In November 1772, as the 16-year-old Mozart was preparing to astonish the Milanese with his third operatic work for the Teatro Regio Ducal, his older contemporary, Tommaso Traetta (1727–79) from the Puglia region of Italy, was presenting the premiere of his second opera for the court of Catherine the Great in St Petersburg. Today, the former’s Lucio Silla is probably better known than the latter’s Antigona. But which is the finer work? On the basis of this outstanding new recorded version, I would say that Traetta’s tragedia per musica in three acts far outclasses Mozart’s opera seria for its consistent musical inspiration and sheer theatrical know-how.

The gentle melancholy of the "Trout" quintet is beautifully realized here by Andras Schiff and members of the Hagen Quartet. The final two movements almost seem to be one longer movement with a unity of expression between them that is most compelling, to the extent that the themes of the final movement have the feel of being further-flung variations of the "Trout" theme itself. The lower strings are particularly effective in these movements, and Schiff's lucid and un-plushy Bosendorfer sound is ideal. The earlier movements had the feel of a Dumka before Dvorak, with their alternation of more assertive and more quiet sections – but it's the melancholy character that wins out and gives this performance its particular force.

Originally written as the finale of the quartet op. 130 and, in fact, finale of the set dedicated to Prince Galitsin (opp. 127, 132), the “GROSSE FUGE” (the Great Fugue) ends today the complete set of Beethoven's string quartets, providing its crowning moment as formally rigorous as deeply human by its search for absolute.

Ocean to Ocean is the sixteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, released on October 29, 2021. Amos wrote and recorded the album while in lockdown in Cornwall, where she lives, with her writing inspired by her fascination with "the county's landscapes and ancient myths". Part of her writing was also explained to be in reaction to the US Capitol riots in January 2021. In a press release, Amos described the album as "a record about your losses, and how you cope with them". She elaborated that she realized she had to "write" to "shift" her perception of herself, saying: "I was in my own private hell, so I told myself, then that's where you write from—you've done it before." Amos also explained that the album is intended to "sit" with listeners, particularly if they are "in a place of loss. When somebody is actually at that place, thinking 'I'm done,' how do you reach that person? It's about sitting in the muck together."

The critical reception of Schumann's violin sonatas, like that of much of the composer's late output, has vacillated over the course of the intervening centuries. Written for and first performed by some of the leading violinists of the day, all three are now recognized for the masterpieces they undoubtedly are, needing no apology: and we are fortunate indeed to be in a position to enjoy such dedicated performances as these.

Santana is the primary exponent of Latin-tinged rock, particularly due to its combination of Latin percussion with bandleader Carlos Santana's distinctive, high-pitched lead guitar playing. The group was the last major act to emerge from the psychedelic San Francisco music scene of the 1960s and it enjoyed massive success at the end of the decade and into the early '70s. In 1998, Santana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band has earned nine Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, the latter all in 2000. Carlos also won a Grammy Award as a solo artist in 1988. Santana has sold more than 90 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling groups of all time.

Once Upon A Time is the fourth studio album by Liverpool Express, released digitally and on CD via their official website. This is the first studio album since 1979, and features Roger Scott Craig, Billy Kinsley, Dave Goldberg and Kenny Parry. Eleven new songs are included, as well as a new version of "John George Ringo & Paul" - the band's creative tribute to The Beatles. The title song "Once Upon A Time" harks back to the beautiful hit "Every Man Must Have A Dream". "Sailin' Down to Rio" is the band's ode to Rio de Janeiro, a city they fell in love with during their South American tour in the late 70s. Ian Bairnson, the guitarist with The Alan Parsons Project and Pilot, makes a guest appearance, playing guitar on two tracks, "Once Upon a Time" and "Find My Way Back Home".

With Forgotten arias countertenor Phillippe Jaroussky pays tribute to composers of the late Baroque era and to the great librettist of the age, Pietro Metastasio. All ten arias on the album, written between 1748 and 1770 by nine composers, are heard in world premiere recordings. Metastasio's librettos were set by multiple composers - Vivaldi, Handel, Gluck and Mozart among them - resulting in hundreds of operas. The more familiar names on the multi-faceted programme of Forgotten Arias are Gluck, Johann Christian Bach, Jommelli, Hasse and Piccinni. Less well-known are Bernasconi, Ferrandini, Traetta and Valentini. Jaroussky's partners on the album are the conductor Julien Chauvin and his orchestra Le Concert de la Loge. All in all, Forgotten Arias looks set to be highly memorable.

If you're an air guitarist, Al di Meola has likely been your man since his days as an unknown 21-year-old addition to Chick Corea's Return to Forever in the mid-'70s. Over the years since leaving RTF, he has been afforded the opportunity to record regularly, and this CD represents a good overview of his discography, primarily for the Columbia family of labels. His early dates Land of the Midnight Sun, Elegant Gypsy, and Casino are well represented, in addition to his collaborations with Jan Hammer on Tour de Force: Live. His middle-period efforts are not all that vital, as repeat ideas and predictable flash lost their original value even to the staunchest fans, therefore making this collection less than essential.

Philip on Film: Filmworks by Philip Glass Review by Richard S. Ginell
In conjunction with a fall 2001 touring film festival, in which the Philip Glass Ensemble played the composer's scores live in sync with the films, Nonesuch released this handy, compact five-disc retrospective of Glass' prolific output for the cinema. Perhaps subliminally aware that Glass' large film catalog is wildly uneven in quality, producers and longtime associates Kurt Munkacsi and Michael Riesman have chosen wisely and well, generally giving the best scores complete or nearly complete attention on the first four discs and saving the fifth disc for excerpts from others, as well as a few unreleased new works for the faithful. Of all of Glass' cinematic collaborators, director Godfrey Reggio seems to have brought out the best in this composer.

Tracks 1 to 11 recorded 4/29/94 at The Palladium, London, England. Tracks 12 to 15 recorded 7/29/94 at Raleigh Auditorium, Raleigh, NC, USA.

Jethro Tull’s 1970 classic Benefit will be celebrated in a brand-new 4CD/2DVD set, featuring remixes by Steven Wilson, an abundance of previously unreleased material, packaged within a deluxe hardback book, containing 100 pages of commentary from numerous contributors alongside hordes of images of the band creating and performing their first million-selling album. Benefit (The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition) will be out on 5th November. Following the successes This Was (1968) and Stand Up (1969), Jethro Tull returned in 1970 with their third studio album in as many years. Benefit (The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition) contains a copious amount of expanded material, building upon the 2013 Steven Wilson remixes. CD3 contains a previously unreleased Steven Wilson remix of Jethro Tull performing at Tanglewood in 1970. Further to that, CD4 contains a newly remastered version of a concert at The Aragon Ballroom in 1970 in mono.

ZAZ has been a household name in French music since her breakout 2010 hit "Je veux", a jazz-swinging folk ditty about doing things her way. More than a decade later, the singer-songwriter’s style of pop has only become more multifaceted. ZAZ peels away the layers on this fifth album, the title of which is an abbreviated nod to her real name, Isabelle Geffroy. On the peppy “Imagine", she dreams of a gentler world, brighter days and the possibility of writing one's own future, her voice fluttering over strummed guitar with world-weary abandon. "Ce que tu es dans ma vie" is a heartfelt and hopeful ode to her young stepdaughter set against a backdrop of piano, lightly plucked guitars and a minimal electronic beat.

Good News from the Next World is the tenth studio album of original material by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in February 1995 by record label Virgin. The album garnered moderate commercial success; in the UK, it reached No. 2 and produced the two Top 20 hit singles "She's a River" (No. 9) and "Hypnotised" (No. 18).

Andris Nelsons is the Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and in fall 2015 he was announced as Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, commencing in the 2017/18 season. With both appointments, and in leading a pioneering alliance between these two esteemed institutions, Andris Nelsons is firmly underlined as one of the most renowned and innovative conductors on the international scene today. The goal is a complete Shostakovich cycle on Deutsche Grammophon with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This recording provides a kaleidoscope of Shostakovichs struggle with historical events and political pressures. The pre-war eclectic but accessible and popular 5th, in which he would seem to bow to political pressure, ensured his temporary rehabilitation. The beautiful but dark and gloomy mid-war 8th provoked yet again his fall from favor and instead of providing the political authorities with a triumphant post-war 9th Symphony, Shostakovich wrote a light Haydnesque work which would not be performed until after Stalins death. Selections from the Hamlet Suite, possibly Shostakovichs best film score, rounds out this 2 CD set.