In their very first recording together, pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin and the Violons du Roy present Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s piano concertos No. 22 and No. 24 that are replete with passionate outbursts, startling contrasts, rich orchestration and overt emotional fervor. Charles Richard-Hamelin, Silver medalist and winner of the Krystian Zimerman award at the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2015, impresses with his extremely refined playing and the Violons du Roy, under the direction of Jonathan Cohen, offer grandiose performances imbued with dignity and grace.
To mark the 60th birthday of British composer Jonathan Dove, Orchid Classics presents an album devoted to his extraordinary orchestral music, performed by the BBC Philharmonic. Under the direction of Timothy Redmond, the BBC Philharmonic performs works which span nearly two decades, from The Ringing Isle of 1997, to Gaia Theory, premiered at the BBC Proms in 2014.
The Spencer Davis Group is fondly remembered for their late-1960s singles that featured the deep soul vocals of Steve Winwood, then only a teenager. Singles like "Somebody Help Me," "Keep on Running," "Gimme Some Lovin'," and "I'm a Man" were solid R&B rockers, making The Spencer Davis Group one of the most explosive bands in the so-called British Invasion era…
It's been nearly 33 years since Jeremy Spencer, the slide guitarist and vocalist in the original Fleetwood Mac, walked into silence, obscurity, and cult mystery – not unlike his bandmate Peter Green, who returned to active recording before Spencer had. Precious Little was licensed to Blind Pig from the Bluestown Records label in Norway. This isn't some stodgy codger trying for one last blast of fame before he goes out into the long good night. In fact, Precious Little is an effortless, relaxed presentation of the blues through the fantastic voice and stellar guitar playing of a bona fide British bluesman. One might complain that this set is perhaps a bit too laid-back, but that complaint is small when taking in the communication that's happening between Spencer and his Norwegian blues band in a studio that has the old mixing board from Stax! The material is a mixture of originals and covers that Spencer plays either on his National Steel with a humbucking pickup or one of his fine electric guitars. The warmth in his voice and the ease of his playing is that of a master musician.