“Karajan Digital Library” Vol. 23

Before arriving at Beethoven, the third symphonic titan after Brahms and Bruckner, Deutsche Grammophon’s “Karajan Digital Library” offers an album with a bouquet of very different styles. There’s a lot of French music – Berlioz’ “Symphonie Fantastique” (twice), some of his shorter works for orchestra, Karajan’s last complete recording of Bizet’s “Carmen” with Agnes Baltsa and the “Arlésienne” suites. It also contains the highly acclaimed Berg recordings from the 1970s and single pieces by Boccherini and Borodin.

—  P.R. Jenkins