Sir Georg Solti conducts an outstanding cast - led by Kiri Te Kanawa in one of her most celebrated stage roles - in Elijah Moshinsky's acclaimed production from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Michael Yeargan's designs beautifully evoke fourteenth-century Genoa - the setting for one of Verdi's most heartfelt operas of public and private passion.

Although Liszt’s thirteen symphonic poems exist in two-piano transcriptions prepared by the composer himself, it was his Czech student August Stradal (1860–1930) who transcribed twelve of them for solo piano – versions which demand almost superhuman virtuosity. Stradal died before he could tackle the last of the symphonic poems, Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe; Risto-Matti Marin has made good that lacuna with his own virtuoso transcription, and adds six of Stradal’s transcriptions of Liszt songs for good measure.

While the Symphony No. 6 in C minor, Op. 58, of 1896 by Alexander Glazunov is not the most personally characteristic of his eight completed symphonies – the optimistic Third or the Olympian Fifth are more typical of his confident symphonic aesthetic – it is arguably the most typically Russian of his symphonies. Part of the reason for this is the scoring – violins in octaves above massed brass at its climaxes à la Tchaikovsky and gorgeously colorful woodwind writing in its central movements – part of it is the themes – ardent and powerful with a yearning quality characteristic of fin de siècle Russian symphonies – but most of it is the furious tone of the opening movement.

Bobby Harrison (West Ham, England) is a drummer. He was an early member of Procol Harum, but shortly after their 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was released, he and guitarist Ray Royer left the group to form the band Freedom.
“Funkist” is considered to be the “missing link” in Bobby Harrison’s career - coming as it does between the two legendary bands Freedom and Snafu. Previously only available on vinyl in the US this Angel Air release showcases a bunch of top-notch British rock legends: Micky Moody, (later of Whitesnake), Herbie Flowers (one-time Blue Mink, laid down the classic bass-line on Lou Reed’s “Take A Walk On The Wild Side”, later with Sky), drummers Ian Paice (Deep Purple)…

The Krupa band of 1941 to 1943 had two great forces in it with the addition of trumpeter Roy Eldridge and vocalist Anita O'Day replacing Irene Day. Eldridge almost singlehandedly transformed the orchestra from a pop-based dance band to a more jazz-inspired one, and O'Day was simply the most swinging singer Krupa ever had in the fold. Highlights include a wild "After You've Gone," "Stop! The Red Light's On," "Let Me Off Uptown," "Thanks for the Boogie Ride," "Knock Me a Kiss," "Bop Boogie," and the previously unissued "Barrelhouse Bessie From Basin Street." Those interested in Krupa's career as a bandleader should start with this one.

Bread released a total of five albums during their original lifetime, and these are all collected here. After a breakup, they did one additional reunion album, Lost Without Your Love, which was inferior to the original string, and which is not included….

A minimalist masterpiece a million miles from Nashville country, Kurt Wagner's latest Lambchop album pursues the electronica soundbed and vocoder vocals first employed on FLOTUS. The chilly sheen of its glitchy synth surfaces soon gives way to an envelopng warmth, enhanced by Wagner's crackly vocal, always teetering on the edge of distortion, its electronic soundscapes enhanced by spectral piano melodies, endlessly inventive bass and intiutive drumming from his trio of sidemen. With its melancholic mood and lyrics rooted in reflection and regret, this could be the birth of an entirely new genre - electro-jazz noir.

UK five CD set comprising the band's first five albums, originally issued on EMI's Parlophone and Harvest labels between 1969 and 1972 (The Climax Chicago Blues Band, Plays On, A Lot of Bottle, Tightly Knit and Rich Man). Formed in Stafford in 1968 by Colin Cooper, the band (originally known as the Climax Chicago Blues Band) recorded their debut album in September and November 1968 with a line-up of Colin Cooper (vocals, harmonica), Pete Haycock (guitar, slide guitar, vocals), Arthur Wood (keyboards), Derek Holt (rhythm guitar, bass, organ), Richard Jones (bass) and George Newsome (drums)…

PET SHOP BOYS Totally (Rare and legendary 1988 Japanese promotional-only 11-track CD album - unquestionably
one of their rare titles, this unique compilation is the jewel of any PSB collection! This is one of those items
you often hear about but hardly ever see. Housed in a superb custom black & white picture sleeve, taking its cue
from the Introspective artwork.

It is a sad fact that the reputation and fame of many composers, built up over a lifetime, evaporates on their death bed. Si mes vers avaient des ailes, a short song written when the composer was just thirteen, is the work on which Hahn’s posthumous fame had, until relatively recently, relied, and is included here in the composer's own transcription for cello and piano. Recording catalogues now reveal an ever-growing list of works—concertos, symphonic offerings, songs, piano pieces and chamber music—by this most urbane and charming composer. The C major Violin Sonata of 1926 assuredly leads us into the world of Fauré fifty years earlier, its easy lyricism and textural transparency bearing a kinship with the elder French musician’s A major Sonata. This melodic suppleness is continued in Soliloque et Forlane, now with viola and piano demonstrating Hahn’s skill in turning out a jaunty tune. The Nocturne and the Romance, both for violin and piano, reveal further an ability to combine passionate intensity with a sense of refined melodic and harmonic delicacy. The Piano Quartet of 1946 adopts a more muscular and impassioned character. Melodic charm and restfulness in the Andante are interrupted by the central passage which sails into troubled and expressive waters and the finale rolls gracefully to its compelling conclusion. This charming recording is the perfect showcase for Room-Music, a consortium of internationally acclaimed musicians who wish to perform and explore chamber music in a more flexible and innovative form.

"Born in 1972, Albert Schnelzer belongs to the most widely noticed Scandinavian composers of his generation. He has written in all genres, and the present disc includes a concerto as well as both orchestral and chamber works. Schnelzer’s orchestral output has attracted great attention, with A Freak in Burbank belonging to his most often heard works. Inspired by Haydn as well as by the filmmaker Tim Burton,

Following their recording of Bach's Kunst der Fuge, Alberto Rasi and his Accademia Strumentale Italiana take on a new challenge, recording the French masterpiece by Jean-Philippe Rameau.
Fifteen years after his Nouvelles Suites de Pieces de Clavecin, Rameau once again turns his attention to an instrumental work, for what will be the last time, inspired by the new potential for chamber music glimpsed in the use of the concertante keyboard. The 1741 collection is the only new work he produced between 1740 and 1744, before returning to the musical theatre to which he will dedicate the rest of his life.

Marc Sabbah (1988, New York City) is a viola soloist, chamber musician, professor at the Royal Conservatory of Mons and as of 2012 has been the viola soloist of the Belgian National Orchestra.

Winner of the Strings Final of the BBC Young Musician in 2020, Coco Tomita’s stunning debut album features a varied programme, including works by Enescu, Poulenc, Boulanger, Hubay, Ravel and Debussy. The choice of repertoire for her debut recording was entirely Tomita’s own: 'Having complete freedom over what I wanted to share with the world was amazing, and put simply, I love all the pieces I’ve chosen deeply.