Iannis Xenakis invented his own instruments for Les Pléiades, a suggestive, interstellar work for percussion ensemble. And once again the Ensemble DeciBells commissioned their very own grandiose musical instruments for their outstanding recording of this work. The musicians led by Basel solo timpanist Domenico Melchiorre play the shimmering music, which fuses the boundaries between individual instrument, ensemble, and listener on a dizzying scale: subtle and yet with nerve!

With ‘Vieni, dolce Imeneo’, La Compagnia del Madrigale make another important stop on their compelling journey across the territory of Italian secular song with a disc devoted to one of the most significant, yet these days somewhat bypassed, composers: Cipriano de Rore.

There is something for everyone in this collection of Isabelle Aboulker's most beautiful melodies, released in Aboulker's 80th birth year and sung here by soprano Julia Kogan. The passionate vocalises of Je t'aime sit alongside limpid fables by La Fontaine (The Crow and the Fox, The Lion in Old Age and more), while the unnerving eeriness of the merchant of souls in Au Marche de Saint-Paul contrasts with the light humour of the Savoir-vivre cycle, and the melancholy accents of Lettre d'amour make way for the irresistible charm of L'Inconstante. Isabelle's prosodic clarity and voluptuous focus on the evocative power of words speak of a deep attachment to the legacy of French song composers. In turn impetuous or melancholy, this thrilling music knows how to aim straight for the heart.

It was thanks to his father's penchant for organizing musical concerts in his family's Berlin apartment on Sunday mornings that the 11-year-old Felix Mendelssohn began to compose quite a long series of string symphonies, and also that the works were initially performed.

For more than 20 years, the Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra has been presenting its audience with a cheerful and at the same time reflective program from the rich repertoire of the Strauss dynasty and its contemporaries at the turn of the year. Under its umbrella, a unique platform has emerged that gives young professionals the ever-less-rare opportunity to participate in exceptional concert projects beyond the limits of their studies and professional life.

Claude Debussy's four master pieces- Estampes, Images 1, Images 2 and Suite Bergamasque- are assembled in a new recording by the Swedish pianist Bernt Wilhelmsson. Bernt Wilhelmsson made his solo debut with The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in 1997 and is now internationally active. He grew up on the island of Orust along the West Coast of Sweden, surrounded by barren nature and the ocean, and has always felt a fascination and closeness to Debussy's dreamlike piano music with its descriptions of nature.

The final U.S. stop on the Tunnel of Love tour is a powerful showcase for the album along with rare Springsteen originals and covers. Bolstering core Tunnel tracks are non-album gems “Be True,” “Seeds,” “Part Man, Part Monkey” and “Light of Day,” while Bruce taps his R&B, rock, blues and folk roots for covers of John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom,” The Sonics’ “Have Love, Will Travel,” Woody Guthrie’s “Vigilante Man,” Edwin Starr’s “War,” Jackie Wilson’s “Lonely Teardrops” and even a couple verses of Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild.” Plus, a soundcheck bonus track cover of Ed Townsend’s “For Your Love.”

b. Robert Autry Inman, 6 January 1929, Florence, Alabama, USA, d. 6 September 1988. An early prodigy, Inman played guitar at the age of five and at 12, he formed his band, the Alabama Blue Boys. He played on various local radio stations and in the mid-40s, he began to appear on the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree. He appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in 1947, where he became friendly with Cowboy Copas.