (CD 95.624).

The third release is released in homage to George Szell, who conducts the Swiss Festival Orchestra in Brahms’s First Symphony (1962) and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8, taped in 1969. There was always a special kind of chemistry between Czech performers and Dvorák. Every accent is in the right place, and the music comes directly from the heart. Nothing will go wrong here and when a conductor like Szell takes the baton something outstanding is likely to happen (CD 95.625).

A set of seven CDs from Audite is of special interest to chamber music enthusiasts and admirers of the Amadeus Quartet. From the beginning of its career this ensemble regularly came to the RIAS studios at Berlin, and over 20 years recorded a cross-section of its repertoire. Audite is releasing these documents in six volumes. The first is dedicated to Beethoven (CD 21.424). Between 1950 and 1967 the Amadeus Quartet recorded the whole cycle in Berlin, except Op. 74. The set is supplemented by the String Quintet, Op. 29, with viola player Cecil Aronowitz. Listeners have the opportunity here to follow the development and changes in the Amadeus style over a span of two decades. It is important to stress that all the movements were recorded in single unedited takes. It is interesting to have these Beethoven recordings as companions to the studio recordings made for DG by the Quartet between 1959 and 1963. […]

Now 40 years old, the Audite label, based in Detmold in Germany, has built up a remarkable catalogue of classical recordings. Audiophile connoisseurs can find many new recordings of the highest standards on Audite SACDs, as well as a steadily growing number of carefully remastered historical recordings, especially from German broadcasting archives – the former RIAS for example. It is important to stress that Audite has access to original tapes, and so the sound quality on its editions is better than on unlicensed versions of the same performances from second-generation sources available elsewhere.

On 23 June the label celebrated its birthday in Berlin. This was a convenient opportunity to introduce a new series of historical recordings from the Luzern Festival, which was founded in 1938. In cooperation with Audite the Swiss Festival authorities are now releasing outstanding concert recordings of great artists who have shaped its history and tradition. Most of the recordings are previously unreleased, and come from the archive of Swiss Radio and Television (SRF), which has regularly broadcast events from the Luzern Festival. The first three CDs are newly available, and they are real highlights. Clara Haskil is the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, KV 466, with Otto Klemperer conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra (1959). This wise, reflective reading is coupled with Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, with Robert Casadesus and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra und Dimitri Mitropoulos, from 1957 (CD 95.623).

The second CD is dedicated to Isaac Stern. Live recordings with Stern are true rarities. At Luzern Festivals in 1956 and 1958 he played the Second Violin Concerto of Béla Bartók (1956) and the Tchaikovsky Concerto (1958). These are fiery and full-blooded interpretations. The Swiss Festival Orchestra is conducted respectively by Ernest Ansemet and Lorin Maazel, whose Festival debut this was (CD 95.624).

The third release is released in homage to George Szell, who conducts the Swiss Festival Orchestra in Brahms’s First Symphony (1962) and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8, taped in 1969. There was always a special kind of chemistry between Czech performers and Dvorák. Every accent is in the right place, and the music comes directly from the heart. Nothing will go wrong here and when a conductor like Szell takes the baton something outstanding is likely to happen (CD 95.625).

A set of seven CDs from Audite is of special interest to chamber music enthusiasts and admirers of the Amadeus Quartet. From the beginning of its career this ensemble regularly came to the RIAS studios at Berlin, and over 20 years recorded a cross-section of its repertoire. Audite is releasing these documents in six volumes. The first is dedicated to Beethoven (CD 21.424). Between 1950 and 1967 the Amadeus Quartet recorded the whole cycle in Berlin, except Op. 74. The set is supplemented by the String Quintet, Op. 29, with viola player Cecil Aronowitz. Listeners have the opportunity here to follow the development and changes in the Amadeus style over a span of two decades. It is important to stress that all the movements were recorded in single unedited takes. It is interesting to have these Beethoven recordings as companions to the studio recordings made for DG by the Quartet between 1959 and 1963. […]

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