Stephen Hough Pianist Stephen Hough is prolific and adventurous, with a large repertory ranging from familiar works to obscurities to music of his own. He is an enthusiastic chamber music player, a writer, and an exhibited visual artist. Hough (pronounced "huff") was born in Heswall in the English county of Merseyside and grew up in nearby Thelwall, where he took up the piano at the age of five after pestering his parents to acquire a piano from a secondhand shop. Hough's father was an Australian-born steel company representative, and Hough took Australian citizenship in 2005 in his honor. He made rapid progress but took a year off after being mugged when he was 12. Hough graduated from Chetham's School of Music in Manchester and the Royal Northern College of Music. In 1978, he was a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, and he went on for a master's degree at the Juilliard School in New York.

Pianist Dong Hyek Lim grew from a prodigal childhood into an adulthood marked by performances at major concert halls and festivals. His training was notable for its diversity, including Korean, Russian, German, and American elements. Dong Hyek Lim (sometimes transliterated as Dong-Hyek Lim) was born July 25, 1984, in Seoul. His older brother Dong Min Lim is also a noted pianist, and the pair tied for the third prize at the 2005 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Lim attended Korea's National Conservatory as a child and won a nationwide newspaper competition at age nine. He moved to Moscow the following year for studies at the city's Central Music School, where he graduated in 1998. Lim went on to the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, for studies with Lev Naumov, to the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany, working with Arie Vardi, and to the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied with Emanuel Ax.

"Blot-Ilt-Taut" is Ereb Altor's tribute to Swedens most legendary band Bathory! Finally available on CD!
Every fan knowing about Ereb Altor's career is aware that they are by far not a Bathory tribute or cover band, but Quorthon and his legendary band is one of the main influences and with tons of heart and soul Ereb Altor transport this heritage to the present age!
Now Ereb Altor choose to record 7 Bathory classics for this release entitled "Blot-Ilt-Taut" (which is old Swedish and means nothing less than "Blood-Fire-Death"!), where they praise with reverence and much respect the mighty works of Tomas "Ace" Börje Forsberg who sadly passed away in 2004 much too early.

Guitarist Eric Gale made his reputation as a session guitarist during the late 60's and 70's for a host of different artists, as well as being a key member of the jazz/funk group Stuff. As part of Sony's Contemporary Masters series, they've put two of Eric Gale's best solo albums together on one CD. "Gingeng Woman" released in 1977 and it's 1978 follow up "Multiplication" were both produced by Bob James and feature excellent support players like Steve Gadd, Ralph McDonald, Grover Washington, Jr., Anthony Jackson, and Richard Tee. Standout tracks from "Ginseng Woman" include "Red Ground", and his cover of Hall & Oates "Sara Smile". "Multiplication's" best cuts include his cover of Lee Ritenour's "Morning Glory" and the traditional "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child". His later work in the 80's and early 90's occasionally matched the peak he reached with these two albums. Sadly he passed away in 1994 and much of his solo output is out of print. But fortunately these two albums are available, and are most definitely worth checking out.

32 Tracks. The Ventures, The Shadows, John Barry Seven, The Fentones, The Dakotas, Sandy Nelson, The Cannons, The Cougars, Norrie Paramor, The Packabeats, The Piltdown Men, B. Bumble & The Stingers, The Nu-Notes, Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra, The Federals and many more.

Created in October 1716 at the Teatro Sant’Angelo in Venice, the opera features Arsilda, the queen of an ancient region of northern Anatolia, promised to Tamese, prince, who had just become king of Cilicia, a neighbouring region. Barzane, king of Lydia, another neighbouring region, has fallen in love with Arsilda, but is secretly engaged to Tamese’s twin sister Lisea. Slightly chaotic, the story takes place at the beginning of our era in Ama (modern days Tarsus). With its seven different roles, harmoniously balanced despite the predominance of Lisea, this musical drama is similar to a masquerade, full of disguises and games on identities - Lisea plays the role of her brother Tamese for two whole acts.

It may be possible that, until this release, the 3 names do not sound familiar to lovers of South American underground music, but for any fan of good Venezuelan Hard Psych Rock of the 60's-70's, Bacro Tsee Mud and LSD are really special bands and well known. Beside the other great album from Venezuela "Ladies WC" this release is as good and as important. The band has only release a couple of singles and played a lot of great live concerts. Those bands from José Romero on guitar changed names from LSD to Tsee Mud and to Bacro. In-between those bands José lived in USA and was part of the band The Del-Vikings which included a concert at the Madison Square Garden. José went back to Venezuela and continued playing with his band Barcro. All those tracks presented on this album here are extra strong and heavy psychedelic with amazing fuzz guitar and vocals and lots of acid moves. A really wild album all the way.

In the 18th century, Europe experienced a profound musical transformation from the Baroque to the Classical period. At the centre of this period stands Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, emerging as a fascinating and highly influential figure in music history, embodying the transition from the Baroque to the Classical and Romantic periods.

Legendary British band Cymande return in 2025 with their first studio album in many years. A true return to form and jewel in the crown of their iconic discography, Renascence picks up where their 1974 album Promised Heights left off - a spiritual and sonic follow-up, bringing a fresh modern edge to their iconic sound, which remains foundational to early hip-hop and funk scenes in the US and UK.

By all means a phenomenal pop album that hit number nine on the black albums chart and crossed over to penetrate the pop charts at number 32, Nightclubbing saw Grace Jones working once again with Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and the remainder of the Compass Point team. Nightclubbing also continues Jones' tradition of picking excellent songs to reinterpret. This time out, the Police's "Demolition Man," Bill Withers' "Use Me," and Iggy Pop's "Nightclubbing" receive radical reinterpretations; "Nightclubbing" is glacial in both tempo and lack of warmth, while both "Use Me" and "Demolition Man" fit perfectly into Jones' lyrical scheme. Speaking of a lyrical scheme, "Pull Up to the Bumper" (number five black singles, number two club play) is so riddled with naughty double entendres - or is it just about parallel parking? - that it renders Musique's "In the Bush" as daring as Paul Anka's "Puppy Love"…

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.

Pierre Boulez‘ Vermächtnis als Dirigent umfasst eine Vielzahl außergewöhnlicher Aufnahmen, darunter sein Mahler Sinfonien Zyklus, Richard Wagners Ring der Nibelungen (in der Inszenierung Patrice Chéreaus als Jahrhundertring gefeiert) und seine Aufnahmen von Klassikern zeitgenössischer Komponisten des 20. Jahrhunderts von Bartók bis Stravinsky. Aufgrund seiner besonderen Persönlichkeit wurde Boulez lebenslang in Frankreich als „nationales Kulturorgan“ verehrt. Er feierte als Dirigent weltweite Erfolge durch seinen Fokus auf Transparenz und Klarheit des Klangs, analytisches Denken und durch absolute Präzision in der Umsetzung. Boulez gilt als zentrale musikalische Figur des 20. Jahrhunderts.

This album encompasses four piano concertos by four Italian composers, two of which are first recordings. The music, featured here in chronological order, spans an extended period of time, from 1900 to 2015. The intention of the project is clear: to propose a trajectory that through this repertoire, not so frequent among Italian composers, allows discoveries, re-discoveries and new reflections on historic works.

Combining classical discipline with the inventive spirit of electronic music, Max Richter speaks to – and frequently critiques – 21st century life with evocative elegance. On early masterworks such as 2002's Memoryhouse and 2003's The Blue Notebooks, the composer and producer united his childhood memories and commentary on war's devastating aftermath into gorgeous, aching music; with 2015's eight-hour Sleep, he challenged the increasing disposability of art and music as well as audiences' ever-decreasing attention spans. Richter's fascination with the growing role of technology in everyday life was a major theme of releases spanning 2008's collection of bespoke ringtones to the music for a particularly paranoid 2016 episode of the TV series Black Mirror. Despite the high-concept nature of much of his work, Richter always maintains a powerful emotional connection with his listeners. 2012's Recomposed: The Four Seasons, an experimental reimagining of Vivaldi's violin concertos, topped classical charts in over 20 countries. The emotive quality of his music translated perfectly to scoring and soundtrack work, which ranged from documentaries such as Waltz with Bashir (2008); feature films including Ad Astra (2019); television series like Invasion (2021); and stage productions including Infra (2008) and Woolf Works (2015), both projects with Richter's longtime collaborator, choreographer Wayne McGregor. Richter's mix of modern composition, electronic music, and field recordings – which he revisited on 2024's In a Landscape – was as influential as it was innovative, paving the way for artists such as Nico Muhly and Jóhann Jóhannsson.

They directly influenced virtually all '70s rock acts south of the Mason-Dixon Line, including the Marshall Tucker Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the jam band movement of the '90s. 1973's Brothers & Sisters showcased a different aspect of their character with accessible, radio-ready hit singles such as "Ramblin' Man" and "Jessica." Even in their final incarnation with guitarists Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes, ABB churned out charting live albums such as 2003's Hittin' the Note. The group was founded in March 1969 by Duane Allman on guitar; Gregg Allman on vocals and organ; Dickey Betts on guitar; Berry Oakley on bass; and Butch Trucks and Jaimoe (aka Jai Johanny Johanson) on drums. Duane and Gregg Allman loved soul and R&B, although they listened to their share of rock & roll, especially as it sounded coming out of England in the mid-'60s. Their first group was a local Daytona Beach garage band called the Escorts, who sounded a lot like the early Beatles and Rolling Stones.