Title: Raffi Besalyan: The Return
Released: 2015
Genre: Classical, Instrumental
Issued: United States | Sono Luminus
Duration: 1:05:37
Size: 19.8 GB
Technical Specs
Blu-ray
BD-25 Single-Layer Disc
Video Resolution/Codec
1080i/AVC MPEG-4
Aspect Ratio(s)
TBA
Audio Formats
DTS-HD MA 7.1 (96 kHz / 7890 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD MA 5.1 (192 kHz / 10633 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM 2.0 (192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles/Captions
None
Supplements
None
“Technically brilliant… Besalyan played with a great deal of temperament, speed and power… audacious spirit and poetic substance, deeply felt tenderness…” — New York Concert Review
“A keyboard phenomenon that needs to be heard by everyone interested in pianists and the piano.” — Fanfare Magazine, USA
“A formidable pianist with a commanding presence and rich interpretive gifts.” — American Record Guide Magazine
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Title: Norwegian Radio Orchestra: Astrognosia & Æsop
Released: 2014
Genre: Classical
Conductor: Ingar Bergby
Artist: Dennis Storhøi (narrator), Norwegian Radio Orchestra
Released: Norway | 2L
Duration: 00:51:23
Size: 13.73 GB
Technical Specs
Blu-ray
BD-25 Single-Layer Disc
Video Resolution/Codec
1080i/AVC MPEG-4
Aspect Ratio(s)
TBA
Audio Formats
DTS-HD MA 7.1 (96 kHz / 8392 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD MA 5.1 (192 kHz / 10184 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM 2.0 (192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles/Captions
None
Supplements
None
The stars and the sky at night have always fascinated people and kindled wonder, faith and superstition. In ASTROGNOSIA we are in the world of astrology with its interpretation of the year’s twelve signs of the zodiac, each with its own characteristics. The work is held together by the changing phases of the moon on its journey through the heavens, and it is played here by the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, conducted by Ingar Heine Bergby. AESOP’S FABLES is written for narrator and orchestra – the narrator here being Dennis Storhøi – and is based on Herman Wildenvey’s translation of the fables. It is inspired by Wildenvey’s playful re-telling of the stories in dazzlingly rhythmic verse.
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Title: SPES
Released: 2014
Genre: Classical, Choral
Conductor: Tove Ramlo-Ystad
Artist: Frode Fjellheim (joik and synthesizers), Snorre Bjerck (percussion), Cantus
Released: Norway | 2L
Duration: 00:56:27
Size: 15.29 GB
Technical Specs
Blu-ray
BD-25 Single-Layer Disc
Video Resolution/Codec
1080i/AVC MPEG-4
Aspect Ratio(s)
TBA
Audio Formats
Auro-3D 9.1 (96 kHz / 6846 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD MA 5.1 (192 kHz / 11708 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM 2.0 (192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles/Captions
None
Supplements
None
What happens when traditional Sami music meets mainstream western sacred music? This is the question Cantus meets head-on in Spes. Under the direction of its conductor Tove Ramlo-Ystad, and in collaboration with composer and musician Frode Fjellheim, the choir explores a new and little-known musical world, a world with a wide range of emotions: sorrow, joy and vulnerability. Through these songs, sounds and musical forms – some familiar, others scarcely known – Cantus challenges both itself and its audience with a repertoire which, while being striking in its variety, is united in one thing: its expression of hope in the music by Frode Fjellheim, Mia Makaroff, Eriks Esenvalds, Eva Ugalde, Ko Matsushita, Knut Nystedt, Franz Xaver Biebl and Kim André Arnesen.
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Artist: Roger Waters
Title: Amused to Death
Genre: Rock, Art Rock, Prog Rock, Symphonic Rock
Label: © Columbia Records
Release Date: 2015
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Length: 01:13:23
Video: MPEG-2 3158 kbps / 1080p / 23,976 fps / 16:9
Audio#1: English LPCM 5.1 / 96 kHz / 13824 kbps / 24-bit
Audio#2: English LPCM 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
Recorded: The Billiard Room, Olympic Studios, CTS Studios, Angel Studios, Abbey Road Studios, London; Compass Point Studios, Nassau; Devonshire Studios, Ameraycan Studios, Evergreen Recording, Johnny Yuma Recording, Los Angeles.
Mix Studio: Devonshire Audio & Visual Studios, Burbank.
Mastered at The Mastering Lab, Los Angeles.
Remastered by James Guthrie.
Blu-ray Audio plus CD edition featuring a 5.1 surround remix
The 2015 CD + Blu-ray edition of Amused to Death feature a new 5.1 surround remix of the album on high-definition Blu-ray audio completed by longtime Roger Waters / Pink Floyd collaborator and co-producer, James Guthrie. The art has been updated for 2015 by Sean Evans, the creative director of Waters’ 2010-2013 “The Wall Live” tour and movie.
An unblinking look at an entertainment-obsessed society, Amused to Death addresses issues that have only grown in complexity and urgency over the past two decades. With Amused to Death, Roger Waters sounded the alarm about a society increasingly and unthinkingly in thrall to its television screens.
Twenty-three years later, Amused to Death speaks to our present moment in ways that could scarcely have been anticipated two decades ago. In 2015, television is just one option in an endless array of distractions available to us anytime, anywhere, courtesy of our laptops, tablets and smartphones. With eyes glued to our screens, the dilemmas and injustices of the real world can easily recede from view.
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Artist: Grace Jones
Title: Disco
Genre: Disco, Soul, R&B, Electronic, Dance Pop
Label: © Island Records / Universal International Music B.V.
Release Date: 1977/78/79/2015
Recorded: 1975-1979
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Length: 3:47:50
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 950 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 / 96 kHz / 3632 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 / 96 kHz / 3088 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Grace Jones, one of the most innovative and charismatic artists in the distinguished history of Island Records, is to have her first three albums for the label released as the 3CD, 4LP, Blu-ray Audio and digital sets titled ‘Grace Jones – Disco.’
The packages, out on May 4, comprise the first three Island releases by the Jamaican entertainer, 1977’s ‘Portfolio,’ the following year’s ‘Fame’ and the 1979 release ‘Muse,’ augmented with rare and unheard recordings.
All three of the albums were produced by one of the most influential mixers and producers in the formative days of the disco boom, Tom Moulton. Each of the discs was rooted in the dance milieu of the late 1970s, before Jones’ transition to the reggae flavours of her later crossover success.
‘Portfolio’ was released in the year that the former model signed with Island, and featured interpretations of some show tunes and standards including ‘Send In The Clowns,’ ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘La Vie En Rose.’ The album enjoyed top ten success in Italy and Holland.
‘Fame,’ released only nine months later, was recorded at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia, repeating the previous album’s formula of a continuous medley on side one. It also contained an interpretation of the vintage ballad ‘Autumn Leaves.’ Jones, who had one co-write on each of the first two releases, co-wrote two songs on ‘Muse,’ which also featured the single ‘On Your Knees.’ (more…)
Sticker on front cover says 24 bit / 96kHz but all audio tracks are 24 bit / 192 kHz.
Artist: Herbie Hancock
Title: Empyrean Isles / Maiden Voyage
Genre: Jazz, Hard Bop, Modal, Piano Jazz
Label: © Blue Note Records/Universal Music Enterprises
Release Date: Empyrean Isles – 1964 (BLP 4175/BST 84175); Maiden Voyage – 1965 (BLP 4195/BST 84195)/2015
Recorded: Empyrean Isles – June 17, 1964; Maiden Voyage – March 17, 1965; Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Mastered: tracks 1-4: Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering; tracks 6-10: Robert Vosgien at Capitol Mastering; tracks 11-15: Alan Yashida
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Length: 02:04:48
Size: 22.6 GB
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 950 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 / 192 kHz / 6475 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 / 192 kHz / 5881 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Embedded: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Jazz icon Herbie Hancock’s solo career blossomed on Blue Note Records in the mid-to-late ’60s with classic albums including Maiden Voyage and Empyrean Isles. Throughout his career, Hancock has always pushed musical boundaries, exploring a wide variety of jazz idioms while bringing his flair and innovation to every single setting. His Blue Note albums of the 1960’s ranged all the way from post bop to Latin jazz, to straight ahead and free form.
Empyrean Isles, recorded when Hancock was 24 and a new member of the Miles Davis Quintet, features the pianist pushing the envelope of hard bop, creating fresh, new music in the process. In a quartet setting with Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, Hancock shows that he was familiar with both avant-garde jazz and groovin’ R&B. His four compositions include the original and most exciting version of “Cantaloupe Island” and the swingingly unpredictable “One Finger Snap.”Empyrean Isles brims with the power and adventure of the best of ’60s jazz while gracefully crossing over into uncharted territory in signature Hancock fashion.
However, 1965’s Maiden Voyage is arguably the best in the bunch. Every single cut on the exquisite 5-track offering from the haunting title track to the gentle, swinging “Dolphin Dance” has found its way into the standard jazz repertoire. Hancock and company – Ron Carter (bass), George Coleman (tenor saxophone), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) and Anthony Williams (drums) – fashioned a modern jazz milestone here with extraordinary compositions, interplay and solos and in 1999 Maiden Voyagewas recognized as such when it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. (more…)
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Сomposer: Reinhold Moritsevich Glière (1875-1956)
Artist: Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta
Title: Symphony No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 42, “Il’ya Muromets”
Genre: Classical
Label: © Naxos
Release Date: 2014
Recorded: Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, New York, USA, from 3rd to 5th May, 2013
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Length: 01:11:38
Video: MPEG-2 4742 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9
Audio: Russian DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 96 kHz / 5709 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: Russian LPCM 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
Size: 8.09 GB
“The Glière Symphony No. 3 has always been a piece that shimmered on my horizon—a cult piece, in a way, renowned as the composer’s towering masterpiece but rarely played in concert. As long as a Mahler symphony and enormous in its instrumental requirements, it was a work that people spoke about reverently but almost never heard live. The recording was an adventure that changed our orchestra, strengthened us, and became an artistic benchmark for our musicians. We revelled in the gorgeous landscape of the Symphony—from mysterious bass murmurings to crushing walls of brass fortissimo to breathtaking impressionistic renderings of forests and birds. We performed and recorded this massive work uncut to preserve Glière’s extraordinary architecture. This work is a cathedral in sound that unfolds in breathtaking swashes of colour, poetry and monumental climaxes.” – JoAnn Falletta (more…)
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Artist: Theo
Title: The Game of Ouroboros
Genre: Rock, Progressive Rock, Sympho-Prog, Fusion
Label: © The Big O Store
Release Date: 2015
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Length: 0:57:44
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 19370 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / Main Profile 4.0
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Audio: LPCM 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
Formed by world reknown keyboardist Jim Alfredson (organissimo, Dirty Fingers, Janiva Magness, Greg Nagy Band, Root Doctor) THEO harkens back to the keyboard-centric superbands of the 1970s like Yes, Genesis, and Emerson Lake and Palmer, but with a distinctly modern and bold approach.
THEO also represents a return to the concept of the keyboardist as a vital and irreplaceable part of the group, rather than a mere sideman.
The intrepid and dynamic music is paired with auspicious lyrical themes of corporatization, consumerism, loss of innocence, exile, and the obsession with celebrity. Lead vocals are handled by Alfredson himself. Usually relegated to background duties, Alfredson’s surprisingly flexible baritone voice shifts from soaring muscularity to intimate falsetto and everything between.
The eponymous debut album features six tracks including an epic three song opening suite comprising 24 minutes.
Available as a hi-res MP3 or FLAC (24bit/96kHz) stereo download, FLAC 5.1 download (24bit/96kHz), standard stereo CD, and/or Limited Edition Blu-Ray version featuring the 24bit / 96kHz stereo mixes and Dobly AC3 5.1 Surround mixes. (more…)
Сomposer: Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Artist: Prague Sinfonia Orchestra, Christian Benda
Title: Rossini – Complete Overtures Vol. 1 & 2
Genre: Classical
Label: © Naxos NBD0028, NBD0035
Release Date: 2013-14
Quality: High-Fidelity FLAC Stereo 96kHz/24bit
Source: Blu-ray Audio Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
Duration: 03:48:19
Recorded: Kulturní dům Barikádníků, Prague, Czech Republic, on 5th and 6th September, 2011 (Vol. 1 #1-8, 10-14; Vol. 2 #2-3, 8), and at Produkční dům Vzlet, Prague, on May 30th and 31st, 2012 (Vol. 1 #9, 15; Vol. 2 #1, 4-7, 9-15)
Rossini wrote some of music’s most masterful and lovable operas. His gift for comic and tragic forms was matched by a relish for characterisation, qualities that are always evident in his overtures. La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) is perhaps the most famous, one of the world’s most popular concert openers. Guillaume Tell, with its overture in four movements, includes a scene for five solo cellos. La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder) opens with an overture of charm and élan, and Le siège de Corinthe is dramatic and colourful. All of Rossini’s overtures display sparkling themes, rich lyricism and theatrical excitement.
The enduring popularity of Rossini’s operas is a testament to their wit and inventiveness, every overture a superb portrait of each ensuing drama. Volume 2 includes rarities such as the lively student work, Grand’overtura ‘obbligata a contrabasso’, and Matilde of Shabran, set in medieval Spain, alongside perennial hits such as The Italian Girl in Algiers, La Cenerentola (Cinderella), and the farcical comedy of Il barbiere di Siviglia. Volume 1 of this two-disc edition of the complete overtures is available on NBD0028. (more…)
Title: Gioachino Rossini: Complete Overtures Vol.2
Year: 2011-2012
Genre: Classical
Conductor: Christian Benda
Artist: Prague Sinfonia Orhestra
Issued: United States | Naxos
Duration: 1:50:36
Size 10.26 GB
The enduring popularity of Rossini’s operas is a testament to their wit and inventiveness, every overture a superb portrait of each ensuing drama. Volume 2 includes rarities such as the lively student work, Grand’overtura ‘obbligata a contrabasso’, and Matilde of Shabran, set in medieval Spain, alongside perennial hits such as The Italian Girl in Algiers, La Cenerentola (Cinderella), and the farcical comedy of Il barbiere di Siviglia. Volume 1 of this two-disc edition of the complete overtures is available on NBD0028.
Recorded: Kulturní dům Barikádníků, Prague, Czech Republic, on 5th and 6th September, 2011 (tracks 2-3, 8), and at Produkční dům Vzlet, Prague, on 30th and 31st May, 2012 (tracks 1, 4-7, 9-15). (more…)
Gioachino Rossini: Complete Overtures Vol.1 (2011-2012/2013) [High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc]
Genre: Classical
Year of publication: 2013
Duration: 1:57:46
Quality: Blu-ray Disc
Container: BDMV
Video codec: MPEG-2
Audio Codec: DTS-HD Master Audio | LPCM
Rossini wrote some of music’s most masterful and lovable operas. His gift for comic and tragic forms was matched by a relish for characterisation, qualities that are always evident in his overtures. La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) is perhaps the most famous, one of the world’s most popular concert openers. Guillaume Tell, with its overture in four movements, includes a scene for five solo cellos. La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder) opens with an overture of charm and élan, and Le siège de Corinthe is dramatic and colourful. All of Rossini’s overtures display sparkling themes, rich lyricism and theatrical excitement.
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Name: Johannes Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem
Released: 2012
Genre: Classical
Conductor: Antoni Wit
Artist: Christiane Libor, Soprano (# 5), Thomas E. Bauer, Baritone (# 3, 6), Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir
Issued: United States | Naxos
Duration: 1:15:16
Size: 8.84 GB
The longest work in Brahms’s entire oeuvre, A German Requiem was almost certainly triggered by the death of his mother, although it also seems likely that the tragic loss of his friend Robert Schumann, some years earlier, added to its depth and eloquence. Taking inspiration from Bach’s contrapuntal genius but avoiding overt religious tradition, Brahms chose the texts himself, placing an emphasis on an affirmation of life with the suggestion that he would gladly have substituted ‘human’ for ‘German’ in the title.
Recorded: Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, Warsaw, Poland, from 27th to 29th August, 2012.
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Сomposer: Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)
Artist: London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Title: Carl Nielsen – Symphonies Nos. 1-6
Genre: Classical
Label: © LSO Live
Release Date: 2014
Recording Location: October 2011 (Symphony No 1), December 2011 (Symphony Nos 2 & 3), May 2010 (Symphony No 4), October 2009 (Symphony No 5), May & June 2011 (Symphony No 6) at Barbican, London, United Kingdom
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Length: 03:21:35
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 950 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 192 kHz / 10924 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 6.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: English LPCM 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit
Size: 31.71 GB
These recordings, made during Sir Colin Davis’ ‘Indian summer’ with the orchestra, are acknowledged to be amongst the finest recordings ever made of this repertoire, receiving numerous awards. The symphonies were originally released between 2011 and 2013 and will now be made available together for the first time as a beautifully packaged 3 SACD box set, including one Pure Audio Blu-ray disc.
Despite giving titles to the majority of his symphonies, Danish composer Carl Nielsen was often vague about what influenced each work. Nevertheless he was a master symphonist and his music is mesmerising, combining propulsive energy with lyrical invention.
Name: Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 “Organ”
Year: 2013/2014
Genre: Classical
Conductor: Leonard Slatkin
Artist: Vincent Warnier (organ), Lyon National Orchestra
Issued: United States | Naxos
Duration: 00:57:58
Size: 6.91 GB
To celebrate the inauguration of the newly restored former organ of the Palais du Trocadéro and Palais de Chaillot in Paris, the Orchestre National de Lyon and their organist-in-residence, Vincent Warnier, present two major works for organ and orchestra by Camille Saint- Saëns. Both are historically linked with the great Cavaillé-Coll organs, and are performed here together with an arrangement for solo organ of his famous Danse macabre.
Recorded at Auditorium de Lyon, France, on 7th February, 2014 (track 1), and on 18th and 19th November, 2013 (tracks 2-7). (more…)
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Сomposer: Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Artist: London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Title: Mendelssohn: Symphony No 3 ‘Scottish’; Schumann: Piano Concerto
Genre: Classical
Label: © LSO Live
Release Date: 2014
Recording Location: January 2014 at Barbican, London, United Kingdom
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Length: 01:19:21 + 01:30:49 (video bonus)
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 950 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Video (bonus): MPEG-4 AVC 21993 kbps / 1920*1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: German DTS-HD MA 5.0 / 192 kHz / 18133 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 6.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: German LPCM 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit
Audio#3 (bonus): German LPCM 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Size: 32.82 GB
Inspired by his travels to the British Isles and full of the influence of the rolling Scottish landscape, both Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 ‘Scottish’ and his Overture: The Hebrides (‘Fingal’s Cave’) are amongst the composer’s most popular and admired works. The London Symphony Orchestra present us with inspiring performances of these works, as well as a performance of Schumann’s Piano Concerto, featuring the celebrated pianist, Maria João Pires.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner writes of this coupling; ‘Even if they spoke with different accents these genial Romantics were united in their ambitious fervour for ‘abstract’ music to be acknowledged as having the same expressive force as poetry, drama or the literary novel. The three works on this album exemplify the endeavour and range of invention of two of them, friends and colleagues in Leipzig’.
As well as SACD, this recording will be released on the new format Pure Audio Blu-ray, which will enable the orchestra to be heard in high resolution sound on every Blu-ray player. Bonus HD video footage of the full concert will also be included on the Blu-ray.