Antonín Dvorák's Stabat Mater, Op. 58, written in the aftermath of the deaths of three of his children, is a sober and powerful work, inexplicably neglected and unlike any other work of choral music from the 19th century. Perhaps most performances don't capture its full weight, but this live recording from the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, does so. There are many deep pleasures here. The orchestra's choir is extraordinary: rich yet without a hint of wobble and utterly clear in its sense of the text. Jansons keeps things at a deliberate pace that lets the music breathe and the currents of personal experience rise to the surface. The soloists, none terribly well known, are fine in their individual numbers, but absolutely transcendent in ensembles, nowhere more so that in the sublime "Quando corpus morietur" finale (track 10); there are a couple of other strong recordings of this work, but it seems likely that no one has ever matched this conclusion. The live recording from the Herkulessaal in Munich is impressively transparent and faithful to the spontaneity of the event. A superb Dvorák release.

Carmina Burana, the staged cantata by Carl Orff, is a work unique in musical history, claims conductor Paavo Järvi: ‘The convergence of medieval texts with such daringly original orchestral colours creates a soundworld that is both archaic and yet beyond time, in which chorus, orchestra and soloists vie in splendour.’

Investigate the music of Beethoven's contemporaries who were well enough known to be called his rivals, and the idea of Beethoven as fist-shaking revolutionary comes in for some serious revision. Jan Ladislav Dussek, Bohemian-born, became famous all over Europe for piano music that was daring in every way. The three sonatas on this disc date from the very beginning of the nineteenth century.

The 17th century - especially in Italy - was obviously much more advanced in terms of women's emancipation than many a century later. At least we know of several female composers from this period who achieved fame and glory without having to hide behind a male pseudonym.

These sterling performances have been high among the prime available Beethoven Quartet sets since their initial appearance in the early 1970s as sought-after Telefunken LPs. Naïve’s booklet and transfers are the same as those of the 1987 Auvidis Valois set. So what’s this release got that the previous one didn’t? A bargain price, with the eight CDs marked down to the price of four. These are happy days for Beethoven Quartet lovers: my three favorite complete sets (the others are the Quartetto Italiano on Philips and the Talich on Calliope) are all now available at midprice.

Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal, both 'Welcome To Hell' and 'Black Metal' were major influences on the whole genres of thrash and extreme metal. Often considered the first black metal band, the band even gave a certain band named Metallica their first break in Europe nearly 30 years ago. Indeed Lars Ulrich once said “[The first Venom album] 'Welcome To Hell' was a classic! Black metal, speed metal, death metal, whatever you want to call it, Venom started it all with that one record!”
1985’s 'Possessed' is presented here as a digisleeve CD reissue featuring bonus tracks.

Both quartets on this disc are by composers who were not known for their chamber music, and in the case of Verdi, the E minor quartet stands completely outside his usual mode of composition. The Sibelius quartet, while it veers far from the well worn path of late-romantic chamber music, lies comfortably within its composer's milieu, with its angular harmonies, stark melodies, and overall enigmatic mood.