The Mono Era on HMV & Columbia Graphophone 1926-1959 (CD53)

CD1

1. MOZART - Die Zauberflöte: Overture, Symphony No. 34, Divertimento No. 2, Minuet No. 2 / BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 2

CD2

1. MENDELSSOHN - A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scherzo / BORODIN - Prince Igor (exc.) / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV - March / DELIUS - The Walk to the Paradise Garden, Two Pieces for small orchestra, Brigg Fair / ATTERBERG - Symphony No. 6  

CD3-4

1. HANDEL - Messiah (Labbette, Brunskill, Eisdell, Williams)

CD5

1. Songs & Opera Arias by GRIEG, PONCHIELLI, PUCCINI, MASCAGNI, VERDI, DELIUS (Labbette, Turner) / PUCCINI - La Bohème (exc.)

CD6-7

1. GOUNOD - Faust (Nash, Licette, Easton)

CD8

1. HANDEL - Concerto grosso Op. 6 No. 3 (exc.), The Origin of Design, The Gods Go a’Begging (exc.), Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Israel in Egypt (exc.) / STRAUSS - Don Quixote (Wallenstein, Piastro, Pollain)

CD9

1. MOZART - Violin Concerto No. 4 / MENDELSSOHN - Violin Concerto in E minor / PROKOFIEV - Violin Concerto No. 1 (Szigeti)

CD10

1. ROSSINI - Overtures from La scala di seta, Guillaume Tell & La gazza ladra / RESPIGHI - Rossiniana / BORODIN - Prince Igor (exc.) / MENDELSSOHN - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (exc.), The Hebrides / NICOLAI - Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor: Overture 

CD11

1. DELIUS - Paris, The Song of a Great City, Eventyr, Koanga, Closing Scene, Summer Night on the River, Intermezzo, Over the Hills and Far Away, In a Summer Garden

CD12

1. DELIUS - Hassan, Sea Drift (Brownlee), Appalachia, La Calinda

CD13

1. DELIUS - A Mass of Life: Prelude, La Calinda, Irmelin Prelude, 4 Songs, Songs of Sunset, An Arabesque / DVOŘÁK - Slavonic Rhapsody No. 3, Legends Nos. 2 & 3

CD14

1. WAGNER - Preludes & Overtures, Arias

CD15-17

1. WAGNER - Tristan und Isolde (Flagstad, Melchior, Klose, Nilsson)

CD18

1. BIZET - Orchestral suites from La Jolie fille de Perth & L’Arlésienne / BERLIOZ - Le Carnaval romain, La Damnation de Faust (exc.) / OFFENBACH - Les Contes d’Homann, orchestral suite / DEBUSSY - Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune

CD19

1. BRAHMS - Symphony No. 2, Tragic Overture / BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 2  

CD20

1. HAYDN - Symphonies Nos. 93, 99 & 104 / HANDEL - The Gods Go a’Begging (exc.)

CD21

1. MOZART - Symphonies Nos. 29, 31 & 34, Overtures from Le nozze di Figaro & Don Giovanni

CD22

1. MOZART - Symphonies Nos. 35, 36 & 38

CD23

1. MOZART - Symphonies Nos. 39-41

CD24-25

1. MOZART - Die Zauberflöte (Rosvaenge, Lemnitz, Berger), Mass in C minor, KV. 427 (exc.)

CD26

1. SCHUBERT - Symphonies Nos. 5 & 8 / SUPPÉ - Ein Morgen, ein Mittag und ein Abend in Wien: Overture / MENDELSSOHN - Ruy Blas / ROSSINI - Semiramide: Overture / J. STRAUSS - II Frühlingsstimmen

CD27

1. SIBELIUS - Violin Concerto (Heifetz), The Tempest (exc.), Festivo, Lemminkäinen’s Return, The Bard

CD28

1. SIBELIUS - Symphony No. 4, Finlandia, In Memoriam, Kuolema, En Saga, Pelléas et Mélisande (exc.)

CD29

1. BIZET - Carmen, orchestral suite / GRIEG - Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1 / CHABRIER - España / FRANCK - Symphony in D minor / GRÉTRY - Zémire et Azo, Pantomime 

CD30

1. WEBER - Overtures from Der Freischütz & Oberon / BERNERS - The Triumph of Neptune (exc.) / MOZART - Piano Concerto No. 12 (Kentner) / HANDEL - The Faithful Shepherd

CD31

1. TCHAIKOVSKY - Symphony No. 5, Francesca da Rimini / A. BEECHAM - 3 Songs  

CD32

1. TCHAIKOVSKY - Romeo and Juliet, Symphony No. 3 / VERDI - Macbeth (exc.)

CD33

1. SIBELIUS - Symphony No. 2, Karelia (exc.), Tapiola

CD34

1. CHABRIER - Joyeuse marche / DEBUSSY - Printemps / BAX - The Garden of Fand / SAINT-SAËNS - Le Rouet d’Omphale / MASSENET - Le Dernier sommeil de la Vierge / BERLIOZ - Le Roi Lear / LISZT - Orpheus

CD35

1. BEETHOVEN - Piano Concerto No. 4 / MENDELSSOHN - Octet: Scherzo, Die schöne Melusine, A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Overture, 2 Songs Without Words / DVOŘÁK - The Golden Spinning Wheel       

CD36

1. R. STRAUSS - Der Bürger als Edelmann, Don Quixote (Lampe, Tortelier, Rubens), Feuersnot, Liebesszene, Dance of the Seven Veils  

CD37

1. R. STRAUSS - Träumerei am Kamin, Ein Heldenleben / DELIUS - Violin Concerto (Pougnet), Dance Rhapsody No. 1      

CD38

1. DELIUS - Dance Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2, The Song of the High Hills (Hart, Jones), Songs of Sunset (Evans, Llewellyn), Marche-caprice, Irmelin Prelude, “On the mountains”, 2 Songs (Suddaby)

CD39

1. DELIUS - Piano Concerto (Humby Beecham), Brigg Fair, On the Mountains, Two Pieces for small orchestra, Summer Evening, A Song before Sunrise, 2 Songs

CD40-41

1. DELIUS - A Village Romeo and Juliet (Soames, Dyer), Sea Drift (Clinton ), Dance Rhapsody No. 1

CD42

1. MOZART - Concerto for flute and harp (Le Roy, Laskine), Violin Concerto No. 4 / MENDELSSOHN - Violin Concerto in E minor (Heifetz)

CD43

1. MOZART - Divertimento No. 2, Divertimento No. 15 (exc.), Die Zauberflöte, Overture / HAYDN - Symphonies No. 40 & No. 102  

CD44

1. MOZART - Violin Concerto No. 3 (de Vito), Piano Concerto No. 16 (exc.) (Humby Beecham) / HANDEL - Amaryllis Suite, Sarabande / BANTOCK - Fifine at the Fair / BEETHOVEN - Rehearsal of Symphony No. 5

CD45-46

1. PUCCINI - La bohème (Los Ángeles, Björling, Merrill)

CD47

1. BIZET - Patrie, Roma, Carnaval / Ballet Music from GRÉTRY - Zémire et Azor & GOUNOD - Faust / MASSENET - Cendrillon: Waltz / VIDAL - Zino-Zina: Gavotte 

CD48

1. HAYDN - Symphonies Nos. 93-95, Rehearsal of No. 101

CD49

1. HAYDN - Symphonies Nos. 96 & 98 / BEETHOVEN - Symphony No. 7

CD50

1. TCHAIKOVSKY - Symphony No. 4 / GERMAN - Gipsy Suite

CD51

1. FRANCK - Symphony / BERLIOZ - Symphonie fantastique

CD52

1. BIZET - Symphony / LALO - Symphony / CHABRIER - Gwendoline: Overture

CD53

1. SIBELIUS - Symphony No. 2 / DVOŘÁK - Symphony No. 8 / WAGNER - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Prelude

Conductor Sir Thomas Beecham was one of the two most influential pioneers of early orchestral recording history, alongside Leopold Stokowski, both artists strikingly displaying a new potential in the gramophone’s capacity for quality orchestra reproduction through the brilliant sonorities and dynamic shadings of their discs. When Sir Thomas formed his handpicked London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1932, it is not an exaggeration to say that a new era of the very highest artistic and virtuosic orchestral quality was born, and he quickly discovered how to seize the kaleidoscopic colours, rhythmic panache and tight discipline of his LPO performances for the gramophone. He repeated the procedure again when he created his Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1946, and his prolific recording operations with both orchestras set legendary standards of artistry, virtuosity and sonority in gramophone history. All his mono recordings made for Columbia Graphophone and His Master's Voice have been collected in this box set as a companion to Warner Classics’ box of all his EMI stereo discs, revealing more vividly than ever before their luminous and exhilarating qualities.

A lot of the recordings in this boxset have been specially remastered in HD from the original sources, many of them previously unreleased on CD.