Adams London

Not only is the piece amazing! (of course) but the performance is incredible! The London Sinfonietta plays with remarkable virtuosity and STYLE! As a musician having listened and seen the score, I know this piece is extremely difficult, and they play with wonderful competence and character. Aside from the fantastic playing, the piece is a real ear opener for fans of Adams. The majority of his music (or, that which is being recorded) are large orchestral works. Large orchestras, lots of soloists, etc. Wonderful stuff, if you haven't heard Harmonium yet, go listen. .

This outstanding release is first to couple music by the sister and wife of two great Romantics – incredibly gifted women who were also fine composers, whose music has remained little-known for almost 175 years.

John Adams’ 2005 opera explores the personal and moral issues surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb. Captured live in concert, it has colossal power and conviction. At its center is Gerald Finley’s commanding performance as Robert Oppenheimer, a scientist wracked by doubts. Having sung it at the premiere and many times since, he produces a magnificently characterized creation. Julia Bullock, Brindley Sherratt, Samuel Sakker, and Andrew Staples are all superb in supporting roles and Adams himself draws virtuoso playing from a truly galvanized BBC Symphony Orchestra. A major recording of a modern operatic classic.

John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, first performed in 2012 in Los Angeles, is something of an expansion on the composer's El Niño, a Passion story adorned with a variety of contemporary themes and musical materials. Like the earlier work, it features a libretto by longtime Adams collaborator Peter Sellars, and it may be sung on-stage as an oratorio or presented as an opera.

In 2022, Bryan Adams headlined three epic nights at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall. Each evening, Adams performed one of his classic albums in its entirety: Cuts Like A Knife (Night 1), Into The Fire (Night 2) and Waking up The Neighbours (Night 3). For the first time these recordings are available on one exquisite box set which includes 35 songs on 3 CDs, a Blu-Ray DVD featuring all of the performances, and a 32-page photo book featuring exclusive images from these storied nights.

Magnus Lindberg burst onto the contemporary music scene in the 1980s with his early work Kraft (as in "power", and not the American food conglomerate and inventor of Velveeta cheese by-product substance), an avant-garde spectacular that took the "sound mass" procedures of Berio or Xenakis and wedded them to an explosive rhythmic energy. He's broadened his style since then, taking in tonal elements and even the occasional tune, but the rhythmic vitality remains, and his coloristic gifts, his ear for ever new and remarkable instrumental sound combinations, have only increased. Aura is a four-movement symphony as indescribable as it is a joy to hear. Dedicated to the memory of Lutoslawski, the piece shows its composer similarly possessed of a vibrant, communicative personal musical language. Although it plays continuously for about 37 minutes, newcomers to Lindberg's sound creations should start with the finale, a sort of dance that begins with simple tunefulness before finding itself in a sort of riotous minimalist hell. It's hugely fun, as is the entire work.

This latest compilation includes the band’s complete first studio LP for Charisma Records (originally released in 1972 and confusingly titled 'String Driven Thing' - there had previously been another eponymously - titled LP by the band), as well as seven bonus tracks. Lasting 77 minutes and including 17 tracks, this collection also includes the rare 1972 single, 'Eddie’, five previously unreleased live archive tracks from 1973 recorded in Switzerland (with drummer Billy 'The Kid’ Fairley) plus a previously unreleased live track from 1995 digitally recorded in London…