The tradition of transcribing, arranging and adapting the music of Johann Sebastian Bach can be traced to the master himself: Bach made a lifelong habit of arranging works, his own and those of other composers. Indeed, Bach ranks among the most skilled and prolific arrangers in the history of music. Arrangements of his work by others can be considered in two broad catagories. In the first are contained those transcriptions which do not incorporate substantial changes to the original compositions, for example Liszt's Six Preludes and Fugues. In the second category are found those arrangements which display a creative intent on the part of the arranger - one can think of Mozart's transcription for string trio of six fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier, each preceded by an original prelude (KV 404a), or Gounod's Méditation sur le premier prélude de piano de S. Bach (1853), to which the words of the Ave Maria were subsequently added. It is to this latter genre of creative Bach transcriptions that the works contained on this disc belong. - Thomas Labé
Soundtrack from the 2015 film Spectre (007) - Original music by Thomas Newman - Limited edition white vinyl double LP - Brand-new re-issue of the soundtrack from the 24th film in the James Bond series on limited edition white vinyl. One of the most anticipated film soundtracks of 2015, Newman's thrilling orchestral score heightens the action-packed film, which saw Daniel Craig reprising his role as 007 for the fourth time. Double white colored vinyl LP pressing.
Michael Tilson Thomas's complete recordings for Deutsche Grammophon (1970-2003) and Argo (1992-1995) encapsulate the conductor's restlessly exploratory nature and masterful handling of the modern orchestra. The recordings in this collection demonstrate his superb ear for complex rhythms and textures, an orchestral builder, as well as an inspired interpreter of the widest imaginable range of music. Even the most cynical of critics set aside their Beckmesser's slate when Michael Tilson Thomas stepped on to the international stage in the early 1970s when Deutsche Grammophon released albums of Tchaikovsky, Debussy and American music. They were made near the start of his tenure as the Boston Symphony's Assistant Conductor, and they demonstrated a preternatural assurance as well as a superb ear for complex rhythms and textures. Tilson Thomas's first period with DG was relatively short-lived - just a couple of years - but it also took in his scintillating pianism, accompanying BSO principals in Debussy sonatas, and a viscerally exact Stravinsky Rite of Spring, as well as, of course, the luminous account of Tchaikovsky's 'Winter Dreams' symphony (still considered a benchmark recording of this work). All the repertoire played to his strengths and demonstrated his considerable talents as an orchestral builder as well as an inspired interpreter of the widest imaginable range of music. Once installed as Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra, Tilson Thomas rekindled his DG relationship with two definitive albums of music by his mentor Leonard Bernstein. On The Town and Arias and Barcarolles both feature Frederica von Stade and Thomas Hampson, who were also close and long-standing associates of the composer. The LSO/DG partnership also featured typically insightful and sympathetic performances of concertos with pianist Jean-Marc Luisada and cellist Mischa Maisky. With Il sogno, Elvis Costello's ballet score for A Midsummer Night's Dream, the conductor's skill at shaping the most eclectic range of styles comes to the fore. Finally, the set brings together for the first time the Argo recordings made by Tilson Thomas with the New World Symphony, which he founded in 1997 as a 'training orchestra' but which rapidly established itself as an international-calibre ensemble, capable of taking on the most challenging repertoire. With them, Tilson Thomas produced an exhilarating album of Latin American dances (Tangazo) a sensuous survey of Morton Feldman's orchestral music, and finally a loving tribute to his teacher from college days, the composer Ingolf Dahl. If Dahl's music is still too little known, the reissue of this album should bring it new friends. Reissued with original jackets, the set includes a new appreciation of the conductor's career by Peter Quantrill.
Thomas Strønen - "Relations" / Musical messages from Oslo, New York, Basel and Lugano - recorded between 2018 and 2022 - are juxtaposed and recombined on an absorbing recording that features Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen solo and in a series of duets. With such partners as Craig Taborn, Chris Potter, Sinikka Langeland and Jorge Rossy, the musical frame of reference is very broad. Strønen offers a project that implies new threads of connectivity, new creative relationships. Produced by Manfred Eicher. Verve Label Group; ECM; Jazz.
