I would urge those listeners who have a love ( or respect ) for music composed by earlier 20th century musicians like Bartok & Berg to listen to a few samples of this 3 CD set ( performed by the Klangforum Wien ) of Jean Barraque's complete works. There is a density and compellingly dramatic propulsion to his works ( composed from 1952-1968 ), all ( but one ) large pieces which display a grandeur foreign to ……..

Ian K. Hughes @ Amazon.com

Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) has stated that his works have an "abstract plot" driving his music from behind the scenes. His series of (so far) eleven symphonies certainly testifies to this statement; each of his symphonies seems to set out from a fixed point, always to confront the impassable, and always trying to reconcile that conflict in the most poignant and personal of ways. I personally find Aho to be the most brilliant composer of his generation, …..

Harlan Otter @ Amazon.com

Ominous Gatekeeper hails from Northern California created by Corey Athos (Flesh Consumed, Hydrocephalic). Down-tuned, sludgy, dark and dissonant Brutal Death Metel..featuring searing solos from Shaune Kelley (Dim Mak, ex-Hate Eternal). "When writing the album I threw some baritone strings on my guitar, blasted Immolation and wrote" - Corey.

The second full length album from swedish Melodic/Symphonic Death Metal act Meadows End! For fans of bands like Amon Amarth, Dark Tranquillity, Soilwork, etc.

Some artists carve out albums, others issue singles. It’s hard to tell where Tom Petty sits. For the most part, he’s a singles man. In the realm of the universe, the majority of people who like or appreciate Petty and his Heartbreakers probably own his 1993 collection, Greatest Hits. After all, it’s the guy’s best-selling album to date, having sold over 10 million copies and been certified…

Of the artists active today, Ricardo Muti has been a welcome guest at the Festival for more than 40 years. His first conducting engagements there did not just provide the basis for his current “telepathic” relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic, but also brought collaborations with important soloists of the older generation. Thus the new CD in the series FESTIVAL DOCUMENTS includes the Piano Concerto by Robert Schumann under Muti’s baton, with Sviatoslav Richter once more proving the uniqueness of his pianistic gifts. Over and above all its virtuoso challenges, Richter and Muti together give an account triumphant in its formal cohesion and in which they sculpt it as a large-scale musical arch.

Simone Dinnerstein has been described as “a throwback to such high priestesses of music as Wanda Landowska and Myra Hess” by Slate magazine and praised by TIME for her “arresting freshness and subtlety”. The New York-based pianist gained an international following because of the remarkable success of her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations which she raised the funds to record. Released in 2007, it ranked No. 1 on the US Billboard Classical Chart in its first week of sales and was named to many ‘Best of 2007’ lists including those of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker. Her follow-up album, The Berlin Concert, also gained the No. 1 spot on the Chart.

After the demise of Africa 70, Fela set forth to create a new group of musicians that he could mold, shape, and direct to play out his musical conceptions. Instead of just offering a new group, he also progressed his compositional style and attitudes. Stylistically, the compositions became longer, more complex, and in some senses tighter; they began to take on Western classical structures in their arrangements but still carried the improvisational, American soul, and traditional African forms that gave birth to the original Afro-Beat sound. …