The 120th anniversary of Deutsche Grammophon led to an initiative illuminating the very beginning of the recording industry: the legendary Shellac Era, historically located between c.1897 and the 1930s, is a fascinating epoch of pioneering artists, courageous producers, smart technicians and engineers and truly a Golden Age of unprecedented musical innovation.

This album presents the most culturally important of the rediscovered shellac tracks: Pietro Mascagni conducting his own works, including the captivating Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana; Caruso’s baritone “rival” Titta Ruffo singing Largo al factotum; legendary violinist Váša Příhoda performing Dvořák and Elgar; Mozart tenor Julius Patzak performing Ottavio’s aria from Don Giovanni; and international stars like Louis Armstrong and Lale Andersen contribute some jazz standards.

All tracks have been restored from original “mother” or “father” discs, digitized with state-of-the-art technology and carefully remastered to the highest standard.

The album includes essential track documentation: artists, recording dates if traceable, and the original matrix and catalogue numbers.

State of the art is the exclusive full-length history of the legendary Yellow Label, based on unprecedented access to Deutsche Grammophon archives and featuring interviews with artists, historians, producers, engineers and former and current DG executives. Richly illustrated with hundreds of photographs from Deutsche Grammophon’s archive and many other sources This new edition is an extended and revised version of the book with the same title that was published around DG’s 111th Anniversary in 2009.