Russian-born Vladimir Ashkenazy has been a towering figure both as a pianist and as a conductor, with interpretations cutting a wide swath across Beethoven, the Romantics, and Russian music. His repertoire extends back to Bach and occasionally forward to contemporary pieces. Ashkenazy was born July 6, 1937, in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod) in the Soviet Union. His father was a pianist, but it was his mother who encouraged his pianistic gifts. Ashkenazy made his debut at eight in Moscow and enrolled at the Moscow Conservatory in 1955, becoming a student of Lev Oborin. An early breakthrough was a gold medal at the Brussels Queen Elizabeth International piano competition in 1956. Ashkenazy toured the U.S. in 1958 as the so-called Thaw under Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev opened opportunities in the West. Back in Moscow, Ashkenazy married Icelandic pianist Dody Johannsdottir.

L'arpa Festante Period-instrument ensemble L'Arpa Festante gives new life to neglected instrumental and choral works from the Baroque to the Romantic eras. The group has recorded for various German labels. L'Arpa Festante is a durable survivor among German historical instrument groups, having been founded in 1983 by violinist Michi Gaigg. She remained its director and concertmaster until 1995. The group was sometimes known as the Barockorchester L'Arpa Festante ("Baroque Orchestra L'Arpa Festante") or even BOLAF, but since its repertory expanded forward into the Classical and Romantic eras, this has been used less often.

One of Handel’s rarer operas, Arminio, set at the time of the Roman Empire, was first performed in 1737. “On the evidence of this very fine recording,” said Gramophone when this performance first appeared, “it can stand among the best of the Handel operas, full of beautiful and imaginative things.” Conducting a cast led by the virtuosic Vivica Genaux in the title role – composed for the castrato Domenico Annibali – is the renowned Handel specialist Alan Curtis.

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony bring unsurpassed storytelling and musicality to their latest recording on the Grammy Award-winning SFS Media label: Berlioz’s dramatic symphony Roméo et Juliette. With a narrative that Berlioz deemed “too beautiful, too musical” to not be performed, this impassioned orchestral scoring of love and despair is further enriched by the vocals of Sasha Cooke, Nicholas Phan, Luca Pisaroni, and the SFS Chorus. Available in studio master-quality on two-disc SACD and for digital download and streaming.

Violinists will sometimes delay recording Johann Sebastian Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin until they feel they have mastered the music and even let it become second nature to them. Not so Thomas Zehetmair, who, with guidance from his mentor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, first recorded the Sei Solo in 1982 for Teldec, then waited almost four decades before revisiting them for ECM New Series. This time span has permitted Zehetmair sufficient space to reevaluate Bach's masterpiece and to present the music with a mature appreciation of its contrapuntal intricacy and expressive depth.

Exclusively at Weltbild: 100 Oldies 2 - The Sound Of My Life - The second part of the extremely successful first part of the 5CD oldie box, again with 100 superlative songs on 5CDs! We've done it again and have once again put together the most beautiful hits from yesterday and the day before on 5 CDs for you. This unique collection awakens unforgettable feelings and memories! Also on the second part you will find 100 unforgettable songs - wonderful oldies from the 50s and 60s, top classics from the 70s and immortal hits from the 80s! An exceptional, fantastic collection - at an unbelievable price!

Exclusively with us: 100 Oldies - The Sound Of My Life - The 5CD oldie box with 100 songs!
Under the motto "Songs that stay forever!" we have put together the most beautiful hits from yesterday and the day before on 5 CDs for you. This unique collection awakens unforgettable feelings and memories!
Some songs go straight to the heart - even many years later! Here you will find 100 of those songs - wonderful oldies from the 50's and 60's, top classics from the 70's and immortal hits from the 80's! An exceptional, fantastic collection.

CLASSIC CSNY NEW YORK BROADCAST FROM THE SUMMER OF 1970 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young made their much publicized live debut in the summer of 1969. Their high profile set at the original Woodstock Festival was their second show together and remains their best known, but they did a substantial amount of touring that summer and performed together in Europe in January 1970. Neil Young booked a solo tour with Crazy Horse early in 1970 too, but CSNY reconvened for their second outing in the summer of 70. Déjà vu, the quartet s debut album was released in March 1970 and beginning May 12th in Denver, they played twenty-three shows through to the middle of July. The super-group performed six shows at the Fillmore East in New York from June 2nd to June 7th, the longest engagement of the tour, and while all these concerts were both recorded and filmed, only their 7th June show was broadcast across FM radio. Now featured in its entirety on this double CD, this stunning performance which features songs from CSN, Déjà vu and many of CSNY members solo records, is available here to be enjoyed by fans, almost 50 years after the show took place.

VP Records has announced the release of the "Humble African (25th Anniversary Expanded Edition)" by the legendary reggae group Culture.riginally released in 2000, the album has gained significant acclaim over the past 25 years.his expanded edition includes the original tracks along with a newly discovered dub companion produced by the renowned duo Fat Eyes—Lynford “Fatta” Marshall and Colin “Bulby” York.otably, songs like “Why Am I A Rastaman” and the title track “Humble African” have become some of Culture's most-streamed songs, especially in countries such as Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa.he re-release offers both long-time fans and new listeners an opportunity to rediscover an album that continues to resonate deeply.

It's a Beautiful Day is an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1967, featuring vocalist Pattie Santos along with violinist David LaFlamme and his wife, Linda LaFlamme, on keyboards. David LaFlamme, who as a youth had once performed as a soloist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, had previously been in the group Orkustra playing five-string violin. The other members of It's a Beautiful Day in its early years were Val Fuentes (drums), Mitchell Holman (bass) and Hal Wagenet (guitar). Although they were one of the notable San Francisco bands to emerge from 1967's Summer of Love, the band never achieved the success of contemporaries such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Santana, with whom they had connections. The band created a unique blend of rock, jazz, folk, classical, and world-beat styles.

Comprising the same lineup as Street Corner Talking, Savoy Brown released Hellbound Train a year later. For this effort, Kim Simmonds' guitar theatrics are toned down a bit and the rest of the band seems to be a little less vivid and passionate with their music. The songs are still draped with Savoy Brown's sleek, bluesy feel, but the deep-rooted blues essence that so easily emerged from their last album doesn't rise as high throughout Hellbound Train's tracks. The title cut is most definitely the strongest, with Dave Walker, Simmonds, and Paul Raymond sounding tighter than on any other song, and from a wider perspective, Andy Silvester's bass playing is easily Hellbound's most complimenting asset.

Jimi Hendrix's sonic assaults and attacks hypnotized, frightened, and amazed audiences in the late '60s. His studio recordings helped him attain his reputation, but his live works validated it. That's the case on the 13 songs from a 1968 Winterland concert that made their way onto CD in 1987. Whether he was doing short, biting songs like "Fire" or stretching out for sprawling blues statements like "Red House" and "Killing Floor," Jimi Hendrix turned the guitar into a battering ram, forcing everyone to notice and making every solo and note a memorable one.

At the time Rare Masters was released in 1992, most of the selections on this 37-track double-disc compilation were indeed rare. They were issued on non-LP singles, B-sides, the Friends soundtrack, one-offs; some were buried on album tracks, and some even stayed in the vault. Since then, Elton John's catalog has been remastered and reissued, with much of the best of this material appearing as bonus tracks, but the album still was worthwhile, since it not only has some songs that never appeared elsewhere on disc (such as "Step Into Christmas"' B-side, "(Ho Ho Ho) Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas"), but it also is a hell of a listen in its own right, showcasing great songs and forgotten gems from John's prime period.

"Little Girl" is a rock & roll classic. With its sneering vocals, vague threats, crude chords and rhythms, it's a menacing, swagger masterpiece of garage rock. It's also the only good thing the Syndicate of Sound ever recorded. Little Girl – The History of the Syndicate of Sound compiles nearly everything the group recorded, yet none of it comes close to matching the power of their hit single; it's a mess of weak originals and limp covers. The patience of even the most dedicated garage rock fan will be tested by the disc.

Marko Hietala doesn’t need much of an introduction. Active in the Finnish metal scene since 1982 and in the international scene since 2001, his distinctive singing voice, expansive songwriting, and “we don’t need a second guitarist because I have this thing” approach to playing bass set him apart from a great many musicians. Since departing Nightwish in 2021, he’s reconnected with several past projects, from Raskasta Joulua to Northern Kings to Tarot—and then back to his own solo work. Roses from the Deep marks Hietala’s return to his own songwriting, following 2019’s Mustan sydämen rovio. Joined by Tuomas Wäinölä (guitars, Kotipelto), Anssi Nykänen (drums), and Vili Ollila (keys, Northern Kings and Raskasta Joulua), Hietala’s sophomore solo comes with a whole lot of talent… and very high expectations too.