Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com
George Szell's Beethoven Ninth is not the sort of cosmic display that Wilhelm Furtwängler and other members of the German "Romantic" school made of it, but taken on its own terms it's a lean and mean performance full of power and drama. The Cleveland Orchestra plays with its customary expertise and Szell caps the performance with a smoking rendition of the finale–great choral singing, and an irresistible forward momentum. A great performance. –David Hurwitz

Robin Miriam Carlsson, better known by her stage name Robyn (born 12 June 1979) is a Grammy Award-nominated Swedish pop singer-songwriter. Robyn was known in the late nineties for her dance-pop hits "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What It Takes)". Robyn entered Melodifestivalen 1997 as songwriter with the entry "Du gör mig hel igen". She has since started to gain mainstream success worldwide owing to the popularity of her No 1 hit single "With Every Heartbeat" and subsequent album release. In January, 2009 Robyn won a Swedish Grammis award for Best Live Act 2008.
Don't Stop the Music is the third album by Swedish pop singer Robyn. It was released by RCA Records on October 30, 2002 in Sweden. The album was a top five album in Robyn's native Sweden, and its lead single "Keep This Fire Burning" was a top five single. In 2003, Don't Stop The Music was certified platinum, and has sold over 60,000 copies in Sweden.

It is a pity that so few recordings of Maria Callas in concert exist to leave the testimony of this genius of the singing and actor's play that she was. Only 5 recitals have been filmed (Paris 1958, Hamburg 1959 and 1962, Covent Garden 1962 and 1964), recorded on 3 DVD. Here is the first one of them (and maybe the best), Paris 1958.
I will upload the two others later on.

That Evening, Callas was to sing in Paris for the first time! We knew she had the vocal genius of a great Diva as well as the rages and outbursts expected of one. Regular opera-goers knew of her but she was unknown to most people. And that very evening, she was about to be revealed to them….. What an unforgettable evening! Three hours earlier, Callas had just been a Diva; at midnight she became a star for millions of viewers. It was a triumph for Callas and also for television because that emotion of years ago can still be felt today. Callas is present among us. For ever.

Brian Hughes (born 1955) is a Canadian guitarist whose work draws from both the smooth jazz and world music genres. (Of the latter, his influences have thus far been primarily Latin.) Not restricted entirely to conventional guitars, Hughes has also been known to employ the oud, bouzouki and balalaika. He has for over fifteen years worked in the studio with singer/songwriter Loreena McKennitt, co-produced many of her recordings, and leads her touring band. Hughes has many albums started with songs from the early 1990s. His music is contemporary jazz using the jazz guitar for his instrumental music.

Release Date: Nov 16, 2004.
Al Di Meola has been a contrast in terms of music. He has taken his guitar into various streams with different levels of success. His playing has been marked with a gentle lyrical air just as it has been infiltrated with an abundance of technique; the latter at times at the expense of an emotional connect. The two performances captured here show both sides. The first is a solo acoustic set, the second finds him with Chris Carrington on guitar and Arto Tuncboyacian on percussion and vocals, the trio known as World Sinfonia.
Di Meola stamps his signature runs and clarion clean notes with "Shadow Vertigo" churning little eddies that never swirl out of context. The medley however, is a mixed bag. There are moments that elevate but there are also lengthy progressions that do little in the way of communication. Art is limited if it does not stoke a responsive chord. He gets back on track with "Etude" with its gentle musings. Overall, though, there is little passion triggered in the listener. The photography of this set is to be commended. There are effective long shots and some excellent super impositions.
The second concert does little to enhance involvement. The trio is tight-knit and the music evolves seamlessly but the rainbow of colours is a pretty artefact that does not leave an indelible impress. Even Astor Piazzolla's "Tango Suite" goes nowhere with its bland incantation. The one strong presence is Arto Tuncboyacian with his vocals that add a stimulating dimension.

La voz de la música Latinoamericana. Tal vez esa sea la mejor definición para Mercedes Sosa, cantora, que, en más de cuarenta años de carrera, recorrió todos los países del continente. Ella salió de la Argentina para revolucionar la música popular con el movimiento nueva canción, reuniendo política con la musicalidad de los ritmos folclóricos de América Latina. En este show acústico inédito realizado en Suiza ella interpreta canciones de autores famosos como Victor Jarra y Violeta Parra, autores de obras cumbres como Gracias a la vida y Duerme negrito.

Armida is an opera in three acts by Joseph Haydn, set to a libretto based upon Torquato Tasso’s poem Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered) and written duringhis services for the Eszterházy family...

From Wikipedia: Love Is the Answer is an album of jazz standards by Barbra Streisand released on September 29, 2009. The album was produced by Diana Krall and features Krall on piano. Orchestral arrangements are by Johnny Mandel, Anthony Wilson and Alan Broadbent. A deluxe edition contains a bonus disc featuring versions of the songs with just Streisand's vocals and Krall's quartet. To promote the album, Streisand performed for one night only on September 26 at the Village Vanguard some forty-eight years after she opened for Miles Davis at the same venue. The album was promoted in a QVC special which offered a Special Edition DVD that includes bonus video tracks of "People" from My Name Is Barbra (1965); "Yesterdays" from Color Me Barbra (1966); "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" from The Belle of 14th Street (1967); "Silent Night (Sleep in Heavenly Peace)" from A Happening in Central Park (1968); "Cryin' Time" (with Ray Charles) from Barbra Streisand...and Other Musical Instruments (1973).According to her official site, Billboard has confirmed that the album debuted at #1, beating big contenders Paramore and Mariah Carey. This represents her ninth #1 album on the Billboard 200 – this way, Streisand has achieved at least one #1 album in five consecutive decades – the 1960's, the 1970's, the 1980's, the 1990's and the 2000's, extending the record of four decades for a female that she previously held.

Already on the first piece, "The Message", the album’s tone is made clear. It originates out of the so-called "free play" that was recorded in May 2001.The soft, gospel-like quality of "the Message", in which Jan Johansson’s ubiquitous spirit can be felt, is not really typical for E.S.T.

Mr. Bernstein kicks off with Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole, 4th Movement, to illustrate a total unawareness of a tonal crisis. The bigger and greater the ambiguities, the more immortal is tonality. There is still Rosenkavalier to be written, some operas by Puccini and Firebird. But 1908 breathes an air of disturbance indicating that tonality cannot last, nor figurative painting, nor syntactical poetry, nor the seemingly endless growth of colonial wealth or imperial power. A hint of social collapse. Marinetti's "Manifesto of Futurism" is to appear. Mahler, writing his 9th Symphony, agonizes over his reluctant and protracted farewell to tonality. Scriabin does so in his Prometheus. Sibelius in his 4th Symphony