Label: Warner

Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) is a pianist fully deserving of the epithet ‘legendary’. His rigorous intellect and sense of the sublime found expression in his transcendent technique and sumptuous, yet lucid sonorities. The recordings in this 24CD collection, a significant portion of Arrau’s legacy from the years between 1921 and 1962, are indispensable to his extensive discography. They can now be heard in their full glory, thanks to a process of restoration and HD remastering using the original tapes (for recordings from the LP era) or the best available source (for 78s). Among them are four world premiere releases: Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30, op. 109, a Chopin étude, and two pieces by Liszt.

Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) is a pianist fully deserving of the epithet ‘legendary’. His rigorous intellect and sense of the sublime found expression in his transcendent technique and sumptuous, yet lucid sonorities. The recordings in this 24CD collection, a significant portion of Arrau’s legacy from the years between 1921 and 1962, are indispensable to his extensive discography. They can now be heard in their full glory, thanks to a process of restoration and HD remastering using the original tapes (for recordings from the LP era) or the best available source (for 78s). Among them are four world premiere releases: Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30, op. 109, a Chopin étude, and two pieces by Liszt.

Für ihn war Musik „Klangrede“, die uns auch nach jahrhundertelanger Vertrautheit noch eine Menge zu sagen hat. Als der Dirigent Nikolaus Harnoncourt am 5. März starb, verlor die Welt eine Musikerpersönlichkeit, die wie keine andere das Repertoire von Bach bis Gershwin, von Monteverdi bis Bruckner völlig neu zu beleuchten verstand. Lange war Harnoncourt mit seinem Ensemble Concentus Musicus Wien dem einstigen Warner-Label Teldec verbunden.

Homeplate takes Bonnie Raitt even further down the path toward mainstream production than the unjustly maligned Streetlights, but, ironically, it works better than its predecessor. Perhaps that's because producer Paul A. Rothchild has helped Raitt craft a record that's unapologetically pitched at the mainstream, where Streetlights often seemed to be torn between two worlds.

Through more than 100 appearances on The Grand Ole Opry, Elizabeth Cook built strong ties to the audience most likely to respond to her debut album. Her voice throughout Hey Y'all begs comparison to classic country divas such as Loretta Lynn and especially Dolly Parton, to whom Cook pays good-humored tribute on "Dolly." Her nasal intonation and Southern lilt bear the ring of authenticity and her writing bypasses contemporary distractions in order to connect directly to a more conservative aesthetic.