Box set containing sonatas performed by the pianist Vladimir Horowitz. As well as the tracks listed it also includes 'Sonata in B Minor' by Franz Liszt, 'Concerto Without Orchestra' by Robert Schumann, 'Andante Moderato' from 'Sonata in F minor, K466' by Domenico Scarlatti, 'Sonata in E-Flat Major for Piano, Hob.XVI:49' by Joseph Haydn, 'Sonata Quasi Concerto, Op. 33, No. 3 in C Major' by Muzio Clementi and 'Sonata No. 21 in C Major for Piano, Op. 53, 'Waldstein'' by Ludwig van Beethoven, amongst others.

The composer Ries, born in Bonn, Germany, will not be known to many nowadays, yet he had been London-based, had an English wife and wrote a number of overtures for the Philharmonic Society to perform. The concert 'ouvertures', as such, had been invented by Romberg, Spohr and Schneider. Previously, the regular concert hall practice of starting an evening with a single movement of a symphony was felt too severe an introduction for the audiences. Consequently, lighter pieces were introduced with stronger melodic line and easier on the ear to endear the audience and encourage their focus.

Bibio's Stephen Wilkinson had such a major breakthrough with Ambivalence Avenue that anticipation about whether or not he could maintain such a breakneck pace of innovation was palpable. Mind Bokeh - whose title was inspired by the photography term for the way a lens renders out-of-focus points of light - is true to its name and Wilkinson’s hyperactive creativity, but not in obvious ways. Though the title track dapples sparkling electronics over a luminous haze of distant nature samples, the rest of the album isn’t exactly blurry. In fact, its sounds are often surprisingly hard-edged and chilly, especially compared to Ambivalence Avenue’s summery vibe. Yet Wilkinson's meticulous way of layering these crisp, immediate sounds with half-heard atmospheres is fascinating (especially under headphones), suggesting the intertwining of the present with dreams and memories, and the external world with the internal one…

In April 2010 Peter Hammill, Hugh Banton and Guy Evans undertook some intensive tracking sessions in Cornwall, arranging, rehearsing and recording the album in a week. Over the next few months the tracks were overdubbed, edited and adapted by the band in their own studios, and by September the project was ready to be mixed by legendary producer Hugh Padgham (the first time anybody outside the band has been entrusted such responsibility). After three weeks at Hugh's studio, Sofasound, "A Grounding in Numbers" was complete. With a fantastic clarity and depth of sound, and a helter-skelter stretch of tunes, "A Grounding In Numbers" sees VDGG pushing ever further forward into the twenty-first century, and their fanbase is certain to enjoy this strong, cohesive set.

2011 two CD release, a collection of tracks taken from the BBC owned Lizzy recordings that still exist in the archive and charts the inexorable rise of the band: From the first steps as a three piece on the Decca label, to the glory days as one of the greatest live acts of all time. This collection brings together sessions and live recordings from throughout the band's career including the last concert with Phil Lynott from the Reading festival in 1983.

This reissue British artist Mike Cooper's two excellent albums, originally released in 1970 and 1971, respectively; his departure from folk-blues is evident on these two documents. His diversity is one of the most striking traits of his work, considering that Cooper has worked in free improvisation, avant-garde, Hawaiian guitar music, and – much later in the '90s – even drum'n'bass-inflected electronica. As a British folk-blues artist of the '60s, obvious comparisons to Bert Jansch and John Renbourn abound. Like many of his contemporaries of that movement, he progressed to a folk-rock singer/songwriter mode by 1971 and gave listeners Places I Know, which is rooted in the tradition of Tim Buckley, Jackson Browne, and Randy Newman's sophistication with the form.

The German Electronics artist Robert Schroeder (discovered 1978 by EM pioneer Klaus Schulze) has produced numerous excellent solo CDs. The music of Robert Schroeder is various, but always soulful. He combines spherical synthesizer sounds with modern rhythm-mical contrasts, often supplemented by spacey guitars and sometimes also by piano, cello or voices. On the occasion of the annually "Schallwelle" Award ceremony, Robert Schroeder once again gave a concert on the 12thof March 2011 in the Planetarium Bochum (FRG). Accompanied by drummer Gigi Frieg and in the encore supplemental by surprise guest musician Bernd Kistenmacher for the approx. 250 spectators results a spectacular and impressing event.

Idaho-bred singer/songwriter Josh Ritter's V2 Records debut follows in the footsteps of 2003's Hello Starling only in instrumentation. While he retains his literate tongue and expressive voice, there is far less humor on Animal Years than on his previous two outings. Producer Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse) keeps Animal Years intimate but transient, like a circus train crawling through a small town on a busy Saturday afternoon. Essentially built around two startlingly affecting diatribes on the war in Iraq, Ritter utilizes the voices of Peter and Paul, as well as Laurel & Hardy, to eke some kind of explanation from both the Administration and the Creator.

Goodbye surfing, hello God! The title of Jules Siegel's 1967 magazine feature on Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys sums up how well the group was outliving the early-'60s beach fad – and revolutionizing pop music in the process. During 1966, the twin shots of Pet Sounds in May and "Good Vibrations" in October announced first that the group had entered the vanguard of pop music and then, not content with mere critical praise, seized control of the singles charts with a chart-topper as catchy as it was complex and costly to record. Early on, though, "Good Vibrations" had actually been slated to appear on Pet Sounds, which reveals the long odds on whether Wilson could ever finish an entire album of his pocket symphonies (at least, in the time frame of a label circa 1966)…

With Joan Jett witnessing something of a revival thanks to the recent Runaways biopic, the original leather-jumpsuit-wearing rock icon Suzi Quatro returns to prove that nearly 40 years on from her self-titled debut, she can still pack a few punches herself. Co-written with previous collaborator Mike Chapman (Blondie, Mud), In the Spotlight, her first album since 2006's Back to the Drive, shows that unlike many of her counterparts, the contemporary pop scene hasn't completely passed her by.