Tone Tempo

Although they didn't fare nearly as well as fellow Teutonic thrashers like Kreator and Sodom in terms of career longevity or commercial success, Würzburg, Germany's Paradox certainly seemed, on the surface, to have a better shot at the big time with their more melodic and accessible style. Formed in February of 1986 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Charly Steinhauer, lead guitarist Markus Spyth, bassist Roland Stahl, and drummer Axel Blaha, the group was heavily influenced by the biggest of all thrash bands – Metallica – and quickly parlayed a few impressive demos into a deal with Roadrunner Records and a very impressive debut album, Product of Imagination, the following year…

While Luigi Dallapiccola is most remembered for his serial compositions, listeners may be surprised to find that much of his output is quite approachable and highly enjoyable. Dallapiccola occasionally wrote openly tonal works in a neo-Classical vein, and several of his milder twelve-tone pieces lean toward tonality in their triad-based rows and beautifully crafted themes. This 2004 release presents some of Dallapiccola's most accessible music, warmly performed by Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic, and richly recorded by Chandos.

After having won the Gramophone Award in 2014 for his recording of Prokofiev’s five piano concertos, exclusive Chandos artist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet here explores the complete works for piano and orchestra of another Russian composer of the twentieth century: Igor Stravinsky. Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the left hand, and Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Wind Orchestra make good company. First, Bavouzet considers them ‘the greatest concertos of the twentieth century.