Sharron Kraus' sophomore effort Songs of Love and Loss follows and diverges from the path she carved out on Beautiful Twisted. Echoes of Shirley & Dolly Collins flit about, but there is no derivative strain in the proceedings. Kraus' more plaintive voice is the perfect balance for her songs, which are laden with the kind of gloomy spirit that drives people to dwell on love's passing and absence rather than its gifts – or perhaps, as evidenced by Kraus' tomes here, this wondrously dark creativity is its gift in an offhanded way. The album was recorded in Oxford with her band that includes Colin Fletcher on bass, Jon Fletcher on banjo and guitar, and cellist and fiddle player Jane Griffiths as welll as a number of stalwart guests including Jeffrey Alexander and Jon Bowden. Kraus is both heartbreakingly sweet and sad and deliciously grim, such as on the harrowing "Song of the Hanged Man," where tropes and stereotypes explode without flinching and move into a quiet but tense and cacophonous melody adorned with squeezebox, banjo, and shimmering, clanging steel noises that is delightfully unsettling.

Antonín Dvorák's Stabat Mater, Op. 58, truly merits the adjective "tragic"; it was written after the deaths of two of the composer's children in succession, and his grief rolled out in great, Verdian waves. There are several strong recordings on the market, including an earlier one by conductor Jiří Bělohlávek himself, but for the combination of deep feeling, technical mastery from musicians and singers who have spent their lives getting to know the score, and soloists who not only sound beautiful but are seamlessly integrated into the flow, this Decca release may be the king of them all. To what extent was the strength of the performance motivated by Bělohlávek's likely fatal illness (he died days after the album entered the top levels of classical charts in the spring of 2017)? It's hard to say, although he also delivered top-notch performances of Dvorák's Requiem in his last days. The members of the Prague Philharmonic Choir sing their hearts out in the gigantic, shattering opening chorus, which has rarely if ever had such a mixture of the impassioned and the perfectly controlled. Sample the chorus "Virgo virginium praeclara" to hear the magically suspended quality Bělohlávek brings out of the singers in lightly accompanied passages.

In the summer of 1956, the famed Harlem congressman Adam Clayton Powell arranged for Dizzy Gillespie to embark on a worldwide goodwill-ambassador tour sponsored by the State Department. Gillespie and an all-star big band featuring trumpeter Quincy Jones, the late trombonist Melba Liston, alto saxophonist Phil Woods, and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson performed in Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil to frenzied, beret-wearing fans. Recordings were made but they weren't commercially available and were played only for a select group of musicians before Gillespie's death in 1993. Now the sides have been released, showcasing Dizzy at his bebopping best.

Pianist Dong Hyek Lim, a bit older than the youthful face in the graphics might suggest, has gained a reputation as a Chopin specialist, with restrained, often exquisitely detailed performances made for the small recital hall rather than for the concert hall. This was, of course, the kind of venue for which Chopin wrote most of his music, and this is a very fine tour through the much-recorded 24 Preludes, Op. 28, which form the centerpiece of this album. Lim does well to introduce things with the flashier and rarely played Variations brillantes in B flat major, Op. 12, commanding the listener's attention before delving into the Preludes, some of the most harmonically intricate music Chopin wrote. Sample any of the really famous Preludes, such as the Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4, for an idea of what Lim is up to here: he not only lingers over dissonances, but explores their potential directions with sensitivity and intelligence, all while keeping the top of the dynamic range not very high. Lim takes you back to the public world with the Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57, and Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60, which show him to be capable of a more brilliant style. London's Henry Wood Hall fits these pieces well, but Warner's engineers might have gone with even a more intense, intimate space for the preludes. In any event, the performance of those is one of the most absorbing to have come along in quite some time.

The Concerts in China is a live album by Jean Michel Jarre, recorded in 1981 and released in 1982 on Disques Dreyfus. It was recorded during Jarre's Concerts in China tour of Autumn 1981, which consisted of five Beijing and Shanghai concerts in China; this was the first time a Western pop artist performed in China after the Cultural Revolution. The album is a balance of previously released tracks by Jarre, new compositions inspired by Chinese culture, and one rearranged traditional Chinese track ("Fishing Junks at Sunset"). The album consists mainly of live material, plus ambient sound recordings and one new studio track "Souvenir of China". Other new compositions recorded live include "Night in Shanghai", "Laser Harp", "Arpegiator" and "Orient Express". "Fishing Junks at Sunset" is a new arrangement of a very old traditional Chinese song known as the "Fisherman's Chant at Dusk", which was performed and recorded with The Peking Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra and is often wrongly attributed as being composed by Jean Michel Jarre, misled by the album inlay. The album was originally released as a double-disc LP, then as a double-disc CD.

Vor genau 318 Jahren zündete Reinhard Keiser im Opernhaus am Gänsemarkt einen Dauerbrenner: Der angenehme Betrug oder der Carneval von Venedig hieß der Knüller, an dem man sich bald zweieinhalb Jahrzehnte delektierte. Das lag einerseits an der kuriosen Karnevalsgeschichte, in der sich zwei Paare ganz à la Così fan tutte vor dem Happy End in die falschen Partner verlieben, derweil sich ein deutsches Paar von Adel nach allen Irrungen mit der »Freundschaft« begnügt – es lag aber andererseits und vor allem an den eingängigen Stücken, mit der der damaliger Beherrscher der hamburgischen Oper sein Publikum unterhielt: einfache Strophenlieder, niedliche Arien, gelegentlich ein derbes Stück im lokalen Platt, was wollte man mehr! Unsere neue Produktion mit dem barockwerk hamburg enthält den musikalischen Querschnitt (ohne Dialoge); dieser ist allerdings so erheblich, dass er sich nur auf zwei CDs unterbringen ließ.

Die Wiener Freunde Franz Schubert und Franz Lachner werden hier für ein Liedprogramm im Geiste der Hausmusik erneut vereint. Akteur ist das Ensemble Double Face, das von der Kornettistin Marie Garnier gegründet wurde, und dem auch die Mezzosopranistin Anaïs Yvoz angehört. In Anlehnung an die Tradition der Schubertiaden verschmelzen Gesang und historische Instrumente zu einem bunten und emotionalen Klangteppich, der die kreative Leidenschaft dieser beiden Meister des 19. Jahrhunderts zelebriert.

The Grass Is Greener is an album by Colosseum, released in January 1970. In contrast to other albums by Colosseum, The Grass Is Greener was released only in the United States, on the Dunhill label, distributed by ABC. It was conceived as a U.S. alternative to November 1969's Valentyne Suite, complete with a muted, blue-green variation of the aforementioned album's cover. It features four tracks recorded with then-new guitarist/vocalist Dave "Clem" Clempson in the winter of 1969 ("Jumping Off The Sun," "Lost Angeles," "Rope Ladder To The Moon," "Bolero"); three tracks from the 1969 Vertigo LP Valentyne Suite but with vocal and guitar parts provided by Clempson ("Butty's Blues," "The Machine Demands A Sacrifice," "The Grass Is Greener") instead of James Litherland; and one track, "Elegy," that appears to be the same as the original from Valentyne Suite, including Litherland's vocal.

Released to coincide with what would have been Freddie Mercury's 70th birthday, the excellent 2016 double-disc anthology Messenger of the Gods: The Singles brings together all of the legendary Queen vocalist's solo A-side and B-side singles. Originating from a variety of projects, including Mercury's one and only proper solo album, 1985's Mr. Bad, these are all the songs released under Mercury's name and not as Queen singles. Nonetheless, there was some cross-pollination and several of these songs were later reworked as Queen tracks. While Queen were primarily known for their muscular, guitar-oriented rock, they were also innovators who experimented with funk and dance grooves.

With the appearance of Lighthouse, singer/songwriter David Crosby, age 75, continues a late career renaissance that began with 2014's Croz – his proper studio follow-up to 1971's classic If I Could Only Remember My Name. This set was produced by Snarky Puppy boss Michael League, who co-wrote five of these nine tunes with Crosby. The producer, a lifelong fan of the 1971 album, approached Crosby about recording something quick and dirty over a couple of weeks. He was met with incredulousness. The artist was used to working on albums for months, even years. After three days, they completed three new songs, and Crosby was all in.

“Changing perspectives” is something that the composer and clarinetist Rebecca Trescher has always set out to do, but this is no easy task. On one hand, she has to remain immersed in the musical activity as it happens, while on the other she strives to always remain aware of external perspectives and other ways of hearing, asking herself: Is this actually working the way I imagined? What might still be missing, and what could give it a decisive touch or the necessary kick?

Launching a new thematic era after closing his five-part Mathematics series, English singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran presses the titular button on his vibrant eighth set, Play. A blend of his heartfelt busker material and his big pop anthems, the set adds more of the same to his hit-packed catalog, which is just fine for his fans. Kicking things off with the aptly titled "Opening," the noted rap fan spits verse after verse of impressive, head-spinning bars, admitting, "I'm still looking for shit to say/Deluding myself that they'll still relate."

Not often can listening to a recording match the excitement and transcendent power of a live performance. We in the recording business try our best to get as close as possible to the real thing of course. Sometimes, however, magic happens listening to a recording with the right people in the right environment. This occurred in the Rockport/Absolare room at the 2024 Munich High End Show listening to J. S. Bach’s “French Overture” performed on piano by Orion Weiss. It takes a great performer, a recording that “doesn’t get in the way,” and fabulous playback equipment such as we had in the Rockport room for these wondrous listening experiences. The audience sat enraptured by Orion’s subtlety and artistry and we indeed felt like we were sitting on stage with Orion in Zipper Hall at The Colburn School where we made this album.

The Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn (German: Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, WKO) is a renowned German Chamber Orchestra, located in Heilbronn, Baden Württemberg, Germany.The orchestra was founded in 1960 by Jörg Faerber and has performed with artists such as Martha Argerich, Alfred Brendel, Rudolf Buchbinder, Maurice André, James Galway, Augustin Hadelich, Hilary Hahn, Gidon Kremer, Sabine Meyer, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Thomas Quasthoff and Tabea Zimmermann. The WKO has recorded more than 500 classical works for the labels Deutsche Grammophon (DGG) and Teldec.The orchestra is regularly heard at major festivals like Salzburg Festival, Vienna Music Summer, Lucerne Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Schwetzingen Festival and Ludwigsburg Festival.

This recording brings together two late masterworks by Brahms: the Op. 120 Clarinet Sonatas and the Op. 117 Intermezzi for piano, written in the tranquil setting of Bad Ischl. The sonatas, full of tenderness and quiet intensity, were composed for clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, whose warm, lyrical playing reignited Brahms’s desire to compose after a period of silence. This is music of dialogue, not declaration.