NeBeLNeST were one of the most adventurous and energetic young bands to emerge on the international post-rock / avant-progressive scene in the late 90s. The young French band was noted for its dark symphonic rock music influenced by King Crimson, Shylock and Univers Zero/Present, laced with psychedelia and improvisation, and played with a riveting level of energy and intensity derived from the hardcore and noise scenes. In the words of the Chicago Tribune: “these French sound sculptors chisel out large-scale instrumentals that pair up the weird sonics and improvisational bent of mid-period King Crimson with a Gong-like space fusion ambience…[They] borrow bits and pieces of old school art rock and arrange them into a singular sound awash in dissonance and strangely mutated guitar/keyboard tones.”

César Franck’s only symphony came at a time when the French music world was seeking to rival the great Austro-German tradition. The ‘darkness-to-light’ narrative of the Symphony in D minor owes a debt to Beethoven and there is a unique power within its distinctive themes, innovative cyclic form and general gravitas. Franck’s student Ernest Chausson was no doubt inspired by his teacher’s thematic metamorphoses, but the anguished influence of Wagner is also ever present. The published score of the Symphony in B flat major includes many errors which conductor Jean-Luc Tingaud has meticulously corrected after careful study of Chausson’s autograph manuscripts.

Spanning over a period of about 10 years (2013-2023), this collection of short pieces started as sketches, demos, ideas recorded for later. Some of them were presented to Miriodor (the band I’m a member/founder of), but did not develop.

Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet in C minor was one of the first of its genre in France, composed as part of the ‘Ars Gallica’ idea of strengthening French music against German cultural domination. Fauré didn’t entirely escape the influence of Brahms however, and both he and his pupil George Enescu share a spiritual closeness to German late Romanticism in the melancholy complexity of expression in these chamber masterpieces. The monumental first movement of Enescu’s First Piano Quartet contrasts with the rhythmic momentum of the last, in a work that integrates French impressionism with the unmistakable folk music characteristics of his native Romania.

José Antônio de Almeida Prado was one of the most prolific and creative Brazilian composers of the second half of the 20th century, finding inspiration in everything from the birdsong and forests of his native country to a contemplation of the galaxies. The evocative Le Livre magique de Xangô is considered a foundational work in Almeida Prado’s final, eclectic postmodern phase, during which folk music also re-emerged in works such as Das Cirandas. The lively Solo Violin Sonata and lyrical Capriccio both explore the violin’s full expressive potential, while The Four Seasons tests the skill of younger players.

Though both men were pioneers of a new musical identity in a Europe inflamed by nationalist movements, Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) and Bedřich Smetana (1824-84) allowed numerous years to elapse before turning to the string quartet. Did they feel a certain apprehension towards a genre too closely bound up with the Austro-German tradition from which they were trying to break away? No doubt other forms had proved more conducive to their folk-tinged musical language – the miniature for Grieg, the opera and the symphonic poem for Smetana.

With this new b*records disc, the Miroirs Etendus company revisits one of the greatest classics of the Lieder repertoire, questioning the interpretative heritage that has long been associated with it. Pianist and artistic director Romain Louveau, baritone Jean-Christophe Laniece and soprano Victoire Bunel propose a multi-voiced Winterreise that disembodies the overused figure of the Wanderer and favors the autonomy of Wilhelm Muller's poems. Like the Schubertian motifs that seem to appear of their own accord, only to eclipse themselves, the musicians venture a depersonalized interpretation that places the figure of the stranger at the center of this lyrical spectacle.

The debut album from one of the biggest pop groups of the 1990s has turned 25 and to celebrate this anniversary it will be reissued on LP for the first time ever - a limited edition white vinyl pressing!
From their first single 'I Want You' in 1996, Savage Garden were unrivalled, and with the subsequent hits 'To The Moon And Back' and the immortal ballad 'Truly, Madly, Deeply', their huge success was an indisputable fact. The duo's self-titled debut album features these three hit singles + 9 other instantly catchy pop songs.
To date, the Savage Garden debut album has sold over 15 million copies worldwide, making it one of pop music's most successful debut albums of all time.

Bassist and vocalist Nicki Parrott was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. She got her musical start studying flute and piano, but switched to double bass so she could join her sister's band.

"Clair Obscur (Alpha 727), dedicated to German lieder with orchestra, explored the antagonism between light and shadow. Reflet conjures up the nuances and transparencies of French melodies.

"Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra enjoyed a long and intensive artistic collaboration, which came to an abrupt end with Haitink’s death in October 2021.

Vocalist, pilot, and best-selling author Judy Whitmore introduces her rendition of “Come Fly With Me,” the title track from her upcoming album, slated for release in 2024.

After a year of non stop concert engagements, and a 12 month artist in residence invitation to create his Ambient Lounge series on a monthly basis at downtown Tucson's intimate Century Room performance space, The Desert Winds of Change emerged at the summit of this time.

Antonín Dvořák is revered as one of the greatest composers of late 19th-century Romanticism.

In addition to having written the first Viennese operetta, Franz von Suppé was a master of the Italian, French and German styles which he blended like an alchemist to form his own unique, irrepressible compositions.