Shostakovich started writing string quartets when he was already a mature composer. Of his 15 quartets, all but the first and last were premiered by the Beethoven Quartet. Originally founded in 1923 under the name ''The Moscow Conservatory Quartet'', they changed its name in 1931 to “The Beethoven Quartet”, shortly before they were named ''Merited Ensemble of the USSR.'' The original members were Dimitry Tsyganov (1903-1992), Vassily Shirinsky (1901-1965) - violins. Vadim Borisovsky (1900-1972) - viola and Sergei Shirinsky (1905-1974) - cello. They have been together as a quartet for 42 years (!) Shostakovich held the group in the highest esteem, declaring, ''it has played a most significant role in the flourishing of our chamber music.

Admittedly, the name Benedikt Anton Aufschnaiter initially sounds like that of an Austrian minor master – this composer has remained virtually unknown until now, even in specialist circles. But such is far from the case with Aufschnaiter: Gunar Letzbor, who has released an entire series of impressive excavations of Austrian sacred music during recent years with his ensemble Ars Austria Antiqua, even refers to him as the 'Catholic Bach'! Both composers – Bach and Aufschnaiter – cultivate a compositional style of masterly polyphony that must have been almost ananachronim in their day but their mastery was unsurpassed. The fact that each composer arrived at completely different results may have something to do with the difference between Catholic and Protestant culture.

Just what the Romantic Piano Concerto series does best: three works unlikely to be encountered in the concert hall, in performances by artists who wholeheartedly—and justifiably—believe in the music. The high expectations of this series are amply realized in volume seventy-six.

The late Romanticism of Roger Sacheverell Coke will appeal to anyone who enjoys Rachmaninov or Delius, Grainger or Scriabin. If that sounds an intriguingly eclectic mix, Coke establishes his own distinctive voice, and this is an important addition to the Romantic Piano Concerto series.

Digitally remastered reissue of this long-lost Psychedelic album from 1968 by this duo featuring Leon Russell. Poised between his past as a top Wrecking Crew session man (Phil Spector, The Byrds, Sonny And Cher) and assistant to Liberty A&R head Snuff Garret, and his future as a '70s Rock superstar, Russell teamed up with his Texas Psych buddy Marc Benno to work with Gene Clark, Harpers Bizarre and Gary Lewis in their new studio. In between sessions, they created this unusual and breathtaking album. Here once more is this amazing lost gem, intensified in Rev-Ola style, and ready to work it's magic! A great lost nugget by one of the major Rock superstars!

Four years since the release of their critically acclaimed seventh album, ‘The Reckoning Dawn‘, British black metal forerunners Winterfylleth return to the fray with their anthemic new album, ‘The Imperious Horizon‘ on September 13th via Candlelight/Spinefarm.
After a successful European tour with Gaahl’s Wyrd & Gaerea in late 2022, Winterfylleth began work on their eighth album, ‘The Imperious Horizon‘, in early 2023. That writing process led to nine new tracks of intense, atmospheric black metal, that further deepened the strength of material in the Winterfylleth arsenal. The end result is one of the darkest, most enthralling, and most essential records to be released in 2024.

Tonight at Noon: Three of Four Shades of Love marks the 80th anniversary of Charles Mingus' birth and is the seventh recording in a series that pays tribute to his music. The CD features the talents of the Mingus Big Band, a 14-piece rotating ensemble launched in 1991 by the widow of the composer/arranger/bassist, Sue Mingus. The thematic focus of the CD is love and its ten love songs also mark the debut of the Charles Mingus Orchestra, which is featured on four of the songs. The previously unreleased "Love's Fury" features a stellar arrangement by Syl Johnson as well as the very lyrical compositions Charles Mingus never quite received recognition for…

The sprawling double LP Four Letter Monday Afternoon is generally considered the best effort from these jazzy Krautrockers. Rats Road, issued 30 years later, consists of recordings from those same sessions that had to be left off the original release because of lack of space, with material nearly as strong. Like Four Letter, this finds Out of Focus expanded to an 11-piece and stretching out on long jams with loose, funky rhythms and lots of lengthy instrumentals on various brass, keyboards, and guitar. In fact, this record is even more instrumental, with only two tracks with vocals, the energetic "I'd Like to Be Free" and "Tell Me What I'm Thinking Of," the latter which also appeared as a bonus track titled "When I'm Sleeping" on the CD reissue of Four Letter Monday Afternoon…

Mange Tout, Blancmange's follow-up to Happy Families, appeared in 1984. Typical of many second albums, the production is a little glossier, the sound a little less fresh. On Mange Tout, Arthur and Luscombe stick to the pattern they established on their debut, alternating catchy, sequencer-heavy pop with downtempo ballads. Sitar and tabla flavorings continue to play a significant role, as does co-conspirator David Rhodes' guitar. Also typical of many sophomore efforts, Mange Tout at times runs short of material. While the singles "Don't Tell Me" and "Blind Vision" are nigh irresistible, the similar "That's Love That It Is" gets to be a bit much. And though the B-side boasts the nifty a cappella "See the Train" and the pleasing (if disturbingly Thompson Twins-like) "My Baby," a couple of the songs carry the stench of filler. The album's closer - a synth-heavy, nearly eight-minute take on ABBA's "The Day Before You Came" - isn't terrible, just inexplicable.

Throughout his career, Taj Mahal has always been considered a bluesman, which is true enough, since the basis for everything he does has been the country blues, but he is not a traditionalist at heart, and he has always looked for ways to push the blues into new places and shapes. Adding at times rhythms and sensibilities that are drawn from reggae, ragtime, calypso, zydeco, and other genres, Mahal practices a kind of blues hybrid that is his alone, and he has been a huge influence on newer artists like Chris Thomas King and Corey Harris. This collection derives from the five albums he recorded with Private Records during the 1990s, and overlaps somewhat with The Best of the Private Years, released in 2000. Highlights include his version of Doc Pomus' "Lonely Avenue," a bebop blues take on Horace Silver's "Señor Blues," and an atmospheric reading of Goffin & King's "Take a Giant Step"…

One of a series of remastered and sonically enhanced editions of the Vangelis albums recorded for the RCA and Arista labels. All of which come in deluxe digi-pack designs, with masters personally supervised by Vangelis in 2013.
The superb ‘Albedo 0.39’ was Vangelis’ second album to be released by RCA Records and was recorded at Nemo, his personal studio in London, in 1976. This conceptual work, inspired by space and galactic physics, took its name from the planet Earth’s albedo, (the proportion of the light a planet receives that is reflected back into outer space), as it was in 1976.
The album features the iconic ‘Pulstar’ and saw Vangelis push the perceived boundaries of the synthesizer as a musical instrument to new dimensions…

Legendary, long-running Christian heavy metallers Stryper are set to return with their twelfth studio album of original material entitled "When We Were Kings". While the band continues with the pursue of a heavier sound compared to the classic albums of the 80's, Stryper maintain crucial to approach every new album with the mentality that "our best is yet to come." There is no reason why that thought cannot become reality. "When We Were Kings” has it all - everything expected from Stryper and then some.

The Petards have tried the impossible. In the early years of rock music, they met as a completely isolated German band from the provinces to achieve their national breakthrough on their own - the dream of international fame in the back of their minds. In their seven-year career, the Petards have made thousands of appearances, five long-playing records, a dozen singles and a lot of experience that groups in this country have been struggling with to this day. They were among the pioneers of German rock music who faced the thankless task of bringing new music to the rural areas of the Republic, where beat or rock music had previously only been accessible via radio. Although bands like the Petards met a starved and enthusiastic audience there, they were usually denied the boring recognition for their fundamental musical fieldwork.

Arild Andersen's Electra was composed for the Spring Theater in Athens for their production. These "18 Scenes," as they are subtitled, represent various cues and serial music for the production of Sophocles' deeply moving classic. Andersen collaborates with both European and Greek musicians here, among them the great vocalist Savina Yannatou, guitarist Eivind Aarset, drummer Patrice Héral, and trumpeter Arve Henriksen. The music is heavily arranged, taut, and spacious. Everything is understated yet utterly dramatic. Voices, drum programs - courtesy of Andersen and Nils Petter Molvær - brass, electric guitars, chorus, and solo voices are given direction by Andersen's bass and conducting, allowing a sort of musical story to emerge that not only informs but works independently of the dramatic work they accompany…

Riff Raff, co-led by Brit keyboard boss Tommy Eyre and bassist Roger Sutton, grew out of the Mark-Almond Band. Before meeting Jon Mark, Eyre had played with Joe Cocker's Grease Band. The pair decided to form solo projects while with Mark-Almond, and recruited vocalist Alan Marshall, drummer Kenny Slade, and guitarist Martin Ball. This lineup was never formalized, though they had recorded demos and even finished some tracks for a debut album for Richard Branson. The amalgam of jazz, rock, and soul was intoxicating and was a fine emotional alternative to the Canterbury bands, which were much more concerned with complexity than groove. The music included here features all seven of those original finished tracks as well as the first four recordings of the final band lineup after Marshall and Slade left.