Zubin Mehta: The Philharmonic Edition - Vienna, Israel, London, New York - 57 CD Box Set

Maestro Zubin Mehta celebrates his 90th birthday on 29 April 2026. For much of the 1960s and 70s an exclusive Decca artist, he forged a remarkable recorded legacy that bridged Central European tradition and American dynamism. His performances combined interpretative insight with electrifying energy, captured in recordings renowned for their brilliance and sonic splendour.

Spanning repertoire from Mozart to Mahler, this comprehensive box set gathers Mehta’s Decca and Deutsche Grammophon recordings over nearly 50 years from 1965 to 2013. Arranged alphabetically by composer and supplemented by thematic collections, it reflects two of his principal artistic homes – Israel and Vienna – while also showcasing landmark collaborations in Berlin, London, Florence, and New York. The Mehta/Decca story began in Vienna in 1965, when, just days after his 26th birthday, he recorded a Bruckner Ninth Symphony that remains a touchstone of the catalogue.

This Philharmonic anthology features complete symphony cycles of Schubert with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Schumann with the Wiener Philharmoniker, alongside two distinguished Beethoven Piano Concerto cycles – with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Wiener Philharmoniker, and with Radu Lupu and the Israel Philharmonic. Among the celebrated soloists represented are Lang Lang, Mischa Maisky, Shlomo Mintz, Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, Leontyne Price, Arthur Rubinstein, Joan Sutherland, and János Starker. A discerning champion of emerging talent, Mehta also partnered with David Garrett (in Bruch and Brahms) and Sayaka Shoji (in a programme of Romantic virtuoso works). Live recordings include highlights from the 1982 Huberman Festival (featuring a dream cast of violinists – Ivry Gitlis, Ida Haendel, Shlomo Mintz, Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, and Pinchas Zukerman) and a 1988 celebration concert in memory of Georg Solti (with Angela Gheorghiu and Anne Sofie von Otter).

Not to be forgotten is the classic recording of Schmidt’s sheerly gorgeous Fourth Symphony, recorded at the request of the Wiener Philharmoniker, the iridescent incidental music for Beethoven’s Creatures of Prometheus and a suave Mendelssohn Octet in an orchestral version performed by the string section of the Israel Philharmonic. The set includes Mehta’s major opera recordings – Turandot, La fanciulla del West, Il trovatore and La traviata – and brings together several performances receiving their first international CD and digital release.

Presented with original jackets, a selection of rare photographs and newly commissioned liner notes by David Patmore, James Jolly and Cyrus Meher-Homji, this edition offers a fitting tribute to one of the great conductors of our time.

CD 1:
BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra · Hungarian Sketches IPO

CDs 2–4:
BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos 1–5 Vladimir Ashkenazy, WP

CDs 5–8:
BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos 1–5 · 2 Rondos Op.51 · Piano Sonatas 19 & 20 Radu Lupu, IPO

CD 9:
BEETHOVEN Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus Ballet music IPO

CD 10:
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique NYP

CD 11:
BERLIOZ Harold en Italie Daniel Benyamini, IPO

CD 12:
BLOCH Voice in the Wilderness · Schelomo János Starker, IPO

CD 13:
BRAHMS Symphony No.1 · Tragic Overture WP

CD 14:
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.1 Arthur Rubinstein, IPO

CD 15:
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.2 Vladimir Ashkenazy, LSO

CD 16:
BRAHMS Violin Concerto · BRUCH Violin Concerto No.1 David Garrett, IPO

CDs 17–18:
BRUCKNER Symphony No.9 · Te Deum · Mass No.2 Wiener Staatsopernchor, WP

CD 19:
CHOPIN Piano Concertos 1 & 2 Lang Lang, WP

CD 20:
DVOŘÁK Symphony No.7 IPO

CD 21:
DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto · R. STRAUSS Don Quixote Mischa Maisky, Tabea Zimmermann, BP

CD 22:
LALO Symphonie espagnole · VIEUXTEMPS Violin Concerto No.5
SAINT-SAËNS Introduction and Rondo capriccioso (1988) Shlomo Mintz, IPO

CD 23:
LISZT Les Préludes
WAGNER Preludes Lohengrin Acts I & III · Parsifal · Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg WP

CD 24:
MAHLER Symphony No.1 IPO

CD 25:
MAHLER Symphony No.2 WP

CD 26:
MAHLER Symphony No.4 Barbara Hendricks, IPO

CD 27:
MENDELSSOHN Octet (orchestral version) IPO

CDs 28–29:
MOZART Symphonies 34, 39 & 40 · Eine kleine Nachtmusik IPO

CD 30:
PAGANINI Violin Concerto No.1 Boris Belkin, IPO

CD 31:
PAGANINI Violin Concerto No.1 · CHAUSSON Poème
WAXMAN Carmen Fantasie · MILSTEIN Paganiniana Sayaka Shoji, IPO

CDs 32–33:
PUCCINI La fanciulla del West Carol Neblett, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, ROH

CDs 34–35:
PUCCINI Turandot Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé, Luciano Pavarotti, LPO

CD 36:
SARASATE Carmen Fantasy · CHAUSSON Poème (1986)
SAINT-SAËNS Havanaise · Introduction and Rondo capriccioso (1986)
RAVEL Tzigane Itzhak Perlman, NYP

CD 37:
SCHMIDT Symphony No.4 · EINEM Symphony No.1 “Philadelphia” WP

CDs 38–42:
SCHUBERT Symphonies 1–6, 8, 9 · Rosamunde (excerpts) IPO

CDs 43–45:
SCHUMANN Symphonies 1–4 · Overtures Genoveva · Manfred WP

CDs 46–47:
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No.5 · Swan Lake Suite · The Nutcracker Suite IPO

CDs 48–51:
VERDI Il trovatore Antonella Banaudi, Shirley Verrett, Leo Nucci
VERDI La traviata Kiri Te Kanawa, Alfredo Kraus, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, MMF

CD 52:
VERDI Arias from Aida · Un ballo in maschera · Otello · Ernani Leontyne Price, IPO
MASSENET Manon Ah! dispar, vision Luciano Pavarotti, NYP

CD 53:
ROSSINI La scala di seta Overture · VERDI La traviata Preludes I & III · I vespri siciliani Overture
WEBER Oberon Overture · MENDELSSOHN A Midsummer Night’s Dream Nocturne & Scherzo IPO

CD 54:
ROSSINI Guillaume Tell Overture · BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No.3
TCHAIKOVSKY Capriccio italien · RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Capriccio espagnol IPO

CDs 55–56:
HUBERMAN FESTIVAL, 1982 – VIVALDI Four Seasons · Concerto in B minor RV 580 (Op.3/10)
J.S. BACH Concerto for 2 Violins · MOZART Sinfonia concertante K.364; Concertone K.190 Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Ivry Gitlis, Shlomo Mintz, Ida Haendel, IPO

CD 57:
SIR GEORG SOLTI: A CELEBRATION OF HIS LIFE IN MUSIC
BEETHOVEN Egmont Overture · MOZART Mass in C minor Laudamus te · Le nozze di Figaro Voi che sapete Anne Sofie von Otter
VERDI La forza del destino Pace, pace, mio Dio! · PUCCINI Gianni Schicchi O mio babbino caro Angela Gheorghiu
WAGNER Götterdämmerung Dawn, Siegfried’s Rhine Journey & Closing Scene LPO

BP = Berliner Philharmoniker
IPO = Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
LPO = London Philharmonic Orchestra
MMF = Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
NYP = New York Philharmonic
WP = Wiener Philharmoniker