70 CDs presenting Karl Böhm’s complete vocal recordings on Deutsche Grammophon, including studio productions as well as timeless live recordings from Vienna, Salzburg and Bayreuth.

The great German mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig described Böhm as her ideal mentor, not least because he was one of those rare conductors who genuinely understood the voice. But then, she was Böhm’s kind of artist: a singer who sang in tune and on the beat, with every note-value and rest precisely observed. Böhm was austere and less assured singers than Ludwig had a harder time, but all the same, Böhm was respected as an artist who patently knew his craft.

Böhm was one of the quintessential conductors of opera in the history of recorded music, especially when it came to his three beloved musical “gods”: Mozart, Wagner and Richard Strauss – the latter with whom he enjoyed a long personal and professional relationship. During his career Böhm enjoyed tenures with the Munich Opera, and as Music Director in Dresden, Vienna and Salzburg, and at the same time spent a good deal of time freelancing abroad.

Many of Böhm’s most memorable recordings were made live. He disliked studio recording and was often misrepresented by it, especially in the orchestral repertory. Hence his reputation among those who never heard him live in the opera house as a kind of fossilized Kapellmeister. Alongside the studio productions here are timeless documents from Vienna, Salzburg and Bayreuth – including Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer and Tristan und Isolde, recorded at the Bayreuth Festival, and other touchstones of excellence and historic resonance, Strauss’s Arabella and Daphne, made respectively at Salzburg and Vienna.

Legendary recordings of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte

Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer and Tristan und Isolde live from the Bayreuth Festival

Two recordings of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis (1955, 1974)

Two recordings of Mozart’s Don Giovanni (1967, 1977)

Two recordings of R. Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier (1958, 1969)

Three recordings of R. Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos (1944, 1954, 1969)

Additional spoken word recordings (in German) with Böhm detailing his relationships with Richard Strauss, Mozart and the Vienna Philharmonic, including one full disc of recordings new to CD (English synopsis for CD 70, "A Life Retold" available online).

A lift-off box featuring new liner notes by Richard Osborne.

The 1944 Ariadne auf Naxos available digitally for the first time.

Contents:

CD 1-2
Beethoven - Fidelio
- Talvela, Adam, King, Jones, Mathis
- Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Chor der Staatsoper Dresden
- Staatskapelle Dresden

CD 3
Beethoven - Missa solemnis (1955)
- Stader, Radev, Dermota, Greindl
- Chor der St.-Hedwigs-Kathedrale
- Berliner Philharmoniker

CD 4-5
Beethoven - Missa solemnis (1974)
- M Price, Ludwig, Ochman, Talvela
- Wiener Staatsopenchor
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 6-8
Berg - Wozzeck
- Fischer-Dieskau, Melchert, Wunderlich, Stolze, Lear
- Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Berg - Lulu
- Lear, Johnson, Oelke, Fischer-Dieskau, Greindl
- Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin

CD 9
Handel - Giulio Cesare (highlights)
- Fischer-Dieskau, Seefried
- Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin

CD 10-11
Haydn - Die Jahreszeiten
- Janowitz, Schreier, Talvela
- Wiener Singverein
- Wiener Symphoniker

CD 12
Mahler - Kindertotenlieder
- Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
- Berliner Philharmoniker
Mahler - Rückert-Lieder
- Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
- Karl Engel (piano)
Brahms - Alt-Rhapsodie
- Christa Ludwig
- Wiener Singverein
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 13-15
Mozart - Idomeneo
- Ochman, Schreier, Mathis, Varady
- Rundfunkchor Leipzig
- Staatskapelle Dresden

CD 16-17
Mozart - Die Entführung aus dem Serail
- Mellies, Schreier, Auger, Grist, Moll
- Rundfunkchor Leipzig
- Staatskapelle Dresden

CD 18-20
Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro
- Fischer-Dieskau, Janowitz, Mathis, Prey, Troyanos
- Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin

CD 21-23
Mozart - Don Giovanni (1967)
- Fischer-Dieskau, Talvela, Nilsson, Schreier, Arroyo
- Prague Philharmonic Choir
- Orchestra of the National Theatre Prague

CD 24-26
Mozart - Don Giovanni (1977)
- Milnes, Marcurdy, Tomowa-Sintow, Schreier, Berry
- Wiener Staatsopernchor
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 27-28
Mozart - Così fan tutte
- Janowitz, Fassbaender, Schreier, Prey
- Wiener Staatsopernchor
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 29-31
Mozart - Die Zauberflöte
- Crass, Peters, Lear, Wunderlich, Fischer-Dieskau
- RIAS-Kammerchor
- Berliner Philharmoniker
Mozart - Der Schauspieldirektor
- Grist, Auger, Schreier, Moll
- Berliner Philharmoniker

CD 32-33
Mozart - La clemenza di Tito
- Schreier, Varady, Mathis, Berganza, Adam
- Rundfunkchor Leipzig
- Staatskapelle Dresden

CD 34
Mozart - Requiem
- Mathis, Hamari, Ochman, Ridderbusch
- Wiener Staatsopenchor
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 35-36
R Strauss - Salome
- Cassily, Dunn, Jones, Fischer-Dieskau, Ochman
- Orchester der Hamburgischen Staatsoper

CD 37-38
R Strauss - Elektra
- Madeira, Borkh, Schech, Uhl, Fischer-Dieskau
- Chor der Staatsoper Dresden
- Staatskapelle Dresden

CD 39-41
R Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier (1958)
- Schech, Böhme, Seefried, Fischer-Dieskau, Streich
- Chor der Staatsoper Dresden
- Staatskapelle Dresden

CD 42-44
R Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier (1969)
- Ludwig, Adam, Troyanos, Wiener, Mathis
- Wiener Staatsopenchor
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 45-46
R Strauss - Ariadne auf Naxos (1944)
- Reining, Seefried, Noni, Lorenz, Schöffler
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 47-48
R Strauss - Ariadne auf Naxos (1954)
- Della Casa, Seefried, Güden, Schock, Schöffler
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 49-50
R Strauss - Ariadne auf Naxos (1969)
- Hillebrecht, Troyanos, Grist, Thomas, Fischer-Dieskau
- Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

CD 51-53
R Strauss - Die Frau ohne Schatten
- King, Rysanek, Hesse, Wimberger, Berry, Nilsson
- Wiener Staatsopenchor
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 54-56
R Strauss - Arabella
- Hann, Anday, Reining, Della Casa, Hotter, Patzak
- Wiener Staatsopenchor
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 57-58
R Strauss - Die schweigsame Frau
- Hotter, von Milinkovic, Prey, Wunderlich, Güden
- Wiener Staatsopenchor
- Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 59-60
R Strauss - Daphne
- Schöffler, Little, Güden, Wunderlich, King, Streich
- Wiener Staatsopenchor
- Wiener Symphoniker

CD 61-62
R Strauss - Capriccio
- Janowitz, Fischer-Dieskau, Schreier, Prey, Ridderbusch, Troyanos
- Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

CD 63-64
Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer
- Ridderbusch, Jones, Esser, Wagner, Stewart
- Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele

CD 65-67
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde
- Windgassen, Talvela, Nilsson, Waechter, Ludwig
- Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele

CD 68
Karl Böhm’s contributions to the MET gala honouring Sir Rudolf Bing (1972)
Verdi - Otello (Già nella notte densa)
- Zylis-Gara, Corelli
- MET Opera Orchestra
R Strauss - Salome (Ah! Du wolltest mich nicht deinen Mund küssen lassen)
- Birgit Nilsson
- MET Opera Orchestra
My Master’s Legacy: Karl Böhm on Richard Strauss

CD 69
Karl Böhm talks about Mozart’s operas and his relationship with the Wiener Philharmoniker

CD 70
Karl Böhm: A Life Retold