Fine Kirinji

Fine Young Cannibals only released two albums, so it's slightly unusual that they even have a greatest-hits collection like Fine Young Cannibals Finest. After all, a dedicated fan will have both records, and casual fans will only want the singles on The Raw & the Cooked, thereby eliminating the audience for the collection.

London Records will issue brand new two-CD deluxe editions of the Fine Young Cannibals two studio albums in December. The band’s debut single ‘Johnny Come Home’ was a top ten hit in 1985 and the self-titled debut album reached number 11 in the UK charts the same year after further singles were issued, including a cover of Elvis Presley’s ‘Suspicious Minds’. In 1989, Fine Young Cannibals hit the commercial stratosphere, particularly in America, with The Raw & The Cooked. The first two singles ‘She Drives Me Crazy’ and ‘Good Thing’ both were number one singles in the USA and were top ten hits in Britain (and around the world). The band split in 1992 although they did record a new single, ‘The Flame’, for a 1996 best of.

Antonín Dvoráks music, imbued with the spirit of Bohemia, reflects a love of his native land. His String Sextet, written in the distinctive style which brought him international fame, was an immediate success at its premiere. Composed just eight years earlier, his String Quartet No. 4, unpublished until 1968, features pioneering, wild outer movements, highly unusual for the time, which foreshadowed the modernist innovations of composers decades later. A moving Andante religioso, which Dvorák made use of in future works, lies at its heart. The Polonaise exploits both the soulful and virtuoso character of the cello.

London Records will issue brand new two-CD deluxe editions of the Fine Young Cannibals two studio albums in December. The band’s debut single ‘Johnny Come Home’ was a top ten hit in 1985 and the self-titled debut album reached number 11 in the UK charts the same year after further singles were issued, including a cover of Elvis Presley’s ‘Suspicious Minds’. In 1989, Fine Young Cannibals hit the commercial stratosphere, particularly in America, with The Raw & The Cooked. The first two singles ‘She Drives Me Crazy’ and ‘Good Thing’ both were number one singles in the USA and were top ten hits in Britain (and around the world). The band split in 1992 although they did record a new single, ‘The Flame’, for a 1996 best of.

Antonín Dvořák’s music, imbued with the spirit of Bohemia, reflects a love of his native land. His String Sextet, written in the distinctive style which brought him international fame, was an immediate success at its premiere. Composed just eight years earlier, his String Quartet No. 4, unpublished until 1968, features pioneering, wild outer movements, highly unusual for the time, which foreshadowed the modernist innovations of composers decades later. A moving Andante religioso, which Dvořák made use of in future works, lies at its heart. The Polonaise exploits both the soulful and virtuoso character of the cello. Volumes 1–8 are also available.

The two string quartets of Camille Saint-Saëns are not among the deathless masterpieces in the genre, but they offer enough entertaining and agreeable music to be regarded as minor classics of chamber music. The String Quartet in E minor, Op. 112, and the String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 153, share the craftsmanship, intellectual rigor, and tastefulness that are characteristic of Saint-Saëns' conservative style.

Mozart’s return to Vienna in 1781 initiated a remarkable period of inventiveness and productivity. In late 1784 he wrote the Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, a work Mozart performed in Frankfurt on the occasion of Leopold II’s election as Holy Roman Emperor and which is notable for its rhythmic vivacity and sense of colour. In 1786 he wrote the Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major – a work that stretched the concerto genre considerably with its operatic qualities and dramatic dialogue. Ignaz Lachner’s ingenious transcriptions show a complete grasp of Mozart’s idiom, incorporating much instrumental detail and reinventing the music’s underlying dramatic scheme within a chamber context.

It was in Paris just before the end of the 19th century that George Enescu began to compose prolifically, but it is only in recent years that a number of these scores have emerged. The Piano Quintet in D major is one such work, lost for decades, but which proves to be a robust and elaborate piece reflecting the influence of Brahms. Enescu’s liking for unusual instrumental combinations is another theme of this album, such as the Prélude et Gavotte for violin, cello and two pianos, and the eloquent Pastorale, Menuet triste et Nocturne for violin and piano four hands. Aubade is Enescu’s only string trio, and the ever-popular Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in the arrangement for piano and string quintet ends the programme with a flourish.