Who Was Adam

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) wrote his first opera at the early age of 21, which over the next 25 years was to be followed by another seventy. From 1830 onwards his operas caught the attention of the public and remained on the programmes, which was unusual at that time. When in 1841 the sought-after opera composer was on yet another of his tours, he was approached by the manager of the Vienna Kärntnertortheater, Bartolomeo Morelli, who requested him to set Linda di Chamonix to music after a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. Donizetti, who was keen to establish himself in Vienna, having already done so in Paris and Milan, accepted the commission.

Polish violinist Adam Bałdych is a unique virtuoso of his instrument in jazz. However, he puts his virtuosity entirely at the service of the music - with a cultivated tone, a strong sense for sound and space and a talent for haunting melodies. All qualities that link him to the Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, one of Italy's most successful jazz musicians, who becomes Bałdych's musical partner in lyrical musical conversations on "Poetry".

Filmed live at the Vienna State Opera in December 1983, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s elegant staging of Manon captures all the pathos of Massenet’s masterpiece. Adam Fischer leads an all-star cast featuring the incomparable Edita Gruberova in the title role and the brilliant Francisco Araiza as Le chevalier des Grieux. Massenet’s Manon was immensely successful from the outset, and it has remained a hit ever since its world premiere in Paris in 1884.

Adam Faith was a contemporary of early British rock & rollers like Cliff Richard and Billy Fury, but Faith's sound was less Elvis Presley-derived and more aligned with teen idol pop such as that of Bobby Vee (who covered Faith's number one U.K. hit "What Do You Want?"). John Barry had a hand in Faith's early efforts, and the instrumental arrangements are truly remarkable, from the surprising hoedown-style fiddling on "Don't That Beat All" to the musical saw on "What Now." In fact, it is the arrangements that elevate this music above standard teen idol fare. Faith rocked occasionally, as on "Made You," had moderate success adapting to the changes wrought by the Beatles, and later worked with folk-pop material. The Very Best of Adam Faith tracks his evolution by collecting 26 U.K. chart hits from 1959-1966, four of which were recorded with the Roulettes. Faith had two minor hits in the U.S. in 1965 that aren't included, but The Very Best of Adam Faith is otherwise an exemplary and essential anthology of an early British pop star.

From jazz and soul to rock and country, the blues are the bedrock and a uniting feature for much of the popular music originating in the United Sates. The simple and repetitive structures are easy to grasp and perform, making the blues extremely approachable. Under the command of brilliant writers like the legendary Lead Belly, the blues maintains a unique place between high art and common expression.