Philips 412 214 2

It is obviously not the sentimental aspect of Rachmaninov's music that has attracted Zoltan Kocsis to record all of the piano concertos for Philips. His view of the composer is more involved with making an impact through spine-tingling virtuosity, balanced by moments of poetic insight.

Mozart - Don Giovanni - Wiener Kammerchor & Wiener Symphoniker, Rudolf Moralt (1955) {3CD Set Philips 438 674-2 rel 1993}
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© 1955, 1993 Philips Classics | 438 674-2
Classical / Opera

Rudolf Moralt (26 February 1902 – 16 December 1958) was a German conductor, particularly associated with Mozart and the German repertory. Born in Munich, he studied there with Walter Courvoisier and August Schmid-Lindner, and was engaged as a répétiteur at the Munich State Opera under Bruno Walter and Hans Knappertsbusch from 1919 until 1923. He was conductor at the opera house of Kaiserslautern (1923–28) and musical director of the opera house in Brno (1932–34). He also worked in Braunschweig and Graz before being appointed chief conductor at the Vienna State Opera in 1940 until his death. In 1942 he made a series of renowned recordings conducting the orchestra of the State Opera with the Austrian soprano Maria Reining.

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) - The Madrigals - Raymond Leppard (1998) {8CD Box Set Philips 462 243-2}
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© 1969, 1971, 1975, 1998 Philips Classics | 462 243-2
Classical / Renaissance / Baroque / Vocal Music / Secular and Sacred

Genius can be defined in a number of ways. One such definition is to be the right person in the right place at the right time; another is to have the capacity to move your audience to tears. Monteverdi meets both these criteria with flying colours. His professed ambition was to "move the passions of the soul," thereby drawing tears from his audience, and he achieved this with greater efficacy than any of his contemporaries. The use of the word "madrigal" on the title pages of his eight collections (and a posthumous Ninth Book from 1651) is therefore deceptive, concealing radical stylistic changes which brilliantly reflect the turbulent, exciting times in which he lived.

Caetano Veloso e Gilberto Gil - Tropicalia 2 (1993) {PolyGram-Philips 518 178-2}
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© 1993 PolyGram / Philips | 518 178-2
Música popular brasileira / MPB / Tropicalia / Brazilian Traditions / Brazilian Pop / World Music

Between harsh criticism (due to the retro opportunistic use of Tropicália), and sectarian defense, Tropicália 2 yielded a Caetano Veloso/Gilberto Gil tour through E.U.A. and Europe one year after this release. The reference to Tropicália was used as a safe-conduct for the duo's incursions in electronics, axé music (the contemporary and pragmatic sound of Bahia) and other commercial exploitation – since under Tropicália everything goes (or used to go, some 30 years ago). The album opens with "Haiti," a dry percussive electronic pattern over which Caetano and Gil speak verses dealing with racism; "Cinema Novo" is a beautiful samba, whose lyrics "explain" and greet the Brazilian cinema movement which gained the world. "Nossa Gente" brings the percussive sounds of axé music together with funk brass attacks.

Monica Zetterlund & Bill Evans - Waltz for Debby (1964) {Philips–Universal 510268-2 rel 2001}
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© 1964, 2001 Philips / Universal Music AB | 510 268-2
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Modal Jazz / Piano

This 1964 date places the Swedish jazz vocalist Monica Zetterlund alongside the Evans Trio (with Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums). Still, the match is seemingly perfect. Evans' lyricism is well suited to a breezy, sophisticated songstress like Zetterlund. There is an iciness on this recording, but it is difficult to decipher if it is in the performance or in the engineering where she seems to be way out in front of the band, when she was really in the middle of all the musicians in the studio.

Caetano Veloso - Cores, Nomes (1982) {Philips 838 464-2 rel 1989}
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© 1982, 1989 Philips / PolyGram Brasil | 838 464-2
Jazz / Brazilian Jazz / Música popular brasileira / Brazilian Traditions / Brazilian Pop

An album of pure, crystalline beauty. Very peaceful, though there are some up-tempo tracks like Ele Me Deu Um Beijo Na Boca (a very curious one with interesting lyrics) and Sina, with a reggae flavour. But what I liked best are the slow romantic songs. Queixa, Coqueiro de Itapoa, Sete Mil Vezes, Sonhos - all of them have their very special depth of sentiment, very unique charm… but the best one is definitely Trem das Cores.

John Lewis - The Bridge Game, Vol 2 (1986) {Philips 825 698-2}
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© 1986 Philips / Nippon Phonogram | 825 698-2
Classical / Jazz / Third Stream / Baroque / Piano

… hear Bach performed on modern piano – if you are one of those calcified troglodytes who proclaims that you 'don't like the sound of the harpsichord' – then you might consider this recording of the Preludes and Fugues by John Lewis, the classically-trained pianist of the Modern Jazz Quartet. It has the virtue of integrity; that is, it treats the piano as a piano, and not a harpsichord wannabe. Bach's compositions do NOT employ the full resources of the modern grand piano, for the obvious reason that those resources were not available on even a double-manual harpsichord. But the harpsichord had resources that the modern piano has lost.

Various Artists - Compact Jazz: More of Best of Dixieland (1954-64) {Philips 838 347-2 rel 1989}
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© 1954-64, 1989 Philips / PolyGram Int. | 838 347-2
Jazz / Dixieland / Big Band / New Orleans Jazz / Traditional Jazz

Dixieland, sometimes referred to as hot jazz or traditional jazz, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century.