Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, named after their dedicatee the Margrave Christian Ludwig von Brandenburg, have been part of Nikolaus Harnoncourt's permanent repertoire ever since he founded his Concentus musicus ensemble. The ensemble has recorded them and played them on their tours throughout the world.

Recorded in the Autumn of 1975 at Abbey Road studios (with some sessions also taking place at AIR studios in London), ‘Sunburst Finish’ was the third album by Be Bop Deluxe and the first to feature the line-up of Bill Nelson (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Charlie Tumahai (bass, vocals), Andy Clark (keyboards) and Simon Fox (drums). It was also the first Be-Bop album to be co- produced by Nelson and John Leckie. An album of immense musical inventiveness and creativity, ‘Sunburst Finish’ was one of the finest albums of its era, a perfect cohesion of ten classic songs written by Nelson (featuring his highly imaginative guitar playing) and a stylised and striking artwork package. Including such classic tracks as ‘Heavenly Homes’, ‘Crying To The Sky’, ‘Sleep That Burns’, ‘Life In The Air Age’, ‘Crystal Gazing’ and ‘Blazing Apostles’, the album also spawned the hit single ‘Ships In The Night’ and launched Be-Bop Deluxe as one of the major breakthrough acts of 1976.

Famous tracks from the legendary Miami Soul powerhouse TK Records – famous not because they were hits in the 70s, but because they were used in later years as hip hop samples – dug from the deep well of music that TK recorded back in the day, to lay the blueprint for a whole new generation! The set brings together 15 gems that are not only funky, and which have key elements that you'll know from hip hop songs – but which also stand pretty darn strongly on their own, as a fantastic overview of the care of creation that TK brought to its work in the studio.

If the accordion had already existed in his time, Bach might have dedicated many pieces to this fantastically versatile instrument. In any case, his music seems to be particularly suitable for the concert accordion, as this disc once again proves deafening.

Accordion wizard Mika Väyrynen’s new release includes J.S. Bach/ French Suites 1–3, Praeludium XXIV in B minor and Passacaglia in C minor. On this Bach CD it’s all about high-quality playing by one of the world’s best-known and most highly-acclaimed Finnish accordionists! Remember also Väyrynen’s previous Bach release The Goldberg Variations (ABCD 191) which was a great success.

Given all the overt literary references of Selling England by the Pound, along with their taste for epic suites such as "Supper's Ready," it was only a matter of time before Genesis attempted a full-fledged concept album, and 1974's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was a massive rock opera: the winding, wielding story of a Puerto Rican hustler name Rael making his way in New York City. Peter Gabriel made some tentative moves toward developing this story into a movie with William Friedkin but it never took off, perhaps it's just as well; even with the lengthy libretto included with the album, the story never makes sense. But just because the story is rather impenetrable doesn't mean that the album is as well, because it is a forceful, imaginative piece of work that showcases the original Genesis lineup at a peak…

At the 1978 Montreux Jazz Festival, a variety of artists (including keyboardist Warren Bernhardt, tenor-saxophonist Michael Brecker, guitarists Steve Khan and Larry Coryell, trumpeter Randy Brecker and vibraphonist Mike Mainieri) recorded a dozen funky selections which were originally released on two Arista LPs. Michael Brecker in particular is in good form. The results are not essential but offer listeners a time capsule of where R&B-oriented fusion was in 1978.

The Modern Lovers is the debut studio album by American rock band the Modern Lovers. It was released on Beserkley Records in 1976, although, bar "Hospital" (recorded in 1971), the original tracks had been recorded in 1972. Six of the original tracks were produced by John Cale. The album has been featured three times on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and was included in Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Music Of The Spanish Guitar is various artist compilation album. Released in 1998.

Following the critical success that greeted his Odradek debut album Exodus (music by Korngold and Zeisl), violinist Johannes Fleischmann, known as the ‘Viennese Violinist’, returns in the company of pianist Christoph Ulrich Meier with Solitaire. Solitaire may denote a single set gemstone as well as a single piece in general. This album's programme consists of little-known individual works for violin and piano, all of them musical gems by famous composers, many of whom influenced each other. ‘Solitaire’ also means ‘lonely, alone’ and thus coincides with violinist Joseph Joachim's motto ‘free but lonely’. Famous violinists who inspired composers are also a common thread running through the programme.

La colección “Una historia del pop y el rock en España”, editada por el sello RTVE Música y que tanto éxito ha alcanzado en sus dos primeras entregas dedicadas a las décadas de los 60 y los 70, repasa ahora en un nuevo volumen “Los 80”, una de las más brillantes y prolíficas en cuanto a grandes canciones de la historia de nuestra música pop. José Ramón Pardo y José María Iñigo han vuelto a sumergirse en un mar de canciones y recuerdos para rescatar la esencia de un período que conocen bien; han seleccionado cuarenta canciones indispensables olvidándose de discusiones genéricas para centrarse en lo esencial, que se hayan conservado en nuestra memoria como el reflejo de su época. Así, la efervescente ‘movida’ está representada por grupos como Nacha Pop, Secretos o Gabinete Caligari, el primer tecno-pop por Azul y Negro, Tino Casal y Olé Olé, el rock urbano por Leño, Miguel Ríos o Coz… Pero también hay espacio para ver la evolución de cantautores como Luis Eduardo Aute, Joaquín Sabina, Joan Manuel Serrat, Víctor y Ana o Carlos Cano, la madurez de grupos como Mocedades o Triana, el nacimiento de fenómenos como Pecos, Hombres G y Bosé, la consagración de mitos como El Último de la Fila, Alaska o Mecano… y hasta para el sentido del humor de la Trinca y la Orquesta Mondragón.

Flowers we are …” brings together piano works by György Kurtág (born 1926) and György Ligeti (1923-2006), two of the most important and internationally successful composers of the post-war era who have one thing in common – Hungarian roots. The recording shows that the four-hand piano character piece also has musical significance and genre justification in contemporary music.

Live at Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA, USA 27th January 1989.

This 1960 release is a selection of compositions by Japanese experimental composer Michiko Toyama. The 12 compositions are drawn from traditional Japanese musical forms with additional influence from many of the experimental composers in the West that were active during the twentieth century. Some pieces are sung with instrumental accompaniment; others are spoken poetry. The instrumentation consists of a mix of traditional Japanese and modern Western instruments, including electronic ones.

SOMM RECORDINGS announces a tribute, marking the centenary of his birth, to the English baritone John Carol Case with the first release of his performance of Schubert’s Winterreise, accompanied by Raymond Calcraft.