Sir John Barbirolli began as an orchestral cellist, and played under Elgar’s baton in the premiere of the Cello Concerto. Encouraged by Elgar, he moved into conducting and made his mark with the composer’s Second Symphony in 1927. After Elgar’s death, Barbirolli vowed to make the composer’s music his special mission in life and to do his utmost to make it known all over the world. From the performances here, we can judge how well he kept his promise.

The Missa solemnis in D major, Op. 123, is a Solemn Mass composed by Ludwig van Beethoven from 1819 to 1823. It was first performed on 7 April 1824 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, under the auspices of Beethoven's patron Prince Nikolai Golitsyn; an incomplete performance was given in Vienna on 7 May 1824, when the Kyrie, Credo, and Agnus Dei were conducted by the composer. It is generally considered one of the composer's supreme achievements and, along with Bach's Mass in B minor, one of the most significant Mass settings of the common practice period.

Spectres have been stirring in the shadows for years now. Dark eyes watching from pallid faces. Siren songs calling to lost souls. In the blackest corners of the UK underground, a name whispered relentlessly amongst the faithful, first with curiosity, then soul-shuddering awe: Zetra.

In his latest album, Wang Tao pays homage to the versatility of the woodwind instrument by using it to perform a diverse selection of classical masterpieces by composers from all over the world, Chen Nan reports.

Whilst the continents contribution to the global funk, boogie and disco canon has been well documented for decades, the strong presence of rock and psychedelia in 1970's African music has been a more slowly evolving story over the years.

Live In Vienna, December 1st, 2016 is a new 3-disc set by King Crimson. Featuring a rendition of Fracture, one of the most acclaimed KC compositions and last performed live in 1974, the three-disc set will be released on April 6th.

King Crimson evolves, changes, morphs as relentlessly as the Soundscapes which open each concert. Since the 2016 tour of Europe, the band has become a double quartet line-up with Bill Rieflin’s return from sabbatical as keyboard player & Jeremy Stacey’s confirmation as a permanent member/third drummer. This allows for the inclusion of an ever more complex & compelling array of material, far more than can be contained in a single concert. With options for up to three keyboard players in the current line-up – Fripp & Stacey both have setups alongside their respective guitar/drum rigs - the majority of Lizard is performed live for the first time ever, likewise Fallen Angel from Red is making its first ever concert appearance/live recording, Cirkus envelops the listener in sound, the beautiful title track from Islands closes the first set, while staples from the 1980s line-up Indiscipline and Neurotica appear in very different arrangements.

Islands is the fourth studio album by English band King Crimson, released in 3 December 1971 on the record label Island. Islands is the only studio album to feature the 1971–1972 touring line-up of Robert Fripp, Mel Collins, Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace. This would be the last album before an entirely new group (except for Fripp) would record the trilogy of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red between 1973 and 1974. This is also the last album to feature the lyrics of co-founding member Peter Sinfield. Musically, the album expands on the improvisational jazz leanings of King Crimson's previous album, Lizard. It received a mixed response from critics and fans.

Recorded in the aftermath of King Crimson’s implosion in 1969, when two of its founding members unexpectedly quit the band, In The Wake Of Poseidon shares some similarities in approach and sound to In The Court Of The Crimson King and has been a firm favorite among fans of the band since it's initial release on 15th May 1970. It's an eclectic and experimental mix of bone-crunching riffs, Beatles-ish pop, tender ballads, soaring mellotron-drenched anthems and inscrutable atonal episodes. Highlights include Fripp’s savage guitar throughout Pictures Of A City and Greg Lake’s stunning vocal on the title track — his last with the group before his departure to form ELP. When In The Wake Of Poseidon was released in May 1970, it peaked at No.4 in the UK charts with one journalist proclaiming “If Wagner were alive today he’d work with King Crimson.”

In the Court of the Crimson King (subtitled An Observation by King Crimson) is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969, by Island Records. Often regarded as the first true progressive rock album, it combined rock music influences with elements of jazz, classical, and symphonic music. In the Court of the Crimson King was King Crimson's most commercially successful album, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest progressive rock albums ever released. It reached number five on the UK Albums Chart and number 28 on the US Billboard 200, where it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2015, the album was ranked number 2 on Rolling Stone's list of the "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time", behind 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.

50th anniversary edition of King Crimson's first non-album single / Expanded to a 4 track EP & issued on 10-inch vinyl & CD / Features Cat Food (single version) & Groon (original single B-side) / Also features a live version of Cat Food performed by the current line-up in Toronto in September 2019 / Also included is an alternate mix of the album version of Cat Food prepared by David Singleton as part of the KC50 digital series / Artwork derived from Peter Sinfield's original 7-inch sleeve art / Cut by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering.

A re-interpretation so often comes from an impulse, even if subliminal, of one-upmanship – let me do better, wait ‘til you hear it my way. Sometimes though, and it happens too rarely, the cover is an act of devotion in which a musician’s humility produces something more beautiful than bravura could.

With Sam Shepherd’s Floating Points project moving further away from the dancefloor and former status as king of Plastic People with every release, it seemed like only a matter of time before he made a record with an orchestra and a free-jazz luminary. From that point of view, then, the music on Promises – a single, 45-minute semi-minimalist quasi-concerto for saxophone backed by various keyboard instruments and a string orchestra recorded in what appears to be a single, live, and rather spine-tingling take – is not a huge surprise.

Mit dem 2017 erschienenen Album »Bologna 1666« nahm das Kammerorchester Basel unter der Leitung von Julia Schröder den Hörer mit auf eine musikalische Reise in das wohl wichtigste musikalische Zentrum Italiens im 17.

Sax Maniac is a 1982 album by the New York jazz-punk band James White and the Blacks. The album was released on Chris Stein's Animal Records label and dedicated to Anya Philips.