D12

Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? On Eminem's sophomore album, he can't decide who he wants to be: the deranged pseudo-psycho of the Slim Shady LP, or a nice guy who just likes to rhyme about slicing and dicing his girlfriend ("Kim"). Of course, according to Eminem, he's just kidding. He refuses to take responsibility for the misogynistic, homophobic bile he spews, whining that he's the victim of people who don't get his unique sense of humor. It's good old America's fault if the kids aren't alright (Eminem blames bad parenting), and he's just capitalizing on Uncle Sam's dark side. On the Marshall Mathers LP, he's ambivalent about his fame, angry at his life, pissed off that people take him seriously, and fightin' mad at boy bands–and a lot of other white people.

This is as complete a representation as humanly possible of all the music scored for violin and piano that Franz Liszt composed, arranged, or had some creative hand in. The 17 works span Liszt's entire career, from the young composer's elegant Zwei Walzer to his experimental late period (the two Elegies and the stark, foreboding La lugubre gondola).

One of the most important composers of the 16th century, Andrea Gabrieli wrote hundreds of works in his lifetime, many of which are now sadly lost. As for the few surviving ones, here the listener is treated to some remarkable creativity and experimentation: free-flowing toccatas, ricercars, variations and verses for mass constitute the bulk of his oeuvre. Although many of Gabrielis extant works are vocal pieces, there are around 60 keyboard compositions in existence, works that reveal his astonishing creativity. The toccatas start with a typical free section in the imitative style, followed by rapid figures designed to showcase the virtuosity of the performer.

Marking 50 years since the passing of Wilhelm Backhaus (5 July 1969) The Complete Decca Recordings brings together, for the first time, the artist’s complete recordings for the label. Wilhelm Backhaus was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th Century and a superlative Beethoven interpreter. “I try to play Beethoven as I feel it, as I try to imagine the man – not what story he is telling me, but what he is feeling […] I want to make Beethoven alive, whether it is romantic or not. It is modern – I want people to understand that,” he noted. Wilhelm Backhaus – The Complete Decca Recordings, a limited edition 38CD box set, is out now and all of the newly remastered albums are also available digitally.