Masha Dimitrieva - Piano Works - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

?Following her acclaimed début recital, Marina Staneva returns with a programme of works by the Spanish-Catalan composer Federico Mompou. The programme opens with Paisajes (Landscapes), written in 1942, 1947, and 1960. The first two pieces are dedicated to the Catalan pianist Carmen Bravo, whom Mompou met after his return from Paris to Barcelona in 1942, and subsequently married. Mompou's Variations on a Theme of Chopin were started in 1938, but completed in 1957 upon a commission from the Royal Ballet in London for a successor to The House of Birds (a 1955 ballet which used piano pieces by Mompou orchestrated by John Lanchbery). The Chopin ballet was never produced, but the piano variations remain. The twelve Cançons i danses (Songs and Dances) were composed between 1921 and 1962, and the form for each is broadly similar a slow 'cançó' (song) followed by a more animated 'dansa' (dance), but the pattern sometimes varies, and these pieces are anything but formulaic. Mompou intended to provide 'a contrast between lyricism and rhythm, to avoid one collection of songs and another of dances'.

Shooting At The Sun is the seventh studio album from British hard rock band Thunder. This expanded re-issue edition contains previously unreleased, bonus live versions of hits from the album and is back on limited edition purple and orange double vinyl for the first time in over 30 years. It was their first album having briefly disbanded two years earlier and was described as being 'arguably their best, most eclectic set of songs since 1992's triumph Laughing on Judgement Day' It features the key tracks 'Loser' and 'Blown Away'.

Andy Statman further explores the subterranean caverns of American roots music on 'Monroe Bus', tapping deeper into the sources that have energized his playing for nearly 50 years. The 2013 NEA National Heritage Fellow and Grammy nominee has become a near-legendary figure in modern bluegrass and string music. From the sublime to the surreal, his ever-changing repertoire is a challenge and a delight to his audience and to fellow musicians. Monroe Bus was originally conceived to be a collection of interpretations and improvisations on the instrumentals of Bill Monroe. Statman says 'Bill's music had a tremendous influence on me when I started out as a mandolin player, and has continued to do so ever since... As the project progressed, I found myself writing my own tunes, inspired by some of Monroe's musical ideas. Some melodies more closely reflect the master's influence; others go to other places, but still bear that influence. During the mixing, it once again became clear to me how the music one plays and writes is a reflection of the life a person livesInch.For Andy, Bill Monroe's music was an ongoing conscious synthesis of the music he heard and his life experience. These tunes were written and played in the same spirit, reflecting his experiences and those of his fellow musicians on these sessions. He brought back Grammy nominated fiddler Michael Cleveland, who contributed mightily to his last CD, Superstring Theory, along with veteran trio members Jim Whitney (bass) and Larry Eagle (drums). Completing the core group, and also significantly expanding the aural palette of the ensemble, is Glenn Patscha (keyboards), who was a member of the New York Americana group Ollabelle and who most recently toured the country in Ry Cooder's band. Michael Daves (acoustic guitar) rounds out the group on three of the tracks.