The artist ü Born into a musical family in Antwerp in 1905, André Cluytens became a French citizen in 1940. The boxset ü The 64 CDs in this boxset contain all Cluytens’ recordings of orchestral, concerto and choral repertoire, documenting his considerable achievements in these musical genres. ü More than 70 composers are represented and the repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the mid-20th century ü French music has an especially strong presence, but there is also music by composers from Germany (including the complete Beethoven symphonies), Austria, Italy, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Spain and the USA ü The repertoire ranges from the mainstream to rarities. It includes seldom-heard works by famous composers (eg Debussy, Stravinsky) and works by rarely-heard composers (eg Laparra, Pierné, Nigg, Delage, Bondeville). ü The set include many first-time releases. The producer of the set discovered a number of treasures in the Warner Classics archives, including unedited session tapes that have been carefully assembled for this release. 5 items released for the first time: - CD6: ROSSINI Semiramide: Overture; PIERNÉ Cydalise et le chèvre-pied - CD 13: CHABRIER España - CD 17: BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 (with Emil Gilels) - CD 26: HANDEL Water Music One item officially released for the first time - CD 1: BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 (with Monique de la Bruchollerie) 44 items appearing on CD for the first time (see in tracklist) 4 items appearing in stereo for the first time (see in tracklist) ü Cluytens’ strong relationships with particular orchestras are reflected in the collection: Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire Orchestre du Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française Orchestre du Théâtre National de l’Opéra Berliner Philharmoniker – Cluytens was the first conductor to record the entire cycle of Beethoven symphonies with this orchestra Wiener Philharmoniker Philharmonia