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A few months ago, Lorin Maazel scarcely had time to breathe between his various musical commitments in London and Paris. Over here, recording sessions for both CBS (Puccini's Le Villi) and DG (Verdi's Luisa Miller) were squeezed in between his Mahler cycle at the Royal Festival Hall in London...

With the sad news of the death of veteran conductor Arthur Fiedler I hope that the record companies will give consideration to issuing some commemorative records. Nearly 50 years with one orchestra is surely a unique achievement in the history of recording— possibly even in music. As the Boston...

With reference to Mr McClarence's letter (August, page 288), I am able to confirm that the Brahms Fourth Symphony was played at the Queen's Hall on June 5th, 1935. The same concert included a performance of Wagner's Faust Overture, and both works were recorded and later issued privately to...

In the anticipation aroused by the news of a forthcoming release of Karajan's recording of Pelléas et Mélisande with no less a singer than Frederica von Stade it would be a tragedy if lovers of Debussy failed to notice the unobtrusive arrival of a splendid new imported set from...

I would like to hear from readers who are interested in forming a club specializing in recording the neglected, lesser known and, in some cases, unknown classical music repertoire. Operating expenses would be covered by members' subscriptions prior to recording.

Although the record companies seem determined to present the public with alternative versions of even the thinnest of Mozart's early works, there remains an important category of his work which as yet is not properly represented in the catalogue: the concert arias. This is an ill-defined area...

The impact and fundamental importance of recordings in making accessible the vast musical repertoire we enjoy today, is undeniable. So the whole question of how and why certain composers' works, and traditions, are considered mainstream, and others, of little or no consequence, is of great...