These chamber works bring Sony's adventurous, timely Ligeti series to a natural pinnacle. Long the challenger of stylistic stasis and customary demonstrations of excellence, Ligeti has outdone himself here (as he did with the fantastic Mechanical Music release). The Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano (1982) challenges its players to stay in step with each other even while expanding virtuosity to the breaking point. Marie-Luise Neunecker plays such full horn parts that they roll flow over the tonal bounds, as does Saschko Gawriloff's violin and Pierre-Laurent Aimard's piano… –Andrew Bartlett..

Having displayed a knack in the past for reinterpreting both pop and jazz tunes, jazz vocalist Diane Schuur once again succeeds in bringing together an unexpected mix of compositions on Schuur Fire. Featuring the Caribbean Jazz Project, the album finds Schuur's clarion vocals melding nicely with vibist Dave Samuels' superb Latin jazz ensemble – especially trumpeter Diego Urcola, who takes some tasty solos throughout.

Experiencing the Australian Chamber Orchestra and their leader Richard Tognetti in concert has been described in The Times as 'like taking a swig of a vitamin drink'. This is the first of two discs on BIS of Mozart's violin concertos. Contributing to this is the fact that the strings (both soloist and orchestra) play on gut strings, while the wind players perform on replicas of instruments from Mozart's time.

Finnish composer Kimmo Hakola was recently portrayed by The New York Times as, "possessed of a joyful, mischievous spirit." The article described his music as "mixing together shapely lyricism, atonality, quirky folkishness and an almost hedonistic approach to timbre and rhythm." - an ideal characterization of the monumental Piano Concerto, which is the main feature on this new CD release in celebration of Hakola's 50th birthday.The 55-minute work is cast in no less than nine stirring movements, which combine scintillating virtuosity with powerful emotions and humoUr.With hints of jazz and folk music, in addition to parodist episodes of serial music, Hakola here produces unorthodox and accessible classical music at its best! Coupled with the Piano Concerto is the Sinfonietta for orchestra, 15-minute work of relentless virtuoso energy.

The Quantum Enigma is the sixth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. It was released on May 2, 2014 by Nuclear Blast. It is their first studio album with new bassist Rob van der Loo, who replaced Yves Huts in 2012. The album's cover artwork is done by Stefan Heilemann, who also did the cover artwork for the band's fourth and fifth albums. Mark Jansen explains: "I have been listening to our new album and I can't get enough of it! It sounds more modern, but with all typical EPICA elements inside. Refreshing might be the right word. This album has also been the result of a real group effort." "It was great to see everyone being so motivated to create our best album!" "Even though the sound is more heavy , it's still a very catchy album as well. Some old influences from our earliest work, some references to 'Design Your Universe' and some new elements." "I can't wait 'till the moment you'll be able to listen to our newborn which makes us all very proud!"

The Modern Jazz Quartet - Concorde (1955) {2008 Prestige RVG Remasters Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 175 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 11 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 2008 Prestige / Concord | PRCD-30653 | Prestige RVG Remaster Series | PRLP 7005
Jazz / Cool / Third Stream

After issuing 10" EPs for several years, Concorde (1955) marked two significant touchstones in the five-plus-decade career of the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ). One of those was the replacement of co-founder Kenny Clarke (drums) with former Lester Young quintet member Connie Kay (drums), who joined in time for the other hallmark – this, the MJQ's very first full-length long-player. Kay remained with the combo for the better part of four decades, until his passing in 1994. The transition between percussionists is both smooth as well as sensible. Kay's understated rhythms and solid timekeeping are perfectly suited to the clever arrangements and sophisticated sound of Milt Jackson (vibraphone), John Lewis (piano) and Percy Heath (bass).

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts (b. 1972) is known for his distinctive and richly coloured musical voice. Making their label début, Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra perform Kevin Puts’ Symphony No.4 (From Mission San Juan), inspired by Native American melodies. Opening this programme of world première recordings, Craig Hella Johnson leads Conspirare in two choral settings of texts by women poets: 'To Touch the Sky' and 'If I Were a Swan'.

Following the iconic series of the complete songs of Schubert and Schumann, Graham Johnson further demonstrates the phenomenal depth of his knowledge in the expert programming of this recital. Each disc in the series represents a different journey through the repertoire, and thus through Brahms’s life. This new volume is sensitively balanced, the opening and closing folksong transcriptions possessing beguiling charm and the five songs of Op 49 being performed in their entirety.

In honor of her 30 year stage jubilee, Doro Pesch will celebrate with fans from all over the world with two shows on May 2nd - the "Classic Night" with Orchestra - and May 3rd - the "Rock Night" with many guests - at CCD Stadthalle in her hometown Düsseldorf.Just in time for the celebration, there will be an anniversary record from the rock queen. The "Raise Your Fist – 30 Years Anniversary-Edition" contains the re-release of the "Raise Your Fist" record, as well as a bonus CD entitled "Powerful Passionate Favorites." There you find new and unreleased tracks, but also Doro cover versions of her favorite artists, such as Led Zeppelin, Tina Turner, Metallica, and Dio.