Enya: Sounds of the Season
EAC RIP | FLAC CUE LOG | 234 MB | COVER
Christmas | 1 CD | Label: Warner Brothers | Release Date: 2006 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com | FF.com

Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection (known as Christmas Secrets in Canada) is a Christmas Extended Play by Irish musician Enya. The album was released on November 23, 2006. The album was released in partnership with NBC, and was only sold in Target stores and in the NBC store in Rockefeller Center in New York City. The album was released in Canada under the name "Christmas Secrets" and only contained the first four tracks. In other countries, the album was included in a special box set with Enya's Amarantine album under the name "Amarantine: Special Christmas Edition" (however, the "Amarantine: Special Christmas Edition" only includes the first four tracks like the Canadian release).

Classic FM - Christmas Carols
EAC RIP | FLAC CUE LOG | 234 MB | COVER
Christmas | 1 CD | Label: Classic FM | Release Date: 2006 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com | FF.com

Just about all of the seasonal favourites are here on a disc of carols that exudes a decidedly Christmassy glow. What makes this one stand out from the crowd of festive offerings is the standard of the performances from the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, which sings with a superb sense of ensemble, perfect tuning and crystal clear diction under Richard Marlow. The solo treble who begins "The Holly and the Ivy" gently eases the listener in to the 80-minute-long programme. Marlow takes an almost devotional approach to some carols (notably "Away in a Manger" and "While Shepherds Watched"). The account of "God rest ye merry, gentlemen" is warm and affectionate, traits that could be said to characterise the disc as a whole. The various arrangements by David Willcocks are as familiar and welcoming as an old pair of slippers: one never tires of their imagination and finesse. A disc of traditional Yuletide offerings, this disc is admirably recorded and performed with real affection by one this country's top choirs.

Wynton Marsalis - Christmas Jazz Jam (2009)n
MP3 VBR |101 MB | COVER
Jazz | 1 CD | Label: Somerset Entertainment | Release Date: 2009 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com | FF.com

Wynton Marsalis has been described as the most outstanding jazz musician and trumpeter of his generation, as one of the world’s top classical trumpeters, as a big band leader in the tradition of Duke Ellington, a brilliant composer, a devoted advocate for the Arts and a tireless and inspiring educator. He carries these distinctions well. His life is a portrait of discipline, dedication, sacrifice, and creative accomplishment.

Stravinsky, Bartók, Mussorgsky - Esa-Pekka Salonen
MP3 256 kbps |124 MB | COVER
Classical | 1 CD | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | Release Date: 2006 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

This is Esa-Pekka Salonen’s debut live recording from the Walt Disney Concert Hall and his first recording as the principal conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic on DG. The central piece, Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps was conducted by Salonen on the inaugural night of the Hall in 2003, a masterpiece that becomes something of a miracle within the outstanding acoustics of the Walt Disney Hall. This recording captures the energy, beauty and musical power of this extraordinary collaboration.

To capture the full sound experience of this concert, DG delivers this recording on a hybrid SACD. This release is certain to be a superior musical experience if not the new reference recording of this classical music milestone. Other pieces on this release are Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite—works that benefit greatly from the superb acoustics at the Walt Disney Concert Hall as well as the highest possible recording sound quality.

Montserrat Caballé - Italian Opera Arias
MP3 192 kbps | 109 MB | No COVER
Classical | 1 CD | Label: Decca | Release Date: 2007 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

Representative of Montserrat Caballe's recordings for the Decca catalogue, this album features arias, duets and scenes from many staples of the repertoire. While not exactly familiar favourites or starter-kits, these operas none the less have great music that we would be the worse off, without.

Caballe's legendary breath control and floated pianissimi are more or less expected and we are justly rewarded in this present selection. In many of the set pieces, she astounds us with the above qualities and justly shows her mettle and that her fame and celebrity was not without reason.

Maria Callas Featuring Leonard Bernstein
EAC RIP | FLAC CUE LOG | 297 MB | No COVER
Classical | 1 CD | Label: Symphonia Digital Classiscs | Catalogue: SYM084 | Release Date: 1999 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

Maria Callas (December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts. An extremely versatile singer, her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini; further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, the music dramas of Wagner. Her remarkable musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina.

The Secret of a Voice - Maria Callas
EAC RIP | FLAC CUE LOG | 297 MB | No COVER
Classical | 1 CD | Label: Fono Enterprise | Catalogue: FONO 1011 | Release Date: 2001 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

Maria Callas (December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts. An extremely versatile singer, her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini; further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, the music dramas of Wagner. Her remarkable musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina.

Callas & De Hidalgo: The Pupil and Her Teacher
EAC RIP | FLAC CUE LOG | 254 MB | No COVER
Classical | 1 CD | Label: Fono Enterprise | Catalogue: FONO 1010 | Release Date: 2003 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

Maria Callas (December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts. An extremely versatile singer, her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini; further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, the music dramas of Wagner. Her remarkable musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina.

Elvira de Hidalgo (1892 - 1980), was a Spanish soprano and singing teacher, whose best-known student was Maria Callas. Of all Callas's teachers, de Hidalgo probably had the greatest influence on her technique and career. She was born in Valderrobres, Teruel Province (Spain). She had a significant singing career as a coloratura soprano before becoming a teacher at the Athens Conservatoire. She made several recordings for Columbia and Fonotipia. Her "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's The Barber of Seville is typical of the singing of the excellently-trained singers of the turn of the century. Her timbre, ease of production and great agility are all hallmarks of the kind of singing technique which such teachers as Mathilde Marchesi taught in the late 19th century. She was not, however, a pupil of Marchesi but of Melchiorre Vidal, who also taught Maria Barrientos, Graziella Pareto, Julián Gayarre, Fernando Valero, Francesco Vignas and Rosina Storchio. She died in Milan, Italy in 1980.

Maria Callas Rarities (1953-1964)
EAC RIP | FLAC CUE LOG | 283 MB | No COVER
Classical | 1 CD | Label: EMI Classics | Catalogue: 0777 7 54437 2 1 | Release Date: 1992 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

Maria Callas (December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts. An extremely versatile singer, her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini; further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, the music dramas of Wagner. Her remarkable musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina.

The Nightingales - Maria Callas, Amelita Galli-Curci
EAC RIP | FLAC CUE LOG | 283 MB | No COVER
Classical | 1 CD | Label: Fono Enterprise | Catalogue: FONO 1076 | Release Date: 2005 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

Maria Callas (December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts. An extremely versatile singer, her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini; further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, the music dramas of Wagner. Her remarkable musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina.
Amelita Galli-Curci (18 November 1882 – 26 November 1963) was an Italian operatic coloratura soprano. She was one of the best regarded singers of the early 20th century.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1 - Debussy: Images pour orchestre - Michael Tilson Thomas
MP3 256kbps | 156 MB | FRONT COVER
Classical | 1 CD | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | Release Date: 2000 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

This is an extremely welcome release for fans of Michael Tilson Thomas: the first CD appearance of a legendary recording with the Boston Symphony he made (as its new assistant conductor) in March 1970. At that point (still only in his mid-20s), Tilson Thomas was becoming notorious for introducing provocative new music by the likes of Steve Reich, but he was also stirring up a rather moribund classical music scene. Just imagine the ethos in those days, when talk of the demise of the symphony orchestra as an absurd irrelevance was gloomier even than it is now: in rushed MTT with a super-infusion of excitement and confidence to rouse the players–and the audience. MTT was already proving his deep affinity with Russian composers (which would be followed many years later by his enormously successful accounts of Prokofiev and Stravinsky).

Offenbach - Overtures - Herbert von Karajan
MP3 192kbps | 64 MB | FRONT COVER
Classical | 1 CD | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | Release Date: 1990 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

Herbert von Karajan (5 April 1908–16 July 1989) was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor, one of the most renowned 20th-century conductors. His obituary in The New York Times described him as "probably the world's best-known conductor and one of the most powerful figures in classical music."Karajan conducted the Berlin Philharmonic for thirty-five years. He is the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, with record sales estimated at 200 million.

Hall Of Fame - Beniamino Gigli (5 CD Set)
EAC Rip | FLAC CUE LOG | 1137 MB | NO COVER
Classical | 5 CD | Label: TIM Company | Release Date: 2002 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

"He is destinated to take my place one day" - Caruso

Beniamino Gigli - Early Recordings 1919 - 1936
EAC Rip | FLAC CUE LOG | 189 MB | NO COVER
Classical | 1 CD | Label: Fono | Release Date: 1994 | RAR 1% Recovery | RS.com

"He is destinated to take my place one day" - Caruso

Richard Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten - Karl Böhm
MP3 kbps: 320 | 451 MB | NO COVER
Classical | 3 CDs | Label: Nota Blu | Release Date: 1993 | RAR 1% Rec. | RS.com

As Strauss' largest and most ambitious work, "Die Frau ohne Schatten" demands attention, even though it is one of his most problematic operas. It contains some of the composer's most stirring and sumptuous music, and its story is full of drama and roiling human passions – in fact, perhaps it is its surfeit of ideas and emotion and symbolism and intensity that makes it difficult to approach. Hugo von Hofmannsthal's heavily allegorical libretto was cobbled together from a variety of mythologies, yet he manages to humanize the characters so that they are not merely archetypes. Strauss' music is nearly relentlessly tumultuous, what some might call overwrought, yet he too makes us empathize with the characters. The key to making the gigantic, unwieldy opera into a cogent and balanced musical drama falls largely to the conductor, and Karl Böhm, leading the Vienna Philharmonic, is able give it the shape it needs to succeed in making believers of the audience. He is assisted by a first-rate cast, which more than rises to the composer's extravagant vocal and dramatic demands – the opera requires large voices able to convey larger-than-life personalities