JOSHUA BELL: A CLASSICAL COLLECTION (14 CDs)

Sony Classical International proudly presents Joshua Bell – The Classical Collection, a 14-CD set of albums of classical repertoire that Joshua has recorded for the label over the past twenty years. Displaying the unique breadth, versatility and breath-taking virtuosity, beguiling sensitivity and sheer tonal beauty that has made Bell an icon for audiences of all ages and musical tastes throughout the world, this new collection showcases Joshua Bell in cornerstones of the violin concerto repertoire, chamber music and concert pieces.

The repertoire in this career-spanning edition includes Bell’s 2008 recording of the Vivaldi Four Seasons with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, which “…scorches and sizzles without ever falling prey to pyrotechnic vulgarity,” (ClassicsToday.com), the 2014 Bach release, also with the ASMF, which was celebrated as “…original and exceptionally executed…” by Gramophone, and two of Joshua’s most popular albums thus far, Romance of the Violin and Voice of the Violin, where the violinist regales us with “honeyed arrangements” (Fanfare) ranging from Monteverdi, Mozart, Schubert, Chopin and Bellini to Dvořák, Debussy and Orff, with soprano Anna Netrebko joining the violinist for “a sensitive and touching performance of Richard Strauss’ ‘Morgen’” (Fanfare).

Other highlights from the collection include British composer Nicholas Maw’s Violin Concerto, a work written for Bell in 1993, featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Sir Roger Norrington, conductor; The Red Violin Concerto based on themes from John Corigliano’s score to the film The Red Violin, with the Philharmonia Orchestra London and Esa-Pekka Salonen and Leonard Bernstein’s cherished West Side Story Suite, also performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra London and David Zinman.

Rounding out this boxed set are Bell’s recordings of treasured masterpieces by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Gershwin, Ravel, and Sibelius – accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic and Michael Tilson Thomas, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Salzburg Camerata with Sir Roger Norrington and Bell’s close friends and regular chamber music partners, cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Jeremy Denk. Bell is also featured as a conductor in riveting performances of Beethoven’s Fourth and Seventh Symphonies with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.