The Unknown Known (2013)

The "Serenissima" referred to in the title of this release is the Republic of Venice itself, La Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia, as it was known in Vivaldi's time and would be until its fall early in the Napoleonic era. Croatian countertenor Max Emanual Cencic gets some nice shots in the graphics, but no biographical information about either him or the curiously named orchestra Il Pomo d'oro under Riccardo Minasi is included. Instead, the intent seems to be to present some lesser-known Venetian operas from during and slightly before Vivaldi…

Dimension 5 is one of the first Goa Trance groups ever and released lots of highly acclaimed vinyls and CDs. The group saw its existence in 1989, and around 1994 they released their first early Goa Trance vinyls, which they described as “space techno”. Back then the group existed out of 4 members: Charlie Clarke, Graham Franklin, Kerry Palmer and Nick Wenham. They started their own label, Intastella Records, in 1996 to have total musical freedom. This resulted in the making of their first full album: “Transdimensional” in 1997. This piece of art is extremely wanted but unfortunately it was never decently distributed, because of that this CD became a true Goa Trance legend…

At its quietest moments, 2007's Memory Almost Full played like a coda to Paul McCartney's illustrious career; he seemed comfortable residing in the final act of his legend, happy to reflect and riff upon his achievements. Such measured meditation is largely absent from 2013's New, the first collection of original material he's released since 2007. New lives up to its title, finding McCartney eager, even anxious, to engage with modern music while simultaneously laying claim to the candied, intricate psychedelia of latter-day Beatles…

Known for his dazzling performances of music by Franz Liszt and Sergey Rachmaninov, Russian virtuoso Nikolai Lugansky presents his first recording of the two piano concertos of Frédéric Chopin, which are much quieter than his usual fare. Indeed, the music seems quite intimate and almost chamber-like on this 2013 Naïve Ambroisie release, due to Lugansky's controlled and fairly introspective playing.