Jon Hopkins is the creator and curator of sonic witchcraft. A musician skilled enough to create melodies that evoke images in the mind’s eye is a rare thing indeed, but to fully transport a listener’s consciousness into a dark, mystical dimension of other is nothing short of genius; borderline black magic. The audio warlock who conjures up these tangible fabrics of parallel lands brings forth his Midas touch in the score for independent low budget feature length horror Monsters. And if the film, for some, smacks somewhat of cheese, Hopkins’ soundtrack does not. Instead it draws listeners (and viewers) in as it does into an enhanced and lucid existence, opening portals into alternate worlds, stirring hearts and very souls…

This recording is the second part of an eventual triptych that will contain the six string quartets dedicated to Haydn: no.14 in G major, K387, the first of them, was composed in 1782, when Mozart had just arrived on the Viennese musical scene; no.15 in D minor K421, the second, is the only one in the minor mode and was completed in 1783 while his wife Constanze was in labour – she related that the rising intervals of the second movement recalled her cries from the room next door as he composed.

The fairy tale story of Cinderella has always inspired the great theater composers. Rossini's delightful 'La Cenerentola' is an operatic staple while Prokofiev's 'Cinderella' is a fixture on the ballet stage. After the 1940 premiere of 'Romeo and Juliet,' Prokofiev was immediately commissioned to write another ballet for the Kirov. Work on 'Cinderella' was set aside during some of the darkest days of the Second World War but Prokofiev returned to the work and completed it in 1944.

Si pour le grand public le nom de Rubinstein est indissociablement attaché à celui de Chopin, le pianiste polonais avouait lui-même une affinité toute particulière pour la musique de Brahms. RCA a la bonne idée d'enrichir sa collection Masters (bien nommée) avec un coffret dédicacé à cette alchimie remarquable, regroupant les grands enregistrements Living Stéréo de la musique concertante et surtout de la musique de chambre non limitée au piano seul.

After discovering François Francoeur's splendid orchestral pieces, the suites de Symphonies pour le festin royal de Monseigneur le Comte d'Artois, I was prompted by curiosity to play some of his magnificent violin sonatas in concert. This confirmed me in the conviction this violinist was undoubtedly one of the most appealing and gifted composers of 18th century France. Then it occurred to me to search his operatic output for the work or works most representative of his talents as an instrumentalist and orchestrator. The collections of the Bibliotheque Nationale soon convinced me that the 'more or less perfect pearl' was right in front of us: Piramé & Thisbé, a tragedie lyrique written in collaboration with his friend and associate François Rebel, three years his junior.

Elephant Mountain (1969) is the Youngbloods' third long-player and marks their debut as a trio – featuring Jesse Colin Young (bass/guitar/vocals), Joe Bauer (drums), and Lowell "Banana" Levinger (keyboards) – after the departure of co-founder Jerry Corbitt (guitar/vocals). Although the band initially formed out of the early '60s Northeast folk scene, by the time this set was issued they had relocated to the pastoral Northern California county of Marin. Blending affective pop/rock melodies and lyrics with their good time jug band roots, the Youngbloods were instantly embraced by the already blossoming Bay Area music community.

The Band’s first album, Music from Big Pink, seemed to come out of nowhere, with its ramshackle musical blend and songs of rural tragedy. The Band, the group’s second album, was a more deliberate and even more accomplished effort, partially because the players had become a more cohesive unit, and partially because guitarist Robbie Robertson had taken over the songwriting, writing or co-writing all 12 songs. Though a Canadian, Robertson focused on a series of American archetypes, from the union worker in “King Harvest (Has Surely Come)” and the retired sailor in “Rockin’ Chair” to, most famously, the Confederate Civil War observer Virgil Cane in “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”

Goldstar takes perennial New Yorkers, Imperial Triumphant's exploration of the extreme and arcane and delivers the band’s most focused, authentic and accessible work to date. While the triumvirate has expanded the language of extreme music with albums including Alphaville (2021) and Spirit of Ecstasy (2023) via musical improvisation and a visual obliqueness that extends to their haunting masked performances, this is their defining moment. Also joining the Decibel magazine vaunted ensemble are Meshuggah drummer Thomas Haake and legendary drummer, Dave Lombardo, both of whose presence makes it clear that musically, Imperial Triumphant are in a class by themselves. From album opener “Eye of Mars” to the stirring “Hotel Sphinx” and the death metal scraping “Rot Moderne”, this is the sound of Imperial capitalizing on months of churning up the road in the company of Behemoth, Carcass and Zeal & Ardor…