…Jan Panenka makes an honest reading of Schumann Op conferring it of serene poise and distinguished phrasing. Ancerl underlines magnificently the orchestral details to make at least a listenable version. But the jewel of the crown was the radiant and original reading of this battlehorse piece so many listened. Gilels' approach is very attractive, progressively he gets to imbue us around this Russian taste implicit in Tchaikovsky's first Symphony better known as "Winter dreams" . The Second Movement (in the 5:23) Ancerl makes a memorable rubato that really engaged me. Additionally, Gilels with his notable trills, provides the dreamlike atmosphere so typical from Tchaikovsky's ballets. The Final movement is lively and remarkably exciting.

Fritz Wunderlich is in absolutely stunning voice in this classic recording of Mozart's "Turkish" opera brilliantly led by Eugen Jochum. Kurt Bohme is a lively, rich voiced Osmin, while Erika Koth and Lotte Schadle are a vivacious pair of female leads. Friedrich Lenz makes for an expert, lyrical second tenor! "The Rough Guide To Opera" says that "this is a justifiably famous performance, . . . not least for its being the first of the opera to present the score uncut. It is also celebrated for being one of Fritz Wunderlich's last and finest studio recordings.

Johann Friedrich Fasch was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, and that has seriously hampered the interest in his music. It was the German musicologist Hugo Riemann, who at the beginning of the 20th century made an attempt to restore his reputation.

PALLAS is, after MARILLION, and along with IQ and PENDRAGON, one of the most important acts of the Eighties Progressive rebirth. This is an energetic and magnificent neo progressive band in the style of IQ/MARILLION but with more edge. Their music is centered on melodic hooks, loud sound and great voice. "The Sentinel" brings a tint of pop in a still elaborate progressive spectrum. Scottish prog band PALLAS definitely have one of the longest gaps between albums on record. They released their first album, "The Sentinel" in 1984 and followed it up with "The Wedge" two years later. Their next album, "Beat the Drum" (72 minutes of music with epic accents, rock rhythms and style, and ballads full of feeling), did not show up for 13 years. Highly recommended to fans of neo Progressive style.

Imagine a metallic and mechanical journey through extremely complex and brutal metal stuffed with insane spacey guitar solos and neck breaking sharp riffs. Meshuggah's third studio release, "Chaosphere" from 1998, is just like that. An extremely technical prog-metal mayhem of an album, clocking in at 46-minutes; there are no silent parts here, only pure metal throughout, so If you are used to other prog metal bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X, well, then you'll be blowed away with this album's ability to nearly crack your brain. This is Meshuggah's most extreme release yet, guitars, bass, drums and vocals crashes into each other with amazing speed and NO emotion or melody, creating this extremely intense and brutal monster. The best thing is that the result is so original too! No bands before or after have ever created something like this before! That makes this album so interesting.

This portentous tribute to Domenikos Theotokopoulos (16th-century painter "El Greco") divides its ten tracks among as many separate movements (complete with a disc-closing "Epilogue") and explores them with all the excitement of a day at the art gallery (this concept was, in fact, inspired by the National Gallery of Greece's efforts to obtain El Greco's "St. Peter"). Which means it's very studious, very meticulous, and very good for you, but ultimately the (very few) thrills here are intrinsic at best and not really all that thrilling. Composer, arranger, producer, and performer Vangelis gooses up the action with occasional bombast, but the overall tone of El Greco's classical new age is as solemn and washed-out as a centuries-old painting.

On her third album of adult R&B, new age princess Des'ree offers up more musical self-help tips and self-esteem makeovers for the chronically lovesick and spiritually downhearted. And while there's nothing as peacefully sublime as "You Gotta Be" (from 1994's I Ain't Movin') on Supernatural, the listen is a soothing one. Credit Brit Des'ree herself for this; her voice – a reassuring tool that envelops everything around it – has never been better. Working her softened tones around the mostly forgettable material (many of the songs try to rewrite "You Gotta Be" by essentially sticking with the same formula of making sophisticated urban soul), she creates a melodic new-age tone (complete with a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire") that may not stick with you a lifetime, but it sure feels like the most tranquil place on earth for its 50 minutes.

Few will have heard of Louise Farrenc (1804-1875). She seems to have spent most of her life in Paris, receiving tuition from Antonin Reicha, Hummel and Moscheles. She wrote a considerable amount of piano and chamber music and was appointed professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire in 1842. Whilst other female composers of the period, such as Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann, focused on songs and instrumental works, Farrenc progressed to writing three symphonies and two overtures.

This blues-oriented set has the feel of a jam session. Bassist Willie Kent and Lil Ed Williams split the vocals on a date that features contrasting guitar voices in the relatively clean Eddie C. Campbell and the more distorted playing of Williams; both have plenty of solo space. Pianist Allen Batts and drummer Baldhead Pete Williams are quite solid behind the lead voices who get to stretch out on the basic but highly appealing material. Who's Been Talking, which includes songs by Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James and J.B. Hutto in addition to the newer songs, is easily recommended to modern blues collectors.

Recorded by Paul Smith at ACME Studio, Chicago on October 25, 1989. Released on Wolf Records. Feautres the great A.C. Reed on tenor sax and vocals, Big Wheeler on harp and vocals along with Luther Adams and John Primer on guitar, Willie Kent on bass and Timothy Taylor on drums.

The musician Andreas Zink received some help by Brainwork and Projekt Gamma, to release his first CD. So this might be the reason, why the melodic tunes sound like thoose two groups. Finest equippment is used to develop thees catchy tracks.

Soul singer extraordinaire E.C. Scott comes back from her 1995 debut with perhaps even a stronger album the second time at bat. Ten of the 11 tunes on here emanate from her prolific pen (the only cover is her interpretation of the Eurythmics' "Missionary Man"), and her earthy, engaging style is heard to great effect on the opener, "Steppin' Out on a Saturday Night," the bouncy shuffle "Don't Touch Me," the slow blues "Lyin' and Cheatin'" and the title track. Her time is impeccable, her phrasing straight and true, and every vocal on here is chock full of deep feeling; as a modern-day example of a soul-blues album, this one's about as good as the form gets.