Nowhere was Ella Fitzgerald's mastery of America's "classical" music more evident than on the legendary songbook albums of the 1950s. Of the songwriting giants covered in the series, the collection of songs by George and Ira Gershwin was arguably the greatest. Oh, Lady, Be Good!: Best of the Gershwin Songbook collects 17 of the strongest cuts from the 5 original LPs. Why Gershwin? Ella's painstaking attention to musical perfection helped turn many songs into standards, but Ira Gershwin's lyrics seemed to speak to Ella most directly of all. Ira, who was present at these 1959 sessions, wrote lyrics that conveyed a sense of lightness and romanticism, qualities that fit Fitzgerald's vocal style to a tee. Ella's unique abilities are showcased on her masterful version of "Someone To Watch Over Me." While many singers have captured the song's sense of longing, Fitzgerald refuses to overdo it…

In honour of Maurice Ravel’s 150th anniversary in March 2025, the Pacific Quintet is thrilled to present one of his landmark works Le Tombeau de Couperin. Originally composed as a solo piano suite between 1914 and 1917, Le Tombeau de Couperin pays homage not only to the Baroque composer François Couperin but also to friends Ravel lost during World War I. Each movement is dedicated to a fallen soldier, blending elegance with a deep sense of remembrance.

2005's Playing the Angel proved to be one of Depeche Mode's strongest albums - the combination of Ben Hillier's production, the emergence of David Gahan as a songwriter following his initial solo effort and a clutch of striking songs that openly embraced arena-level bombast following the much more subtle Exciter resulted in wide praise and a well-received tour. As a result - especially given the return of Hillier, the first producer to work on two Depeche albums in a row since Flood's heyday with Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion - Sounds of the Universe was initially suspected of being Playing the Angel redux, something the swaggering lead single "Wrong" didn't undercut at all. After all these years, though, Depeche can still pull out surprises, and what's quite astonishing about Sounds is how they've returned to the equipment and textures of their early-'80s work…

Recorded live at End Cole Ave, October 19, 1969, except (2-1) recorded live at End Cole Ave, October 18, 1969, and (2-2/2-3/2-4) recorded live, more or less, in those days.

Previously unreleased double CD from one of the giants of Brazilian Music featuring highly sought after versions of Milton classics recorded between 1974 and 81. Featuring classic Milton tracks such as ‘Os Escravos De Jó’, ‘Ponta de Areia’, ‘Minas’, and ‘Maria Maria’, Milton considers these the ‘definitive’ versions of his classics.

A Bold Celebration of Romantics, Escapists, and Dreamers: Electric Light Orchestra's Eldorado Marries Rock and Symphonic Elements, Includes "Can't Get It Out of My Head" Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD Plays with Previously Unheard Dynamics, Rich Tones, and Bountiful Colors Electric Light Orchestra leader Jeff Lynne did more than figuratively reach for the sky on Eldorado. Daring to be bold, and creating imaginative worlds that invite the listener to escape the mundane, the visionary composer-musician achieved a multidisciplinary fantasia and, in the process, a prog-rock landmark. Nearly 50 years later, the concept album's brilliance can be experienced like never before in cinematic fashion.

Lena Horne was a multi-talented singer, dancer, actor and civil rights activist, who by the age of 16 was performing in the Cotton Club Revue in New York and soon became big band singer, and appeared in her first movies during the 1930s. Eventually enjoying a career which spanned seven decades, she became a highly-respected entertainer, famed for her sultry and sophisticated way with a song. This 48-track 2-CD set addresses the first fairly brief era of her recording career, when she established her reputation and had the first of her hits. It comprises most of her releases from these years on the Decca, Bluebird, Victor, Black & White and MGM labels, plus one V-Disc recording, and includes her hits with the Great American Songbook classics “Stormy Weather”, “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” and “Deed I Do”. It features performances with the orchestras of Noble Sissle, Charlie Barnet, The Dixieland Group of Basin Street, Artie Shaw, Teddy Wilson, Lou Bring, Phil Moore and Luther Henderson. She was one of the finest interpreters of popular song of her era, and this collection brings together her early versions of songs by the great writers of the day, providing a fine showcase for her highly distinctive talents.

Nils Frahm fulfills last year’s promise to follow up 'Day', the collection of solo piano music he released last March. 'Night', which contains five new tracks, will be out on May 9 on vinyl as well as via all digital platforms. A CD version, 'Night & Day', including all eleven tracks from both albums, will also be made available at the same time. The new music follows Nils' latest live album, 'Paris', which was released in December last year.

This digital-only recording features the Second Symphonies of Julius Eastman and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky—works that, despite being separated by over 100 years of history, share a remarkable vibrancy and hidden sentiment that continue to resonate today.

The Swedish mezzo soprano Anne Sofie von Otter is among the most versatile singers on today's scene, recording and performing opera of various eras and in various languages, art song, oratorio, rock, pop, and jazz. As a song recitalist, collaborating with pianist Bengt Forsberg, she has specialized in unusual and original programming. Von Otter was born in Stockholm on May 9, 1955. Her father was a Swedish diplomat, and her childhood was divided among stints in several countries; she mastered multiple languages as a child.

Classical in its respect for established forms, romantic in its clearly autobiographical nature, the chamber music by the composer of The Bartered Bride is not plentiful, especially when compared with the output of his younger, immediate successor, Antonfn Dvoiik, who returned to the string quaner form rhroughout his creative life, producing fifteen between 1862 and 1895. Well removed from absolute music - as would be Leoš Janáček's after him -, Smetana's surviving chamber catalogue consists of only four works that make up a rare case of psychological programme music. The Piano Trio(1855) already represented a sort of tombeau for the small daughter he had recently lost to scarlet fever.

As a Bach interpreter, Richter was almost unrivalled worldwide for many years and his Bach interpretations set standards. Karl Richter and his choir became the formative interpreters of the internationally renowned Bach Festival in Ansbach, a meeting place for the musical elite from all over the world. For almost two decades, the Munich Bach Choir and Orchestra has had the musical world from New York to Leningrad, from Tokyo to Paris at its feet, and many of its highly decorated recordings are among the best-selling recordings.

What else can be traced and discovered from Handel’s lost music? Well, once again the Brook Street Band embark on their exciting quest with their fourth disc on AVIE, bringing music unheard since the time of Handel: English Cantatas and Songs.

STUNNING IN HOUSE SESSIONS FROM IAN ANDERSON WHILE ON THE DIVINITIES TOUR Best known, of course, for his work as lead vocalist, flautist, acoustic guitarist and leader of Jethro Tull, Ian Anderson is a multi-instrumentalist who, in addition to flute and acoustic guitar, plays keyboards, electric guitar, bass, bouzouki, balalaika, saxophone, harmonica and a variety of whistles. His solo work began with the 1983 album Walk into Light; since when he has released another five works, including the sequel to the Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick (1972) in 2012, titled Thick as a Brick 2. Anderson was planning to start a solo career in 1980, while Jethro Tull was taking a break following the death of bassist John Glascock in 1979, and wrote the album A as a solo record.

In 1993, Duran Duran released a second self-titled record: this Duran Duran album is known as The Wedding Album (for Nick Egan's cover art featuring the wedding photos of the band members' parents) to distinguish it from the 1981 album, and it was produced and recorded with John Jones. The release of this first "comeback" album was initially delayed, but listener demand for leaked single ‘Ordinary World’ forced it onto radio playlists months earlier than planned; it reached number 3 on the US chart and number 6 in the UK and won a prestigious Ivor Novello Award for song writing. • ‘Come Undone’ made number 7 in the US and number 13 in the UK. Both the band and the record label seemed to be caught by surprise by the album's critical and commercial success (No. 4 in the UK, No. 7 in the US).