Ballet

Presto Ballet is a progressive rock band founded by Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. Their sound is highly reminiscent of 1970s prog rock, as the band was founded chiefly as a tribute to classic progressive bands such as Yes, Kansas, Genesis and Deep Purple. Their debut album Peace among the Ruins, was released in 2005 to general praise and considerable press. Critics consistently commented on the album's warm and organic sound, a feeling created through the use of analogue recorders and vintage instruments.
If you love 70's styled prog with tons of vintage keyboards, crunchy riffs, and memorable melodies, you need to get your hands on this one.

Philip Lane, ‘The doyen of British Light Music’ (James Jolly, Gramophone), has collaborated with Heritage for this Winter 2017 release – British Celebration 2, the sequel disc to British Celebration, features orchestral music composed by leading figures in the Light Music movement: Paul Lewis, Thomas Hewitt Jones, Roy Moore, Anthony Hedges, Philip Godfrey, Timothy Roberts, Philip Spratley, Nicholas Smith and Gavin Gordon.

Pure enjoyment is provided by this delightful new recording of popular Russian music arranged for clarinet and orchestra by Robin White. From Rimsky-Korsakov’s Clarinet Concerto – originally scored for military band – to the Andante Cantabile from Tchaikovsky’s first string quartet (a staple for arrangers for decades) this is a beautifully played album by one of Britain’s busiest orchestras. An interloper (but a welcome one) from Italy (but of Eastern European style) provides a superb finale. Ian Scott is the principal clarinet of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and has been guest principal with several top London orchestras. He has previously made premiere recordings of Clarinet Concertos for ASV and Dutton.

Changing their band name as often as they changed the genre of music they played, Spandau Ballet began as a punk rock band calling themselves The Cut. Shortly after they changed their name to The Makers, and again In 1978 they changed their sound to a more power pop renaming themselves Gentry. Changing their sound once again to a more polished, synth heavy pop with an emphasis on the romantic the band changed their name for a last time to Spandau Ballet after (as the story goes) seeing the name "Spandau Ballet" written on a lavatory wall in a bar in Berlin…

Léo Delibess Coppélia is not only a collection of fine dances. It is primarily an abrasive and sardonic comedy, which is somewhat unusual in the world of classical ballet. But most importantly, it is a comedy for which excellent music was composed. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys assessment of Delibess ballet scores, allegedly capable of overshadowing the choreography itself, is well known: What beauty, what elegance, what richness of melody, rhythm and harmony! It is not fortuitous that music from this ballet should be performed, for its own merits, during concerts. Funnily enough, the main theme of this light-hearted ballet is taken from E.T.A. Hoffmanns anything but joyful novellas mainly from The Sandman.

I read a rave review of Vadim Gluzman in concert, and since I hd never heard of the Ukraine-born, naturalized Israeli violinist, I sought out this CD. The 45-year-old virtuoso is from the Oistrakh-Vengerov mold: intense, large-scaled, and powerful. All his talents are needed in the late, bleak Shostakovich Violin Sonata. The cover art, showing Gluzman dressed in black gazing out over a flat gray landscape typifies the music.

With the new romantic movement they'd helped spearhead on the way out, futurist icons Spandau Ballet began thinking seriously about the future on their second album. The seeds of the group's transition to a slick, MOR soul outfit can be heard in hits like "Chant No. 1," the best song Spandau Ballet had come up with…

The 3CD set features all the hits, fan favourite album tracks as well as classic 12-inch versions, and a previously unheard version of the Simon & Garfunkel classic 'The Boxer' recorded in 1990 with legendary producer, arranger and film composer Michael Kamen. As one of the leading New Romantic bands, Spandau Ballet racked up a number of British hits – as well as one Top Ten American hit, "True" – during the early '80s, becoming one of the most successful groups to emerge from the new wave. The only other New Romantic band to enjoy greater commercial success was Duran Duran, yet Spandau Ballet was there first, scoring three Top Ten hit singles during 1981 with their synthesized dance-pop.