New Year’s Eve Concert 1996 – Dances and Gypsy Tunes The fascinating Russian virtuoso violinist, Maxim Vengerov (winner of the Echo Klassik) lends radiance to the gala performance under the baton of Claudio Abbado. Johannes Brahms’Hungarian Dances and Gipsy Songs; Maurice Ravel’s Tzigane and La Valse and Hector Berlioz’s Hungarian March make this New Year’s Eve with the Berliner Philharmoniker unforgettable.

Dreyschock and Kullak are today only footnotes in the biographies of those who emerged from the nineteenth century as giants of the musical world, but in their time both artists were very significant indeed.

Dvorák's music is often a source of sheer warmhearted joy. Even the sadder moments in these gorgeous dances come with a hidden smile and a gracious sense that all is right with the world. The late Rafael Kubelik led his German orchestra in a wonderful recording of these Dances, beautifully played with great affection and idiomatic rhythms (which the conductor must have taught the orchestra). As performances, these are comparable with the legendary 1950 set by Vaclav Talich and the Czech Philharmonic (Supraphon 11 1897-2). Unlike the Supraphon, though, Kubelik's recording is stereo, sounding better than ever in its new remastering.

Nine-track compilation of Indonesian music recorded between 1979 and 1991, compiled by Munir Septiandry of the influential Indonesian DJ collective Midnight Runners.

Talk about rockers rollin'! This fantastic four-CD set from the veteran British rockers includes all 75 of their A-sides (many of them being radio edits not available on the original albums) plus Jump That Rock (Whatever You Want), their 2008 collaboration with the German techno act Scooter. Love 'em or hate 'em, Status Quo have been rockin' the charts for four decades. While they remain living legends and rock icons in the U.K., Europe, South America, and elsewhere, they can't even get arrested in the States! The "hip" U.K. press love to take as many potshots at them as possible, which is all the more reason to loveQuo. But we all know that, deep down (deeper and down), those critics probably have a soft spot for quite a few of Quo's hits but will never admit to it in public. At any rate, the band has always managed to maintain a certain quality level that may not always touch the stars, but, at the least, will always rock the house!

If glam-era rockers Geordie are remembered for much these days, it is for handing on vocalist Brian Johnson to AC/DC at a time when most observers reckoned both he (and they) were long past their sell-by date. Geordie, in particular, had scarcely been heard of in seven years, failing even to impact on the one recent movement that seemed custom-built for them, the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal. But AC/DC knew what they were getting, and anyone casting their ears back to Geordie's prime will realize they weren't kidding themselves. Reiterating (of course) the string of singles that Geordie cut between 1972-1975, The Singles Collection opens with the solid quartet upon which their reputation is still based, the hits "Don't Do That," "All Because of You," "Can You Do It," and "Red Eyed Lady."

Mahjun was an underground prog band that started out as an psychedelic folk ensemble Maahjun. It was named after one of the founding members Jean-Louis Mahjun who played violins and mandolins on the records; other founding members were Cyril Lefebvre, Jean Pierre Arnoux and Alain Roux who were all skilled on multiple instruments. Result of their many influences was on their first album in 1971 a very avantgarde take on folk music combined with hard rock. Two years afterwards they renamed themselves into Mahjun and incorporated more of a jazz sound into their eclectic sound.

Sarah Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by music critic Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century." Nicknamed "Sassy" and "The Divine One", Sarah Vaughan was a Grammy Award winner. The National Endowment for the Arts bestowed upon her its "highest honor in jazz", the NEA Jazz Masters Award, in 1989. Recordings of Sarah Vaughan were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."