Live Recordings - 15 CD

This 15-CD classical music collection presents previously unreleased live recordings by Karel Ančerl from the Czech Radio archives, most of them issued here for the first time. The repertoire includes works by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Mussorgsky, Smetana, Dvořák, Foerster, Novák, Suk, Debussy, Ravel, Strauss, Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Piston, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Hindemith, Lutosławski, Martinů, Schulhoff, Kabeláč, Krejčí, Ježek, Novák, Pauer, Feld and Klusák. Featured soloists include Josef Suk, Josef Chuchro, Jan Panenka, Alexandr Plocek, Géza Novák, Karel Patras, Ladislav Mráz and Suzanne Danco, along with the Smetana Quartet and other performers. The recordings feature the Czech Philharmonic, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Choir, conducted by Karel Ančerl. One of the most important conductors of post-war Europe, Ančerl survived Nazi concentration camps and the overt antisemitism of communist Czechoslovakia. Through immense patience and dedication, he developed the Czech Philharmonic into a world-class orchestra and successfully introduced it to major concert halls. The contents are in Czech and include extensive classical repertoire and archival live performances.