Master Series is the title of a line of greatest hits albums, released in European countries primarily by PolyGram International, as well as A&M Records, Deram Records, FFRR Records, Mercury Records, and Polydor Records. In addition, some albums were reissued by Universal Music Group under the Universal Masters Collection and Millennium Edition titles.
Rock in Rio is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas…
XTC almost never wrote a sentimental song– which is strange, when you consider how much of their music deals with nostalgia, home and country, and yearning. Their lyrics are bittersweet and escapist, but even in the lost summers of Skylarking, they cling to some element– biting words, knuckle-cracking hooks, or just a distractingly loud arrangement– that keeps their most heartstring-pulling, young-love-eulogizing songs from drifting away. Which is why their 1999 release Apple Venus Vol. 1 is so much more complicated and concrete than a first impression suggests. That album, plus its 2000 counterpart Wasp Star (Apple Venus Vol. 2), came out after a break of seven years. In that time, Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, and Dave Gregory– who formally left the band before these albums were released– walked out on Virgin, stayed home making demos, and came back with this pair of records on TVT. And five years and no further material later, XTC have packaged them together in the Apple Box, along with lyrics, liner notes, and two demos-and-outtakes albums.
Collection of 30 CDs on various styles (Love, Movies, R&B, Country, World and Rock). Although you may find the collection a bit outdated since the release is from 2001, it contains some great songs… so enjoy.
André Cluytens, though born in Belgium, achieved fame as one of the supreme French conductors of his era, renowned for his refinement and the sheer joy of his music-making. In the mid-20th century he built a substantial, varied and distinguished discography and became the first conductor to record the complete Beethoven symphonies with the Berliner Philharmoniker. This 64-disc set, uniting all his recordings of orchestral, concerto and choral repertoire, embraces the mainstream and the esoteric, and includes numerous items making their debut on CD or retrieved from the archives and released for the very first time.
For the 100th anniversary of Sviatoslav Richter, Firma Melodiya presents its arguably biggest project in its semicentennial history: a 50-CD set of Sviatoslav Richters concert recordings! This collection is far from the complete phonographic legacy of the great musician. Nevertheless, the set includes plenty of exclusive, previously unreleased recordings that will make the hearts of even most erudite connoisseurs and collectors rejoice.
Sviatoslav Richter was not “one of” but the most prominent musician of the 20th century. His life was a charter of immunity for the divine criteria in art. For the 100th anniversary of Sviatoslav Richter, Firma Melodiya presents its arguably biggest project in its semicentennial history. The name of Sviatoslav Richter is inscribed in gold in the history of music. He was not just “more than a pianist,” he was even more than a musician. The set includes recordings of many of Richter’s ensemble performances with the likes of David Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yuri Bashmet, Oleg Kagan, Natalia Gutman, the Borodin Quartet, the USSR Bolshoi Theatre String Quartet, the singer Nina Dorliak and others. The piano concertos played by Richter are conducted by some of the best Soviet conductors such as Kirill Kondrashin, Evgeny Svetlanov and Rudolf Barshai.
Hector Berlioz, France’s greatest Romantic composer, exemplifies the spirit of his age – yet his genius was also ahead of its time. Reflecting his colourful life, his music is astonishing for its originality and ambition, and for orchestration of groundbreaking brilliance. This, the first-ever complete Berlioz edition, comprises carefully selected recordings and even includes works completely new to the catalogue. The accompanying booklet, lavishly illustrated, contains a fascinating commentary from Berlioz biographer David Cairns, whose words bring the composer’s music still more vividly to life.