Illuminations

RCO - Anthology of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vol 3, 1960-1970 (2005) {14CD Box Set RCO 05001, Limited Edition}
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© 1960-70, 2005 Radio Netherlands Music / RCO LIve | RCO 05001
Classical / Orchestral

Despite rumors some months ago that the RCOA series might be discontinued (fortunately unfounded), here we have Volume III, a 14-CD set that contains much of interest, but surely—for this collector—doesn't live up to its potential. For me, ideally that would concist of some of the outstanding performances of great symphonic music played by this magnificent orchestra, recorded in the extraordinary acoustics of the Concertgebouw with the usual Radio Nederland sonic expertise. During the decade represented in this set (1960-1970) the Concertgebouw Orchestra's programming often emphasized contemporary music and that surely is reflected in this album. We have well over five hours of music by Martin, Varèse, Berg, Webern, Henze, Lutoslawski, Nono and Dallapiccola as well as Dutch composers Ketting, Escher, and Vermeulen, and Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz's Music for Strings, Trumpets and Percussion, an 18-minute three-movement work of imagination and vivid scoring.

A new decade, a new lineup, with Frank Bornemann on guitar and vocals, Klaus-Peter Maziol (who stayed on from the previous lineup) on bass, Hannes Folberth on keyboards, Hannes Arkona on guitars, and British born drummer Jim McGillivray. This marked a new direction for the band, a more accessible, direct approach in their music…

The subject matter could not be different, but these two releases are extraordinarily special in their respective fields. And since both are vocal works, ergo their pairing in the interest of conserving space. But which to consider first? No disrespect is meant much less implied if we throw a chapeau in the air first for a painstaking critical edition by Jean-Christophe Keck of the libretto by Meilhac and Halévy for Jacques Offenbach’s political satire disguised as a jeu de’esprit, created for Napoleon III’s Grand Exhibition of 1867. R.D. (December 2005)

Reincarnation on stage - a real good title for a live-album of a band returning to stage nearly 15 years after their last live appearance in 1998…

This second volume in Sony's EU Original Album Classics series looks at five albums over a ten-year period. The first four of these – Inner Secrets, Marathon, Zebop, and Shango – catch the band during a renaissance of singles and a decline in album sales in the marketplace…

4 CD set, Fab Four Series with the Highest Quality on Four Cd's. Wishbone Ash became famous for their invention of the "twin-guitar-sound". Two equal lead guitars breed beautiful harmonies and double voiced guitar parts. Wishbone Ash are masters of rock. Sometimes hard, mostly melodic - and always superior.