Anyone who thinks that there is no longer anything to say on the subject of Sviatoslav Richter’s discography is wrong. For sixty years these recordings, which were made by Deutsche Grammophon at the Tours and Lucerne Festivals in 1965, have slumbered in the Yellow Label’s archives. Carefully restored by Emil Berliner Studios, they are being released now for the very first time. Like many other artists, Richter felt that he could play more freely and give better performances in the concert hall rather than in the studio. These tremendous recordings reveal the pianist at the pinnacle of his powers as a pianist. Indeed, they evoke Van Cliburn's comment: ‘That is the most powerful piano playing I have ever heard’. Richter's interpretations of Beethoven are phenomenal. The performances of the Sonatas Nos. 18, 27, 28 and 31 show a strikingly modern approach that never shies away from taking risks to express the music in its furthest extreme. Pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja, a confidante of Richter, was enthusiastic about the artistic freedom, technical brilliance and love of the music conveyed in these recordings. The album is available digitally, as a CD and double LP and includes a recent interview with Elisabeth Leonskaja, an essay by Jed Distler and editorial notes by Markus Kettner. Numerous photographs, some previously unpublished, complete the edition.

The internationally renowned pianist Yulianna Avdeeva presents Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87, one of the most important works in the piano repertoire. This monumental cycle harks back to Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and is considered one of the most demanding works for piano ever written. Avdeeva joins an elite group of pianists who have undertaken the challenge of performing the complete opus, which is rarely heard in its entirety. To complement this iconic work, Avdeeva also presents the completion of an alternative Prelude and Fugue in C-Sharp Minor, discovered by leading Shostakovich expert Olga Digonskaya and completed by composer and Shostakovich biographer Krzysztof Meyer.

Clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer releases a further pre-release track of his upcoming album Romanza, on which he presents a beautiful collection of works by Satie, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Rota, Debussy and many more. He collaborates with his long-term recital partner José Gallardo. Having captured audiences and critics alike with his distinct musicianship and versatility as clarinetist, artistic director and conductor, Ottensamer is considered one of the leading instrumentalists of our time.

Back in March 2024 we were inspired by the Fame Studios vibe, lush acoustics and unique musical legacy with so many legends recording their first hits in these hallowed studios back in the early 60’s. We started jamming our favourite blues songs at night after the rock sessions, Marti hit record and we decided to do an album with some of these standout jams. After all the Muscle Shoals style fused Blues, Gospel, Country and was the birth place of Rock.

The Sundowners' sole album suffers from the problems afflicting many similarly obscure late-'60s pop/rock LPs on major labels. One, the group can't really decide what they want to be, which though leading to some admirable versatility, also ensures a sort of anonymity. Two, there aren't any really good songs, though one or two come close. It might be backhanded praise, but as those sort of records go, this is considerably above the average; the production's very good and full, the singing and harmonies are decent and committed, and the Sundowners play pretty well. Still, they almost sound like different groups from track to track, or at the very least like they're not quite sure whether to be all-out commercial, or try and slip some hipness in on the side. There are some engaging near-Association-strength vocal harmonies and bouncy melodies that put them close to the sunshine pop camp at times…

Kollektiv had connections with the much better known Kraftwerk, and its self-titled album sounds a bit like early Kraftwerk, back in that group's jazzier days before it invented techno-pop. Kollektiv's album fuses free-form jazz and rock in typical underground Krautrock fashion, with long, loose improvisations and plenty of solos on guitar, flute, and sax. The music is entirely instrumental except for some weird spoken word on the shortest track, "Forsterlied." "Rambo Zambo" begins the album with some heavily processed flute soloing before jumping into high-energy avant funk with more flute. "Baldrian" is slightly more tame, but on the three-part "Gageg," which dominates side two, Kollektiv turns the energy up even more. Like "Rambo Zambo," this one begins slowly before building into another intense avant jazz-funk workout with the tight rhythm section, and in the last section, "Pressluft," some blistering electric guitar riffing.

The sheer tenacity - albeit undeniably fitting - of this double-disc set has made Black Moses (1971) one of Isaac Hayes' most revered and best-known works. The multi-instrumental singer/songwriter and producer had been a central figure in the Memphis soul music revolution of the mid-'60s. Along with Booker T. & the MG's, Hayes wrote and performed on more Stax sides than any other single artist. By the time of this release - his fifth overall, and first two-record set - Hayes had firmly established himself as a progressive soul artist. His stretched-out and well-developed R&B jams, as well as his husky-voiced sexy spoken "raps," became key components in his signature sound. Black Moses not only incorporates those leitmotifs, but also reaffirms Hayes abilities as an unmistakably original arranger…

The ninth studio album by the American singer. It follows her eighth studio album, 'Endless Summer Vacation' (2023), and is a visual album that centers around the theme of 'healing'.

Rarely has a greatest-hits collection been as effective as Elton John's first compilation of Greatest Hits. Released at the end of 1974, after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Caribou had effectively established him as a superstar, Greatest Hits is exactly what it says it is – it features every one of his Top Ten singles ("Your Song," "Rocket Man," "Honky Cat," "Crocodile Rock," "Daniel," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Bennie and the Jets," "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"), plus the number 12 "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and radio and concert favorite "Border Song." Despite the exclusion of a couple of lesser hits from this era, most notably "Levon" and "Tiny Dancer," Greatest Hits is a nearly flawless collection, offering a perfect introduction to Elton John and providing casual fans with almost all the hits they need.

Angel Air continues to sweep up the furthest flung crumbs of the Ray Russell canon for reissue, and now they've finally swatted the Mouse onto CD. This quartet, comprising Russell, drummer Alan Rushton, keyboardist Jeff Watts, and singer Alan Greed released their sole album on EMI in 1973. Russell jokes in the booklet that "attempts to make a single were forgotten about an hour into the first session," but even so the compulsive "Electric Lady," a throbbing rocker or alternately, the bouncy pop-flecked "We Can Make It" both fit that bill.

Lots of guests on this one, with Earl "Chinna" Smith and Radcliffe "Doggie" Bryan on guitars, Ansel Collins on keyboards, Jimmy Cliff on congas, and others.
One of the most well-known Japanese jazz musicians of his generation, Sadao Watanabe is an adept, bop-influenced saxophonist with a deep love of Brazilian bossa nova. He initially gained global fame in the 1960s with Bossa Nova Concert and Sadao Meets Brazilian Friends, showcasing his warm tone and lyrical, swinging sound. His subsequent recordings, highlighted by 1974's Round Trip, 1984's Rendezvous, and 1999's Remembrance, found him traversing such varied styles as funk, fusion, and crossover pop. Since the 2000s, Watanabe has focused largely on acoustic post-bop, Brazilian traditions, and straight-ahead jazz, as on the 2017 orchestral concert album Encore!

Let All That We Imagine Be the Light is the upcoming eighth studio album by American rock band Garbage, set to be released on May 30, 2025 through BMG. The album is thematically more optimistic and less socio-political than the band's previous record.

When Blixa Bargeld left Nick Cave's Bad Seeds, who would have predicted his departure would result in one of the finest offerings in the band's catalog? Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus is a double CD or, rather, two completely different albums packaged in one very handsome box with a stylish lyric booklet and subtly colored pastel sleeves. They were recorded in a total of 16 days by producer Nick Launay (Kate Bush, Midnight Oil, Girls Against Boys, Silverchair, INXS, Virgin Prunes, et al.). Abbatoir Blues, the first disc in the set (packaged in pink, of course), is a rock & roll record. Yeah, the same guy who released the Boatman's Call, No More Shall We Part, and Nocturama albums has turned in a pathos-drenched, volume-cranked rocker, full of crunch, punishment – and taste.

Introducing "#1s - 60s," the first installment in the highly-anticipated '#1s' series. Dive deep into the golden age of music with this compilation of chart-topping sensations from the 1960s. This disc collection captures the spirit, innovation, and charm of a transformative decade.

The two Serenades, Op. 11 and Op. 16, represented two of the earliest efforts by Johannes Brahms to write orchestral music. Recorded with Bernard Haitink at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with its own wonderful unique acoustic these serenades never sounded better. First of all, Haitink is supremely competent with a superb baton technique and an almost unmatched ability to balance an orchestra and shape a movement. Second of all, Haitink is a supremely tasteful conductor who never imposes his will on the music through his interpretations, but rather allows the interpretation to arise from the music.