"I am Claudio - for everyone" quickly became Claudio Abbado's most famous statement. In order to be able to maintain contact with each individual during the conducting, he usually conducted from memory. What made Claudio Abbado stand out was his unpretentious, noble character, his democratic understanding of music making and his ability to celebrate the live moment on stage.

Daniel Barenboim retired in January 2023 as Musical Director of the Staatsoper Berlin. He shaped the orchestra of the Berlin State Opera and helped it grow into a world leading ensemble. A matter very close to Barenboim's heart is his work with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Founded in 1999 in collaboration with the Palestinian academic Edward Said, the orchestra unites young Arab and Israeli musicians to promote understanding between Israelis and Palestinians to pave the way for a peaceful and fair solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Bernard Haitink's musical work was focused to Bruckner and to a composer who had a decisive influence on the transition from late romanticism to modernism: Gustav Mahler. It is not least for this reason that Gustav Mahler's symphonies are the focus in this collection.

Mariss Jansons was often cited as one of the world's most distinguished conductors who was best known for his interpretations of Strauss and Mahler as well as Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Stravinsky.

Zubin Mehta, born 29 April 1936 in Bombay, took a final bow in October 2019 and retired after almost 50 years as Musical Director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Maestro Mehta has conducted more than 1.000 concerts with orchestras from around the world, including The Berliner Philharmoniker, The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, The Wiener Philharmoniker, The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.