Also available on CD

Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is one of the most remarkable achievements in all music, and Siegfried, the third in the cycle, contains some of the greatest moments in Wagner’s entire output. Wagner conceived Siegfried as a heroic ‘man of the future,’ and his fantastical tale is one in which the human dramas of treachery and violent struggles for power become magnified in a world of gods, dragons and magic. The previous opera in this cycle, Die Walkure, was acclaimed in The Guardian as “thrillingly vivid… easily maintains the high standard and promise of Das Rheingold.” (Naxos NBD0049).

Grigori Aleksandrovich Pechorin is an enigma: arrogant, cocky, melancholic, brave, cynic, romantic, loner, socialite, soldier, free soul, and yet, victim of the world, he eludes definition and remains a mystery to those who know him. Just who is he? And what does he hope to achieve? Evolving from first person to third person, and then into a diary, A Hero of our Time takes on a variety of forms to interrogate Pechorin’s cryptic character and his unusual philosophy providing breathtaking descriptions of the Caucasus along the way. The novel has been hailed as an influence on such writers as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov, and is a striking take on Lord Byron’s ‘superfluous man’; it hearkens back to the teaching of Machiavelli, while anticipating the future work of Nietzsche. Nicholas Boulton’s remarkable fluency and beauty of tone defy the listener to take a break from this unique story. Hailed by Vladimir Nabokov as one of the greatest Russian novels, the book has been referenced in novels by Albert Camus and Ian Fleming, and films by Ingmat Berman.

The Decameron is one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio’s answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Known for its widespread influence including Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and poetry by Keats, The Decameron is also a valuable document of life at the time of the Black Death. This is the first unabridged cast recording in English and includes prolific stage actor Simon Russell Beale. Ten original songs are featured, composed by West End composer Steven Edis. Guido Waldman’s vibrant translation captures the exuberance of Boccaccio’s masterpiece.

This collection brings together three extraordinary ballets by Kenneth MacMillan, one of the 20th century’s most influential choreographers whose work forms a pillar of The Royal Ballet’s repertory. MacMillan pushed the boundaries of dance, and these three signature works exemplify his searching genius: the emotional intensity and rich physicality of his choreography, through vivid crowd scenes and passionate pas de deux; the daring and the darkness of his complex and fascinating characters; and the mesmerizing, sensuous music to which his steps were always created. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound. "Lovers of classical ballet should, without question, go and see the Royal Ballet’s magnificent production of Manon. Ballet sceptics, meanwhile, should see it at least twice." (The Telegraph - Manon) "Such is the breathtaking impact of this production, with consistent excellence to savour from both principals and the corps, magnificent costumes and stage scenery and spot-on camera direction from Ross MacGibbon that criticism is effectively silenced. If you have been waiting for a truly outstanding Romeo and Juliet to appear on Blu-ray, then look no further." (International Record Review - Romeo & Juliet)

Following its successful run of unabridged Dickens titles, Naxos AudioBooks has turned its attention to Henry James. Further titles are planned for 2018. In the second novel of James’s celebrated late period, American Lambert Strether is sent to Paris on behalf of Mrs. Newsome, his fiance, to collect her son, Chad. When Strether finds Chad, he discovers an altered man and becomes introduced to a free and unconventional style of life that soon intoxicates him. His views begin to change; the morality of Woollett, his hometown, becomes foreign, and the ‘ambassador’ loses sight of his mission… Part tragedy, part comedy, The Ambassadors is a rewarding portrait about one man’s late awakening. John Chancer is an award-winning narrator of many audiobooks. His soft American accent lends an authenticity to James’s intercontinental tale.

This release includes the entirety of Wanda Luzzato’s recorded legacy. The tracks have been dutifully restored and remastered for a better listening experience. The songs on this release are previously unreleased recordings. MusicWeb writes: “Valuable recorded documents from the Wanda Luzzato Archive. - I would encourage all violin afficionados to explore this compelling collection. I’m most impressed by Rhine Classics presentation. Everything about this production spells quality. [...] Luzzato commands a formidable technique. Her tone is sweet and pure and comes over as silvery in some recordings… Intonation is for the most part pristine. She seems to be greatly influenced by Heifetz in her use of expressive slides and position changes. Emilio Pessina’s expert restorations and remasterings are to be commended.”

Throughout the world Christmas is celebrated – and everywhere, singing Christmas carols is part of the celebrations. This limited special edition offers over 100 of the most beautiful German and international carols: For the first time, the “Weihnachtslieder” (German Christmas Carols) as well as the “Weihnachtslieder aus aller Welt” (Christmas Carols of the World) of the prize-winning LIEDERPROJEKT are being issued together in an incredible four-release set. The LIEDERPROJEKT is a charity project produced by Carus and Southwest German Radio. For every album set sold, 2 EUR will be donated to projects which promote singing with children.

The Royal Opera Collection brings together eighteen outstanding productions from The Royal Opera, spanning all-time classics and contemporary masterpieces. Featuring some of the world’s finest performers and leading directors, The Collection demonstrates the breadth of The Royal Opera’s work including Le nozze di Figaro, Carmen, Turandot, La traviata, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, and the Multiple award-winning Written on Skin. A special edition book is also included, containing new articles about The Royal Opera, richly illustrated with stunning photographs.

Francisco Correa de Arauxo’s surviving music is contained entirely in his Facultad organica of 1626. Published in Alcala under the composer’s own direction, this constitutes one of the largest and most significant works in the entire history of the organ. His compositions embody a wide range of characteristics, some rational and well structured, others mystical and even eccentric. Correa no doubt intended his works to be played in meantone temperament- the normal tuning system at the time for organs, and the one heard on these recordings. Robert Bates is an award winning, internationally known recording artist, recitalist, composer, and a specialist in early French and Spanish Organ music. His recordings include “Viaticum,” containing eight of his own compositions as well as “Complete Organ Works of Jehan Titelouze.” His live performance for the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists is available as “In Recital at Lagerquist Hall.” Professor at the Moores School of Music, Houston, Texas, Professor Bates previously served as University Organist at Stanford University where he received his Ph.D. in Musicology.

Phineas Finn, a handsome young man of 23, comes to England to make his fortune in parliamentary politics. But despite all his aspirations, Finn is haunted by ethical questions as his personal convictions conflict with his duty towards his party. Loyalty versus honour, love versus money, and privacy versus prominence: our eponymous hero faces a variety of dilemmas as he navigates his way through the House of Commons. The second installment of Trollope’s celebrated Palliser series, Phineas Finn is a delightful and humorous look at the complexity of human relationships and the politics surrounding the Second Reform Bill of the 1860s.

The artistic heritage of Antonio Vivaldi, acknowledged for his talent as far as the mastery of instrumental music is concerned, has waited for years for a correct evaluation in the opera music field as well. On the other hand, a musician who in 1739, at 61 years of age, was able to boast of having composed no less than 94 operas had a legitimate right to describe himself first and foremost an opera composer. Nowadays, unfortunately, only 23 of his opera scores have been preserved and not all are complete; as the scholar Reinhard Strohm writes, “We’re only able to document approximately 60 operatic performances between 1713 and 1739, in which the composer was personally involved in various ways. For these performances, he may have chosen the complete score, revised music by other composers, chosen and instructed the singers, rehearsed and conducted the performance, influenced revisions of his music by others, or worked in any combination of these possibilities. If we give a wide meaning to the word, Vivaldi was just as much an opera ‘impresario’ as an opera composer. This wasn’t at all common in Italy at that time and even less so for a priest. The least we can deduce from this situation was Vivaldi’s profound artistic passion for musical theatre.” Composed in 1724 for Rome’s Capranica Theatre, Giustino is a cornerstone work, situated on the ridge between the Red Priest’s old and new styles; precise indication of this importance is given by the fact that the customary borrowing from oneself, current usage in that period, is considerably reduced by Vivaldi for this work. Rather than to save time, since the inclusion of pre-existent episodes in the libretto and the score nevertheless involved laborious revision, this careful selection of the borrowing was used by Vivaldi to gather together a good part of his best previous music to impress the public: Giustino, as Strohm again states, is a sort of “Vivaldi anthology.” In fact, the borrowed pieces are often to be ranked among the best he’d ever written.

Phineas Finn, a handsome young man of 23, comes to England to make his fortune in parliamentary politics. But despite all his aspirations, Finn is haunted by ethical questions as his personal convictions conflict with his duty towards his party. Loyalty versus honor, love versus money, and privacy versus prominence: our eponymous hero faces a variety of dilemmas as he navigates his way through the House of Commons. The second installment of Trollope’s celebrated Palliser series, Phineas Finn is a delightful and humorous look at the complexity of human relationships and the politics surrounding the Second Reform Bill of the 1860s.

Spending their summer holidays with Farmer Braithwaite and his wife in Scatterbrook, John and Susan come across a particularly lifelike scarecrow in a nearby field. That evening, much to the children’s surprise, the scarecrow makes an appearance in the Braithwaites’ Kitchen to warm himself by the fire. He is Worzel Gummidge and he is no ordinary scarecrow. His tendency to cause mayhem wherever he goes sparks a series of mishaps and adventures, often with hilarious results. This is the first of the Worzel Gummidge novels written by Barbara Euphan Todd, originally published in 1936. Jessica Martin is a leading musical theatre actor, voice artist and graphic novelist. Her television credits include voice work for Spitting Image and the role of Mags in the Doctor Who story “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.” She has played numerous lead roles in West End musicals, including Me and My Girl and Elf. Her first graphic novel, Elsie Harris Picture Palace, was published in 2015.

In this hapless state I looked myself over and saw that I was now no bird, but an ass.... In this ancient picaresque adventure, Lucius, an insatiably curious young man, finds himself transformed into a donkey after his fascination with black magic and witchcraft goes awry. While trapped in his new body, he becomes the property of thieves, farmers, cooks, soldiers and priests, and observes the hypocrisy and ineptitude of Imperial Roman society. The Golden Ass is considered the only novel to survive the Roman period, and the earliest novel to survive complete in the Western literary tradition. It is brimming with slapstick humor and sexual escapades, and foreshadows later works by Boccaccio, Rabelais, Cervantes and Chaucer, upon whom it was a direct influence.

Alongside those with Simone Young and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, OehmsClassics is now offering the third Bruckner cycle here with Ivor Bolton. This time it includes ''only'' the Symphonies Nos. 1 and 9. In its April 2017 issue, the renowned Gramophone Magazine wrote the following about the Second Symphony: ''The overall impression is one of vividness and transparency, aided by the exemplary recording...Among single-disc offerings of the 1872 edition, Bolton's recording is hard to beat.''

Past praise of previously issued recordings included in this set:

Bruckner: Symphony No 3 / Bolton, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra:

There is a compelling sweep to Bolton’s interpretation, replete with an atmospheric and detailed recording. And the ending could hardly be more final, more unequivocal, just as Bruckner surely intended.

– MusicWeb International

Bruckner: Symphony No 6 / Ivor Bolton, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg

An excellent recording overall. The focus on detail really justifies many of Bruckner's compositional decisions. More grandiose recordings make the work out to be more like the monumental Eighth or Ninth. It is always going to suffer by comparison with them, so in many ways Bolton's approach - to treat the often delicate textures with more care and attention - better represents its more modest aspirations.

– MusicWeb International

Masur's first important conducting job was with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he worked from 1955 to 1958 and again from 1967 to 1972. He also worked with the Komische Oper of East Berlin. From 1970 to 1996 he was teh Kapellmeister of the famous Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. In 1991, Masur became music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. From 2002 to 2008, Masur was music director of the Orchestre National de France. On his 80th birthday, Masur conducted musicians from both these orchestras at a Proms concert in London, conducting music by Tchaikovsky and Bruckner. The beginnings of the orchestra go back to 1743, when a society called the Grosses Concert began performing in private homes. The orchestra gave its first concert in the Gewandhaus in 1781. It is the oldest orchestra in Germany, apart for private orchestras. In 1835, the great composer Felix Mendelssohn became the orchestra's main conductor. He was called the Gewandhauskapellmeister. He kept this position, apart from one year, until his death in 1847. In 1885, the orchestra moved into a new hall which was given the same name. The present Gewandhaus is the third building with the name. It was opened in 1981.

When the minimalism movement originated in the early 1960s, it sprang up organically – some composers played by the rules (even if they were rules of their own invention), while others experimented freely, unaware or unconcerned about how music 'should' be composed. One of those young mavericks was Dennis Johnson, who has now faded into almost complete obscurity after he gave up his musical ambitions for a career in mathematics. But his 1959 composition November can be considered one of the first, if not the first, properly minimalist work. It later went on to inspire La Monte Young to write his prolific Well-Tuned Piano. Complete recordings are few and far between, and this new recording by Jeroen van Veen is the perfect introduction for anyone looking to get back to the roots of Minimalism. Jeroen van Veen is one of the Netherlands' most prominent recording artists. This collection of Minimal Piano Music follows two previous successful albums, available on Brilliant Classics (BC8551 and BC9171). The last album provided a snapshot into the extensive scene of minimalist music today; this one takes us back to how it all began. Featuring several famous pieces from the original minimalist canon – including Philip Glass's Music in Contrary Motion and Terry Riley's Keyboard Studies – there are hours of beautifully relaxing and inspiring music here to enjoy. This release brings the listener back to the roots of Minimalism, all works were written in the seventies of the 20th century, a time when the new aesthetics and perception of music, sound, repetition and time experience were creating a new chapter in music history. The longest piece is the 5 hour “November” by Dennis Johnson, a work in which the player is free to build the intervals and chords according to his own timing and spacing. The other composers in this set are Philip Glass, Tom Johnson, Peter Garland, Terry Riley, Harold Budd and La Monte Young.

In a series of interviews with Camille De Rijck, Philippe Herreweghe sums up his musical trajectory by offering the reader his reflections, intermingling musical and personal considerations. A selection of archive illustrations to delight the eyes and an updated biography complete the contents of the book, which is published in four languages. A five-disc compilation of extracts chosen and discussed by the conductor himself provides a musical counterpoint to the text. The selection enables you to explore a whole life through the finest works of such composers as Lassus, Schein, Bach, Beethoven, Mahler, Dvorak and Stravinsky. Thanks to the long-standing close collaboration between Philippe Herreweghe and his favorite ensembles - Collegium Vocale Gent, the Orchestre des Champs-Elysees and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic - this anthology of his most remarkable interpretations is also an opportunity to experience at leisure the extraordinary palette of colors and timbres that he invariably succeeds in obtaining from them, and transports us to the very heart of the Flemish conductor's inner world.

The Quartetto Italiano is regarded as one of the finest string quartets of the twentieth century. They were formed officially in 1945. By the early 1950s, they had achieved a measure of international celebrity, and by the 1960s the ensemble had developed a world-class reputation. Here we have some rare BBC live performances from 1965 given in the Royal Festival Hall. They are recorded in excellent stereo and issued for the very first time.

Listen to the Naxos Podcast to learn more about this release

The Eighth Book of Madrigals, subdivided into a substantial series of vocal and instrumental partbooks, contains some of Monteverdi's greatest music. In this sumptuous collection the material is carefully arranged by category into madrigals of war, love and those for the stage, with a wide array of human passions and compositional styles. This is the first recording to present Book Eight in its original, uncut form, also incorporating instrumental sinfonias and dances by Biagio Marini to round off Monteverdi's design. In keeping with seventeenth-century practice, the madrigals are performed entirely by male voices, including a boy soprano in the role of Cupid.

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REVIEWS:

The quality of the performances is extremely high. Technical prowess is always in the service of the music, and Marco Longhini is not averse to pushing his all-male ensemble to extremes of slow or fast tempos or to special vocal effects. Another strength of this excellent interpretation is the size and scope of the instrumental forces. There are 9 players in the continuo group, a further 9 in a mostly string ensemble (including 2 recorders), and a viola da gamba quartet. This gives Marco Longhini a very wide palette to draw on for dramatic power, theatrical variety, and evocative effect.

– American Record Guide

As Longhini has pointed out in previous releases, the instruments to be used is largely left to the performers, and in the composer’s day would probably have depended on those available. In this series of discs he has opted for a ‘middle-of-the-road’ approach, so as not to become ornate, yet providing more that an obliging backdrop. In the vocal group there are, of course, no female voices in music of that period, so that much rests on the shoulders of the outstanding countertenor, Alessandro Carmignani. Yet again I will heap praise on the sonorous bass voice of Walter Testolin, his deep voice is an earthy delight. Solos permeate all of the madrigals, and when numerous voices are used, the Delitiae’s blend is pure joy. Longhini's approach throughout this series has that feel of dedication and authenticity, the music continually intriguing, immediately likeable, and, in every way, it has been a wonderful experience with this as its crowning glory. The engineers have once again played their part in the clarity of texture they have created. It is terribly sad that it is coming to an end, but there remains just one more book, the unfinished Ninth, that was published after the composers death.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

This is an exciting new album bundle of five previously released albums from Navona Records. What Are They Doing To That Piano? features composers and artists dedicated to finding the most adventurous and compelling sounds that the piano has to offer. Opening with works composed by John Cage, the virtual godfather of prepared piano, and performed by the virtuosic Kate Boyd, this bundle contains one of the most eclectic collections of solo piano music a listener will ever encounter. Ice & Fire, first released in 2013 by Navona Records, features six compositions by Stephen Scott for the Bowed Piano Ensemble, including Afternoon of a Fire, written for bowed piano and improvised native american flute in memory of a wildfire that occurred in his native Colorado. The album also includes experimental works that interpret the concept of drones, a piece with five miniatures for bowed piano, and Scott's first written piece for voice and bowed piano. Originally released on Ravello Records in 2016, 16-2-60-N-5: Works for Electronics & Piano, by composer and pianist Sidney Bailin, shows how musical technique can exist solely to help him tell his secrets. A combination of piano and electroacoustic works, 16-2-60-N-5 transforms patterns and structures into a viscerally and emotionally gripping sound experience. Felt, a compilation for solo piano first offered by Navona Records in 2015, presents the works of a number of composers including Matthew Durrant and Byron Petty. With each composer comes a subtly different perception of what the piano is capable, a degree of variation that presents itself repeatedly in the kaleidoscopic collection of pieces included on this release. On An Evolving Cycle, Gheorghe Costinescu's second Ravello Records album, first released in 2013, the composer explores the manner in which keyboard idioms evolved from Baroque to 21st-century contemporary, charting the evolution of form and technique with a deft control of style. Throughout this collection, the composers and performers run the gamut of stylistic and physical variations possible for the piano and its repertoire. It seems only fitting that these albums would ultimately be combined into a single compendium of the piano at its finest, and we are pleased to finally offer, in collected form, What Are They Doing To That Piano?

This unique collection brings together four jewels of the Royal Ballet repertoire that will delight and captivate young viewers the world over. Prepare to be enchanted by the timelessly colourful characters of Beatrix Potter including Peter Rabbit and friends; swept up in the magical world of Clara and her beloved Nutcracker; dazzled by Alice's weird and wonderful adventures in Wonderland; and spellbound by the action in Prokofiev's classic Peter and the Wolf. "Peter Rabbit's beautiful and magical garden of dreams will transport every adult straight back to their childhood. " (The Stage - The Tales of Beatrix Potter) "One of the very best seasonal treats for children and adults alike, the Royal Ballet's Nutcracker is a handsome, magical, thoroughly traditional rendering of ETA Hoffmann's immortal if deeply strange story." (Sunday Express - The Nutcracker) "What a treat this is - such an imaginative treatment of a favourite story. There are extraordinary, eccentric sets and special effects; colourful, larger-than-life, argumentative characters and extraordinary costumes. Lauren Cuthbertson, as Alice, is excellent, her every movement suggesting the actions and emotions of this curious, spirited pre-adolescent... Christopher Wheeldon's choreography is very imaginative and fitting for every character." (Musicweb International - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) "... Matthew Hart's Peter and the Wolf is one of the most beguiling children's ballets around. " (The Daily Telegraph - Peter and the Wolf)

The American Brian Asawa, who died tragically young in 2016, became one of the world’s foremost countertenors before he was 30, acclaimed for the exceptional size, richness, agility and beauty of his voice. In 1991 he was the first countertenor ever to win the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and soon he was singing with opera companies all over the world. He was also a gifted recitalist and made a notable series of recordings for RCA/BMG. All reissued here, they range from Elizabethan Lute Songs to a disc of songs by Ned Rorem and include excerpts from the complete recording of Handel’s opera Serse conducted by Nicholas McGegan, in which BBC Magazine singled out for praise Brian Asawa’s “luscious legato” in the role of Arsamene.

Joseph Haydn’s string quartets, often rated as the basis for playing quartets, represented far more than an obligation to the Amadeus Quartet. During their entire career, which spans four decades, they thoroughly and continually dedicated themselves to these works, especially those of Haydn’s middle and late periods. Most of their concert programs featured a quartet by Haydn and in their sonic legacy, Haydn’s string quartets make up more than a fifth of the total. The musicians held these works in such high esteem due, on the one hand, to their relative technical ease and, on the other, their high musical demands.

REVIEW::

This batch is devoted entirely to Haydn, and includes works that the Amadeus never recorded commercially: Opp 9/3, 20/5, and 33/2 (The Joke). For the last, the Amadeus cut a forceful profile in the scherzo and make an affectionate beeline for the gentle ‘joke’ at the close of the finale. Their playing of the F minor Quartet (Op 20/5) suggests implied parallels with Mozart’s G minor Quintet in the scherzo, while the lilting Adagio is given the loveliest reading imaginable. The C major Quartet Op 54 No 2 features a brief Adagio that can only be described as cantorial: the solo violin wails expressively over supportive chords, the effect not unlike the ‘beklemmt’ passage in Beethoven’s Cavatina (the Quartet Op 130). We’re given a complete recording of the Quartet from 1969 and that movement alone as recorded in 1950, both extraordinarily moving. Fifteen works are included overall (the majority originating in Haydn’s later period), including The Seven Last Words which is additionally available as a downloadable ‘extended version’ with German texts. An unmissable collection.

— Gramophone

The Duke Box 2 picks up the story of the great Duke Ellington band in the early 1950s and spans the next 20 years or so of his remarkable output. Spanning the years in which Ellington regularly toured Europe and Scandinavia, The Duke Box 2 offers a rich selection of performances illustrating a tirelessly inventive musical spirit on tour with changing personnel and occasional guest artists. CD3 features never before released live recordings from a 1963 concert in Gröna Lund, Stockholm—a veritable treasure for the committed Ellington fan. The box also includes the well-renowned Jaywalker (CD5) and Piano Player (CD4) albums whose music always deserve a re-visiting. Among other gems are late 1970s recordings from New York, some of the last music Ellington ever put out.

The bonus DVD combines a series of short films of the Ellington band in action and despite the sound being recorded first and the performances showing the band miming, this curiosum offers a fascinating glimpse of The Duke in action, and the audio is of course technically excellent.

REVIEW:

This box set of seven CDs, one DVD and an illustrated booklet celebrates the latter part of Duke Ellington's monumental career. It opens with the so-called "Silver Jubilee" 1952 coast-to-coast broadcasts from Birdland in New York City by NBC.

But the Birdland gig was no simple trip down memory lane. Ever anxious to be seen to be on the cutting edge, Ellington used it to demonstrate the ability of his orchestra to absorb the changes brought about by be-bop. The music suffers somewhat from NBC's desire to emphasize the cultural importance of the occasion, with celebrities in the audience called to the microphone by MC William B. Williams to attest. These include—most interestingly—British critic, pianist and composer Leonard Feather.

Things calm down on CD2 with a pretty typical 1958 concert in Munich featuring Ducal compositions new and old, plus the inevitable "greatest hits" medley.

On CD3 the band is caught on tape while playing a week-long booking at the Gröna Lund amusement park in Stockholm.

The remaining CDs are from the Ellington "stockpile," recordings of self-financed sessions from the Duke's own vaults. No.4 is of particular interest, concentrating as it does on Ellington's mostly unaccompanied piano playing.

CD5 was recorded—by the full orchestra—at the RCA studios in New York in 1966-67. It is memorable for two things: Cootie Williams' playing of "The Shepherd," a magnificent slow blues that Duke later incorporated into his Second Sacred Concert; and for Ellington's musical dialogue with conga drummer Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim.

CD6, from 1970—1972, reveals Ellington nearing the end of his life but still capable of springing surprises. He attempts to come to terms with the "New Thing" via such enigmatic compositions as "Rext" and "Flute" and new, spare arrangements of "Sophisticated Lady" and "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good."

The video on the DVD was filmed at Pathé Studios in New York in 1962. It captures Paul Gonsalves in full flight on "Blow By Blow" and Sam Woodyard doing some astonishing things with his drum kit on "Kind Of Dukish."

It's a lot to digest but Duke Box 2 provides a highly entertaining and well-rounded portrait of one of the few jazzmen truly worthy of the title genius.

-- AllAboutJazz.com (Chris Mosey)