Entranced from adolescence by previously unheard sounds from the Orient, curious about eastern European folklore, cherishing a Spanish culture partly linked to his personal origins, Ravel never ceased to enrich his writing with repeated encounters with musical otherness.

"The symphony performance under Eivind Aadland has everything you would hope for: lots of energy and excitement, with a very fine, well-prepared orchestra." (American Record Guide) The complete edition of Edvard Grieg's symphonic works with the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Eivind Aadland is now available as a set. This edition is especially convincing thanks to the authentic approach of the Norwegian Eivind Aadland. Vol. 1 and 2 are dedicated to the original orchestral works, whilst Vol. 3 contains a portion of the transcriptions of works that Grieg had originally composed for the piano.

Mark E Smith and The Fall are currently having their back catalogue reassessed by Cherry Red Records. The latest in what looks like a long line of forthcoming releases is ‘1982’. Featuring 2 acclaimed albums, a clutch of session tracks and 2 live albums plus a fresh 4,000 word essay by Daryl Easlea, this collection is a majestically compiled dive into the vaults of this much lauded band…

The Great War was be released worldwide on July 19th 2019 through Nuclear Blast Records. As the album title reveals, all songs are based on events during the First World War. THE GREAT BOX EDITION Includes: CD HISTORY EDITION – CD THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE GREAT WAR EDITION – CD STANDARD EDITION

his is the Blu-Ray version of the concert film recorded at St David's Hall, Cardiff, Wales on the 16th November 2019 during the Friends From The Orchestra Tour.

Alphaville is a German synth-pop band centered around vocalist Marian Gold (Hartwig Schierbaum), formed in 1982 in Münster. Started out as a trio with Gold backed by synth players Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens…

Harry Lime, the charming but dastardly anti-hero in the classic 1949 film noir The Third Man, famously dissed Switzerland saying "they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace - and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." The renegade Swiss quintet Le Rex isn’t making up for lost time, but there’s an urgency and creative ferocity to their music that would make Lime reconsider his unfair denigration. Featuring four expert horn players and drums, the band is a rising force on the European music scene, with an irresistibly grooving sound honed on the street and designed for maximum impact in clubs and concert halls.
Le Rex’s fourth album 'Escape of the Fire Ants' is the band’s most confident and cohesive, marked by consistently compelling compositions, careening melodies and thick, lapidary harmonies…

Freebeat Music Records presents The Forest Chill Lounge (Deep Moods Music with Smooth Ambient & Chillout Tunes). Artenovum, Jean Mare, Richard Bonnee, Book of Dreams, For Found Future, Blackbox Ego and many more.

Recording Bach's six Cello Suites realized Emmanuelle Bertrand's most cherished dream. Her performance here features an exceptional instrument, built by Carlo Tononi in Venice in 1730. This cello, with it's deep and powerful sound, has been set up in 'Baroque' style (with gut strings and bow to match). In Bertrand's hands it proves to be the perfect choice for tackling one of the most impressive monuments in all western music.

Following their massive 1986 European stadium tour for the A Kind of Magic album, Queen took an extended break. Rumors swirled about an impending breakup, but it turned out the break was brought on by a painful marital divorce for guitarist Brian May (who subsequently battled depression and contemplated suicide), and Freddie Mercury being diagnosed with AIDS. Instead of sinking further into misery, the band regrouped, worked on each other's mental state, and recorded one of their most inspired albums, 1989's The Miracle. Lyrically, the songs tend to reflect on the band's past accomplishments ("Khashoggi's Ship," "Was It All Worth It") as well as the state of the world in the late '80s (the title track, "I Want It All").

Soprano Sandrine Piau has been known mostly as a Baroque specialist, but she has recorded several albums of 19th century French mélodies with spectacular results. Si j'ai aimé (the title comes from one of three songs by the little-known Théodore Dubois) will be very hard for her to outdo. The list of attractions is very long and begins with the repertory. There are some familiar pieces here, such as the opening pair of songs by Saint-Saëns, but many of the composers – Dubois, Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant – are rarely performed, at least outside France, and all the songs here are top-notch.

Born within a couple of years of each other, Gottfried Silbermann and Johann Sebastian Bach were acquainted, and we know that Silbermann in 1736 invited the composer to inaugurate the new organ that he had built in Dresden’s Frauenkirche. That instrument was destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in 1945, but some thirty of Silbermann’s organs are still extant. From robust pedal stops providing a sturdy bass fundament to silvery flute stops, his instruments were famous for their distinctive&&& sound and contemporary sources often made use of a play on the name of their maker as they praised their ‘Silberklang’.

Following critical acclaim for their world premiere recording of Stravinsky’s Funeral Song, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly return with a new collaboration featuring some of the greatest works in the orchestral repertoire by Richard Strauss, including Also sprach Zarathustra and Till Eulenspiegel, recorded live at the opening concert of the Lucerne Festival, 2017.