Erich Kleiber’s 1954 Decca recording of Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier remains one of the great achievements of the post-war Viennese opera world. With the Vienna Philharmonic and a cast headed by Maria Reining, Sena Jurinac, Hilde Gueden and Ludwig Weber, Kleiber shapes Strauss’s luminous score with elegance, vitality and perfect balance — a reading steeped in Viennese style yet refreshingly unsentimental.

Tragically, Kleiber would die less than two years later in Zürich, bringing to an abrupt close one of the twentieth century’s most distinguished conducting careers. This beautifully restored edition preserves one of his final operatic masterpieces — a radiant Rosenkavalier whose warmth, humanity and grace have never faded with time.

We also celebrate the 190th birthday of Saint-Saëns with a 20% automatic discount on all his recordings at Pristine.

Between 1957 and 1961 Rudolf Serkin joined Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra at Philadelphia’s Broadwood Hotel to record the two piano concertos of both Brahms and Mendelssohn. These sessions captured Serkin at the height of his powers: searching and monumental in Brahms, agile and brilliant in Mendelssohn, with Ormandy and his orchestra providing both symphonic weight and sparkling support.

Now heard in new Pristine XR remasterings, these four classic performances reveal Serkin’s unique blend of intellect, passion, and clarity, alongside the fabled Philadelphia sound in its prime. More than sixty years on, they stand as milestones of the stereo era, freshly vivid and undimmed in vitality.

We also celebrate this week's birthday of pianist Edwin Fischer with a 10% discount of all his recordings at Pristine.

Pristine’s latest release takes us to the Concertgebouw Orchestra of the 1950s under Eduard van Beinum, successor to Willem Mengelberg. Thanks to long-time friend Francisco A. M. Joffily B. Mello, whose tapes have enriched our catalogue before, we present previously unheard broadcast recordings preserved on reel-to-reel and later entrusted to the Concertgebouw’s archives.

The highlight is a superb November 1956 performance of Schumann’s Piano Concerto with the legendary Myra Hess, issued here in excellent sound after nearly 70 years. Alongside it are two Schubert gems—the Overture in E minor, D.648, and Symphony No. 6, the “Little C major”—all revealing van Beinum and the orchestra in peak form.

We also celebrate Shostakovich's birthday with a special 10% discount on his music all this week.