Edition Wilhelm Furtwängler (with the Berlin Philharmonic) on 14 LPs
Mahler cycle with Rafael Kubelik in live recordings
Hideyo Harada plays Schubert
Edition Otto Klemperer - RIAS recordings from Berlin, 1950 - 1958
String Quintets by Eduard Franck – a discovery!
Barry McDaniel sings Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Duparc, Ravel & Debussy
Works for Clarinet and Piano by Schumann, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Poulenc and Arnold
Géza Anda Edition
First ever attempt at a recording of the complete Bach cantatas
Complete String Quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich in 5.1 surround
Works for Violin and Piano by Igor Stravinsky and Dimitri Shostakovich
Eduard Franck: Orchestral Works
This première recording of three orchestral works and one concert piece by Eduard Franck, written during the 1840s, continues the revival of this unjustly neglected composer.
P. I. Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio, Op. 50
In the history not only of the piano trio but also of Russian chamber music in general, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio Op. 50 forms a monumental milestone in two movements. This masterpiece of 1882 is dedicated to the memory of his friend Nikolai Rubinstein, the founder of the Moscow Conservatory.
Best's Bach
In this SACD William Thomas Best (1826-1897), with his arrangements of selected organ works and the Chaconne for Solo Violin by Bach, makes his appearance as a dramatic director: his stage directions in matters of choice of tempo, articulation, registration, selection of manuals and, where appropriate, the use of the swell pedal, enable the great free-standing organ works to appear as dramatic scenas or ballads, while the smaller-scale works and chorale preludes come across as poetry. Carsten Wiebusch dramatises Bach on the new Klais organ in the Christuskirche, Karlsruhe, in a way that is both poetic and powerful.
The RIAS Bach Cantatas Project
The recordings of the Bach cantatas presented in this boxed set formed part of a project initiated by the conductor Karl Ristenpart at the RIAS Berlin in 1947. Although he was not able to record the complete cantatas as planned, the existing recordings nonetheless document a Bach ideal which was pioneering in its day: small-scale choral and orchestral forces and a selection of soloists who all went on to become renowned Bach singers, the professionalisation of interpretation in the choir, and a fine balance between rhetorical succinctness and expressive performance.
Barry McDaniel sings Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Duparc, Ravel & Debussy
“Whatever I sing, I have to believe in it.” (Barry McDaniel)The American baritone Barry McDaniel was one of the outstanding singers of the post-war era. As a successful opera singer and Lieder interpreter, he enjoyed a long and eventful career, both in Germany and abroad. Despite numerous...
In the past year audite has, once again, successfully managed to realise its concept of offering both archive and new recordings of the highest quality. Outstanding releases included the first two volumes of our Grieg series with the WDR Sinfonieorchester under the baton of Eivind Aadland, the five...
Works for Clarinet and Piano by Schumann, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Poulenc and Arnold
This recording of works by German, French and British composers, spanning two centuries, demonstrates the manifold abilities of the clarinet and piano as a recital duo. This is the first in a series of recordings that present repertoire for this esteemed instrumental partnership.
Eduard Franck: String Quintets
The audite series of chamber music for string instruments by Eduard Franck continues with his two String Quintets Op. 15 and Op. 51 which, once again, demonstrate his originality and noblesse as a composer.
Works for Violin and Piano by Igor Stravinsky and Dimitri Shostakovich
Judith Ingolfsson and Vladimir Stoupel embark upon a challenging programme: two masterworks of twentieth century chamber music by Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich whose characteristics could not be more disparate.
Edition Wilhelm Furtwängler – RIAS recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic on 14 LPs
With the great demand for the LP version of our internationally successful Furtwängler 12-CD boxed set, audite now presents a selection of recordings in LP format for audiophile vinyl enthusiasts. Containing compositions by Beethoven, Bruckner, Schubert, Brahms and Wagner, the LP boxed set (comprising 14 LPs on 180g vinyl) presents the principal works of the CD boxed set.
Edition Otto Klemperer
This CD boxed set, containing both live and studio recordings, documents the artistic cooperation between Otto Klemperer and the RIAS-Symphony-Orchestra (later known as the Radio-Symphony-Orchestra Berlin) from 1950 until 1958. These recordings illuminate Klemperer’s late performing style, his repertoire and his interpretational ideals. He explored the repertoire of the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries by creating three-dimensional sound, concise rhythms, clearly contoured forms and precise characterisations. Based on the two principal modernist styles in which he specialised, his artistic credo could be termed “objective expressionism”. For this edition, the original tapes from the RIAS archives were made available for the first time, ensuring the best possible technical quality.
Christian Ferras plays Beethoven and Berg Violin Concertos
Christian Ferras was one of the prominent representatives of the Franco-Belgian violin school. This studio recording was made in 1951 on the occasion of his sensational début with the Berlin Philharmonic under Karl Böhm with Beethoven’s violin concerto. Ferras was also a leading interpreter of Alban Berg’s violin concerto, as is impressively demonstrated by this emotionally charged live recording with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin.
Bach and the South German Tradition Vol. II
The South German Organ Tradition was a considerable influence on Bach’s œuvre. This recording portrays representative works of the South German composers Johann Jakob Froberger, Johann Caspar Kerll, Georg Muffat and Johann Pachelbel alongside compositions of Bach, thus outlining these interrelations.
In addition, this SACD realises the historical performance practice of the Magnificat: works by Pachelbel and Bach are newly combined in a traditional performance of the Magnificat including sung and played verses, forming one musical unity.
Franz Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy & Piano Sonata No. 21
Two principal works of Schubert’s piano music, two solutions for the great form. They appear as contrary poles: energetic, resolute and boastful in the case of the Wanderer Fantasy whereas the final piano sonata is restrained, elusive and at times faltering. The common elements are in the slow movements. No other Romantic addressed so radically what is brought into focus here: the notion of time. In the Wanderer Fantasy it is reflected as rhythm, as “measured time”. The sonata questions the course of time itself, the elementary medium of life in music. In her interpretation, Hideyo Harada elucidates the contrasts as well as the common undercurrent which forms a link between the works.
F. Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 & F. Schubert: Symphony ‘The Great’ in C major, D. 944
Leo Blech was considered one of the greatest conductors of his time before he was forced in 1937 by the Nazis to emigrate, due to his Jewish faith. His artistic partnership with Julian von Károlyi, one of the leading pianists of his generation, is documented on this CD in a live recording from 1950. Both artists, outstanding interpreters of the twentieth century, are unjustly neglected today.
A. Bruckner: Symphony No. 3
Anton Bruckner’s Third Symphony - the first fully valid example of his extraordinary symphonic idea: a combination of resplendent sounds and church service, as well as demonic romanticism and the comforting belief in heaven.
E. Grieg: Complete Symphonic Works Vol. II
Edvard Grieg integrated his native dance rhythms as well as the Norwegian language into his music to such an extent that it became a symbol of longing for political independence from Sweden – notably in his songs, the most popular of which have been recorded here by the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln in Grieg’s own arrangement for string orchestra. These are complemented by Grieg’s suite in the “old style”, From Holberg’s Time, a homage to the great poet of the baroque, Ludvig Holberg.
French Music for Horn and Piano
This selection of French music for horn and piano from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries reveals the increasing variety in sound which the horn was able to produce thanks to the invention of valves.
E. Grieg: Complete Symphonic Works Vol. I
Edvard Grieg was the voice of Norway in the nineteenth century, ringing out across the whole of Europe. His Symphonic Dances Op. 64 use authentic melodies and rhythms from the Norwegian mountains, whilst Grieg’s incidental music for Henrik Ibsen’s drama Peer Gynt is characterised by more diverse writing. From the world-famous string line in Morning Mood to the wild chase in the Hall of the Mountain King, Grieg demonstrates every facet of his orchestral skills.
R. Schumann: Piano Trios Nos 1 & 2 (Op. 63 & 80)
Composed in 1847, Robert Schumann’s Piano Trios Op. 63 and Op. 80 are consummate examples of the genre. The Swiss Piano Trio proves that these are unjustly neglected masterpieces of nineteenth century chamber music.
Edition Sergiu Celibidache | The complete RIAS recordings
Sergiu Celibidache (1912-1996) directed the Berlin Philharmonic for seven years after the war as vicegerent for Furtwängler who had been banned from conducting. This period is documented by live and studio recordings of the RIAS Berlin. For this edition the original tapes from the RIAS archives...
Stylus Phantasticus
This re-release presents toccatas written in the “stylus phantasticus” alongside variations on songs. These works by Bruhns, Buxtehude, Bach, Böhm and Sweelinck, covering one and a half centuries, offer a fascinating insight into the North German baroque organ tradition.
The carefully chosen...
D. Shostakovich: The Complete String Quartets
Following the successful release of the complete Shostakovich String Quartets in single volumes, audite now presents the boxed set of all five discs in CD-format.
Igor Stravinsky: Perséphone
Fritz Wunderlich sings Stravinsky – a rare combination! Not only is the combination of singer and work an unusual one, but the work itself also is – and has always been – a rarely performed part of Stravinsky’s œuvre.The part of Eumolpius – Greek for “he who sings beautifully” – in...
Ferenc Fricsay conducts Béla Bartok – The early RIAS recordings
This anthology of Ferenc Fricsay’s splendid Bartók recordings for the RIAS Berlin documents a summit meeting of famous Hungarian soloists: the pianists Géza Anda, Andor Foldes, Louis Kentner and the violinist Tibor Varga. Fricsay’s time-tested and congenial vocal soloist, once again, is Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Piano Trios
Mendelssohn’s Piano Trios of 1839 and 1845 are, along with the piano trios of Beethoven and Schubert, pinnacles of the genre in the nineteenth century.
audite catalogue 2011 & CD - G. Mahler: Symphony No. 9
“Blowing one’s own trumpet”
Looking at the choice of artists and marketing strategies of some former major labels, one could be under the impression that promotion has become more important than the real music business: art.
But if blowing your own trumpet also means drawing attention to...
Erica Morini plays Tchaikovsky, Tartini, Vivaldi, Kreisler, Brahms and Wieniawski
Erica Morini was one of the great violinists of the twentieth century. One of her bravura pieces was the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto which can be heard here as an exciting live recording made in 1952 with the RIAS Symphony Orchestra Berlin and Ferenc Fricsay. Morini was a versatile musician, mastering both virtuoso pieces and baroque sonatas, as can be heard on the extraordinary RIAS recordings with Michael Raucheisen.
L. Janáček: Complete String Quartets
The string quartets by Leoš Janáček are documents of his creative independence and his love. Originally, Janáček composed the viola part of the second string quartet for viola d’amore. For practical reasons, however, he had to adapt the work for conventional viola. For this recording, Gunter Teuffel and the Mandelring Quartet have reconstructed the original version, offering the second string quartet in both versions, for viola and viola d’amore.
Edition Hans Knappertsbusch & Berliner Philharmoniker – The complete RIAS recordings
The complete RIAS recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Hans Knappertsbusch between 1950 and 1952 represent a living document of musical history. For the first time, the original recording tapes from the RIAS archives have been made available, which means that these CDs offer the highest possible technical quality. They include a variety of symphonic works and “light music”, two core themes in Hans Knappertsbusch‘s repertoire.
Solomon plays Beethoven, Schumann, Bach, Chopin & Brahms
The 1956 RIAS recordings of Solomon, made shortly before the tragic end of his career, are benchmark interpretations even today thanks to their sonorous lucidity and structural transparency.
Trombone & Organ
Trombone and organ through the centuries: 400 years of stylistic variety from baroque to modern times.
Kirsten Flagstad sings Wagner & Strauss
Even in the twilight of her illustrious career, which lasted over three decades, Kirsten Flagstad was still in command of her incomparably rich voice.
L. v. Beethoven: Piano Sonatas | Wilhelm Backhaus
This live recording of a concert given by Backhaus during the last year of his life in Berlin features four great Beethoven piano sonatas and demonstrates the merits of his clear and – in the most positive sense of the word – classicist interpretational approach.
R. Schumann: Piano Quartet & Piano Quintet
Robert Schumann composed, almost in a frenzy, his two works for strings and piano during the “chamber music year” of 1842. The quintet Op. 44 and the quartet Op. 47, high lights of nineteenth century chamber music, are works of exuberant energy and romantic internalisation. The piano part which Schumann intended for his newly wedded wife, Clara, is played by Claire-Marie Le Guay on this recording with the Mandelring Quartett.
Piano Works by R. Schumann & F. Schubert
Two months before his death in 1828, Franz Schubert wrote three final piano sonatas which form the high point of his piano oeuvre. Above all, the A major Sonata, D 959 is characteristic of Schubert’s highly individual handling of sonata form. Figured themes, episodic extensions, but also rhythmic...
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Beethoven and Mahler and Schumann duos with Julia Varady
As part of this [four-part] edition of previously unreleased radio recordings from across Fischer-Dieskau’s entire career, these interpretations of Beethoven, Mahler and Schumann demonstrate his unrivalled synthesis of intelligence and expression.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Reger, Sutermeister and Hindemith | Aribert Reiman (piano), Ulrich Bremsteller (organ)
As part of this [four-part] edition of previously unreleased radio recordings from across Fischer-Dieskau’s entire career, these interpretations of songs with piano accompaniment by Hindemith, and sacred songs with organ accompaniment by Reger and Sutermeister provide valuable insights into the range of his repertoire.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Gustav Mahler | Daniel Barenboim, piano
As part of this [four-part] edition of previously unreleased radio recordings from across Fischer-Dieskau’s entire career, this concert recording made in Berlin in 1971 of songs by Mahler displays the singer’s sensitivity and precision in his congenial artistic partnership with Daniel Barenboim.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Brahms | Tomás Vásáry, piano
As part of this [four-part] edition of previously unreleased radio recordings from across Fischer-Dieskau’s entire career, this concert recording – made in Berlin in 1972 with Tamás Vásáry as his partner at the piano – demonstrates the significance attributed to Brahms’ songs within Fischer-Dieskau’s musical cosmos.
On May15 this year’s International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) were awarded in Nantes/ France. The audite edition “Ferenc Fricsay conducts Béla Bartók – The Complete RIAS Recordings” (aud. 21.407) won the award in the category historic recordings. The winners were introduced and honoured with a festive award ceremony and a top-class gala concert.mehr…
Shortly before his 87th birthday the legendary singer, music teacher and author died. His impact and commitment for the art song in the 20th century is outstanding.mehr…
The CD "Works for Clarinet and Piano by Schumann, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Poulenc and Arnold" with Arthur Campbell and Helen Marlais is awarded Star of the month by the German magazine Fono Forum.
On Thursday March 8 „The RIAS Bach Cantatas Project“with Karl Ristenpart is presented in the program TonArt on WDR 3 (Western German Radio). Cellist Arabella Ristenpart, Ristenpart’s granddaughter, is the special guest of the program.
Die Edition “Ferenc Fricsay conducts Béla Bartók - The Complete RIAS Recordings”wird mit dem International Classical Music Award (ICMA) 2012 in der Kategorie Historische Aufnahmen ausgezeichnet. Die 3 CD-Box enthält bislang zum größten Teil unveröffentlichte RIAS-Aufnahmen der Jahre 1950 bis 1953 aus den Archiven des Deutschlandradio.
Also in the first quarter of 2012 audite won a German Critics’ Award (“Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik”). This time the jury awarded the price to our Klemperer Edition.
Three audite productions were included in the critics’ hotlist 2011 of the nmz (“neue musikzeitung”) among them Kirsten Flagstad (category opera), Fricsay conducts Bartók and Celibidache (category orchestral music). The Editon Celibidache was also honoured as the best complete edition. In addition audite received an award for the best repertoire policy.
On March 9th audite releases a 9 CD boxed set with recordings of Karl Ristenpart from the RIAS archives. The edition includes 29 Bach cantatas, recorded between 1949 and 1952, as premier releases.