William Kapell, 1922-1953, is a name that still resonates with pianophiles more than 60 years after his tragic death in an airplane crash near San Francisco. We are pleased to announce a three-CD set of Kapell performances that have never been issued on CD. In fact more than two thirds of the set is previously unpublished in any form. Among the highlights are two 1952 half-hour studio broadcasts from New York's WQXR that have only recently come to light. The set will also include a 1949 performance of Richard Strauss's Burleske, a 1951 performance of Debussy's Suite Bergamasque, and Schumann's Piano Quintet in E-flat with the Fine Arts Quartet dating from the same year. The booklet will include several photos that have not previously been published and an unpublished piece on Kapell by pianist Raymond Lewenthal, 1923-1988.
Fiorello Giraud (1868 - 1928) had a highly successful career throughout Italy and parts of South America and was well-respected both in Wagnerian and verismo roles. He will be remembered for creating the role of Canio (Pagliacci). His strong, vibrant voice was first captured on eight very rare G&T records. In 1916 and 1917, he recorded an additional 12 sides for Italian HMV, all song titles. This compilation will include all 20 of his published sides. Giovanni Batista de Negri (1850 - 1923) was particularly associated with the role of Otello, toured throughout Italy, and had a career that was cut short (1896) due to a series of operations for an unmentioned “malady.”
Improvising vocalist, folk singer, storyteller, pianist: on her ECM debut Areni Agbabian focuses the range of her skills in music that casts a quiet spell. A sparse music in which voice, piano and the subtle percussion of Nicolas Stocker (last heard on ECM with Nik Bärtsch's Mobile ensemble), continually shade into silence. The California-born Agbabian, who came to international attention with the groups of Tigran Hamasyan, draws deeply upon her Armenian heritage, reinterpreting sacred hymns, a traditional tale, a folk melody transcribed by Komitas and more, and interspersing these elements among her own evocative compositions. Bloom was recorded in Lugano in October 2016 and produced by Manfred Eicher.
Deluxe 4CD set showcasing one of the most notable albums of the mid-1980s, and the phenomenon that surrounded it.
Limited to 5000 copies. Paper sleeve. RAW SOUL, originally released as KING-1610 was James Brown's second of five album releases in 1967. The iconic "rainbow" cover was traded for a more "hip" line drawing when the album was reissued in 1970. The original 1967 UK release on Pye International had it's own unique jacket as well. All subsequent CD issues reverted to the original art. The album was the usual mix of recent single releases with two cuts (3 & 8) from the unreleased (at the time) OUT OF SIGHT and one rare (for Brown at the time) LP only track (10).
Since the late '80s, Irish singer/composer Enya has become the most unlikely of international stars, delivering lush, Celtic-driven pseudo-classical odes in her signature Wall of Sound vocal style, rarely granting interviews, never touring, and generally taking as much time as she wishes between albums. Bucking odds and industry trends, her popularity has remained steadfast, allowing her to become the best-selling Irish solo artist of all time. Following 2008's snowbound And Winter Came, her silence stretched to eight years – the longest of her career – before the mists once again parted to reveal her eighth album, the evocatively titled Dark Sky Island.
Initially a British folk-rock combo called Tyrannosaurus Rex, T. Rex was the primary force in glam rock, thanks to the creative direction of guitarist/vocalist Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld). T. Rex's music borrowed the underlying sexuality of early rock & roll, adding dirty, simple grooves and fat distorted guitars, as well as an overarching folky/hippie spirituality that always came through the clearest on ballads…
Falco was the most internationally successful pop artist ever to come out of Austria. Falco had several international hits, "Rock Me Amadeus", "Der Kommissar", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later)", and posthumously "Out of the Dark". "Rock Me Amadeus" reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1986, making him the only artist whose principal language was German to score a vocal number-one hit in the United States. According to his estate, he has sold 20 million albums and 40 million singles, which makes him the best-selling Austrian singer of all time.