Plush (2013)

Mourning the loss of her brother/collaborator, a young rocker struggles to write music while juggling a jealous husband, two kids, and a mysterious new guitarist who will stop at nothing to become the most important person in her life.

Daniel Barenboim is an expert in exploiting the impact of cyclical performances of composers works: This time he focuses his sharp intellect on all six of Anton Bruckners mature symphonies. Der Tagesspiegel described Barenboim's performance of the works with the Staatskapelle Berlin on six nearly consecutive evenings in June 2010 as a superhuman accomplishment and went on to praise how: His Bruckner is conceived and performed very theatrically, like an opera without words.

2013 collaboration between legendary Rock keyboardist Ray Manzarek and Blues slide guitarist Roy Rogers. Manzarek and Rogers have received no shortage of kudos since they first recorded together five years ago. This release is a collaboration of keyboard and guitar sounds that merge with stories, images and art. These two amazing musicians create an `intoxicating, plush sound that is - more than unique.' Manzarek and Rogers are seemingly an odd pairing - but their recording unleashes a stunning musical landscape for the listener. This music will `take you for a ride. Twisted Tales is destined to become a classic, not only as Ray Manzarek's last recording, but also as a definitive work of two great artists.

Like Paavo Berglund’s Sibelius symphony recordings, also with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, these Brahms performances inject a certain novelty that will be appreciated especially by the listener who has wearied of them due to excessive repetition. While these are not radically desiccated renditions in the manner of Chailly or Harnoncourt, the COE’s smaller-scaled string body does require a bit of time at first for your ear to adjust to the thinner timbres. But the reward is a harvest of inner detail, much of it barely audible in full-size orchestral performances (but well captured by Ondine’s vivid recordings), which continually surprises and delights.