Few would deny John Coltrane's genius or his substantial influence on an entire generation of jazz musicians. That said, however, his is not necessarily the name that comes immediately to mind when you're thinking about a soundtrack for romance – Coltrane's trademark "sheets of sound" approach to modal improvisation and his sometimes harsh tone may get listeners in the mood for many things, but love might not be one of them. However, this collection of ballad recordings originally issued on various albums between 1957 and 1958 makes a good case for Trane as a bedroom minstrel.

David Knopfler is a British guitarist, pianist, record producer and singer-songwriter. He is a co-founder of the rock band Dire Straits, spending three years with them. After quitting the band, he embarked upon a solo career as a recording artist. Behind the Lines is David Knopfler's second solo album after leaving Dire Straits. It was released in 1985.

The theorbo is a sort of big brother to the lute, with a set of long, unfretted bass strings in addition to the fretted courses. This gives the instrument a wonderful, rich mellow sound which is beautifully evoked and captured in these recordings (from 1992 and 1999). Montailhet is an excellent theorbist and the music, too, is a delight.

“A moving performance, well cast and with sympaethetic conducting from Carlo Rizzi…Shicoff is in splendid voice, phrasing and shaping his big set-pieces sensitively, and Edita Gruberova makes a moving Violetta.” (Penguin Guide)

As City and Colour, Canadian songsmith and reformed screamer Dallas Green has enjoyed an impressive run of success over the previous decade. Initially launched in the mid-2000s as a quiet, acoustic rebuttal to his post-hardcore band, Alexisonfire, the project gained new layers around the turn of the decade, resulting in a trio of dreamy, deeply introspective folk-pop albums, each of which topped the Canadian charts. 2015's soulful If I Should Go Before You was a warmly crafted gem that utilized Green's tight-knit live band and featured some of his sharpest writing to date. Arriving four years later, A Pill for Loneliness is an altogether lusher affair, which seems to sever ties with Green's more organic tendencies in favor of ethereal synths, textured guitar washes, and a sort of orange-hued, melancholic dream pop.

The Romantic Piano Concerto series continues to bring undiscovered works to the listening public, performed by the greatest piano virtuosos of today. The composer Hiller was admired by Schumann, who described him as the exemplar of ‘how to combine orchestra and piano in brilliant fashion’. One of the most imposing musical personalities of the nineteenth century, close friends with the likes of Rossini, Liszt, Berlioz and particularly Mendelssohn, Hiller was nevertheless largely forgotten less than twenty years after his death as musical fashion changed. The Second Concerto is a genuine forgotten masterpiece, and Hyperion has been looking for the right opportunity to record it for many years. The First and Third concertos are both first recordings, and indeed the Third was never published.

Reinhard Keiser’s Kleine theatralische Musik contains arrangements of instrumental versions of opera numbers composed for Hamburg and performed there. With the greatest probability this work involves a collection of »theater music« compiled by the composer from his operas written prior to 1718. This work is complemented by further instrumental music as well as cantatas and arias by Keiser. The program covers a spectrum including Keiser’s initial years in Hamburg, the period of his greatest success in the second decade of the eighteenth century, and his difficult traveling years following 1719.

A historic live recording celebrating the 40th anniversary of a landmark cultural moment including performances by Echo & The Bunnymen, Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds, The Beat, The Drummers of Burundi, The Musicians of the Nile and many more.

This album is intended to be your guiding light through days of darkness. The second album (CD and LP) by Swedish progressive jazzrockers HOOFFOOT mixes spontaneity with carefully crafted themes and the music falls into place as natural and prophetic as the album title; “THE LIGHTS IN THE AISLE WILL GUIDE YOU”. Although not a concept album as such, maybe the four instrumental compositions on this album are all about navigating a world in flux? There is definitely a sense of constant change and movement in the music. Just like a spy novel from 1976-1979 you want to find out where it is all heading. Why those specific years? Read more below to find out.

Keine vor 1858 geschriebene polnische Oper wurde so erfolgreich wie Stanislaw Moniuszkos Halka. Capella Cracoviensis präsentiert die erste, zweiaktige Fassung von Halka, die 1848 in Wilna uraufgeführt wurde. Die Wilnaer Fassung ist die erste Orchesterfassung dieser Oper, deren Partitur unsere Zeit nicht überdauert hat. In dieser dramaturgisch sehr dynamischen Komposition werden einzelne musikalische Episoden als Teil der Szenen gestaltet; Rezitative, Arien und Chöre werden kombiniert.

Grammy Award-winner Alex Klein, former principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, performs sonatas that signify the oboe’s 20th-century reemergence as a brilliant solo instrument. One of the world’s most famous oboe players, Klein says he waited to acquire a professional lifetime’s worth of experience before putting his stamp on the six sonatas heard here.

On Steve Hillage's 1978 release Green, the underground prog rock fan favorite issues more of his trademark thinking-man's music. Fans of mid- to late-'70s Pink Floyd will want to check this album out, since it possesses many of the same musical qualities, due to the fact that it was produced by Floyd drummer Nick Mason, along with Hillage. Although not as consistent as some of his other albums, it certainly has its moments. Hillage's recurring sci-fi influence is still felt in his music, especially on such tracks as "Sea Nature," "UFO Over Paris," and "Unidentified (Flying Being)." Hillage uses the same band that appeared on his Motivation Radio album, which helps make Hillage's twisted songs even better (like his other albums, the musicianship is top-notch). Besides comparisons to Floyd, the album's music is also similar to David Bowie's late-'70s experimental electronic phase (check out the track "Crystal City," with vocals almost identical to Bowie). Hillage fans will definitely not be disappointed with Green.