This live recording of Quincy Jones and his Orchestra was taken in Ludwigshafen in 1961. The orchestra had an all-star roster, including Freddie Hubbard, Benny Bailey, and Sahib Shihab. The program includes classics such as Summertime and Stolen Moments.

Zuill Bailey is a distinguished soloist, recitalist, artistic director and teacher. His rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry, and engaging personality has secured his place as one of the most sought-after cellists today. Joined by, according to American Record Guide "Among the finest guitarists of all time," David Leisner is an extraordinarily versaitle musician with a multi-faceted career as an electrifying performing artist, distinguished composer and master teacher. Together, they are incredibly expressive in this beautiful repertoire.

I first came across the music of Stephen Paulus a couple of years ago in preparing a choral concert. I was struck then how very well written it was for the forces it used, and also pleased that it made an immediate impact upon the audience. The music here is perhaps more challenging and ‘serious’, but it has those same characteristics, making this disc a fascinating listening experience.

So we have two concertos of very similar profile and dimensions, flanking a short piece for string orchestra. The first three tracks contain the Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra, a work written at the behest of the leader of the Cleveland Quartet, William Preucil. It’s interesting that the middle movement is by far the longest – longer in fact than the other two put together – and also that the Grand Concerto on tracks 5-7 has very much the same profile.

What of the music’s style and content? Firstly, I’d recommend listening to the CD before you read too much of the ‘blurb’, some of which is a little off-putting and pompous. I found this an enormously rewarding and enjoyable listen; Paulus is not a progressive composer, nor is he a ‘minimalist’. As you listen, you are more likely to relate his style to music of the second half of the twentieth century – Shostakovich, perhaps, in the nervous rhythms of the Concerto for String Quartet’s thrusting first movement, and maybe even Tippett in the rather beautiful but uneasy slow movement that follows. That is not to say that Paulus is derivative; I only cite these composers to give a stylistic reference point.

The concerto is sub-titled Three Places of Enlightenment, and each movement has a title too; the first is From Within, the second From Afar and the lively third is From All Around and Radiating Ever Outward. Make of that what you will, but the simple fact is that this is entertaining music, superbly conceived for the forces involved.

Veil of Tears is an interlude from Paulus’ holocaust-inspired oratorio To Be Certain of the Dawn. It is a searching, desolate piece — again Shostakovich comes to mind — which could and should find its way into the established string orchestra repertoire. Once more, the composer shows what a wonderful ear he has for texture, and creates music which, while not incredibly hard to play, still manages to use to the full the resources available to him.

The programme on this disc is well constructed, because the Grand Concerto for Organ and Orchestra begins in darkness, following on from the mood of Veil of Tears. This first movement soon opens out into an eventful quicker section, contrasting the solo organ and the various sections of the orchestra in highly effective ways. The recording is excellently balanced – organ concertos are notoriously tricky in this respect – and the alert, characterful playing of the Nashville orchestra under Guerrero comes over with total clarity.

Another refreshing characteristic of Paulus is that he is not afraid of melody. The middle movement of the Grand Concerto begins with a fine example, a winding descending line that ends with the quiet entry of woodwind and strings. The textures here are wonderful, the high-pitched reed tones of the organ blending and mixing with the upper woodwind. Neither is he afraid of a climax, as the colossal build-up at the centre of this magnificent movement (sub-titled Austere: Foreboding) attests. Out of this emerges a long climbing melody in the violins that seems the antithesis of the despondent falling phrase of the opening. The movement ends very quietly. Incidentally, in his note on this movement, the composer mentions his reference to a hymn-tune Come, come ye saints, set to an English folk-melody All is Well. It’s heard softly in the organ near the end.

Busy strings and percussion usher in the finale, Jubilant. It certainly is, and witty too, as it seems to re-create the celebratory mood of the good old Widor Toccata. The energy is vast, and over the organ’s frenzied activity, Paulus introduces the tune O Waly Waly high in the violins. Not sure why, but that doesn’t matter – it’s an exhilarating ride.

All in all, a wonderful CD, and one I would passionately commend to anyone searching for a modern composer who is neither bamboozlingly obscure nor patronisingly accessible.

– MusicWeb International (Gwyn Parry-Jones)

Three Donizetti masterpieces in a limited edition box set of internationally acclaimed productions.

L’ELISIR D’AMORE: Heidi Grant Murphy, Paul Groves, Ambrogio Maestri, Laurent Naouri, Orchestre et Chœurs de l’Opéra national de Paris / Conductor Edward Gardner Stage production Laurent Pelly - HD recording: Opéra national de Paris (2006)

• 133 MINS | SUBTITLES: ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN. SPANISH | AUDIO: 2.0 PCM, 5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL, 5.1 DTS | 1 DVD9 16:9

"well worth catching for Kurzak and Gavanelli alone. And there's plenty in the production to impress visually and much to enjoy as a series of stylishly assembled tableaux." Hugo Shirley

DON PASQUALE: Patrizia Ciofi, Simone Alaimo, Norman Shankle, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Chœur du Grand Théâtre de Genève / Conductor Evelino Pidò Stage production Daniel Slater - HD recording: Grand Théâtre de Genève (2007)

• 127 MINS | SUBTITLES: ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH | AUDIO: 2.0 PCM, 5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL, 5.1 DTS | 1 DVD9 16:9

"Donizetti’s final comic masterpiece demands velocity, pathos and above all wit. This Don Pasquale from Geneva has them all, and with Evelino Pidò conducting in the pit it bubbles with excitement...Patrizia Ciofi’s Norina is a joy. Looking like the Hollywood comic actress Aline McMahon (Ginger Rogers’s gold-digging friend in Top Hat), this is a benchmark performance" DVD CHOICE, BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE [BAC033]

LE CONVENIENZE ED INCONVENIENZE TEATRALI (VIVA LA MAMMA): Jessica Pratt, Vincenzo Taormina, Simon Bailey, Christian Senn, Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia del Teatro alla Scala / Conductor Marco Guidarini Stage production Antonio Albanese - HD recording: Teatro alla Scala (2009)

• 114 MINS | SUBTITLES: ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH | AUDIO: 2.0 PCM, 5.1 DOLBY DIGITAL | 1 DVD9 16:9

'Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali' was inspired by two comedies written by Antonio Simone Sografi between 1794 and 1816. It follows the theatrical tradition of Goldoni, Gozzi and Metastasio, and subjects the bad habits of the operatic world to biting and sardonic criticism.

Gentle classics: A dependable and psychologically effective way to soothe body, mind and spirit. The calmest creations of top-tier composers like Bach, Mozart, Brahms and Debussy; and peerless performances by proven and popular Delos recording artists.

The First Lady of Song and Mrs. Swing each get a CD in this set of vintage radio broadcasts. Ella's stellar 1940 performances include her hits A-Ticket, A-Tasket; T'ain't What You Do; I Want the Waiter, and more. Mildred's star-studded 1945 broadcasts feature Tommy Dorsey, Earl Hines and others on Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; Stompin' at the Savoy; Summertime, and more!

Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman.

Principal cast includes: Pearl Bailey (Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi), Cab Calloway (Horace Vandergelder), Emily Yancy, Chris Calloway, Winston DeWitt Hemsley, Sherri Peaches Brewer, Mabel King, Morgan Freeman, Roger Lawson.

Recorded November 17, 1967.

Gordon/Bailey Co. dazzles us again with their powerful live performance on this third volume from the Swedish tour of 1974, which previously produced two highly successful CDs: SCCD 31290 “Round Midnight” and SCCD 31373 “Revelation”. “... all Dexter’s recordings from this time are particularly creative, especially with a soloist of Bailey’s calibre at his elbow to drive Gordon” (Mark Gardner) "...recorded in the early stages of Dexter's residence with the SteepleChase label...This may have been Gordon's great period, surpassing in some ways his earlier years with Blue Note...Dexter is relaxed and confident..." (Krin Gabbard, Cadence)