Samhälle & Politik

The Tower of Babel of performances and recordings of Sergei Rachmaninoff's music pleases the ear and the sight of the music lover today as it has been throughout the 20th century. In that Tower one can easily distinguish the voices of Rachmaninoff's music's "native speakers" - performers who spoke Rachmaninoff's mother's tongue, breathed the same air and enjoyed the same autumnal landscapes in childhood. In fact, it is the Tower of its own: looking through the list of Rachmaninoff's works and the names of Russian and Soviet performers in the Rachmaninoff Collection offered by legendary label Melodiya on the composer's 145th anniversary, one can assume just that. To a great surprise of the scholars and amateurs, such a collection has never been assembled previously. The "Russian idiom" (if we are to continue with the metaphor) has never been presented in such a massive and powerful way, reaching the "critical mass" that may lead to important conclusions about the Russian musical style and interpretation in general. The list contains the names of great singers from the generation of Soviet classics such as Irina Arkhipova, Ivan Kozlovsky, Georgy Nelepp, Elena Obraztsova, Mark Reisen, to the most current internationally renowned stars such as Hibla Gerzmava. One can find a smorgasbord of chamber music performed by the exceptional ensembles and individuals such as David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gidon Kremer and Daniil Shafran. An unusual component in the collection is the recordings of Rachmaninoff's Russian Orthodox church music - something that was carefully shoved under the rug in the Soviet times. The operas are represented by the best that the country could give - and here, for sure, the native Russian diction raises the level of performance to the classical height. And, of course, that poetics of the piano, in which Sergei Rachmaninoff expressed himself in the most unencumbered way, is represented in the Collection by the names that do not need promotion: Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Grigory Sokolov, Vladimir Krainev, Alexei Nasedkin, Pavel Serebryakov - the list goes on until it reaches the latest acquisition on the Montparnasse of piano, Dmitry Masleev. For the connoisseurs, the Collection offers rare examples, many of them previously unreleased by Melodiya, together with those delicious brand-name tube-mic recordings that carry an unrivaled human quality and a tint of nostalgia. The edition comprises 33 CDs and 1 LP with previously unreleased recordings (Piano Concerto No. 2 performed by Vladimir Krainev and the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yuri Temirkanov; and Vocalise orchestrated by the composer and performed by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dmitri Kitaenko). The edition includes a booklet in four languages (Russian, English, French and German).

Helloween är power metals stora fanbärare och har sedan 80-talet levererat fantastisk, melodisk metal. Under senare år har de turnerat med ett antal sångare, både deras nuvarande vokalist Andi Deris och tidigare sångare som Kai Hansen och Michael Kiske.<br/><br/>Med över 10 miljoner sålda skivor och ett flertal guld- och platinautmärkelser, firar de tyska legendarerna Helloween sitt 40-årsjubileum! Detta är bandets andra fullängdsalbum med deras<br/>unika tresångarkonstellation. Som vanligt bjuder Helloween på sin patenterade mix av snabba riff, storslagna melodier och den karakteristiska högoktaniga sången. Med fem starka låtskrivare, tre sångare och sju musiker i världsklass är förväntningar på detta album högt ställda, och de gör ingen besviken; albumet får 9 av 10 i SRM.

Testament: Para bellum (Copper) [2 Vinyl LP]

Dirkschneider & The Old Gang: Babylon (Gold) [2 Vinyl LP]

Warner Music are delighted to announce the release of a commemorative triple black vinyl album in honour of the 40th Anniversary of IRON MAIDEN's seminal third album, The Number Of The Beast, which was also the first to feature Bruce Dickinson on vocals and was to become the record which catapulted the band to international stardom. Included in the new vinyl package is Beast Over Hammersmith - available now officially for the very first time on vinyl - featuring the live concert from March 1982's now legendary Hammersmith Odeon London show from the Beast On The Road World Tour. Recorded only days before the release of The Number Of The Beast album, its remarkable to think these now classic songs at that time were still brand new, unfamiliar and being heard live by fans for the very first time. A real piece of history in the making.<br/><br/>The package features exclusive liner notes written by Maiden founder and bassist Steve Harris as well as restored and expanded artwork taken from the CD format of Beast Over Hammersmith, previously only available in the Limited Edition Eddie's Archive boxset originally released in 2002. <br/><br/>Steve Harris comments, <br/>"On this vinyl release we get the chance to put Total Eclipse in its rightful spot on the album for the first time. The reason it didn't make it in the first place was that it was all a mad rush when we were finishing the record and we had to get the Run to the Hills single out before the tour and we basically had to pick a B-side and it was between Gangland and Total Eclipse and we just picked the wrong one, really! I think Total Eclipse is a stronger song and the album would have been stronger if it had been on there."

Helloween är power metals stora fanbärare och har sedan 80-talet levererat fantastisk, melodisk metal. Under senare år har de turnerat med ett antal sångare, både deras nuvarande vokalist Andi Deris och tidigare sångare som Kai Hansen och Michael Kiske.<br/><br/>Med över 10 miljoner sålda skivor och ett flertal guld- och platinautmärkelser, firar de tyska legendarerna Helloween sitt 40-årsjubileum! Detta är bandets andra fullängdsalbum med deras<br/>unika tresångarkonstellation. Som vanligt bjuder Helloween på sin patenterade mix av snabba riff, storslagna melodier och den karakteristiska högoktaniga sången. Med fem starka låtskrivare, tre sångare och sju musiker i världsklass är förväntningar på detta album högt ställda, och de gör ingen besviken; albumet får 9 av 10 i SRM.

GATEFOLD SLEEVE<br/>HIGH QUALITY<br/>INSERT