Tchaikovsky – Symphonies 1-3 (Valery Gergiev+London Symphony Orchestra) [2012]
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 126:02 minutes | 1,19 GB
Official Digital Download – Source: Bowers & Wilkins.com | Artwork
Two alumni of the St Petersburg Conservatory are brought together on this recording – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Valery Gergiev, both educated in the same historic city a hundred years apart.
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Mozart – Wind Serenades (Chamber Soloists of the RPO) [Naim 2007]
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 71:14 minutes | 1,14 GB
Source: Naim Records | Artwork
The Viennese newspapers of 23 March 1784 announced a concert at the Imperial Royal National Court Theatre to be given by the clarinettist Anton Stadler, ‘at which, among other well chosen pieces, a large wind work of a very special kind composed by Herr Mozart will be performed’. A member of the audience, Johann Friedrich Schink, listed the thirteen instruments in his diary and noted that ‘at each instrument sat a master – oh, what an effect it made – glorious and grand, excellent and sublime!’ Although Schink heard only four movements, this must have been the Serenade in B flat, K361. (The misspelt title ‘Gran Partitta’ and the erroneous date ‘1780′ were added to Mozart’s manuscript by an unknown hand.) Mozart was a close friend of Anton Stadler, and later wrote the Clarinet Concerto and Quintet for him: in his honour, Mozart augmented the basic ‘Harmonie’ octet with a second pair of horns, two basset-horns and a string bass (or contrabassoon), thus creating this ‘large wind work of a very special kind’. We do not know which four movements Schink heard; nor do we know when, or for what occasion, the remaining three movements were added.
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Eric Whitacre – Water Night (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 75:54 minutes | 1,29 GB
Official Digital Download – Source: bowers-wilkins.com
Water Night is the new album from the visionary composer behind the Virtual Choir and follows up his Grammy award-winning album, Light and Gold. The Daily Telegraph, London, describes Whitacre as “that rare thing, a modern composer who is both popular and original”.
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Jazz Side Of The Moon – The Music Of Pink Floyd (2008)
– Sam Yahel, Mike Moreno, Ari Hoenig, Seamus Blake –
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 55:30 minutes | 2,29 GB
Official Digital Download – Source: Chesky Records/HDTracks.com | Digital Booklet
“
Returning anew to the original record it’s fascinating to re-discover how provocative Pink Floyd’s classic remains, and to hear how well this quartet’s collective interplay served that music. And how beautifully Sam Yahel’s organ-while not the dominant voice, surely a prominent presence-sets the aesthetic tone for these proceedings: nothing rushed or forced or extravagant…elegant and swinging andexploratory, never stepping on anyone’s toes-deceptively laid back and responsive, always listening intently, with plenty of rhythmic vitality…a sensibility he shares with collaborators Mike Moreno, Ari Hoenig and Seamus Blake, which goes a long ways towards explaining why their take on Pink Floyd’s music is so engaging and stands up so well to repeated listenings. “Sam Yahel is clearly one of the most promising new organists on the New York City and international scene.” -Michael G. Nascos, Jazziz “Ari Hoenig is a magician!” -Batteur Magazine “(Mike Moreno) is a versatile and increasingly prominent guitarist.” -The New York Times “Seamus Blake is gaining increasing recognition as one of the finest and most creative young players emerging in jazz”.
— All About Jazz
Michael Feinstein – The Sinatra Project II:The Good Life (2011)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 41:17 minutes | 838 MB
Jazz | Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Digital Booklet
Michael Feinstein has built a career out of interpreting standards and favorites from the American Songbook, so THE SINATRA PROJECT, an album of tunes made famous by Ol’ Blue Eyes, comes as no surprise. Rather than trying to imitate Sinatra, Feinstein takes pains to arrange and deliver standbys like “Fools Rush In,” “I’ve Got a Crush On You,” and “You Go To My Head” in a style distinctive from the master. Romantic, sophisticated, and filled with nostalgia, Feinstein’s THE SINATRA PROJECT is both a suitable tribute to the icon, and a lovely listening experience in its own right. (more…)
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Donald Fagen – Morph The Cat (2006/2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 52:52 minutes | 1,23 GB (Incl. 5% Recovery)
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Front cover
Donald Fagen, the GRAMMY Award-winning voice of Steely Dan, continues to leave a lasting impression on music. Morph The Cat, his third solo effort, is another contemporary classic highlighting his adventurous musical depth, sophisticated lyrical content and immaculate arrangements. The album is the completion of a trilogy that began over twenty years ago with The Nightfly and followed with Kamakiriad. Each song depicts vivid imagery of illusion, decay and loss in a post 9/11 realm, without ever sounding dreary. With his signature blend of jazz, soul and rock, Morph The Cat is a stellar listen from start to finish!
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Anton Bruckner – Symphony No.9 (1962/2012) {2011 Remaster}
– by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Carl Schuricht –
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 56:21 minutes | 1,19 GB
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Digital Booklet
With immaculate sound quality and sonics, renowned conductor Carl Schuricht leads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra through Bruckner’s historic Ninth Symphony. Commanding with gentle assurance and unparalleled artistry, Schuricht delivers an intense reading overflowing with vitality. The orchestra’s performance is powerful and detailed.
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The Who – Tommy (1969/1996/2011)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 74:57 minutes | 1,79 GB (Incl. 5% Recovery)
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Digital Booklet
Recognized as the first rock opera, The Who’s Tommy set a new standard for the concept album in rock. About a deaf, dumb and blind pinball master, the double album (which featured the monster hit “Pinball Wizard”) shot The Who to superstardom. As well as being hugely successful, the album also established the band as one of the most ambitious and innovative groups of the 1960s and 70s. This hi-res release adds a new dimension to the rock masterpiece, making for an essential re-experience.
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Santana – Shape Shifter (2012) [24 bit]
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 57:07 minutes | 700 MB (Incl. 5% Recovery)
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Front cover only
Carlos Santana, one of Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” makes his Starfaith debut with the release of Shape Shifter. With his latest recording, the ten-time GRAMMY® Award winner sought to reinvent himself, producing and co-producing nearly every track. The recording, with the exception of one, is an entirely instrumental album. His trademark tone, style and ferocious guitar-slinging are at the forefront of this stellar outing. Heard on the record are Chester Thompson on keyboards, Dennis Chambers on drums, Salvador Santana on keyboards, Raul Rekow on congas, Karl Perazzo on percussions and Benny Rietveld on bass. Shape Shifter has reached the top twenty on four different Billboard charts. Standouts include the beautiful ballad, “In the Light of a New Day,” the melodic rock number, “Nomad,” and the title-track that showcases Santana’s powerful riffs. Available now in hi-res, the album is a pinnacle work from one of music’s greatest players.
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Donald Fagen – Sunken Condos (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 44:12 minutes | 951 MB
Official Digital Download – Source: DonaldFagen.com | Front cover
Donald Fagen was one of the two masterminds behind Steely Dan, the seminal jazz-pop band of the ’70s. Fagen’s solo work has been a continuation of the band’s work of the early ’80s — carefully constructed and arranged, intricately detailed pop songs that are more substantial than their stylish surface may indicate. Donald Fagen’s fourth solo album, Sunken Condos, will be released on October 16. His first three solo albums, The Nightfly, Kamakiriad and Morph the Cat comprised the project known as “The Nightfly Trilogy.” Sunken Condos begins a chapter in the creative evolution of this innovative artist, whose career is still going strong after forty years.
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The Doors – The Doors (1967/2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 44:10 minutes | 989 MB
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Front cover
A tremendous debut album, and indeed one of the best first-time outings in rock history, introducing the band’s fusion of rock, blues, classical, jazz, and poetry with a knock-out punch. The lean, spidery guitar and organ riffs interweave with a hypnotic menace, providing a seductive backdrop for Jim Morrison’s captivating vocals and probing prose. “Light My Fire” was the cut that topped the charts and established the group as stars, but most of the rest of the album is just as impressive, including some of their best songs: the propulsive “Break on Through” (their first single), the beguiling Oriental mystery of “The Crystal Ship,” the mysterious “End of the Night,” “Take It as It Comes” (one of several tunes besides “Light My Fire” that also had hit potential), and the stomping rock of “Soul Kitchen” and “Twentieth Century Fox.” The 11-minute Oedipal drama “The End” was the group at its most daring and, some would contend, overambitious. It was nonetheless a haunting cap to an album whose nonstop melodicism and dynamic tension would never be equaled by the group again, let alone bettered.
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Elton John & Leon Russell – The Union (2010) {Deluxe Edition}
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 71:29 minutes | 1,64 GB
+ Full DVD (from CD Deluxe Edition) – Making Of, Directed by Cameron Crowe | 440MB
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Scanned Booklet
The Union is a unique collaboration of two of the most talented artists in the music business. Combining forces and fusing diverse talents, John and Russell along with T. Bone Burnett have produced an extraordinary album. Recorded live in the studio with John and Russell on dueling pianos, the album features a variety of musical genres from R&B, soul, gospel, country, pop and rock. Icons Neil Young and Brian Wilson provide guest vocals on the 16-track record along with legendary R&B organist Booker T. Jones, steel guitarist Robert Randolph and a 10-piece gospel choir. Cameron Crowe has filmed the sessions for a documentary, creating too a moment of history as this is the first time that the genesis of Elton’s music has been recorded on film. Critics who have had an early preview of the album are united in praise for the work that Elton describes as a “Seventies record with a modern feel”.
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Keith Jarrett – Sleeper: Tokyo, April 16th, 1979 (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 106:56 minutes | 2,17 GB
Official Digital Download – Source: www.GoBuz.com | Front cover
Recorded LIVE April 16, 1979 at Nakano Sun Plaza, Tokyo. In 1979 came the tour of Japan from which Personal Mountains and now Sleeper were drawn and, the following month, the New York concerts at the Village Vanguard that generated the Nude Ants album. And then the story was finished. As Ian Carr was to observe in his Jarrett biography, The influence of this quartet is out of all proportion to its brief life. Musicians on all instruments have been influenced and inspired by Keith Jarrett s work in general, but also by this quartet in particular. The European Quartet ceased to exist when it was at the height of its creativity. Sleeper confirms that this was indeed the case. — ECM Records
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