Acknowledged to be the finest Karajan recording of this overwhelming sacred masterpiece - "electrifying … with the Italian chorus and orchestra singing and playing their hearts out … a historic document" (Gramophone). This 1967 performance features four of the 20th century's greatest Verdi singers - Price, Cossotto and Ghiaurov were at the peak of their careers, while the young Pavarotti was still comparatively unknown (though not for long).

At the beginning of the 17th century the Brussels court experienced an extraordinary cultural splendour thanks to the Archdukes Albert and Isabella Clara Eugenia, during a period of peace and prosperity in the Southern Low Countries under Spanish Habsburg rule. The sovereigns, who were great collectors and patronized artists such as Brueghel de Velours and Rubens, maintained a magnificent musical chapel with a substantial number of Spanish, Italian and English musicians. It was in this context that the work of the Zaragoza native Pedro Ruimonte unfolded. Master of chamber music under the Archdukes, his Parnaso español (1614) represents one of the capstones in the history of Spanish music.

Born Caroline Catharina Müller in the Netherlands, she moved with her family to Germany in the late '70s. In 1980, she became a member of the girl quartet Optimal, who issued two singles…

Stick Men is an Eclectic Prog supergroup founded in 2007 by Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson), Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and Michael Bernier. Since 2010, the lineup stabilized around Mastelotto, Levin, and Markus Reuter. The band was formed as a vehicle for progressive rock music performed almost exclusively with Chapman Sticks and drums. Needles to say, the fans of crimsonian prog will love it; there's also a lot of jazz and heavy chugging bursts, as well as avant moments and African soundscapes.

Carl Maria von Weber wrote music that has been admired by composers as diverse as Schumann, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky. But in his lifetime he was also recognised as one of the finest pianists of the period, with an exceptional technique and a brilliant gift for improvisation. Especially during the 1810s he toured extensively, and like other composer-pianists he wrote works to use as his personal calling cards, among them the two piano concertos recorded here. They were both composed in 1811-12, but while the First Concerto takes Mozart's concertos as its model, Piano Concerto No. 2 looks towards Beethoven.

Sveriges Radio's recordings of alternative music between 1967 & 1985 (except for disc A01 which was recorded in 2012 specifically for this box). A compilation consisting of 40 cd:s, subdivided thematically into 4 boxes (A, B, C and D). Each box contains 10 cd:s in cardboard covers and a booklet of 16 pages (box A and C) or 24 pages (box B and D). The 4 boxes are housed in a sturdy slipcase with another booklet (12 pages).

Sveriges Radio's recordings of alternative music between 1967 & 1985 (except for disc A01 which was recorded in 2012 specifically for this box). A compilation consisting of 40 cd:s, subdivided thematically into 4 boxes (A, B, C and D). Each box contains 10 cd:s in cardboard covers and a booklet of 16 pages (box A and C) or 24 pages (box B and D). The 4 boxes are housed in a sturdy slipcase with another booklet (12 pages).

Little Jimmy King's second Bullseye/Rounder session matches the slashing guitarist with the rhythm section that once backed Stevie Ray Vaughan. King soars on these 11 cuts; while he lacks Vaughan's speed and is more a straight blues technician, he plays with more imagination and drive than on his debut. He contributes six originals and does a competent job of reworking material by Elmore James, Albert King, and even Phil Collins. While there's nothing here startling or surprising, King effectively teams with Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon, and producer/organist Ron Levy crafts an entertaining program of contemporary blues-rock with vintage sensibilities and overtones.

Clarinetist Ona Cardona and pianist Josep Colom join forces on this recording, performing Brahms’ late masterpieces, the clarinet sonatas op. 120. Superb performances of both sonatas that framed Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, op. 73 and a wonderful arrangement for clarinet and piano of Clara Schumann’s largely neglected Romanzen, op. 22.

4 Rhapsodies from critically-acclaimed pianist Kristina Marinova and Navona Records is a collection of vibrant, dynamic, and technically demanding works for solo piano. The album’s titular piece, Four Rhapsodies op. 11 by early 20th-Century composer Ernst von Dohnányi is rarely performed in concert given the level of musicianship it requires of pianists. Now, its combination of stark drama and dazzling virtuosic passages may be enjoyed by listeners everywhere. This impressive piece, along with works by the likes of Astor Piazzolla, Franz Liszt, and George Gershwin, makes for a varied collection of masterworks performed by the gifted hands of Kristina Marinova.

Ever since his brilliant first appearance in Munich with the Requiem, he is still a regular guest at the BR. Riccardo Muti is currently regarded as a mature representative of the great Italian tradition. This CD release therefore has to be seen as a “classically polished gem” – a gem that shines and flashes as beautifully and as brilliantly as ever!