Rudolf Kempe’s recordings of Richard Strauss have long been prized for their unparalleled clarity and subtlety in music that has come to define the late-Romantic temperament and its expression of highly strung emotions, whether in a state of Nietzschean exaltation, on the summits of Also sprach Zarathustra and the Alpine Symphony, or in the post-war despair of Metamorphosen. Even in his lighter moods, such as the early and carefree Aus Italien and the late concertos for wind instruments, Strauss loves the complex textures that Kempe and the Staatskapelle Dresden clarify with the utmost skill and sympathy. A classic set, remastered from the original East German master tapes.

The only disc on Eurodisk label with Rudolf Kempe and the prestigious Dresden Staatskapelle. Originally, this record was recorded during a gala concert commemorating the 425th anniversary of Dresden Staatskapelle. For SACD reissue, this famous performance, features a new mastering from the original archived master tapes.

Kurt Sanderling was one of the great Brahms conductors and many who believe his recordings, especially this cycle from Dresden in 1971-72 is among the greatest ever! Like Karajan, he had a great sense of the musical line, and like Giulini he gave has musicians space to create their own parts organically with their own personalities shining through, but most importantly one immediately gets the sense from the first note, that Sanderling already hears the last note and knows exactly how he intends to get there.

The Symphony No. 9 in C major, D 944, known as the Great (first published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1849 as "Symphonie / C Dur / für großes Orchester", listed as Symphony No. 8 in the Neue Schubert-Ausgabe), is the final symphony completed by Franz Schubert. Originally called The Great C major to distinguish it from his Symphony No. 6, the Little C major, the subtitle is now usually taken as a reference to the symphony's majesty.

The Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, is a symphony in four movements composed by Ludwig van Beethoven between 1811 and 1812, while improving his health in the Bohemian spa town of Teplice. The work is dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries.