With his first stage work ‘Le Villi’, the young Giacomo Puccini instantly struck a chord with his contemporaries. His unerring instinct for deeply moving melodies made him a beacon of hope for a new generation of Italian opera composers. In this ‘opera ballo’ he masterfully set to music the gruesomely beautiful legend of an unfaithful fiancé who is killed by the frenzied dance of the “Willis” – elemental spirits haunting the Black Forest. On October 13, 2024, a few weeks before the centenary of the composer’s death on November 29, the Munich Radio Orchestra presented a concert performance of the two-act version of ‘Le Villi’ at the city’s Prinzregententheater.

On sait peu de choses sur la vie personnelle de la talentueuse compositrice. Cependant, les quelques témoignages qui existent d'Anna Bon di Venezia indiquent une carrière musicale impressionnante à travers divers pays européens. Anna Bon di Venezia est née en août 1738 à Bologne, en Italie. Elle vient d'une famille de musiciens italiens prospères qui ont été actifs dans de nombreux pays européens. Anna Bon a reçu sa formation musicale au célèbre « Ospedale della Pietà » de Venise. L'Ospedale était un orphelinat pour filles, et en même temps une importante école de musique où enseignaient des professeurs comme Antonio Vivaldi. L'orchestre de filles de l'Ospedale avait une excellente réputation internationale.

The Secret Language of Birds is Ian Anderson's third solo album, but the first to specifically highlight his melodic skill and guitar prowess on a set of folk-inspired songs. His first solo album, 1983's Walk into Light, was marred by its full embrace of sterile '80s production in lieu of rusticity. While his second effort, 1995's Divinities, was a move in the right direction and a sonic precursor to the set at hand, it still was held back by its conscious decision to downplay Anderson's obvious acoustic heritage for a more classical bent. But sometimes the obvious is what works best, and Jethro Tull fans were pleased to learn that Anderson's third release finally embraced his classic sound.

To celebrate 60 years of this incredible journey, From The First Sting takes you through the band's most iconic and defining eras. Featuring 16 handpicked tracks, this collection showcases the band's decades of work featuring 2 unreleased song versions. Available on CD Digisleeve, this comprehensive release shines a lasting light on the career of these influential masters of the genre.

Patricia Kaas, the iconic French singer, presents the compilation "1987-2025: UNE VIE", which was released on June 13, 2025. This two-disc album in digisleeve packaging offers carefully selected songs from her 38-year career, including the new, previously unreleased single "Les yeux de ma mère". The album is a tribute to her unique voice and ability to interpret French chanson with deep emotion. For fans of French music, this album is a must-have.

In the second instalment of the Consone Quartet’s cycle, the foursome continues its exploration of Felix Mendelssohn’s string quartets, simultaneously delving into the work of his sister Fanny, with her only work in the genre. Despite its turbulent character, Felix’s String Quartet in E minor, Op. 44 No. 2, was written three months after the composer’s marriage, during a period of stability and creativity. In contrast, the String Quartet in F minor, Op. 80, was composed while he was recovering from shock, following Fanny’s premature death. It is a work of striking bitterness and agitation, an unambiguous reflection of his distraught mental state. Fanny’s String Quartet in E flat major is an attractive and well-crafted work, which, due to her family discouraging her pursuit of a career in composition, remained unpublished until 1988. It is given a vibrant performance here by the Consone Quartet, the first period instrument quartet to be selected as BBC New Generation Artists.

Following her acclaimed debut Diaries, pianist Tiffany Poon returns with Nature, an album that explores the evocative power of French music in capturing the beauty of the natural world from the delicate shimmer of water to the quiet mysteries of the forest and the animals found within. Nature, which Tiffany recorded at legendary Provence recording studio Miraval Studios (Pink Floyd, Sade, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) with producer Damien Quintard, brings together works by French composers across centuries, united by an instinctual admiration for the world around them.

White Lies approached their seventh album, Night Light, with a fresh method: mastering the songs live before recording them. Inspired by the 1970s live-performance TV show The Midnight Special, the trio decided to rehearse and refine the tracks together in a room before entering the studio – a reversal of the process of finding the true spirit of songs only after touring them.

Most of you probably already know that Freedom was formed with two former Procol Harum members, guitarist Ray Royer and drummer Bobby Harrison.
Freedom were a legendary British psychedelic hard-rock band. This is their fourth album, originally released for the collectable Vertigo label in 1971. Powerful hard-rock / bluesy sound with loud wah /distorted guitars, long tracks, wasted vocal. Recommended to fans of Clear Blue Sky, Budgie, Jodo.
Although the roots of "Through The Years" are in hard rock, it has many blues influences in most of the songs (especially at guitar solos). Furthermore, folk and pop music in not strange to Freedom, since apart from acoustic guitars, they use very "catchy" vocal harmonies in their songs…

A very humble beginning for this excellent progressive band. Only a couple years removed from high school, they were strictly a metal band at this point, and "Damnation" is the only song that has remained in their catalog from this session. Early recordings such as this one are the reason their name conjures up the image of a metal band. This re-release contains a 1984 demo version of "Last Call," a live rendition of "Kiss of Death," and rehearsal recordings of "The Calling" and Iron Maiden's "Flight of Icarus."