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These Scientists Are On A Quest To Understand How Prevalent Coronavirus Is

A team of scientists at Oregon State University are trying to measure the true prevalence of the coronavirus in Corvallis, Ore., by taking a random sample of the population.




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Runners Across U.S. Pay Tribute To Ahmaud Arbery With #IRunWithMaud

People across the country dedicated 2.23 miles to show solidarity for Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed on Feb. 23 while jogging in Georgia. Two men have been charged with murdering Arbery.




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'It's Unbelievable': Shutdown Of Philippines' Major Broadcaster Worries Many

Government regulators in the Philippines ordered the major broadcaster ABS-CBN off the air. Critics worry the shutdown stifles an important source of information in the age of the coronavirus.




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China Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam

The China stock market had climbed higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 70 points or 2.5 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,880-point plateau although investors may cash in on Thursday.




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Rebound Predicted For South Korea Stock Market

The South Korea stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 60 points or 3.1 percent. The KOSPI remains just beneath the 1,930-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Friday.




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Malaysia Bourse Figures To Remain Rangebound

Ahead of Thursday's holiday for Vesak Day, the Malaysia stock market had finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 40 points or 3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,375-point plateau although it may see renewed support on Friday.




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Japan Services Index Plummets In April - Jibun Bank

The services sector in Japan continued to contract in April, and at a much more severe rate, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Friday with a record-low services PMI score of 21.5.




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Hungary Inflation At 2-year Low

Hungary's consumer price inflation eased to the lowest level in two years in April, data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office showed on Friday.




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U.S. Employment Plunges Less Than Expected In April

Reflecting the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it, the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing a record nosedive in employment in the U.S. in the month of April.




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Czech CB Lowers Rate For Third Time, Unveils More Stimulus

The Czech Republic's central bank cut its key interest rate in May for a third policy session in a row and unveiled additional measures to provide more liquidity to the financial market after the coronavirus, or Covid-19, pandemic hurt economy severely.




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U.S. Consumer Credit Unexpectedly Slumps $12.1 Billion In March

Reflecting a steep drop in revolving credit, the Federal Reserve released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. consumer credit in the month of March.




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GLANERT, D.: Oceane [Opera] (Bengtsson, Schukoff, Pohl, Deutsche Oper Berlin Chorus and Orchestra, Runnicles) (OC985)




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LISZT, F.: Later Piano Music (Historical Hungarian Portraits) (Jandó) (Liszt Complete Piano Music, Vol. 54) (8.574059)




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MORLACCHI, F.: Tebaldo e Isolina [Opera] (1825 Dresden version) (Polverelli, Pastrana, Giustiniani, Baglietto, Vlad, Virtuosi Brunensis, Fogliani) (8.660471-72)

Francesco Morlacchi was a native of Perugia, but early success led him to become music director of the Dresden Opera where he remained for the rest of his life despite having an opportunity to succeed Rossini in Naples in 1822. He did make tours to Italy however, and Tebaldo e Isolina received its triumphant premiere in Venice, becoming the most successful of all his operas. Morlacchi’s gifts as a lyricist and for characterisation are heard here at their best, with showpiece arias and duets in a version of the Romeo and Juliet story that ends in happiness and the victory of reason over vengeance.




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Guitar Recital: Park, Ji Hyung - ALBÉNIZ, I. / BROUWER, L. / CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO, M. / SCARLATTI, D. / TAKEMITSU, Toru / THIELEMANS, T. (8.574140)

Ji Hyung Park has won numerous prestigious competitions, with the 7th Changsha International Guitar Competition in 2018 his most recent triumph. The diverse selection of music performed in this programme features three virtuoso sonatas by Scarlatti, the world premiere recording of Leo Brouwer’s evocation of ancient Greek culture Las Cíclades arcaicas, Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Sonata ‘Omaggio a Boccherini’ in its original, pre-Segovia manuscript form, Takemitsu’s final work In the Woods and rare selections from Albéniz’s masterpiece Iberia. The programme ends with a colourful arrangement of Toots Thielemans’ gorgeous Bluesette.




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FARRENC, L.: Symphony No. 1 / Overtures Nos. 1-2 / Grand Variations on a theme by Count Gallenberg (J. Muller, Solistes Européens, Luxembourg, König) (8.574094)

Louise Farrenc was renowned in her lifetime as a pianist, composer and teacher, but it is only recently that her compositions have emerged from many years of neglect. Symphony No. 1 in C minor—cast in the German tradition—is an exceptionally accomplished work, finely orchestrated, lyrical and fiery, and a substantial contribution to the canon. The Grand Variations on a Theme by Count Gallenberg is a showcase for virtuosic elegance, and the two overtures demonstrate real theatrical drama—Overture No. 2 was admired by no less a figure than Hector Berlioz.




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Wind Band Music - MASLANKA, D. / PERRINE, A. / WALCZYK, K. (Freedom from Fear) (University of Kansas Wind Ensemble, Popiel) (8.574169)

Contemporary American music for wind band continues to offer a rich combination of colour and variety. David Maslanka was one of the most prolific and admired of all wind band composers, and in Liberation he utilises plainchant in a moving exploration of death, the afterlife and the continuance of hope. Inspired by Walt Whitman, Aaron Perrine’s In the Open Air, In the Silent Lines creates a rich sense of space, while Kevin Walczyk’s moving Symphony No. 5: Freedom from Fear – Images from the Shoreline is unified by its themes of adoption, segregation and immigration.




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STRAUSS II, J.: Blindekuh [Operetta] (R. Davidson, Kunkle, Bortolotti, Sofia Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra, Salvi) (8.660434-35)

Blindekuh (‘Blind Man’s Buff’) was Johann Strauss II’s sixth operetta and his least known. Neglected for well over a century, it was revived by Dario Salvi and the forces on this album in January 2019. The work’s initial lack of success is hard to explain but it may have been caused by a confusing libretto—the music itself is vibrant and captivating with waltzes, polkas, mazurkas, marches and bel canto arias. Performed in a concert version without dialogue, and in accordance with performing traditions, this production restores the work to the status of one of Strauss’s most melodically seductive works.




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SHACKLETON, E.: South (Unabridged) (NA0401)

On 8 August 1914, five days after the outbreak of World War One, the Endurance, a wooden-hulled, coal-fired icebreaker, set sail for the South Pole, in a bid to complete the first-ever trans-Antarctic expedition, which would cross the continent from the Weddell Sea to Scott’s base at Cape Evans, via the Pole. However, despite the best planning, the ship succumbs to the ice floes of the Weddell Sea, and is subjected to months of uncontrollable drifting before its crew makes a scramble for Elephant Island, where they battle constant cold and starvation. Faced with the most fearsome terrain and extreme conditions, it is up to Ernest Shackleton, commander of the Endurance, to lead his men back to safety and save them from the horrors of the ice.




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HARDY, T.: Two on a Tower (Unabridged) (NA0400)

Deep in the grounds of Welland House lies an ancient memorial tower, surrounded by a prehistoric wilderness that isolates it from the rest of the land. When one day Viviette Constantine, the wife of the estate’s owner, investigates the tower, she there discovers Swithin St Cleeve, a young astronomer who introduces her to the majesty and wonders of the night sky. Instantly drawn to Swithin, and with her husband abroad, Viviette offers him use of the tower and becomes a kind of apprentice to him, and then, eventually, a lover. Guarded by the tower’s safe seclusion, the two star-crossed lovers ‘sweep the heavens’ and create their own private world, away from the judgement of society… Will they keep their secret, and escape the forces set to drive them apart?




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COLLINS, W.: Haunted Hotel (The) (Unabridged) (NA0403)

When Lord Montbarry dies suddenly in his Venice palace, and his courier goes missing, suspicion is instantly thrown on his new wife, the beautiful Countess Narona, who has collected his life insurance and fled to America. Montbarry’s former fiancé Agnes, still harbouring feelings for him, and Henry Westwick, Montbarry’s younger brother, decide to investigate this tragedy and head for the palace, now a hotel. Not long after their arrival they experience strange and unsettling occurrences, and the circumstances of Montbarry’s death begin to unravel…




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BRONTE, C.: Professor (The) (Unabridged) (NA0402)

Unpublished at the time of her death, The Professor is the first novel written by Charlotte Brontë, and the seed of her later books, Jane Eyre and Villette. The narrator of the tale, William Crimsworth, tells a story of courage and ambition among jealousy and envy: orphaned from a young age, William rejects life in the clergy, and then as a tradesman, to the chagrin of his cruel uncles and elder brother. Instead he pursues a career in education and ends up in Brussels, where he meets student/teacher Francis Evans Henri, a half-English Swiss orphan, with whom he falls in love. However, their union is prevented by the jealousy of headmistress Mademoiselle Reuter, who has accidentally fallen in love with William herself…




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ST. TERESA OF AVILA: Interior Castle (The) (Unabridged) (NA0405)

In The Interior Castle, Carmelite nun, mystic and patron saint of Spain Teresa of Ávila uses the metaphor of a giant crystal castle to explain her theory of the soul and the various stages it passes through as it progresses towards God. Beginning in the outer rooms, where demons are fought and vices are purged, the soul must reach the inner chambers, where it will enter betrothal and intimate union with God. Prayer is central to the journey, as the soul is guided by its practice and each phase represents a different category of devotion. Originally written as counsel for the sisters in her convent, The Interior Castle is a poignant and poetic reflection on prayer, humility and self-knowledge, and the path towards a deeper communion with God.




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O'BRIEN, F.: At Swim-Two-Birds (Unabridged) (NA0476)

More preoccupied with drinking, sleeping and writing, an unnamed student neglects his studies and invents three separate openings for a novel. The first introduces the Pooka MacPhellimey, ‘a member of the devil class’, the second involves Mr John Furriskey, a character belonging to another of the student’s creations (writer Dermot Trellis), while the final opening features legendary Irish heroes Finn Mac Cool and Mad King Sweeny. Soon, Trellis’s creations rebel against him, doing as they like while he sleeps, and the characters from each story begin wandering in and out of each other’s tales. Published in 1939, At Swim-Two-Birds is a madcap exploration of Irish literature and mythology, and the unending possibilities of fiction.




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JAMES, H.: Roderick Hudson (Unabridged) (NA0404)

Roderick Hudson and Rowland Mallet are like two sides of the same coin: while the whimsical and egotistical Roderick recklessly follows his passions in the name of art, altruistic Rowland lives with restraint and measure. The two are bound together almost immediately when Rowland is shown a striking bronze statuette in his cousin’s garden, which moves him to meet and support its creator, Roderick. They abandon their provincial New England lives for Rome, where the young sculptor perfects his craft and flourishes among Italy’s great masters, while Rowland lives vicariously through Roderick, patiently hoping that the artist’s fiancée, Mary Garland, might one day share his feelings.




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ZOLA, E.: Masterpiece (The) (Unabridged) (NA0417)

Perhaps the most autobiographical of Zola’s Rougon-Macquart cycle of novels, The Masterpiece is a hard, bleak and raw portrait of unrecognised artistic genius. Claude Lantier, brother to Nana and son of Gervaise, is a struggling painter who dreams of conquering Paris’s art scene with his revolutionary ‘open air’ style of painting. Discouraged and mocked, Claude retreats to the countryside with a young woman from Clermont, with whom he has fallen in love, before returning to Paris, where he continues to experience rejection at every turn. Zola’s depiction of a frustrated artist is said to have drawn heavily on the real-life experiences of Édouard Manet and Paul Cézanne, the latter of whom broke off his friendship with the author upon reading the novel.




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XENOPHON: Persian Expedition (The) (Unabridged) (NA0414)

In The Persian Expedition (also known as The March of the Ten Thousand and Anabasis), Xenophon, a disciple of Socrates, relates his experiences of fighting with the Greek mercenary army ‘The Ten Thousand’ in Persia, and how he led them back to the safety of the Black Sea coast. Seeking to depose his brother Artaxerxes and take his place upon the Persian throne, Cyrus the Younger leads the 10,000 mercenaries on a dangerous campaign deep into the heart of Persia. There Cyrus is killed and his generals overthrown, leaving a young Xenophon to lead the army on its treacherous journey home. Snowy mountains, wide rivers, violent blizzards and hostile tribes obstruct their way, testing Xenophon’s leadership and his soldiers’ perseverance to the extreme.




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SMITH, A.: Wealth of Nations (The) (Unabridged) (NA0407)

It was Adam Smith (1723–1790) who first established economics as a separate branch of knowledge, and many would say his work has never been surpassed. The Wealth of Nations, which appeared in 1776, is the definitive text for all who believe that economic decisions are best left to markets, not governments. At the heart of Smith’s doctrine is an optimistic view of the effects of self-interest. Though each individual seeks only personal gain, the collective result is increased prosperity, which benefits society as a whole.




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MULLEY, C.: Woman Who Saved The Children (The) (Unabridged) (NA0477)

This is an unconventional biography of an unconventional woman. Eglantyne Jebb moved from drawing rooms to war zones, often defying expectation and at times breaking the law. Although not fond of individual children, she founded Save the Children and originated the revolutionary concept of children’s human rights. Clare Mulley brings to life the brilliant, charismatic, passionate and compassionate woman, whose work has saved millions of lives and permanently changed the way the world treats children. Save the Children ambassador Joely Richardson narrates this extraordinary story.




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MUIR, J.: Yosemite (The) (Unabridged) (NA0410)

For two years Scots-born John Muir lived in a small cabin along the Yosemite creek, observing the valley’s natural beauty and reading Emerson under the stars. The experience forged a lifelong affinity with the site, which would result in its establishment as a national park in 1890. Originally written as a guidebook to the park, The Yosemite describes every aspect of wildlife and landscape that one might encounter there. In exuberant and reverent language, Muir presents its scaling peaks, winding rivers and thunderous creeks, and gives observations on nearly every plant, animal, and geological feature. With childlike awe he rides in avalanches, rushes to witness floods, and climbs rocks under waterfalls. The Yosemite is Muir’s ode to nature and the magnificence of the outdoors.




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LENNOX, C.: Female Quixote (The) (Unabridged) (NA0406)

Young, wealthy Arabella is obsessed with French romances: brought up by a reclusive widowed father in an isolated castle, she has educated herself through their pages, and been led to believe that their dramas and absurdities are reality. She blindly adheres to their example and interprets her everyday life through their lens, thinking that life consists of uncontrollable passions and murderous violence, and that any man would die for her. Thus she embarks on a series of hilarious misadventures, insistent on the reality of her imaginary world, like Don Quixote before her.




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LEBLANC, M.: Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar (Unabridged) (NA0411)

The first of Maurice Leblanc’s collections about his devilish, debonair rogue, Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar presents eight dazzling short stories that display some of Lupin’s greatest thefts and escapes. Lupin robs from within prison, leaves its walls with ease, steals priceless diamonds from the rich and outwits the greatest detective of all: Sherlock Holmes. Witty, cunning and taunting, Lupin is a genius on the wrong side of the law, although his noble code of ethics and Robin-Hood-like ways often see him use his talents for good.




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JAMES, H.: Beast in the Jungle (The) (Unabridged) (NA0416)

Bachelor John Marcher is haunted by the premonition that something terrible lies in store for him, like a ‘beast in the jungle’ lying in wait. So he spends his life in idleness, unable to carry out his dreams or desires, while his friend May Bartram, curious to see how this spectacular fate will manifest, helps watch out for the arrival of the beast. The two develop a strong platonic relationship, stoked by this mystery, and gradually the best years of their life roll by, unfulfilled—lost to John’s dread and fear of the unknown. Written soon after The Wings of the Dove, The Beast in the Jungle is a haunting story of crippling obsession and a life unlived.




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FONTANE, T.: Effi Briest (Unabridged) (NA0412)

Often compared to Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina, Theodor Fontane’s Effi Briest tells the poignant story of a passionate and spontaneous young woman who becomes trapped in a dull and restrictive upper-class existence. Married at the tender age of 17 to Geert von Innstetten, an ambitious nobleman and civil servant nearly 20 years her senior, unworldly Effi is whisked away to the quiet town of Kessin, on the Baltic coast of Prussia, where she is left to raise a daughter alone while her husband travels for work. Effi’s loneliness drives her into the arms of Major Crampas, a cunning womaniser who tempts her into adultery and lets her live out her passions. The affair is soon ended, and almost forgotten, until fate and negligence resurrect it, with devastating results.




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COLLINS, W.: Armadale (Unabridged) (NA0409)

Two young men linked by a familial murder mystery, a beautiful yet wicked governess who spins a web of deceit, and five individuals named Allan Armadale: Wilkie Collins’s follow-up to The Woman in White and No Name is an innovative take on mistaken identity, the nature of evil and the dark underbelly of Victorian England. The story concerns two distant cousins, both named Allan Armadale, and the impact of a family tragedy, which makes one of them a target of the murderous Lydia Gwilt, a vicious and malevolent charmer determined to get her hands on the Armadale fortune. Will the real Allan Armadale be revealed, and will he survive the plot against his life?




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DOSTOYEVSKY, F.M.: House of the Dead (The) (Unabridged) (NA0408)

Completed six years after Dostoyevsky’s own term as a convict, The House of the Dead is a semi-autobiographical account of life in a Siberian prison camp, and the physical and mental effects it has on those who are sentenced to inhabit it. Alexandr Petrovitch Goryanchikov, a gentleman of the noble class, has been condemned to ten years of hard labour for murdering his wife. He is little prepared for the cruel conditions and punishing temperatures, and struggles to integrate with the other prisoners, who claw for their sanity. Fettered, hungry and isolated, Alexandr Petrovitch must find faith and hope if he is to make his way out alive, and resurrect himself from the ‘dead house’.




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BURKE, E.: Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful (A) (Unabridged) (NA0413)

In A Philosophical Enquiry… Edmund Burke sets out to define the nature of beauty and sublimity, and establish an objective criterion for discussing aesthetics. His definition of beauty as rooted in pleasure and sexuality, and the sublime in pain and survival, aligned him with the empiricists John Locke and David Hume, as he replaced the metaphysics of Plato’s aesthetics with a psychological and physiological perspective. According to Burke, the sublime and the beautiful are experiences that can be explained by biological and sensual factors; thus he proceeds to explain how smooth lines, sweet tastes and middle frequencies of sound can be considered beautiful, and the terror created by high mountains and dark forests can be sublime. These revolutionary ideas ushered in the age of Romanticism, and the Gothic genre of novels, with their delight in horror and fright, and continue to influence aesthetic theories today.




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WHARTON, E.: Ethan Frome (Unabridged) (NA0421)

Set deep in the remote countryside of Massachusetts, New England, in a world of small-town prejudice, pettiness and rural poverty, the story of Ethan Frome explores the crippling marriage of a young man to an older woman and his love for her vibrant young cousin, Mattie, who lives as a dependent in the Frome household. His feelings lead to a day of explosive emotions with tragic consequences. Published in 1911, two years before Wharton divorced her husband, the novel integrates the raw experiences of the author’s own life to create a powerful tale of the tragic destruction of innocent love, in a stark, compressed and unified form. Over time, the book has gained the reputation of being Edith Wharton’s best work.




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PIZAN, C. de: Book of the City of Ladies (The) (Unabridged) (NA0456)

Shocked and distressed by a male writer’s vilification of women, Christine de Pizan has a powerful dreamlike vision in which she is visited by three personified Virtues: Reason, Rectitude and Justice. They tell her she has been chosen to write a book which will be like a city, housing virtuous women and protecting them from feminist attack. Heroines past and present form the foundations of this city—biblical and mythical heroines, ruling queens, Christian saints, and inventors are among them. Partly myth, partly fact, The Book of the City of Ladies is an extraordinary, pioneering and impassioned defence of women that set out to shatter medieval misogynist clichés, and serve to instil self-worth in its female readers of the time.




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Sounds Interesting. A witty ditty (Jan 03, 2020)

This podcast from the Naxos Sounds Interesting series highlights some humorous lines from the pens of the past masters. The presenter is Richard Kennedy. Listen to the podcast




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In the Studio with Kenneth Fuchs and the United States Coast Guard Band (Jan 18, 2020)

Kenneth Fuchs, the GRAMMY Award-winning American composer, is no stranger to followers of our burgeoning American Classics Series, in which he is represented by six fine releases, including the GRAMMY-winning album with “Spiritualist” piano concerto from last year’s award ceremony. His next recording, a programme of music for wind band, will be available in August 2020. As part of the preparations for that release, Kenneth has been working on a couple of video pre ...more




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Sounds Interesting. A Magnificent Seven (Mar 06, 2020)

This podcast from the Naxos Sounds Interesting series spotlights the contributions of seven composers who made significant, but neglected contributions to the heritage of American symphonic music. The presenter is Richard Kennedy. Listen to the podcast




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From the Naxos Blog: Six Sounds of Shakespeare (Mar 20, 2020)

Source: Hogarth Shakespeare March 21 marks the European Day of Early Music. By way of a slightly contorted response to the occasion, I thought we might take a look at William Shakespeare’s influence on composers, not through the contemporary contributions they made to performances of his plays (he lived from 1564 to 1616), but by taking stock of how The Bard has inspired and permeated the output of generations of composers since his day. ...more




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MARTHALER, C. / ENGEL, T. / VIEBROCK, A.: Universe, Incomplete (after C. Ives) / The Unanswered Ives (Documentary, 2018) (NTSC) (ACC-20434)




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STRAVINSKY, I.: Rake's Progress (The) [Opera] (Equilibrium Young Artists, 2018) / HANNIGAN, Barbara: Taking Risks (Documentary, 2018) (NTSC) (ACC-20420)




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PURCELL, H.: King Arthur [Opera] (Sung in English with German dialogue) (Staatsoper unter den Linden, 2017) (NTSC) (2.110658)




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PURCELL, H.: King Arthur [Opera] (Sung in English with German dialogue) (Staatsoper unter den Linden, 2017) (Blu-ray, HD) (NBD0109V)




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WEBER, C.M. von: Peter Schmoll und seine Nachbarn [Opera] (Edelmann, Grümbel, Revolskaya, Vienna Radio Symphony, Paternostro) (C5376)




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EISLER, H.: Leipzig Symphony / Funeral Pieces / Nuit et brouillard (Leipzig MDR Symphony, Berlin Chamber Symphony, Bruns) (C5368)




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WEIGL, K.: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 6 (Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Bruns) (C5385)