Miracle Milan

… One would say that it was real miracle of style, of vocalism, of delicacy and even of far-sightedness. Apart from the fact that it was the very first recording of Handel's ill-fated work (a few pages had been included in various selections of baroque music), this edition represented a highly personal and supremely Italian alternative to the contemporary English performances of Handel's operas and aratorios.

The Best of Leonard Cohen is a greatest hits album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1975. In some countries from Europe, it was released under the title Greatest Hits. This alternative title was used for the original vinyl release and for CD reissues from the 1980s onwards. The album was not a hit in the United States but did well in Europe, Cohen's major market at the time. He toured in support of the album in 1976, beginning in Berlin on April 22 and ending in London on July 7. The front cover photograph was taken in 1968 in a Milan hotel room, according to Cohen's liner notes. In July 2009, this compilation was re-released in England under the title Greatest Hits with updated artwork and a revised track listing.

Live songs of iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE is a two-CD compilation sent to U2.Com subscribers as the annual subscriber gift for 2019. The CDs are housed in a photographic book documenting the tours, and they contain live music from the band. The booklet is similar in size to a 7-inch record. The set features one disc of live versions of songs from the Songs of Innocence album. The second disc features live versions of songs from the Songs of Experience album. Both releases are roughly sequenced to match the song flow from the 2015 and 2018 tours. All of the songs performed live from those two albums are represented on this release, with the exception of two bonus tracks, “Lucifer’s Hands” and “Ordinary Love.” The version of “The Little Things that Give You Away” is taken from the 2017 tour. All of the songs on the first disc are taken from 2015 with the exception of “Iris (Hold Me Close)” which is taken from the 2018 tour. There are 23 songs in total in this collection. The first disc is labeled “Live Songs of iNNOCENCE” and the second disc in the set is labeled “Live Songs of eXPERIENCE.” Both are manufactured in the Czech Republic.

The Greek-born Dimitri Mitropoulos (1896–1960) was incredibly gifted – his photographic memory allowed him to conduct without a score in concert and also in rehearsal! After studies in Athens, Brussels and Berlin, he took various posts in Greece. In 1930, Mitropoulos played the solo part in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3 with the Berlin Philharmonic and conducted the work from the keyboard, becoming the first modern musician to do so. He made his US debut in 1936 and went on to become principal conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (1937–1949) and then music director of the New York Philharmonic (1951–1957), where he was eventually succeeded by Leonard Bernstein. He expanded the repertoire of the NYPO and championed Mahler’s symphonies in particular.

Il Guarany (The Guarany) is an opera ballo composed by Antônio Carlos Gomes, based on the novel O Guarani by José de Alencar. Its libretto, in Italian rather than Gomes' native Portuguese, was written by Antonio Scalvini and Carlo D'Ormeville. The work is notable as the first Brazilian opera to gain acclaim outside Brazil.The world premiere took place at La Scala, Milan on 19 March 1870. The opera received additional European productions. The first Brazilian performance was in Rio de Janeiro on 2 December 1870, at the Theatro Lyrico Fluminense. More recently, in 1996, Il Guarany was mounted by the Washington National Opera with Plácido Domingo in the role of Peri.