Cleveland Quartet – Beethoven: The Five Middle Quartets (2023 Remastered Version) (1979/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 02:44:15 minutes | 5,61 GB | Genre: Classique
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA Red Seal
Immediately upon their debut at the 1969 Marlboro Festival, four brilliant young American musicians calling themselves the Cleveland Quartet were hailed as a chamber ensemble of exceptional quality. Over the next quarter century, they performed on every continent, including nearly 30 complete Beethoven cycles in the US and Europe. At their peak, the Cleveland Quartet gave more than 100 concerts a year. They became the first classical artists to play on the televised Grammy awards and performed at the White House for President’s Carter inauguration.
Read moreCleveland Quartet – Barber: String Quartet, Op. 11 – Ives: String Quartet No. 2 & Scherzo (2023 Remastered) (1976/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 42:10 minutes | 1,41 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA Red Seal
Immediately upon their debut at the 1969 Marlboro Festival, four brilliant young American musicians calling themselves the Cleveland Quartet were hailed as a chamber ensemble of exceptional quality. Over the next quarter century, they performed on every continent, including nearly 30 complete Beethoven cycles in the US and Europe. At their peak, the Cleveland Quartet gave more than 100 concerts a year. They became the first classical artists to play on the televised Grammy awards and performed at the White House for President’s Carter inauguration.
Read moreChristian Sands – Christmas Stories (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 54:51 minutes | 1,06 GB | Genre: Christmas, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mack Avenue Records
Pianist/composer Christian Sands’ cinematic approach to popular holiday classics takes center stage with Christmas Stories, his first album since his critically acclaimed, GRAMMY® nominated 2020 release Be Water. Having performed in-demand Christmas shows at Jazz at Lincoln Center and around the world, Sands offers such classics as “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Silent Night,” “Jingle Bells,” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” as well as a few surprises. Joining the NAACP Image Award nominee are vibraphonist Stefon Harris, saxophonist Jimmy Greene, guitarists Max Light and Marvin Sewell, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, percussionist Keita Ogawa, and drummer Ryan Sands.
Read moreCharles Metz – Scarlatti Sonatas (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:11:10 minutes | 2,60 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Navona
Ivory keys worn by two centuries of passionate musicians tell a story of musical evolution on SCARLATTI SONATAS, an album of previously unrecorded solo harpsichord sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, Antonio Soler, and an unidentified composer. Performed today by pianist Charles Metz, these works were first adapted for performance on the pianoforte in 1791 by Muzio Clementi, who breathed new life into Scarlatti’s timeless work with marked dynamics, articulations, and more. While Metz’s choice of repertoire holds ample historical significance, so does the instrument he employs to perform them — an 1806 square piano built by Clementi himself.
Read moreCelloman – Cello Moods & Broods (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 39:41 minutes | 633 MB | Genre: Classical, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Jambila Music Classics
Crafted specifically for cello duet, trio, and quartet arrangements, the album includes 12 original compositions, drawing influence from diverse world music traditions. As an illustration, Celloman presents Indian Carnatic essence in “Veena”; flamenco flavor in “Scenes of You”; jazz inspiration in “Dream in G.” Additionally, Celloman treats the listener to quieter pieces, such as the introspective “Kaleidoscope.”
A noteworthy facet of Celloman’s musical exploration is the incorporation of the Arpezzato playing style. This technique seamlessly combines guitar-like ‘arpeggio’ and string ‘pizzicato,’ executed without a bow and encompassing over 40 finger techniques derived from pop, rock, world music, blues, and jazz genres.
Read moreBlossoms – Ribbon Around The Bomb (Super Deluxe) (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:37:43 minutes | 1,21 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © EMI
Ribbon Around the Bomb received positive reviews upon its release. Stephen Ackroyd of Dork praised Blossoms as a “band that don’t just connect in the here and now, but who are now making records to last for the long haul.” Clash commented that the album was “endearing, prodigiously rich and ambitious” and “might well be their finest body of work to date.”Louder Than War described the album as: “Classic, unfussy songwriting, instant hooks abound as the Stockport five-piece produce their most consistent record to date.” The Evening Standard gave the album 4/5, praising it by writing: “From ABBA-ish jaunts to NYC odes, the five-piece are sounding rather more worldly”. It added: “They’re growing up, but haven’t lost sight of what makes them so appealing”.
Read moreBalthasar Neumann Orchestra, Balthasar Neumann Choir & Thomas Hengelbrock – Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:14:29 minutes | 709 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Prospero Classical
For the premiere of his Cavalleria rusticana in 1889, Pietro Mascagni had to make a whole series of cuts and transpositions: The chorus at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome was not up to the demanding choral parts, and the soloists of Santuzza and Turiddu sometimes complained that their parts were uncomfortably high – and so the composer not only deleted large parts of the choral passages, but also changed his carefully thought-out key concept. Nonetheless, the piece was such a resounding success at its premiere that it continued to be performed in modified form – even after the piece had long since begun its triumphal march around the world.
Read moreAstor Piazzolla, Carlos Gardel, Duo Cello e Basso – Let’s Tango! (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:07:10 minutes | 1,19 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Navona
On LET’S TANGO, Duo Cello e Basso with French double bassist Pascale Delache-Feldman and cellist Emmanuel Feldman invites listeners to experience some of the celebrated genre’s greatest masterpieces. Joined by pianist Victor Cayres, the centerpiece of the album is the duos’ arrangement of Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires that they perform in concerts around the United States including a recent appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Other Piazzolla works with piano include Kicho, an original work for solo double bass and Le Grand Tango, written originally for cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The album also includes a trio arrangement of Por una Cabeza and El Dia que me Quieras by famed 20th century tango composer Carlos Gardel. Full of the longing and passion characteristic of tango music and paired with the rich dynamic range of the bass and cello, LET’S TANGO offers fresh new interpretations of these classic works.
Read moreArlo Parks – My Soft Machine (Deluxe) (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 59:46 minutes | 669 MB | Genre: Indie Pop, Female Vocal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Transgressive
Twice Grammy-nominated, Mercury Prize and Brit Award-winning artist Arlo Parks is returning with her second album, My Soft Machine on Transgressive Records. My Soft Machine is a deeply personal body of work; a narration of Parks’ experiences as she navigates her 20’s and the growth intertwined. Explained ever-articulately in her own words below…
Read moreArik Strauss – In Spite Of All (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:12:42 minutes | 1,34 GB | Genre: Contemporary Jazz, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © OPM Recordings
Arik Strauss’s second piano trio album – In Spite of All – presents ten new compositions and two free improvisations. Following on the success of his first trio album, Mostly Ballads, these original compositions express a more upbeat atmosphere. Joined again by bass player Tal Ronen and for the first time by drummer Gasper Bertocelj, Arik, through the lyrical and thoughtful melodic structure of his song, captures our undivided attention again and shows us the joy and determination of his musical soul.
Read moreArabs In Aspic – The Magic of Sin (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 42:10 minutes | 458 MB | Genre: Progressive Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Karisma Records
“Syndenes magi” was the sixth Arabs in Aspic album, and a turning point in their long career. After “Pictures in a Dream” and “Victim of your Father’s agony” the structure of “the new Arabs” was set. They had lots of songs ready to go, but after attending a spectacular King Crimson gig in Oslo they decided that their new material wasn’t up to par, and they had to do better.
Read moreAnne Warthmann – Anne Warthmann Sings Naji Hakim, Vol. 2 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:08:12 minutes | 634 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Signum Records
Anne Warthmann, soprano is accompanied by Hyowon Chi, flute, Arthur Stockel, clarinet and Naji Hakim at the historic STAHLHUTH-JANN ORGAN at St Martin’s Church, Dudelange , Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, in a program including the following world premiere recordings of Naji Hakim’s works : Abana for soprano and organ (2019) – Assalamu for soprano and organ (2019) – Our Lady’s Minstrel (Prelude for clarinet and organ, Three poems for soprano and organ, Dance for clarinet and organ) (2013) – Adoration for soprano, flute and organ (2015) – Römisches Triptychon for soprano and organ (2010).
Read moreHeinz Marecek & Florian Krumpöck – Richard Strauss: Enoch Arden (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:18:17 minutes | 1,18 GB | Genre: Classical, Spoken Word
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Galileo Music Communication
Heinz Marecek tells the story of the shipwrecked sailor Enoch Arden. A melodrama of sound based on a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, as gripping as Odysseus or Robinson Crusoe, composed in a phase between the symphonic poems “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks”, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” and the orchestral works “Don Quixote” and “A Hero’s Life”.
Read moreGreg Chako – Christmas Time (Live In Izu Nagaoka) (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:01:50 minutes | 716 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mint 400 Records
In a pro career spanning 40 years and five countries, USA guitarist Greg Chako has released 14 albums and been the subject of a documentary called, “An American Cat in the Lion City.” He lived in the Far East for 17 years, where he evolved into a masterful, expressive composer with rich story telling abilities. His style merges Mainstream, Hard Bop, Latin & World music.
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