To say that the past decade has been kind to Amorphis would be an understatement. From the elegance of Silent Waters to the pomp of Circle, the Finnish prog metallers have carved a solid foothold for themselves over the course of eight years. So, of course, when a new album is released, the inevitable question of whether or not the flavor has gone bland comes up. Sure enough, Under the Red Cloud proves to be another worthy addition to Amorphis’s discography, as well as one of the best progressive metal releases this year so far…
Britain's Dame Gillian Weir is one of the world's foremost musical artists. Her unique career as an internationally acclaimed concert organist, performing worldwide at the great festivals and with leading orchestras and conductors, has established her as a distinguished musician. She is known for her virtuosity, integrity and outstanding musicianship, which combined with a notable personal charisma, have placed her in the forefront of her profession and won her the admiration of audiences and critics alike.
Benjamin Koppel, Danish Jazz saxophonist and composer, is one of the most award-winning musicians of his generation, renowned for his versatility and virtuosity. 'Illuminations' is the first album in the series 'Living Room Recordings'. Inspired by the visionary French poet Arthur Rimbaud’s unfinished poetry collection Illuminations (1874), this is an elegant, animated collaboration between two brilliant musicians. The compositions are written and played by Danish saxophonist Benjamin Koppel, with the great Frenchman Jean-Michel Pilc on piano, and are rich with celebration of French culture and philosophy, its sophistication and history…
Liszt, according to the great British pianist John Ogdon, was responsible for ‘breaking the Germanic stranglehold on nineteenth-century composers, and scattering the seeds of modern music almost literally to the four winds. His music shows an avant-garde attitude to the problems of composing which was without parallel in the nineteenth century.’
Exciting accounts of eight anthems spanning nearly two hundred years, with a welcome emphasis firmly on recent works.