The Noel Diary

Renaissance polyphony and contemporary sound clouds orbit around vocal late Romanticist like satellites. The Zurich Chamber Singers, conducted by Christian Erny, unearth a special narrative drama. Starting with Anton Bruckner, they turn their attention to Palestrina as a point of reference. At the same time, they cast a spotlight back on the work of the Austrian vocal innovator through three contemporary works. A comprehensive selection of Bruckner&'s Latin motets combined with chosen works by Palestrina and three world premiere recordings of the Stuttgart composer Burkhard Kinzler’s commissioned works.

Busoni needs listening to in extenso, troughs (not deep ones) as well as peaks. He was the first to acknowledge that his mature style was late in developing, but he was no late starter: the earliest music here, and pretty accomplished it is too, was written at 12 years old and by the age of 18 he had written the remarkable Variations and Fugue on Chopin's C minor Prelude, a tour de force of late nineteenth-century pianism and sonorous inventiveness.

In the summer of 2001, Travis embarked on a rather hectic festival schedule which saw them headlining three huge gigs over the Bank Holiday weekend–the Reading and Leeds Festivals and Glasgow's Gig On The Green. More Than Us–Live in Glasgow is the final of the three shows, and captures them at their best. Coming on the back of the release of their third album The Invisible Band it was inevitable that most of the tracks would be culled from this, including instant favourites "Sing" and "Side", but they do keep a healthy amount of old favourites on the set list as well-"Driftwood", "Writing To Reach You", "All I Want To Do Is Rock" and "Why Does It Always Rain Me". Not that the crowd need winning over–this is a local concert for local people after all. They've come a long way from their humble beginnings as Oasis's favourite support act, so much so that Noel Gallagher is now seen watching from the wings. He looks suitably impressed, as he rightfully should be–this is a great performance from one of Britain's best-loved bands.

Some 27 years after his premature death in London, at the age of 27, Jimi Hendrix has become one of rock music's biggest icons, a legendary musician whose recording legacy has continued to influence successive generations of aspiring guitarists. During his all-too-brief career, Hendrix released just four albums, including 1967's Are You Experienced and Axis Bold As Love, and 1970's Band Of Gypsies, all of which have since then become recognised as important milestones in the history of rock music.