Dramatis

Composer Anthony Cheung releases All Roads, a follow up to FCR215 Cycles and Arrows. Featuring performances by the Escher Quartet, violinist Miranda Cuckson, soprano Paulina Swierczek, and pianists Jacob Greenberg, Gilles Vonsattel, and Cheung himself, All Roads encapsulates Cheung's penchant for drawing on broad sources of inspiration and filtering them through an incisive and discriminating compositional process to produce substantial, structurally airtight works.

Three CD set. Following 2021's Musik Music Musique 2. 0 set, the third volume in the series looks at the electronic pop scene as it came to dominate the airwaves. A period which saw the 1980's credible musical landscape evolve from gritty post-punk to shamelessly aspirational polished pop. Featuring countless artists who would become household names (many of which remain active today) alongside lesser-known scene mainstays, independent innovators and novelty opportunists, Musik Music Musique 3. 0 explores the evolution of synth pop from anything resembling a 'scene' into the standard musical form of the day, soon to be embraced by everybody from power balladeers to quasi-rock stadium acts. From chart staples and nightclub anthems to rarities, curios and collectables, this set gives equal airtime to all, basking in the breadth of ideas and innovation being explored as the musical world moved towards the mid-80s.

Featuring Ultravox, Duran Duran, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Devo, Yello, Peter Baumann, Richard Bone, Japan and many others.
Following 2020’s ‘Musik Music Musique’ set, we present the sequel, this time looking at the electronic pop scene as it evolved from curio and novelty into a major movement and began to dominate the airwaves. Featuring a plethora of acts who would quickly become household names (many of which endure today) and exploring the wide variety of directions electronic instruments took both the mainstream and independent music in. ‘Musik Music Musique 2.0’ embraces both the pure pop aesthetic of a new generation of aspirational, defiantly polished artists and those who embraced electronic music in the aftermath of the post-punk explosion…

'The Early Years 1965 1972' is a comprehensive 28-disc box set that sees Pink Floyd delve into their vast music archive to produce a deluxe package that includes 7 individual book-style volumes, featuring much previously unreleased material. The Early Years box set contains unreleased tracks, BBC Radio Sessions, remixes, outtakes, and alternative versions over an incredible 11 hours, 45 mins of audio (made up of 130+ tracks), live and TV performance in over 14 hours of audio-visual material.

"Miracles do happen, it seems. Three weeks after Rossini's La pietra del paragone received its first DVD incarnation on Opus Arte, the French Naïve label released this alternative. Remarkably, both DVDs document excellent, entertaining performances, both are extremely well filmed, both come with generous extras and both are brilliantly packaged. Yet each performance offers a different approach – musically and production-wise – so both are worthy of consideration…
– Dominic McHugh, MusicalCriticism.com

Variants of Perception was originally released on Carpe Sonum Records in Spring of 2022. Comprising of tracks recorded between 2019 & 2020 the album sees me returning to my trademark mixture of deep Ambient tones & atmospheres with a mix of various electronic music influences with moments of Intricate IDM beats, Dub & downtempo breakbeat etc but with a generous sprinkling of improvised leads and emotive melodic flourishes. Resulting in a rather personal exploration of what it is to be human and triggers memories, feelings & emotions through contemporary & sometimes experimental electronic sound.

The first collaboration ever between conductor William Christie and director Luc Bondy with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, this production of Hercules has been a major event. Hercules returns from the war with Iole, a princess he fell in love with. Mad with jealousy, Déjanire, his wife, ends up totally insane after poisoning her husband. Half theatrical performance, half secular oratorio, Hercules wasn’t originally meant to be performed in front of an audience. Luc Bondy chose to show the dramatis personae as ordinary people, victims of their passions. The superb Chorus of the Arts Florissants, both mediator and prosecutor, is the main witness of this tragedy of women’s jealousy.

Miss Sutherland has always been stimulated to special efforts when Miss Horne is working with her, and those two women provide a team unique in the bel canto literature as practiced today. Harold C. Schonberg, New York Times, 5.III.1970.

This recording provides us with the opportunity to hear an opera that has been infrequently performed in this century. The performance also marks an early collaboration of José Carreras and Katia Ricciarelli, two of the biggest "young stars" of their generation. Kendall Clark.

In the spring of 1973, ORTF decided to organise a concert performance of Aida with an international cast (Lavirgen from Spain, Pappas from Greece, the Italians Alberti and Roni, etc.). Sanzogno was felt to be the ideal conductor. The first-night gossip concerned above all the opera's protagonist, a black soprano from America's deep south (Augusta, Georgia, to be precise). Michele Selvini.