There’s a cover version I’ve been loving recently, but from none of the usual sources. BBC4 have been running a series of documentaries, cookery programmes, dramas etc all of which attempt to “get inside the Medieval mind.” Most of them have been excellent, but it’s the idents created to advertise it that I’ve been loving. [...]

Photo: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Whether you agree with it or not, the New York Philharmonic will be undertaking one of the most important cultural exchanges between the United States and North Korea in more than 50 years tomorrow when they take the stage at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre. Among others, eMusic writer [...]

I’ve been in love with minimalistic classical music since I can remember. Droning, hypnotic, repetitive, ambient? Sign me up. We got one of the genre’s key titles today, Gavin Bryars‘ “The Sinking of the Titanic,” but with a twist.

A quick note to point out the start of our Year-End user poll — 30 - 21 in the US is here, and that same batch in the UK is here. And I’d love to see the “should win/will win” picks on this one.
As for interviews: today we have one with Simone Dinnerstein, whose recording [...]

The Everly Brothers, Nellie McKay, John Fahey and others pace an incredibly strong selection of Thursday new arrivals.

So much to talk about. Let’s do this:

Yancey and I talked this morning about all the great new records on the site today and I even mentioned to him not to overlook the new Picastro. So what does he go and do in his massive, epic, awesome new arrivals post? He forgets the new Picastro.

With the sorrowful departure of Luciano Pavarotti, it’s unfortunate that for many people, the ever lasting image of the legendary tenor will be of a bloated singer waving the white hankie whilst singing a duet with Josh Groban. This video will help: an excerpt (Ingemisco) from a 1967 recording of Verdi’s Requiem. Pavarotti is [...]

A blog called Soho the Dog has an excellent post on the state of classical music that is today’s mustest read. Head on over here to check it out. (And thanks to the Morning News for linking to it.)

The blog has been way too new arrivals heavy as of late, so here’s a longer view of what I’ve been loving. Five today, five tomorrow.

A handful of decent records for your perusal.

The other day I was talking with a classical music fan and I asked if he downloaded music. No, classical music, with its vast dynamic range, didn’t go well with walking down noisy city streets or riding the subway. He preferred to listen to music at home, and didn’t have an MP3 player hooked up [...]

A light Tuesday, but a big release for classical fans in the form of Joan Tower’s Made in America.

Seems like it’s been a while since we’ve had a new arrival worth raving about, but a new album from Colleen and a stellar rockabilly collection from Eddie Bond have put us back on track.

As one of a handful of classical focused people here at eMusic, I’m constantly amazed at the breadth and depth of our the catalogue (and it will only get better in the coming months). We’re working hard behind the curtains to improve the meta and the search & browse (that too, will only get [...]

How do you put a new spin on opera without making a lame, transparent attempt at being “contemporary”? The answer came with one of the year’s most highly anticipated events in the classical world: the much-ballyhooed Tristan Project, an innovative presentation of Wagner’s epic opera Tristan and Isolde at Avery Fisher Hall in [...]

The craziest wedding album I have ever heard, a hotly anticipated disco record and some recommended odds and ends.

 
Renowned cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich passed away today, at the age of 80. The New York Times has a thorough obituary, remembering him as an “outspoken champion of artistic freedom in Russia”, and as one of the finest cellist and musicians of this century. Slava’s (his nickname) catalog on eMusic is limited, but represents [...]

New ones from Holly Golightly and Field Music pace today’s additions.

I like all kinds of music: bebop, gamelan, Tropicalia, minimalism, honky-tonk, to name but a few, but as with a lot of people, opera has always eluded me. There’s just a language to opera, a set of signs and signals, that I’ve never been trained to decipher. Rock music has its own signs [...]