When the Court Opera Director Wilhelm Jahn commissioned the by no means unvain Johann Strauss Jr. to write a ‘genuine’ opera, he readily accepted. So, he wrote Ritter Pásmán, a work the Waltz King himself regarded as his only one in this genre, although the plot is basically like an operetta. The source was the narrative Pázmán lovag by the Hungarian writer János Aranyi (1817-1882). It deals with jealousy and a kind of tit-for-tat. The premiere of the comic opera at the Vienna Court Opera on New Year’s Day 1892 was a major society event, but its artistic success lagged somewhat behind. The reviewers of the premiere were distanced towards the work. On the one hand, they unanimously elevated the ballet music at the beginning of Act III to the status of an absolute masterpiece. (By the way, this was the first time that a cimbalom could be heard in the orchestra of the Court Opera). The present live recording was captured at the Vienna Musikverein on 27 October 1975, with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Heinz Wallberg, Eberhard Waechter as Ritter Pásmàn, Sona Ghazarian as Queen, Josef Hopfwieser as Hungarian King, and Truedeliese Schmidt as Eva as main cast. The recording includes the complete ballet music as bonus tracks, performed by the Slovac State Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Alfred Walter.

Irish cellist Ailbhe McDonagh and world renowned Beethoven specialist John O'Conor celebrated Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year with this recording of his complete sonatas for cello and piano.
“Out of several performances of the Beethoven A Major Sonata heard over 30 years, McDonagh’s was the most musically complete and satisfying” (Irish Times) “O'Conor brought real poetry to his recital of late-period Beethoven … incisive, even visionary projections that drove to the heart of the musical matter” (Washington Post)

Is this an hommage to Schubert? Or just to a leading Lieder tenor of our time? Probably this box is both and it represents a clear reference for anyone who is a seasoned Lieder lover or a neophyte wanting to approach this genre.
I don’t say anything new when I state that the three Schubert’s Lieder cycles are the the pinnacle in the history of the art song. Not by chance any serious male singer wants to record at least one of these masterpieces.

Originally conceived as a double album, all mirrors and whole new mess were distinct parts of a larger whole, Twin stars that each expressed something bigger and bolder than Angel Olsen had ever made. Released in 2019, All mirrors is massive in scope and sound, tracing Olsen's ascent into the unknown, to a place of true self-acceptance, no matter how dark, or difficult, or seemingly lonely. All mirrors is colossal, moving, dramatic in an old Hollywood manner. Recorded before all mirrors but released after, whole new mess is the Bones and s of the songs that would rewrite Olsen's story. This is Angel Olsen in her classic style: stark solo performances, echoes and open spaces, her voice both whispered and enormous. All mirrors and whole new mess presented the two glorious extremes of an artist who, in these songs, became new by embracing herself entirely. Now, with songs of the lark… and other far memories, these Twin stars become a constellation with the full extent of the songs' Iterations: all the alternate takes, b-sides, remixes and reimaginings are here, together. Alongside, a 40-page book collection tells a similar story, not just through outtakes and unseen photos but through the smaller, evocative details: handwritten lyrics, a favorite Necklace, a beaded Chandelier. As if it could be more plainly stated (there's nothing more), Angel adds one cover here: a loving, assertive rendition of Roxy music's "more than this." it is a definitive collection, not just of these songs but of their revelations and their writer, from their simplest origins to their mightiest realization.

Crimson Gold presents Ian Hunter & Mott the Hoople 'Gold'. Led by singer-songwriter Ian Hunter, Mott the Hoople burst on to the seventies rock scene with classic tracks such as 'all the young dudes', 'roll away the Stone' And 'all the way from Memphis'. This new essential compilation features the very best of Mott the Hoople alongside classic tracks from Ian Hunter's solo albums across 3 CDs, plus an exclusive introduction from Mott and Hunter biographer, Campbell devine. 'Gold' Contains a total of sixteen UK and us singles. Cd 1 opens with the David Bowie penned 'all the young dudes' From 1972. The song shot to #3 in the UK singles chart and has been acclaimed as a timeless rock anthem. Other classic Mott the Hoople tracks on this disc include the top ten hits 'all the way from Memphis' And 'roll away the Stone'. Cd 2 features more hits including 'the golden age of rock & roll', 'Saturday gigss', 'Foxy, Foxy' And 'once bitten, twice shy'. Cd 3 rounds off this definitive collection with fan favourite tracks from Ian Hunter's classic solo albums including 'All-American alien Boy', 'England rocks' And 'all of the good ones are taken'.

RAY FENWICK is one of rock’s archetypal journeymen. A guitarist of some renown, but also a singer, a multi-instrumentalist, a songwriter a producer and noted session musician, he has played on countless records across the decades.PLAYING THROUGH THE CHANGES is the most comprehensive anthology of Ray’s multi-faceted musical output to date. Compiled by the man himself, this 3-CD set boasts many of his best solo recordings from the 1970s, some of which are new to CD.Ray’s early career back in the 1960s is represented by tracks from The Syndicats (produced by Joe Meek and also featuring Steve Howe), authentic Ska combo Rupert And The Red Devils, Tee-Set, After Tea and a later incarnation of hit R&B band The Spencer Davis Group (including the track ‘After Tea’!).

Two things propelled the re-emergence of the keyboard double concerto. One of them was the revival of interest in early classical and baroque music. The other was the emergence of the piano duo, those popular and virtuosic two-piano teams that captured a big audience and toured widely. Some of these duos became superstars: Vronsky & Babin, Gold & Fizdale, Whittemore & Lowe, Luboshutz & Nemenoff are still remembered as masters of their trade and it is due to them and others like them that this new piano-and-orchestra repertoire was created. And this is the tradition that Joshua Pierce and Dorothy Jonas have revived and carried forward as the successors to those virtuosic piano duos of another era. It is logical that Pierce & Jonas have recorded – and, in some cases unearthed and revived – these masterpieces of 20th century two-piano-and orchestra repertoire. This 2-CD album containing seven of these works constitute the first volume; there will be six more in the forthcoming 2-CD second volume, making a bakers dozen of works in all, an extraordinary collection of original works for this medium by an extra-ordinary piano duo working in a grand tradition.

Featuring Giants From The Era When Indie Pop, Indie Dance And The Newly Christened Britpop Became Massive Including Oasis, Manic Street Preachers, Pulp, Radiohead And Suede, NOW Live Forever: The Anthems Is Packed With 82 Universally Loved Tracks Ready For You To Re-Live! Perfect For Father’s Day Or To Treat Yourself To, This Anthemic 4CD Compilation Also Includes Huge Hits From Across The Pond Such As, R.E.M. ‘What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?’ And Iggy Pop ‘Lust For Life’.

SoulMusic Records is very proud to present “On & On: The Buddah/Columbia Anthology,” a hit-filled 2-CD by the iconic Gladys Knight & The Pips, whose international appeal spanned over three decades from the mid-60s to the mid-80s.Collection of recordings by the legendary family group (Gladys, brother Merald ‘Bubba’ Knight and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten) focuses on a particularly successful period of their consistent presence as mainstay global hitmakers from 1973-1985.Initially achieving US acclaim in the early ‘60s with ‘Every Beat Of My Heart’ and ‘Letter Full Of Tears’, the group’s dynamic stage act (with nifty choreography and distinctive harmonies) resulted in a 1966 contract with Motown Records and while some key hits provided a great platform for international exposure, by the early-’70s, Gladys & The Pips were ready to experience a new level of mainstream recognition.Disc One of this anthology chronicles the group’s five-year run of non-stop hits for Buddah Records, including the timeless ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’, ‘Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me’ and a live medley of ‘The Way We Were’ and ‘Try To Remember’. Drawn from eight Buddah albums that included production by Curtis Mayfield, Tony Camillo and Van McCoy among others, “The Buddah Years” features over a dozen charted singles and an alternate mix of ‘Make Yours A Happy Home’ from the Claudine soundtrack.

How much do you like Leonard Bernstein. Carnegie Hall is betting you like him a lot as it has collaborated with Sony to prepare this 6-CD set, The Original Jacket Collection: Bernstein Conducts Bernstein.

Although most widely remembered for his operettas in partnership with W. S. Gilbert, Sir Arthur Sullivan was the most famous of all British composers of the nineteenth century. He was revered as a composer of oratorios, and was urged by Queen Victoria to compose a grand opera. The result, Ivanhoe, achieved 155 consecutive performances (in an opera house especially built for it). Achieving equal success in his lifetime, his substantial legacy of Songs fell into neglect in the twentieth century, but as this album demonstrates Sullivan’s endlessly fertile melodic gifts withstand comparison with those of any other song composer. David Owen Norris and his quartet of outstanding young British singers deliver this fascinating programme with terrific style and panache.

Esoteric Antenna is pleased to announce the release of 50th Anniversary – Ashes Are Burning – An Anthology Live in Concert, the wonderful new 4 disc CD, DVD and Blu ray set by RENAISSANCE.To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the formation of RENAISSANCE, vocalist ANNIE HASLAM and band performed a series of concerts with an orchestra in the USA in October 2019 featuring a set list which included songs which had never been orchestrated or performed with an orchestra before.

This wonderful set includes the albums he recorded for Columbia Records between 1972 and 1979 (most of which he produced himself), as well as the soundtrack LP to a Dutch film called Forest Eyes from 1979, and a bonus disc of Getz at Carnegie Hall for the 40th anniversary of the Woody Herman band that also includes live sets from the 1977 Montreux Jazz and the 1979 Havana Jam festivals. It's beautifully packaged, and Getz is Getz throughout.

The ceaselessly innovative and searching composer and Butch Morris died yesterday in New York. He had been under treatment of cancer for several years. Morris was 65. He developed an approach to big band music that he called conduction. It made demands on musicians by insisting on intensive, intuitive listening, reaction and interaction. The effort involved adjustment to Morris’s highly personalized methods of conducting while simultaneously composing and arranging through a system of cues and hand motions.

Steve Hillage has always had one eye on the future, experimenting with genres such as ambient and dance before many of his peers, and creating extra-terrestrial guitar sounds throughout his career with Uriel, Khan, Gong and System 7…