In every sense, A Day at the Races is an unapologetic sequel to A Night at the Opera, the 1975 breakthrough that established Queen as rock & roll royalty. The band never attempts to hide that the record is a sequel – the two albums boast the same variation on the same cover art, the titles are both taken from old Marx Brothers films and serve as counterpoints to each other…

Out of the Cool, released in 1960, was the first recording Gil Evans issued after three straight albums with Miles Davis Sketches of Spain being the final one before this. Evans had learned much from Davis about improvisation, instinct, and space (the trumpeter learned plenty, too, especially about color, texture, and dynamic tension). Evans orchestrates less here, instead concentrating on the rhythm section built around Elvin Jones, Charlie Persip, bassist Ron Carter, and guitarist Ray Crawford. The maestro in the piano chair also assembled a crack horn section for this date, with Ray Beckinstein, Budd Johnson, and Eddie Caine on saxophones, trombonists Jimmy Knepper, Keg Johnson, and bass trombonist Tony Studd, with Johnny Coles and Phil Sunkel on trumpet, Bill Barber on tuba, and Bob Tricarico on flute, bassoon, and piccolo.

A beautifully-recorded album from master violinist Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata, Baltica, spanning a wide range of music, all of it broached with conviction. Hungarian composer and pianist Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer from the Serbian province of Vojvodina has written eight hymns in commemoration of the film director Andrei Tarkovsky, an artist he has called a homo moralis whose remarkable visions cast a small but significant light on the tragic world of the previous century. Georgian composer Giya Kancheli contributes a silent prayer for two of his most important musical associates: the cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich and the violinist Gidon Kremer.

Gidon Kremer's emotionally-engaged performing style is transferred to an orchestral scale as he leads and directs his award-winning Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra - playing with unrivalled energy and refinement - in a pair of central works of 20th century symphonic repertoire: Mahler's swansong, the Adagio from the unfinished Symphony No.10 in a new arrangement for strings, and Shostakovich's dramatic, moving Symphony No.14

To celebrate its 50th Anniversay, harmonia mundi presents 50 masterworks in the development of Western classical music, performed by undisputed masters in their field. This set features over 36 hours of music (all complete works, no excerpts) of music in audiophile-quality sound, elequently packaged in a deluxe boxed set and offered at a very low price. Whether you are an inquisitive novice or a discerning connoisseur, you will be thrilled to experience the sonic triumphs of the world's most innovative independent label.

"Faunalia is Selvans sophomore album, where the band evolved and broadened their sound: their personal take on folk and black metal is now enriched by many unexpected Italian influences. This is why the band chose to define Faunalia “A Dark Italian Opus”: the use of progressive-oriented Hammond organs, synths and neofolk interludes is a heartfelt ode to the Italian musical tradition of the last four decades and more. Black metal mutates and changes and drifts away to reach the shores of orchestral, cinematic music, as Selvans developed long, unpredictable pieces like “Magna Mater, Maior Mons” having in mind both black metal and Ennio Morricone. Yet, the final outcome is surprisingly natural and consistent, something only great artists can obtain through far-fetched experimentation".

The music is massively heavy and steeped in the shocking misery of shattered bodies and pervasive death, and it’s also explosively violent, with searing riffs and soaring leads that, together with blazing drumwork and wrenching voices, raise visions of the horrible grandeur and mortifying terror of such man-made conflagrations as the battle to which these songs allude. It will really get your head moving, too - and I’m glad that 1914 have also continued to insert excerpts from period songs, as they do at their previous album

Hailing from Kopervik, Norway, Ring Van Möbius is finally ready to unleash their debut album "Past The Evening Sun". With Hammond Organ, bass, drums and a good dose of nostalgia, the Norwegian power trio Ring Van Möbius plays 70s prog rock inspired by bands like Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson and ELP. The fact that you can’t find a guitarist in the band will probably surprise you, but at the same time they strive to create their own, and somewhat untraditional sound, which spans from the delicate and comfortable to outright madness and abstract soundscapes.

Take a trip around the world via a magic prog carpet ride, courtesy of Guy Manning and his fine ensemble Damanek. The majority of the songs on this sophomore album “In Flight” have an international flair, with stories of struggle and challenge. Yet regardless of the theme, the music is bright, catchy and upbeat throughout.
There are three aspects which stand out prominently in this recording: Manning’s warm and inviting voice, imbued with character; the flowing, mellifluous saxophone of Marek Arnold; and the storytelling which serves as the foundation for each song…

"Amazing Games", "the second coming" - the sequel to their self titled debut album from 1977. This could very well be described as Saluki's "forgotten" LP - since it never got released as planned in 1978 , when Compendium Records went bankrupt. The album, however, consist of newly recorded songs from the time. Some songs were exchanged with a couple of others from the same period of time. The songs are recorded "live" in the studio with some overdubs, but mostly as it was originally done back in 77.