A DIFFERENT KIND OF MUSIC

Independent labels are the soul and heart of the music industry, in many ways the pioneers, the original risk-takers. while big labels such as Warner Brothers and Atlantic are in the business of making hits (finding artists and musical styles that will appeal to the biggest audience), independent labels have quietly gone about the task of discovering and recording new talent and new musical genres. More often than not, the aim is quality-- the artistry and craftsmanship of marrying true musical talent with true recording and engineering talent. Never mind that most of these recordings are not big sellers. More than a few are, in fact, eventually recognized as leading-edge material, catapulting either the musicians or the genre of music into mainstream awareness. Major labels often clamor after these artists and sounds once they've proven themselves on the independents' cutting ground.

Sidney Stevens, High Performance Review Vol.8 No.

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Updated 12/06/2011

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Historical Classical: Conductors
Featuring the conducting of FurtwÄngler, Knappertsbusch, Mitropoulos and Toscanini and more.

Historical Classical: Instrumentalists, Vocalists and Opera Presenting recordings from the past of historical importance, lovingly restored. Featuring the pianism of Cortot, Schnabel, Michelangeli and Clara Haskil, the violins of Kreisler, Szigeti, Menhuin and Milstein, the voices of Flagstad and BjÖrling and more.

Digital Classical Recordings
Listed Alphabetically: Modern high-fidelity recordings of standard as well as modern repertoire by some of today's greatest artists. With an emphasis on contemporary American music, and featuring Ursula Oppens, the Mirecourt Trio, Igor Kipnis, and the Composers' Quartet.

Jazz/Pop/World Music —
With an emphasis on the adventurous and the modern. Presenting the cream of America's scene in such musicians as Braxton, Cyrille, Hemphill, Crispell and Pullen, along with major European improvisors like Brozmann, Graewe, Guy, and Tasarov. Included also are recordings of great historical significance by greats such as Ellington, Basie, Kenton, Art Tatum and Nat Cole, as well as Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery and Koto master Elizabeth Falconer.

Pristine Audio & Natural Sound

Tahra Classical Recordings —Historical recordings from France, mostly long-unavailable, edited by Dr. Myriam Scherchen, daughter of the great conductor Hermann Scherchen.

Collector Alert —Very low stock items, soon to be Out of Print.

Interview —Music & Arts Founder, Frederick J. Maroth

Spotlight —Engineer Maggi Payne

Hall of Shame —What you might want to know about Pirate Record Companies

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Music and Arts

CD-1257(4) ELGAR CONDUCTS ELGAR: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS 1914-1925 IN NEW DIGITAL TRANSFERS FROM ELGAR'S OWN RECORD LIBRARY. CD 1 (71:35): Carissima (1914); The Sanguine Fan, Op. 81 - exc. (1920); The Fringes of the Fleet (1917); Carillon, Op. 75 (1915); Polonia, Op. 76 (1919); The Starlight Express, Op. 78 (1916); CD 2 (73:51): Cockaigne Ov., Op. 40 (1917); In the South Ov., Op. 50 (1921/23); Violin Conc. in b, Op. 61 (Marie Hall, 1916); Cello Conc. in e, Op. 85 (Beatrice Harrison, 1919/20); Salut d'amour, Op. 12 (1914); Chanson de nuit, Op. 15 No. 1 (1919); King Olaf, Op. 30 - exc. (1921); The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38-exc. (1917); The Light of Life, Op. 29 - Medit. (1925) CD 3 (75:17): Sea Pictures, Op. 37 (Leila Megane, 1922/23); "Enigma" Vars., Op. 36(1920); Pomp & Circumstance Marches, Op. 39 Nos. 1 & 4 (1914); Three Bavarian Dances, Op. 27 (1914); Bach/Elgar - Fant. and Fugue in c, Op. 86 (1921/23); Handel/Elgar - Ov. in d (1923) CD 4 (75:19) The Wand of Youth Suite No.1, Op. 1a (1919); The Wand of Youth Suite No.2, Op. 1b (1917); Unissued takes from both Suites (1917/19); Symphony No. 2 in Eb, Op. 63 (1924/25). With The Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Albert Hall Orchestra & soloists. Note by Andrew Neill. Producer & transfer/restoration engineer: Lani Spahr. UPC# 0-17685-12572-0. Special offer: 4 CDs priced as 3.

BUZZ: Andrew Neill writes in his note: "Edward Elgar became an early star of the gramophone and the recordings he made (and supervised) between 1914 and 1934 remain among the great contributions to the recorded repertoire. Some of the performances, such as the electrical recordings of his symphonies and Violin Concerto (with Yehudi Menuhin), remain unequalled. As Dr. Jerrold Moore amply documented, Elgar was absolutely sure of himself as a conductor of his own works, and in the recording studio he was in his element. He never tried to disguise the fact that his own music thrilled and delighted him."

Music and Arts

CD-1256(6) KNAPPERTSBUSCH CONDUCTS BRUCKNER SYMPHONIES AND WAGNER SELECTIONS. BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 3 in d, Bavarian State Orchestra (Munich), 11 Oct. 1954; Symphony No. 4 in Eb, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 8 Sept. 1944. Symphony No. 5 in Bb, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, 19 Mar. 1959; Symphony No. 7 in E, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Salzburg Festival), 30 Aug. 1949. Symphony No. 8 in c, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 8 Jan. 1951; Symphony No. 9 in d (unfinished), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 30 Jan. 1950. WAGNER: Götterdämmerung, 2 excerpts: Berlin State Opera Orchestra, Nov. 1959; Siegfried, Act II sc. 2, Bavarian State Orchestra (Munich), 1952. Die Walküre, Act I sc.3, Bavarian State Orchestra (Munich), 1952. 2011 restorations by Aaron Z. Snyder Total time: 7:07:15. 6 CDs priced as 4 UPC # 017685-125621.

BUZZ: A newly restored collection of previously released (and no longer available) Knappertbusch best sellers from our catalog. Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 first released on Music & Arts CD-257 (1987); Symphony No. 4 on CD-249 (1987); Symphony No. 7 on CD-209 (1986), and Symphonies 4 through 9 in boxed set CD-1028 (1998), which included a different version of Symphony No. 3. Jeffrey Lipscomb wrote of the previous edition, CD-1028, in his amazon.com review: "Kna was one of the great Bruckner interpreters - he was unique in conveying this music's earthy, almost primeval side. Kna was a stubborn advocate of the so-called 'revised' editions (Kluge's notes make a compelling argument for them)." And Tony Duggan wrote of the same set in Music-Web International: "This superb collection of Knappertsbusch at his best in Bruckner should not be missed. It offers fascinating insights into how Bruckner used to be perceived and played, and can teach us a lot even today."