Walter Gropius is regarded as a revolutionary visionary who founded the Bauhaus style in the 1920s. His work is characterised by clarity and boldness. In common with the musicians of the Gropius Quartett, Weimar and Berlin were to become the centres of his creative work. Following Gropius' example, and influenced by personal encounters with Yehudi Menuhin and Mstislav Rostropovich, the Gropius Quartett has set itself the goal of crystallising the clear structure of the composition and bringing it to life through their own passionate playing style. The members of the Gropius Quartett have known one another since studying together at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad and at the Juilliard School in New York.

The original semantic value of re-ligio, therefore considered as a restoration of contacts, as a meeting point of distant but related cultures. Referring to the genesis of the work, the composer herself states: Reading these works has significant inner similarities: contemplation and sophistication.

An Ostdeutsche Rundschau report, dated the 19th of January, 1901, stated: "A new work by local composer Mathilde v. Kralik received great and, as we are pleased to note, well-deserved applause at its first performance. Miss Kralik has worked diligently and with great success on her artistic perfection since her last appearance. In this new work, the highly talented composer, a pupil of Bruckner and Krenn no less, demonstrates complete formal confidence and thorough familiarity with both technique relating to the individual instruments and their use and the skill of blending them in order to achieve attractive and characteristic sound effects. We were particularly pleased with the clear structure, the beautiful, elegant lines in the main voicing, as well as the straightforward, dignified counterpoint and the graceful, fresh melody, the latter of which is the expression of a fine musical sensibility.”

The Dead Daisies released their first single “Light ‘Em Up” from their upcoming album in May. “Light ‘Em Up” sets also the tone for their new album of the same name and their 2024 World Tour which will take them across the US, UK and Europe. Recorded in Nashville with Producer Marti Frederiksen, “Light ‘Em Up” is the band’s first new single since 2022 and the first with singer John Corabi since 2018. The album is in-your-face rock, packed with huge hooks, Doug’s giant intense guitar riffs and John’s distinctive vocals that will leave no audience in their seats when played live.

Mao Fujita’s new recording Crosses Continents and Eras with ‘72 Preludes’. Following his ‘consistently impressive’ (Gramophone) traversal of Mozart’s complete Piano Sonatas for Sony Classical - winner of an Opus Klassik Award - Japanese pianist Mao Fujita presents a similarly ambitious project: matching sets of 24 Preludes by three composers, Frédéric Chopin, Alexander Scriabin and Akio Yashiro. In so doing, Fujita unites the Europe in which he now lives with the Japan where he was born and raised.

Vilma Webenau was, as far as we know, far from wealthy during most of her lifetime, and was hardly known, even in musical circles. That said, her image has in recent years been fleshed out a little more, not least due to the enormous interest in her most famous teacher: the hitherto most comprehensive account of her career was published in 2019 as part of a study by Elisabeth Kappel on the topic of "Arnold Schoenberg's female pupils". Some of the details were already in the public domain, and many gaps in the narrative still remain. All the same, we now have a relatively conclusive picture of a woman whose life and work can in no way be defined as the norm for an average citizen.

“Fantasy is about free play and experimentation. For this album, I have chosen pieces that explore the musical imagination. The record includes a harmonically rich fantasy by Johann Sebastian Bach, followed by a three-part fugue. Franz Schubert's work comprises four movements but forms a cohesive whole, while Robert Schumann drew inspiration from a poem by Friedrich Schlegel. The album concludes with a masterpiece by Fryderyk Chopin. Despite a gloomy beginning, this composition builds towards a powerful climax through beautiful melodies.”

A requiem mass for drums, electronics and choir, 'The Undreamt-of Centre' is Laurence Pike's most ambitious solo album to date, pulling from Ligeti, Jon Hassell and Midori Takada in equal measure.

As reported on SDE back in April, The Cardigans will release a B-sides/rarities compilation – in two volumes – called The Rest of the Best. These covers some of the bands recordings released as B-sides on singles, soundtracks and as bonus tracks on Japanese, French and UK versions of their albums between 1994 – 2006.

Pat Thomas returns to OTOROKU for his fourth collection of solo piano improvisations, this time recorded in a studio setting at London’s Fish Factory.

No Baggage is the second and final solo studio album by Dolores O'Riordan. It was released on 21 August 2009 in Ireland, most of the world on 24 August 2009 and on 25 August 2009 in North America. The first single, "The Journey" was released to radio on 13 July in North America and on 10 August in Europe.

Eva Cassidy's Walkin' After Midnight' collection is literally a ticket back to Eva's accidental Western Swing Night. A small gig at the King of France Tavern, downtown Annapolis. The 2nd of November, 1995, two months prior to her now famous 'Live at Blues Alley' recordings. When two of Eva' s usual four band mates were unavailable, she improvised via an impromptu invite to musician friend Bruno Nasta.

Aboriginal Australian blues, country, and gospel by the great Kankawa Nagarra, Queen of the Bandaral Ngadu Delta.
These intimate recordings introduce the world outside Australia to Kankawa Nagarra, a beloved Walmatjarri Elder, teacher, human rights advocate, and environmental activist.

This recording presents the entire output to date for guitar of Toshio Hosokawa, one of Japan's most prolific composers for the instrument. His affinity for the guitar stems from his familiarity with popular songs accompanied by the guitar and from his knowledge of the koto, a traditional Japanese instrument from which he has adopted certain playing techniques.

Through the songs or ‘chansons’, we are given the chance to be transported back to a point when the word, note, instrument and performer collided to document impressions of a world lived long ago and yet with which we share so much. As songs that had a vibrant life beyond the words, we are afforded an entrance into the evergreen world of instrumental music of the Renaissance, into music that filled the taverns and dwellings of Paris and beyond. This is why these works maintain such relevance for us today.