Shakira Performs at Arco Arena in Sacramento 10 19 10

Antonio Vivaldi’s fame as an opera composer is due in now small part to his incredible industry. He composed around 50 operas, and of these around 16 have survived complete – several substantial fragments of others have also survived. It is for his instrumental music that he remains one of the major baroque composers – on a par with Handel and J.S. Bach, however, in the world of opera at the time, only one other composer rivalled Vivaldi in the use of orchestral colour and the way in which the human voice was blended with the accompaniment. The writing for voice generally is on a very high level. The rival was of course Handel, and Vivaldi also was a considerable impressario as was his German/British colleague.

To publish this complete edition of Giuseppe Tartini’s Violin Concertos is not only a source of pride for a record label like Dynamic, which in its 36 years of activity has built a considerable catalogue of violin music. This edition is an artistic and historical document of indisputable musicological importance for anyone wishing to have a philologically reliable testimony of this aspect of 18th-century Italian instrumental music, valuable, therefore, for more than the mere dimension of listening.

David Coverdale is back with a brand new Whitesnake on Live…In the Shadow of the Blues. Recorded between 2005 and 2006, this double disc documents a new band – with veteran monster drummer Tommy Aldridge (Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers, Randy Rhoads-era Ozzy Osbourne), guitar wizards Doug Aldrich (Dio, Carmine Appice, Bad Moon Rising) and Reb Beach (Winger, Eric Clapton), bassist Uriah Duffy (Carmine Appice, Pat Travers Band, Christina Aguilera), and keyboard boss Timothy Drury (Eagles) – and runs not only through the hits in an inspired and dirty-ass fashion, but comes up with four new cuts as well, recorded in the studio and tacked on at the end of disc two…

Recorded at the last stop on their 2002 tour, Alive in Seattle documents an impeccable performance and production, mixed for surround-sound playback on both regular and Super Audio CD formats. A warm artist/audience vibe permeates this set; it's easy to imagine families sprawled out on an amphitheater lawn, taking in the music on an early summer evening…

Antonio Vandini was born around 1690 in Bologna, the city where the cello knew its first glories as a solo instrument. He held several assignments in Bergamo, Venice and later Padua, where he developed a friendship with Giovanni Tartini. His virtuosity was brought to fame by Charles Burney who defined him the famous old Antonio Vandini on the violoncello who, the Italians say, plays and expresses a parlare, that is in such a manner as to make his instrument speak. Vandinis cello works are the apex of the instruments output of his time, for the persistent exploration of the high register, the frequent use of double stopping, arpeggios and chords even in unusual combinations, a variety of bowing techniques, and rapid passages.

The Latin pop and rock en español fields are full of talented artists who would probably be huge in the English-language market if they didn't sing in Spanish exclusively. Some non-Spanish-speaking listeners don't mind listening to lyrics they don't understand – the beat and the melody are enough for them – but many others insist on understanding every word that is coming out of an artist's mouth. Thus, Latin stars usually don't cross over to English-speaking audiences until they start singing in English, which is what Shakira does on 2001's Laundry Service. "Whenever, Wherever," this album's infectious lead single, is to Shakira what "Livin' la Vida Loca" was to Ricky Martin: the major hit that brought her to English-speaking audiences in a big way.

Originally broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour, this 1979 set recorded at London's Hammersmith Odeon as the finale to Nugent's European tour includes crowd favorites including "Cat Scratch Fever," "Gonzo," "Motor City Madhouse" and "Free-for-All."