In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the greatest media event in classical music, Sony Classical released in 2015 a complete edition of all the works ever played at the Wiener Philharmoniker’s New Year’s Concerts. Performed in the “Golden Hall” of the Musikverein between 1941 and 2015, the iconic live performances were issued for the first time in a single box set of 23 CDs. Now, in 2020, this edition will be available as a 26-CD extended version, with all the new repertoire from the last five years compiled on three additional CDs.

UK act Eden Shadow started out as the creative outlet of composer and instrumentalist Ryan Elliott, instigated while he was still in high school if the official biography is to be understood. While initially revolving around Elliott only, Eden Shadow have now developed into a full fledged band project as well with Alex Broben and Tim Burgess joining the ranks.
Their material is dynamic, passionate, often memorable, tracks are long with multiple sections and the atmospheres are usually quite vital. Again some Porcupine Tree-styled sensibilities and a few surprising jazzy manouvres on guitar are welcome. A nice one to say the least.

Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story, 1972–1980 is a two-disc compilation album by Steely Dan, released in 2000.

Difang Duana (1921-2002) and Igay Duana (1922-2002) were an Amis husband and wife farmers who became known as a folk music duo from Taiwan who specialized in traditional Amis chants. Their most recognized work is of a performance of a traditional Amis Palang song (alternately called 'Weeding and Paddyfield Song No. 1', 'Elders' Drinking Song', and 'Jubilant Drinking Song') which was recorded by a French government project and EMI, and which was subsequently sampled by the musical project Enigma for their international hit single 'Return to Innocence'. Accusations of plagiarism were primarily settled out of court…

The Transcendental Études form a cycle of twelve pieces whose composition began in 1826 and was completed in 1851. Starting from the idea of an encyclopædic collection which, in the manner of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Liszt’s Transcendental Études became something of a seismograph of his compositional aesthetic, first strongly under the influence of Paganini, later more in the style of character pieces. These études are among the most difficult works ever written for the piano. Together with Chopin’s Études, they serve as a basis for piano technique, some of them already prefiguring musical impressionism, and they had a significant influence on subsequent piano music, most notably that of Debussy, Rachmaninov, Bartók, and Ligeti.

Those chasing fast-city lights might imply the hard-grooving world of jazz-rock. But look beyond, into the deepening vermilion Afterglow, to find a quite different fusion in this intimate set from the acoustic duo of Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi and Belgian trumpeter/flugelhornist Bert Joris.

The entire original KSAN, KMET, WBCN and KLLT FM Radio Broadcasts. Covering live performances from California & Tennessee (1974) and Missouri (1993).

These two LPs combined on one CD (with one bonus track) show off the duo's strong and weak points at once. Peter & Gordon did good Beatlesque songs, although they couldn't really compete with the real article without the occasional outside song like "A World Without Love" or "I Go to Pieces" coming their way. And they did all right, if not exceptionally well by folk-style numbers such as "Pretty Mary" and "Willow Garden," on which they compare favorably with the Everly Brothers. But when they do blues ("My Babe," "Trouble in Mind"), they sound plain silly, and pretty lightweight when they cover songs like "Lucille" as well. Additionally, they do the occasional over-orchestrated number that breaks the spell altogether…

Vocalist Dana Gillespie's first album was released when she was only 15. Over the next four decades, as a strong presence in the world of music, she was part of the recording of around 40 albums. In the beginning of her career in the '60s, she sang folk tunes. At some point in the '70s, she moved on to rock. By the '80s she turned her attention fully to something that was one of her first loves: the blues. In between all of that recording, Gillespie the actress stayed in the spotlight on the theater stage in shows like Jesus Christ Superstar, and in films like The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Although Brilliant Corners is Thelonious Monk's third disc for Riverside, it's the first on the label to weigh in with such heavy original material. Enthusiasts who become jaded to the idiosyncratic nature of Monk's playing or his practically arithmetical chord progressions should occasionally revisit Brilliant Corners. There is an inescapable freshness and vitality saturated into every measure of every song. The passage of time makes it all the more difficult to imagine any other musicians bearing the capacity to support Monk with such ironic precision. The assembled quartet for the lion's share of the sessions included Max Roach (percussion), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Oscar Pettiford (bass), and Ernie Henry (alto sax)…

As the Soft Machine moved further away from rock on Third and Fourth, drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt's dissatisfaction with the band's direction grew and, by the time sessions started for Fifth in late 1971, he had left permanently to form Matching Mole. While the instrumental Fourth had forayed deep into jazz-rock territory, Fifth found the Soft Machine working almost completely in the jazz idiom. At the time of Wyatt's departure, keyboardist Mike Ratledge commented that the band's co-founder had "never enjoyed or accepted working in complex time signatures." However, Wyatt's replacement - Phil Howard - didn't prove to be the kind of timekeeper Ratledge and bassist Hugh Hopper had in mind and his free jazz orientation led to his dismissal during the recording of the album…

It's rare to find bands capable of keeping their own best qualities to the fore while trying something new each time out, but Depeche Mode demonstrate that balance in full on the marvelous Exciter. Arguably the first album made by the group as a cohesive unit since Violator (and bearing some resemblance to that record in overall title and song names - compare "The Sweetest Condition" with "The Sweetest Perfection"), Exciter finds the trio again balancing pop catchiness with experimental depths. As with Ultra, an outside producer helps focus the end results in new, intriguing directions - in this case, said producer is Mark Bell, known for his work with Björk but also as part of Warp Records' flagship act LFO, which always acknowledged their own debut to Depeche. Bell's ear for minimal, crisp beats and quick, subtle arrangements and changes suit Martin Gore's songs beautifully…

With Siface: l’amor castrato, countertenor Filippo Mineccia, together with Javier Ulises Illán and Nereydas, presents a short imaginary pasticcio opera reflecting the music-making and life of the contralto castrato known by that stage name. Born Giovanni Francesco Grossi in 1653 in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Siface was acclaimed for his exciting musical performances, yet who became famous also for the tragedy of his love life. He was called upon to sing in operas and oratorios by the likes of Stradella, Pasquini, Bassani, Pallavicino and Agostini. For a long time in the service of Francesco II d’Este in Modena, Siface was an active member of the musical “ducal circuit” in the Italian peninsula, even, on one occasion, additionally being sent to England, where he performed before monarchy, and met and impressed Henry Purcell.

Biber's 15 Mystery Sonatas with their additional Passacaglia for unaccompanied violin were written in about 1678 and dedicated to his employer, the Archbishop of Salzburg. Each Sonata is inspired by a section of the Rosary devotion of the Catholic Church which offered a system of meditation on 15 Mysteries from the lives of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The music isn't, strictly speaking, programmatic, though often vividly illustrative of events which took place in the life of Christ.

These quartets, Haydn's last great quartet collection, represent a peak of musical achievement that may have been equaled, but has never been surpassed. Haydn invented the string quartet way back in the 1750s, and by the time he came to write these works some 40 years later, his mastery was so natural and effortless that it's hardly noticeable. All you hear are the great tunes, dramatic surprises, fresh rhythms, and ever-new string textures. These immaculate performances by the Tokyo Quartet went a long way toward establishing it as one of the most exciting young string quartets to emerge in the past two decades, and they have been superbly recorded. A classic set, then, and essential listening.