Max Bruch has never made things easy for fond listeners or performers of music; his contemporaries found him hard to handle, and so have later generations. The reason behind this has nothing to do with the superlative, worldwide renown of the first of his violin concertos, or with his musical language, which had already fallen out of fashion when he died exactly a hundred years ago. Instead, Bruch himself much too quickly and all too often lost his faith in his "musical progeny" because he did not have the patience to let them mature in peace and to secure a place in the broader public consciousness. This applies to the opera Die Loreley, which offers a rewarding listening experience, as well as to his three symphonies composed between 1868 and 1882 and originally intended as a series of works forming a trilogy.

Conductors coming to the Fauré Requiem have choices: The original, 1888 version with only five movements of the eventual seven and very minimal instrumentation; the more commonly performed 1893 chamber version, scored with only the lower strings (violins reserved for the In Paridisum movement), plus harp, timpani, organ, horns, and trumpets, but without woodwinds; and the 1900 revision for full orchestra. Philippe Herreweghe recorded the 1893 version several years ago; here he opts for the full-orchestra setting. But there’s a nice hitch: it’s played on period instruments and uses a harmonium instead of an organ. It comes across as much leaner than other recorded “full” versions (i.e., Chung’s on DG, Dutoit’s on Decca), and indeed the details of the “big” score are nice to hear.

In the path of successful compilations such as the Progressive Rock Trilogy, Punk Trilogy and Heavy Metal Trilogy, Music Brokers presents Glam Rock Trilogy, a wonderful three-disc album that summarizes all the splendor of the style that influenced much of British rock, from punk through Brit pop to techno pop. As a cultural and musical style, glam rock was born in 1971, with the release of the song Ride A White Swan by T. Rex. From that moment forward, there arose a veritable fever which invariably topped the European charts. Artists such as David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Roxy Music, Slade, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, New York Dolls, Suzi Quatro, Glitter Band, The Sweet, Mott, Cockney Rebel, Suede and the aforementioned T. Rex became the heads of style, and all are included in Glam Rock Trilogy, the definitive album.

"See All Her Faces" is the 7th studio album by singer Dusty Springfield, originally released on the Philips Records label in 1972. It contains a mixture of tracks from different recording sessions; some tracks were recorded with Jeff Barry for an aborted third album for Atlantic Records, other tracks were recorded for Philips in the UK between April and July 1970 – these came to be Springfield's final recordings with longtime producer and arranger Johnny Franz. Some, such as "Willie and Laura Mae Jones", recorded with Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin, had been previously released as singles in the US. "See All Her Faces" collects many of those tracks, recorded from 1969 to 1971, placing seven of the British recordings on Side A, while Side B comprises tracks recorded both in the UK and the US. As a result, the album has no cohesive sound, but offers many different styles of music. The album boasts eight producers, including Springfield herself. It has been suggested that "See All Her Faces" is best appreciated track by track, rather than as a whole stylistic statement, as her album "Dusty in Memphis" is often praised to be.

A Time of Revelation is a four-disc box set spanning Uriah Heep's entire career. The bulk of the set draws from the Heep's '70s heyday, including album tracks, live cuts, and previously unavailable-on-disc rarities. For the die-hard collector, the set is a must-have for its obscure items. While the set may be too much for casual fans, it does a good job of rounding up the highlights, so any casual listener wanting a comprehensive collection should turn here.

Santana is the primary exponent of Latin-tinged rock, particularly due to its combination of Latin percussion (congas, timbales, etc.) with bandleader Carlos Santana's distinctive, high-pitched lead guitar playing. The group was the last major act to emerge from the psychedelic San Francisco music scene of the 1960s and it enjoyed massive success at the end of the decade and into the early '70s. The musical direction then changed to a more contemplative and jazzy style as the band's early personnel gradually departed, leaving the name in the hands of Carlos Santana, who guided the group to consistent commercial success over the next quarter-century. In 1998, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band has earned eight Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, the latter all in 2000. Carlos also won Grammy Awards as a solo artist in 1989 and 2003. Santana has sold more than 90 million records worldwide, making them one of the world’s best-selling groups of all time.

Laura Ann Branigan was a Grammy Award-nominated American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number one single "Self Control". Branigan is also remembered for the Top 10 "Solitaire," and for the number one AC hit "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You." The Platinum Collection is the first greatest hits collection of singer Laura Branigan that was released posthmously. It was released only in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2006. The album is part of the Warner Platinum series released by Rhino Records. Out of the many Laura Branigan greatest hits collections released, this one contains the most hits with a track listing of eighteen.

With her new album, Sophie Dervaux brings to the fore two composers who have received less attention so far - despite their great surnames Bach and Haydn. For it is not works by "our old favorites" Johann Sebastian and Joseph that the bassoonist has chosen for her third recording on Berlin Classics, but rather Bach's youngest son - Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782) - and Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806), Joseph Haydn's younger brother. Sophie Dervaux has been principal bassoonist of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra since 2015. Previously, she was principal contrabassoonist of the Berlin Philharmonic. As an ambassador for her instrument, she is committed to expanding the repertoire for bassoon by rediscovering works or commissioning new ones. She has been a "Püchner Artist" since 2014 and is passionate about making her instrument even better known.

In April 1989, Neil Young released the 5-track mini-album Eldorado on CD in Japan and Australia under the name “Neil Young and the Restless”. Neil (guitar & vocals) was backed by Rick Rosas on bass and Chad Cromwell on drums, with long-time Crazy Horse band-mate Frank “Poncho” Sampedro contributing guitar on the title track. Long sought after by Neil Young fans, this wonderful album and guitar tour-de-force finally gets a worldwide release on CD, and the first US release on vinyl outside of Australia. Number ORS 21 in Neil’s Official Release Series, the album comprises of 4 Neil Young compositions, plus a cover of the American standard “On Broadway”, written by Leiber, Stoller, Weil and Mann.

The finest of Labelle's original albums, Nightbirds was recorded in New Orleans with funkmeister Allen Toussaint handling the production chores and, one assumes, members of the Meters taking care of the session work. Worth the price of admission for the Bob Crewe-written "Lady Marmalade" alone, the album veers between the strutting New Orleans, horn-laden singles and more mainstream pop material.

With specially made instruments and a range that can emulate that of a whole orchestra, the acclaimed Guitarra a Seis bring us a colorful program that includes works written specially for the ensemble. Opening with a real feast for the ears in Bach’s lively Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, we further encounter the magical moods of Ravel’s Ma mere l’Oye, a blend of Bulgarian folk and modern music from Atanas Ourkouzounov, Tobias Krebs’ jazz-infused Suite Panamericana, and Sergio Assad’s humorous Juan Sebastian’s Bar, which alludes to Bach and Beethoven but is Brazilian through and through.

Meyerbeer was a precocious composer and this album traces some of his very earliest works. Der Fischer und das Milchmädchen was his first stage work, a charming rural vignette that contains all the essential features of a ballet-divertissement couched in writing that enchantingly evokes the 18thcentury. Collaborating with his teacher, the Abbé Georg Vogler, Meyerbeer composed DerAdmiralin1811. The following year saw Wirt und Gast with the vivid Oriental exoticism of its Janissary music, while Romildae Constanza, his first Italian opera, shows his complete assimilation of Rossinian models.

The six Sonatas, which are often described as 'Trio Sonatas for Organ,' hold a unique place in Bach's oeuvre. In a sense, 'trio' is the most natural organ texture: right hand, left hand, and feet each takes one line of counterpoint. However, in the six Sonatas, the contrapuntal lines are granted a degree of independence that is unmatched in Bach's surviving organ music. Thus, they are atypical of Bach's output for the instrument, and indeed oforgan music in general. The Sonatas are, in effect, 'ensemble music for one player' indeed, several movements originated as actual ensemble pieces.

Bass-baritone Adam Plachetka presents Molieri, a programme of opera arias by Mozart and Salieri, together with the Czech Ensemble Baroque under the baton of Roman Válek. Thanks to fictional works such as the film Amadeus, Antonio Salieri is often scapegoated as the man who allegedly caused Mozart’s untimely death out of professional envy. Despite the fact that this is obviously not true, Salieri’s popularity has suffered from this popular myth-making, and most of his operas have sunk into oblivion. Molieri brings the two composers together, focusing on bass-8 baritone arias from their opera buffas. Famous arias from Mozart’s Da Ponte operas are heard in a completely different light when paired to excerpts from Salieri’s Falstaff, Axur, La grotto di Trofonio and La scuola de’ gelosi. It also makes clear why Salieri enjoyed such success, as well as why great composers such as Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt all wanted to study with him. Given the importance of Prague for Mozart’s operatic successes, the music fits the players of Czech Ensemble Baroque like a glove, and Plachetka possesses the optimal combination of vocal authority and agility to sing these buffo roles.

This CD reissue (put out in 1990) may be hard to find, now that Savoy has been sold to the Japanese Denon label. Originally issued under flugelhornist Wilbur Harden's name, the 1958 quartet (which also includes pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist George Duvivier and drummer Granville T. Hogan) performs nine Rodgers & Hammerstein songs mostly taken from The King and I, plus a reprise and an alternate take of "Hello Young Lovers." The interpretations are tasteful yet swinging, and include such familiar tunes as "Getting to Know You" and "We Kiss In a Shadow," along with some obscurities. Enjoyable music.