120 Years of Deutsche Grammophon: The Anniversary Edition (1998-2018) [Blu-ray]

The story of Deutsche Grammophon goes back as far as the birth of recording itself. Founded in June 1898, in Hanover its directors are Emile Berliner – inventor of both the disc and the player – and his brother Joseph. For 120 years as well as being home to the world’s greatest performers, the Yellow Label has been at the forefront of innovations in recording technology and in music experiences. This collection celebrates that heritage with a flagship boxed set of 120 CDs + 1 Bonus CD + 1 Blu-ray Audio disc illuminating 120 years of recording history, including many rare recordings released internationally for the first time and recordings newly digitized from historic shellac discs.

The history of recorded classical music is the history of Deutsche Grammophon; and since the label has always been at the leader in innovations and home to the world’s greatest performers it remains the future of classical music. Deutsche Grammophon is classical music!

By 1900, Berliner’s disc has eclipsed Edison’s cylinder as the industry standard. In 1910, DG marketed the earliest orchestral recording: the opening movement of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Wilhelm Backhaus. By the time of Joseph Berliner’s death in 1928 and Emile’s the following year, DG’s annual production has reached nearly 10 million records, with the Hanover factory employing some 600 people.

In 1950 78-rpm records with up to nine minutes playing time per side were introduced, based on the DG invention of variable groove spacing, and the next year the company released its first 33-rpm long-playing records. In 1957, Deutsche Grammophon’s trademark “cartouche” is introduced. 1962 heralds the first stereo recording: the Beethoven Symphony Cycle with Karajan. DG produces the first digital recording in 1979 (Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with Gidon Kremer and the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Lorin Maazel) and three years later sees the introduction of the CD and the first Deutsche Grammophon title in mass production: Richard Strauss’s Eine Alpensinfonie with the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Herbert von Karajan.

• 120 CDs telling the story of the Yellow Label, sub-divided by genre and including many recordings released internationally for the first time and recordings newly digitized from historic shellac discs
• 1 Bonus CD with brand-new unreleased recordings “The years to come” (including Daniil Trifonov)
• 1 Blu-ray Audio featuring the complete Ring des Nibelungen conducted by H. v. Karajan
• Each album presented in wallets with original sleeve art
• 200-page book
• Numerous photographs and facsimiles from the archives of Deutsche Grammophon
• Includes six postcards with legendary covers + 5 historic documents

A fully new perspective illuminating 120 years of recording history:
Deutsche Grammophon’s unrivaled roster is divided in 12 Chapters representing the essential genres within DG’s recording activities. Many genres include new compilation albums bringing together very rare early recordings including many released internationally for the first time and several recordings newly digitized from historic shellac discs:
Orchestral (27 CDs)
Concertos (22 CDs)
Piano Solo (17 CDs)
Chamber Music (11 CDs)
Opera (11 CDs)
Oratorio & Sacred (5 CDs)
Lied - Art Songs (8 CDs)
Archiv Produktion (6 CDs)
Polydor & Light Music (3 CDs)
Avant-garde (4 CDs)
Neoclassical (3 CDs)
Spoken Word (3 CDs)