The Guardian + August 10 2019

Vasily Petrenko is one of the most significant and galvanizing musicians alive. He became famous for his transformative work at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the oldest orchestra in the United Kingdom, where he refashioned the orchestra's sound, reconnected the organization to its home city and presided over a huge increase in ticket sales. Vasily is one of the most acclaimed classical recording artists alive and has won numerous accolades for his recordings of Russian repertoire, including two Gramophone awards.

The Great War is the ninth studio album by Swedish power metal band Sabaton. It was released on 19 July 2019. It is the first studio album to feature guitarist Tommy Johansson. The album was released in four separate editions: the standard release, a history edition with contextual narration preceding each track, a soundtrack edition featuring instrumental versions of the songs, and a Sabaton History Patreon exclusive release containing narration by Indy Neidell. The Great War garnered mostly positive reviews. Metal Hammer's Holly Wright gave it 4/5 stars, praising it as "a rip-roaring, riff-addled march towards victory, coaxing influences from folk and power metal that sounds remarkably upbeat for an account of bloodthirsty mass destruction." The Guardian's Dave Simpson rated the album 3/5 stars and said he preferred the History version, which precedes the songs with voiceovers describing the events the songs are about.

Fine Line is the second studio album by English singer and songwriter Harry Styles, released on 13 December 2019 by Columbia and Erskine Records. Preceded by three singles — "Lights Up", "Watermelon Sugar" and "Adore You" —, Fine Line debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and number one on the Billboard 200, making it Styles' second consecutive number-one album in the US. The album had the third-largest sales week of 2019 in the US and broke the record as the biggest debut from a British male artist since Nielsen SoundScan began. It was also the first number one on the Billboard 200 in the 2020s. Fine Line has been described as rock, pop and pop rock, with elements of prog-pop, psychedelic pop, folk, soul, funk and indie pop.

Mikal Cronin has announced his fourth solo album album. Seeker is out October 25 via Merge Records.

Titled ARTEMIS after the Greek goddess of the moon, violin superstar Lindsey Stirling's 5th studio album takes listeners on a journey of tragedy and triumph. Each song on the album sonically represents the upward struggle that Artemis, the hero of our journey, takes to find the light within to find the upside of down. Stirling is the winner of the 2017 Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Album, earned the #1 Dance/Electronic album of 2016 and 2 certified gold albums. The global sensation has 11.6 million YouTube subscribers and has been featured on Live with Ryan & Kelly, The View, Jimmy Kimmel and more. This Target exclusive features two bonus tracks "Torch" and "Embers."

Cipriano de Rore, a native of Ronse, embodies with his music the multifacetedness and cosmopolitan influence of the Franco-Flemish epoch. His significance in music history can hardly be overestimated, and his extraordinary position between the prima practica and seconda practica makes him simultaneously a guardian of the tradition and a trailblazer of the “new music.” The Mass “Vivat felix Hercules secundus” from the genre of Masses for secular princes was probably composed by de Rore shortly after his arrival in Ferrara and is to be understood as a tribute to his employer, Ercole II d’Este, whose name de Rore honored in a remarkable manner. In each part of the Mass the tenor voice sings the text “Vivat felix Hercules secundus, dux Ferrariae quartus” (Long live the happy Ercole II, the fourth Duke of Ferrara).

Milanese band Silver Key seem to have suddenly arrived out of nowhere but in fact started out as long ago as 1992, as an official tribute act of Marillion and Fish. They've gained a loyal following by playing live down the years, including concerts with Fem and Ubi Maior, but after two decades of regular gigging have finally released their debut album of original material. It was always their stated aim to do this and at last they have found their own voice. Incidentally, the band takes its name from a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft where the protagonist loses the magical key that enables him to enter an alternate dimension of dreams. This choice of name for the band symbolises the means by which they can fulfil their own long held dreams just as Lovecraft's character is able to visit his dreamed-of cities.

Pianist Satoko Fujii introduces a new trio with two younger and very active musicians on the Japanese jazz scene–bassist Takashi Sugawa and drummer Ittetsu Takemura–recording in 2020 at Pit Inn in Tokyo for their 3rd live date together, performing five lyrical Fujii original compositions, including "Aspirations" from her album with Leo Smith & Ikue Mori.