"Never was there a more complete triumph - never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art." This was the response of the critic in the London Times to the wildly successful premiere of Felix Mendelssohn's Elias in 1846. Hans-Christoph Rademann began his tenure as Principal Conductor of the RIAS Chamber Choir with this groundbreaking oratorio. After eight productive and successful years, his final concert in July 2015 also featured the work.

All albums in this CD box are the original Dutch Shocking Blue album releases from the sixties and seventies, housed in their original covers and with original artwork, representing the band at the time. For a long time Shocking Blue was believed only to be a hit singles band but their albums have well proven to stand the test of time, not only in the Netherlands but also internationally…

Gregor Werner (1695-1766) began directing the fortunes of the Esterházy court band, the Hofkapelle, on 10 May 1728. He was an industrious man. Forty Masses, three Requiems, three Te Deums, four Offertories, twelve Vespers, twelve Good Friday oratorios, approximately eighteen oratorios, a hundred and thirty-three antiphons and a multitude of instrumental pieces and minor works testify to his fertile creative spirit.

Post-modern ironists cloaked behind a veil of buoyantly melodic and lushly romantic synth pop confections, Pet Shop Boys offer wry yet strangely affecting cultural commentary communicated by the Morse code of synth washes and drum machine rhythms. After first emerging in the mid-'80s with "West End Girls" and "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)," Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe quickly established themselves as hitmaking singles artists who were also able to craft emotionally resonant albums, like 1988's Introspective and 1990's Behaviour. The duo navigated the constantly shifting landscape of modern dance-pop with grace and intelligence, moving easily from disco to house music to thoughtful synth pop without losing their distinctive style in the process…

In this electrifying recording, pianist Peter Donohoe shows how much more there is to Ferruccio Busoni than solo transcriptions of J.S. Bach. Many of the late-19th-century Italian composer’s original works, though, still pay homage to musical heroes. “Sonatina No. 6” (“Super Carmen”) is a wildly imaginative fantasy on Bizet’s opera, packed with perhaps more drama and nonchalance than the original. It’s the seven brooding Elegien that get to the heart of Busoni’s genius, however, each thrilling miniature a showcase for some astonishing, inventive piano writing. (“No. 4,” for example, transforms “Greensleeves” into a technical tour de force of sparkling originality.) Still, no Busoni recording would be complete without Bach, and this album’s final tracks are devoted to the Toccata, Adagio & Fugue in C Major, a mighty homage to the power of the pipe organ.

After their acclaimed recording of Telemann’s Miriways, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin returns to PENTATONE with Joseph Haydn’s opera L’isola disabitata, together with an excellent quartet of vocalists. Officially called an azione teatrale, L’isola is a serious opera about love, loss and misunderstanding with a happy ending, set on an exotic deserted island. Special about this opera is that Haydn chose orchestral accompaniment for the entire work, with colourful and dramatic accompagnato recitatives. In Haydn’s printed score, many of the elaborate instrumental sections were deliberately cut, because he feared that they demanded too much from the players, and that some audiences may not have been cultured enough to fully appreciate them. Special about this recording is that these parts have all been reinstated, using a recent edition by Thomas Busse. The seasoned players of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, led by Bernhard Forck, play this lavish score with fervour and swing, while Anett Fritsch (Costanza), Sunhae Im (Silvia), Krystian Adam (Gernando) and André Morsch (Enrico) offer an equally virtuosic vocal delivery.

Leonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Among the most important conductors of his time, he was also the first American conductor to receive international acclaim. According to music critic Donal Henahan, he was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history".

The first half of this album features a remarkable assembly of top flight players whose efforts are admirably anchored by the rock-solid drumming of another small group veteran, Panama Francis. The undeniable highlight is an eight minute tour de force entitled "Story Of The Jazz Trumpet," and it is difficult to imagine anyone else pulling it off as effectively as Shavers. His musical mimicry is dead on and infused with sly humor. The narration was provided by legendary disc jockey Al "Jazzbo" Collins, who invited his radio listeners to join him in a whimsical world he dubbed the "Purple Grotto." He retained a devoted following until his death in 1997. The album's second half shifts gears as the old Kirby sextet is recreated and the marvelous Maxine Sullivan is welcomed aboard to reprise two signature tunes…

regon, formed in 1970, comprised Ralph Towner (classical and 12-string guitars), Paul McCandless (oboe and English horn), Glen Moore (double bass) and Collin Walcott (sitar and tabla).

A band of musicians from the seventies to the present day, who escaped an unlikely plane crash awakened from a cryogenic sleep after being hibernated in an iceberg? "Sotto il segno della lampreda" is the name of the album proposed by the prog band Il Buco Del Baco, a concept that will lead us under the mysterious seabed, among anemones, corals and abyssal creatures in search of the "Great Lampreda". Between vintage and contemporary sounds and irreverent and self-ironic texts full of musical and non-musical quotes, a marine journey in the smell of a nostalgic past.

Indelibly Stamped, Supertramp's second album, was an improvement on their debut, although the group did have a tendency to indulge themselves in long-winded instrumental sections…

Rickie Lee Jones released her auspicious self-titled debut album in 1979 and its equally impressive follow-up, Pirates, in 1981. By the spring of 1983, she apparently was not close to having a third full-length collection of all original songs ready, so Girl at Her Volcano appeared instead…

On David Liebman's trips to Europe, as with many of his gigs in the U.S., he chooses to play with so-called "pickup" bands. In Italy, one of his favorite and most skilled combos features drummer Tony Arco, bassist Paolo Benedettini, and pianist Roberto Tarenzi, a trio more than capable of knowing Liebman's tendencies, having played with him on numerous occasions overseas. As a result, they play Liebman's original music and standards favored by all four participants, done with no filler, some hefty solos, and a wonderful sense of the teamwork expected from a seasoned ensemble. These performances are culled from club dates in Florence, Bari, and Lamezia Terme, full of the fire and passion that Liebman's playing on tenor or soprano sax is known for…

While Emmylou Harris spent much of her career carrying on the legacy of Gram Parsons, Elite Hotel ranks among her most overt tributes to his genius, thanks to its covers of the Flying Burrito Brothers' "Sin City" and "Wheels," along with "Ooh Las Vegas" from the Grievous Angel album…