This is the first of four releases that feature the SWR recordings of Friedrich Gulda. All recordings on this album are being released here for the first time. The recording of the "Inner Circle" on album 7 is to date the only one of Guldas jazz ensemble. The series contains, among solo repertoire and concerts, also compositions by Freidrich Gulda himself. The whole series is thus an extensive documentation of Guldas music universe. Friedrich Gulda began his career in music studying at the Vienna Music Academy. He went on to win first prize at the 1946 Geneva International Music Competition, and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1950. While most renowned for his Mozart and Beethoven interpretations, he is also remembered for his free improvisation and jazz interests.

Gulda, a brilliant master of rhythm, uncompromising Bach interpreter and jazz musician, is heard at his best when performing Chopin, whose works appear in Guldas earliest concert programmes. His secret in playing Chopin with so much vitality lay in the inimitable mix of rhythmic strictness, cantabile tenderness and controlled outbursts. Beethoven was an important composer for Gulda. The theme and variation form afforded both of them the opportunity to demonstrate their respective abilities and showcase their remarkable skills. And what better showcase than the Diabelli Variations? Although this fourth instalment of the SWR Gulda Edition includes only well-known compositions, Friedrich Gulda's extraordinary sense of sound, sophisticated touch and rhythmic vitality coax new facets out of these works so that we hear them from a fresh perspective.

Believed to have been composed between August 1775 and January 1777, the Concerto In E Flat Major for two pianos technically counts as being the tenth of Mozart's twenty-seven concertos, that huge and prodigious body that would set the standards for all piano concertos from Mozart's time forward. Although it is not performed with the same frequency as his later works (especially the final eight concertos, 20-27), this "Double" piano concerto, believed to have been composed by Mozart for performance by him and his sister Maria Anna ("Nannerl"), is nevertheless a fascinating experiment of Mozart's, one that requires a pair of solid keyboard virtuosos to do (and for the composer's Seventh piano concerto, you needed three soloists).

This 10 CD set offers 11 live recitals given by 10 famous pianists in Switzerland from 1953 to 1993. Each pianist is credited by a single CD. Only Backhaus CD contains fragments from two different programs (1953 and 1960), all the other pianists are represented by a single program.

The Mnchner Philharmoniker are continuing to open up their vast archives, giving listeners the opportunity to enjoy one of the richest collections of recordings by legendary artists. This recording of Mozart's 'Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 26' allows listeners to relive a remarkable concert evening with Friedrich Gulda as conductor and soloist at once.

Edgar Moreau performs two cello concertos which bravely and wittily challenge convention. Offenbach’s ambitious Grand Concerto in G major culminates in military fireworks, while Friedrich Gulda’s Concerto for Cello, Wind Orchestra and Band – written 130 years later – is a dazzling stylistic kaleidoscope. Moreau is joined by conductor Raphaël Merlin and the dynamic orchestral collective Les Forces Majeures.

Born in Vienna in 1930, Friedrich Gulda started piano lessons at the age of seven. At 12 he enrolled in the Vienna Music Academy, and four years later he received first prize in the Geneva International Music Festival. In 1949 Gulda toured Europe and South America, earning international acclaim for his treatments of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, and the following year he made a successful debut at Carnegie Hall. He also began recording for Decca around this time. Gulda was often grouped with Jörg Demus and Paul Badura-Skoda; all were young Viennese pianists oriented toward the heart of the city's musical tradition.