Historians and some Duke Ellington fans look askance at the brief period he spent on Capitol Records (1953-55). This was a hectic period in jazz, with bebop in the near-view, hard bop coming along as well, and the big band was considered by many to be a relic of bygone eras. Yet Ellington persevered, and not without another adversity: the temporary loss of signature alto player Johnny Hodges, who was off leading his own bands. The resulting five CDs worth of material collected here show an Ellington band more aimed at repetition, both of its own repertoire, which had sounded better in the 1940s, and of other bands' material.

The size of the orchestra and the arrangement of the orchestra is similar to the situation of the historic Hofkapelle in Meiningen, where the composer’s 4th symphony had been performed for the first time Fascinating new sound impression of well known classical pieces. Appealing and interesting version of Brahms’ immortal symphonies. About the artists Mario Venzago is the principal conductor and artistic director of the Bern Symphony Orchestra, Artist in Association at Finland's Tapiola Sinfonietta and a regular guest conductor of the Kammerorchester Basel. Before taking up conducting, Venzago was a concert pianist at Radiotelevisione Svizerra in Switzerland, and performed throughout Europe as a soloist and accompanist. Several of his CDs have won international prizes. His recordings of the operas «Venus» and «Penthesilea» and of all choral works by Othmar Schoeck with the MDR choir and symphony orchestra received great international recognition and prestigious awards. The Tapiola Sinfonietta ? the orchestra of the City of Espoo – is a high-quality chamber orchestra whose guest performers include leading Finnish and foreign conductors and soloists.

Veteran Swedish progressive rockers The Flower Kings released the first part of a career spanning boxset titled ‘A Kingdom of Colours (1995-2002)’ late last year, covering the period starting with ‘Back in the World of Adventures’ to ‘Unfold the Future’ over the course of 10 discs. Now they are pleased to announce the release of ‘A Kingdom of Colours 2 (2004 – 2013) which covers the albums from ‘Adam & Eve’ to ‘Desolation Rose’ and also includes 3 discs of bonus material dating back from 1995. As with the first part of the boxset, there is a brand new interview with band leader Roine Stolt conducted by journalist Dom Lawson (The Guardian, Prog Magazine), giving a history of this period of the band’s existence.

Heaven and Earth is a double album containing 2.5 hours of new music. The Earth side represents the world Kamasi sees outwardly, the world that he is a part of. The Heaven side represents the world he sees inwardly, the world that is a part of him. “The world that my mind lives in, lives in my mind.”

Following the 2017 complete edition released for the 10th anniversary of Rostropovich’s death, the greatest cellist of his time is now part of the 100 Best Series. These new compilations take the best of his recordings for Warner Classics as a cellist in the 2017 Remastering and also as a conductor.

Deluxe three CD + NTSC/Region 0 DVD edition. Features an additional 33 bonus tracks drawn from new 5. 1 surround sound and stereo mixes from the original multi-track master tapes, BBC radio sessions from 1968 and 1971, and non-album singles along with the 1968 short film Mr. Sunshine. The set also includes a lavishly illustrated 68-page book with previously unseen photographs and an essay by BJH specialists Keith and Monika Domone. Additionally, the set includes a facsimile of the 1970 Barclay James Harvest orchestral tour program and two facsimile press releases from 1968 and 1969, postcards and a replica 1968 record shop poster for the 'Early Morning' single….

March 25th marks the hundredth anniversary of the death of French composer Claude Debussy. His work and life will be celebrated all year with numerous events and concerts dedicated to him. This 4CD compilation gathers rare and great recordings addressed to both specialists and curious consumers. Some of these recordings have been out of the market for years and are now available again, like Mikko Franck and Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra orchestral program (Images, Printemps, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un Faune), which received many awards, or the great Catherine Collard's Préludes (books I and II). Other performers included on this product are Nathalie Stutzmann, M. Tilson-Thomas, E. Pekka Salonen, Günter Wand.

Pull up, pull up! Ministry of Sound’s enormously successful ‘Throwback’ series is back and this time it’s helping us Dutty Wine our way into summer 2018 with the sizzling-hot brand-new album, Throwback Reggae Dancehall. Celebrate the new instalment, as it follows in the footsteps of the massive selling albums: Throwback Old Skool Anthems, Throwback R&B, Throwback Slowjamz, Throwback Summer Jamz, Throwback Party Jamz and Throwback Grooves. ‘Throwback Reggae Dancehall’ boasts a selection of the greatest old-skool classic Reggae jamz from Sister Nancy, Dawn Penn, Barrington Levy, Collie Budz, Shabba Ranks, Mr. Vegas, Althea & Donna and many more; plus, the finest selection of booty-bouncing Dancehall rhythms from Elephant Man, Tony Matterhorn, Rupee, Notch, Popcaan, Gyptian, Sean Paul, Serani, Mad Cobra, Shaggy, to name just a few. So, whatever the occasion this summer, ‘Throwback Reggae Dancehall’ is guaranteed to make you sweat more!

Collects five of his original albums, in card LP replica sleeves! Features The Move's "Message From The Country" (1971), ELO's "Electric Light Orchestra" (1971) and Wizzard's "Wizzard Brew" (1973), plus his solo releases "Boulders" (1973) and "On The Road Again" (1979). Roy Wood is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands. Wood was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.

This is the first ever release of the Juilliard String Quartet’s complete EPIC recordings from 1956 to 1966 in a single 11-CD edition. The set includes four LP recordings appearing for the first time on CD and eight CDs remastered from the original analogue tapes. The Quartet’s legacy is evident in their accumulated reviews for their outstanding recordings. On Mozart’s six “Haydn” Quartets, a Gramophone reviewer stated that they were “the best performances [they] have ever heard”. Although the Quartet have excelled in their interpretations of 18th- and 19th-century repertoire, their original purpose was to promote 20th-century music. Thus, it is unsurprising that the first album in this box set features a special recording of lesser-known works by American composers Benjamin Lees and William Denny.

Decca is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the supreme master of Italian opera Giuseppe Verdi’s birth in matchless style by releasing in February 2013 a 75-CD box containing his entire canon of works.

The Elektra Years 1978–1987 is a boxed set containing the six albums released by the new wave rock band The Cars during that time period. Each album was newly remastered by Ted Jensen, under the supervision of Ric Ocasek. It was released in 2016 on Elektra Records on CD, digital and vinyl formats.

Rough Trade Exclusive Version. CD one is the album. On the second CD is The Shacks Self-Titled EP, Selections Previously Issued Only On 7" Vinyl And Complete Instrumentals From Haze. And on CD three is the Rough Trade exclusive bonus 9 track CD - The Shacks EP Instrumentals.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s oratorio Elias Op. 70 was premiered in 1846 at the Birmingham Festival. It depicts the life of the prophet Elijah, taken from the books 1 and 2 Kings of the Old Testament. While it was composed in the spirit of Mendelssohn’s Baroque predecessors Bach and Handel, its lyricism and use of orchestral and choral color clearly reflects Mendelssohn’s own genius as an early Romantic composer. Paulus Op. 36, written a decade earlier, was a popular work during Mendelssohn’s lifetime, but failed to maintain its stature in comparison to his other oratorios and the oratorios of Handel and Bach.

here's no question that Osmo Vänskä is a true Beethoven conductor. He captures the music's vitality, its eruptive character, and its dramatic syntax as well as anyone on the podium today. He understands the importance of accents, of giving proper weight to Beethoven's bass lines, and of uncovering ear-catching detail without micro-managing the tempo and fracturing Beethoven's large musical paragraphs. The only quibble I have with this performance of the Eroica stems from Vänskä's otherwise admirable deployment of a very wide dynamic range. A couple of times he drops to a "super-duper" pianissimo so quiet that you can barely hear the music, causing it to momentarily lose tension. This only happens a couple of times, most notably at the point of the first-movement recapitulation, and it's so unnecessary given the general excellence of the interpretation that you wonder why he bothers.