Alison Merrit

With her debut solo album ‘The Love Invention’, pop auteur Alison Goldfrapp delivered an intoxicating cocktail of synth-pop innovation with the disco and house touches that are an integral part of her extensive musical DNA - all capped with her enigmatic and ever alluring voice.

Best of 25 Years Revisited collects 20 remastered tracks from the bluesy British pop vocalist’s post-Yaz (or Yazoo) solo outings, spanning the years between her 1984 debut, Alf, through 2007’s Turn. The remasters sounds exceptional, and nearly all of her most notable singles are here, including “All Cried Out,” "That Olde Devil Called Love," “Weak in the Presence of Beauty," “Love Resurrection,” "Ordinary Girl,” and “Footsteps," but listeners just looking for the Yaz classic “Don’t Go” would be better off with 2003’s Essential compilation, as it contains the best of both worlds. Best of 25 Years Revisited also includes a second disc that features 11 live tracks.

Alison Balsom must be counted among the most popular classical trumpeters in the 2000s, as she's gained wide international recognition only since the turn of the century. Her first recording, Music for Trumpet and Organ, was issued in 2002, and her first major award came in 2006, when the jurors of the Classical BRIT Awards named her Young British Classical Performer. Balsom's repertory is broad, taking in a mixture of the standard repertory, original works, and arrangements. In 2020, she released the album Magic Trumpet on Warner Classics. Balsom was born in the English county of Hertfordshire in 1978.

Alison Balsom must be counted among the most popular Classical trumpeters before the public today. Yet, she has gained wide international recognition only since the turn of the century. Her first recording, Music for Trumpet and Organ, was issued in 2002, and her first major award was given to her in 2006, when the jurors of the Classical BRIT Awards named her Young British Classical Performer. Other awards and citations followed and her concert appearances quickly became major events across England, Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Of course, her supermodel looks and charismatic manner haven't hurt her career, but in the end it has been her talent on the trumpet, forged by an all-encompassing technique and deft interpretive sense, that landed her at the top.

Si la trompette est un instrument habituellement associé aux hommes, Alison Balsom en est devenue l'une des plus talentueuses ambassadrices. Pour son nouvel album Royal Fireworks, la brillante trompettiste anglaise a réuni un programme de musique Baroque dans lequel sa virtuosité et sa sensibilité poétique peuvent s'exprimer à merveille. Pour l'accompagner dans ce programme basé autour de la célébration joyeuse et solennelle (Musique pour les feux d'artifices royaux de Haendel, le concerto pour trompette de Telemann, Jésus que ma joie demeure de Bach, Musique pour les funérailles de la reine Marie de Purcell…), Alison Balsom a fait appel au Balsom Ensemble formé par la trompettiste pour l'occasion.

Alison Balsom must be counted among the most popular classical trumpeters in the 2000s, as she's gained wide international recognition only since the turn of the century. Her first recording, Music for Trumpet and Organ, was issued in 2002, and her first major award came in 2006, when the jurors of the Classical BRIT Awards named her Young British Classical Performer. Balsom's repertory is broad, taking in a mixture of the standard repertory, original works, and arrangements. In 2020, she released the album Magic Trumpet on Warner Classics. Balsom was born in the English county of Hertfordshire in 1978.

Alison Goldfrapp has set a towering bar for British synth-pop in the 21st century and she’s only just getting started. The magnetic London-born singer, songwriter and producer’s seven albums with Goldfrapp were fuelled by an unfailing modernity and a sixth sense for sounds that were more timeless than any trend. With the release of her debut solo album The Love Invention—an electrifying dance-pop suite—her multi-faceted musicianship reaches a new peak.

The father of Swedish music’ and ‘the Swedish Handel’ are two descriptions of Johan Helmich Roman (1694 – 1758), one of Sweden’s most important composers. Roman composed around twenty Assaggi (Assaggio has been translated as ‘sample’, ‘essay’, ‘study’ or ‘experiment’) and they range from multi-movement works to single movements, with some surviving as just fragments. They are beautifully written for the violin and reveal a startling musical imagination at work.