R Home November December 2016

The Escher Quartet opened their traversal of Mendelssohn’s string quartets with the first and the fourth quartet, along with an unnumbered early work in E flat major, on a disc which the reviewer in The Strad summed up as a ‘A deeply rewarding release … and by any standards a distinguished one.’ The same magazine made the sequel – with the second and third quartets – its recommendation in the November issue of 2015, while the reviewer on MusicWeb-International found the performances on that disc to be ‘some of the most beautiful string quartet playing I have heard in many a day’. On the third and final disc in the series, time has come for the two final quartets, as well as the Capriccio and Fugue from the set of Four Pieces for String Quartet, Op. 81 begun on the previous instalment.

At the height of a commercial teen pop explosion in the late '90s, the Backstreet Boys emerged at the top of the boy band pack alongside friendly rivals *NSYNC, quickly trailed by a crop of imitators. Their hybrid of R&B balladry, hip-hop, and dance pop initially found its greatest audience in Canada and Europe, while success in their native land didn't follow until mainstream pop hit it big on radio and MTV in America.

"I'm Coming Home" is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 21, 1973, by Columbia Records and was mainly composed of material written by the songwriting team of its producer, Thom Bell, and Linda Creed. Unlike several of the Mathis albums before it, I'm Coming Home relied primarily on new songs and included only two covers of established chart hits, both of which were by The Stylistics ("I'm Stone in Love with You" and "Stop Look and Listen to Your Heart"). The album made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart in the issue dated November 17, 1973, and remained there for 22 weeks, peaking at #115. It also began an 11-week run on the UK album chart on March 8, 1975, during which time it made it to #18. On July 1, 1975, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album with Silver certification for sales of 60,000 units.

The Dutch Swing College Band "DSCB" is a traditional dixieland band founded on 5 May 1945 by bandleader and clarinettist/saxophonist Peter Schilperoort. Highly successful in their native home of The Netherlands, the band quickly found an international following. It has featured such musicians as Huub Janssen (drums), Henk Bosch van Drakestein (double bass), Kees van Dorser (trumpet), Dim Kesber (saxes), Jan Morks (clarinet), Wout Steenhuis (guitar), Arie Ligthart (banjo/guitar), Jaap van Kempen (banjo/guitar), Oscar Klein (trumpet), Dick Kaart (trombone), Ray Kaart (trumpet), Bert de Kort (cornet), Bert Boeren (trombone), Rod Mason, Rob Agerbeek (piano) - among many others. The band continues to tour extensively, mainly in Europe & Scandinavia, and record directed by Bob Kaper, himself a member since 1967, following the former leader, Peter Schilperoort's death on 17 November 1990. Schilperoort had led the band for more than 45 years, albeit with a five-year sabbatical from 13 September 1955, when he left to pursue an engineering career before returning to lead the band again officially on 1 January 1960.