Along with Leos Janacek, Bohuslav Martinu was one of the twin giants of Czech music in the twentieth century, a composer with a distinctly individual voice and a versatility that led him to excel in every medium from stage works to symphonies to string quartets. Martinu was born in the Moravian town of Policka. Starting violin lessons at the of seven, he gave his first recital when he was 15. By the age of 10 he had written his first compositions; his juvenilia include songs, piano music, symphonic poems, string quartets, and ballets. In 1906, he entered Prague Conservatory, but reading and the theater diverted Martinu from his studies, and he was finally expelled for "incorrigible negligence" in 1910. However, he continued composing. Exempted, as a …….
From Allmusic

Through his far-reaching endeavors as composer, performer, educator, and ethnomusicolgist, Béla Bartók emerged as one of the most forceful and influential musical personalities of the twentieth century. Born in Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary (now Romania), on March 25, 1881, Bartók began his musical training with piano studies at the age of five, foreshadowing his lifelong affinity for the instrument. Following his graduation from the Royal Academy of Music in 1901 and the composition of his first mature works – most notably, the symphonic poem Kossuth (1903) – Bartók embarked on one of the classic field studies in the history of ethnomusicology. With fellow countryman and composer Zoltán Kodály, he traveled throughout Hungary ……..

From Allmusic

Wodensthrone return with “Curse”, an album that transcends the impermanence of individual nations and cultures to address timeless, universal questions of spirituality and freedom. “Curse” explores mankind’s most inherent and profound spiritual flaw; the instinct to lay the responsibility of our fates at the feet of imagined Gods, to submit without question to the cultural machinery – religious, political, social, economical – that imposes systems of power and control to exploit, enthral, corrupt and oppress. The result is a tumultuous, dynamic album rich in tension, conflict and a grandeur verging on the terrifying.

Ordinarily, 20 years of making records puts you in a category with dinosaurs. However, since these are blues records we're talking about, it's more likely that Mike Goudreau & The Boppin' Blues Band could still be considered youths by the genres standards. The disc contains thirteen original tracks of what Mike calls "songs that range from swing to funk, from New Orleans to blues rock, with some southern soul and gospel thrown in for good measure". Special guest on this is Pierre Lacocque of the band Mississippi Heat from Chicago.

The Fellowship of the Drums is a unique road-movie, which follows the Lucas Niggli Drum Quartet Beat Bag Bohemia across Africa and Europe. The four drummers set out to explore new sounds and to give drumming a new direction. As the journey progresses the fellowship is tested by different social and cultural views. In the end they remain bonded by their fabulous music.

In memoriam Dieter Fischer Dieskau (1925 – 2012)
Mahler: Lieder Des Knaben Wunderhorn; Rückert Lieder; Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit; Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen –
Christa Ludwig (mezzo); Walter Berry, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (bars); Leonard Bernstein (piano)
(two discs, 126 minutes: ADD). Texts and translations included.
Classical | 2 CD | EAC Rip | 476 MB | FLAC+LOG+M3U+Cue | Full scans | FS & RS links
Publisher: Sony Classical | Recorded: 1968 | Published: 2004

There are compelling reasons for acquiring this collection of recordings made in Vienna and New York in 1968. First, there is the intensely characterful singing of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and of Christa Ludwig, one of the great Mahler interpreters. Then there is the double fascination of hearing the songs with piano accompaniment played by Leonard Bernstein, who at that time was very much into enacting the role of Mahler's self-appointed representative on earth. Richard Osborne; Gramphone, March 1992.

The Place Vendome band was put together by Frontiers Records in 2005 and comprised of Dennis Ward (bass), Uwe Reitenauer (guitars), Kosta Zafiriou (drums) from Pink Cream 69, Gunter Werno (keyboards) from Vandenplas and Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween, Avantasia, etc) on vocals.

"Ommadawn" is the third record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1975 on Virgin Records. It peaked at #4 on the UK Albums Chart.
The album was recorded at Oldfield's home at Hergest Ridge, The Beacon, and was the only album to be recorded there (though Oldfield's previous album shares its name with the location).