Umberto Jacopo Laureti - The Rise of the Italian Cello - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Within the extensive repertoire of the German composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), music for cello and piano occupies a considerable position in terms of both quantity and quality. Hindemith was primarily a violist and conductor, but his wide-ranging interests led him to experiment with a great variety of instruments both as a composer and a player, making him a de facto multi-instrumentalist. Among his favorite instruments, the cello always occupied a special place in his activities, partly due to his collaboration with his brother Rudolf, an excellent cellist. His original compositions for the specific duo of cello and piano are varied and numerous, offering a synthetic vision of the different stylistic instances of an author who never tired of rethinking and redefining his language. This recording brings together and offers the listener this entire wonderful portion of Hindemith's catalogue. The Drei Stücke Op. 8 (1917) are undoubtedly among the most important pieces of the composer's youthful phase. The later Sonata Op. 11 No. 3, a composition of considerable constructive commitment and complex genesis, is recorded here for the first time in both versions one from 1919 (lost piano parts reconstructed by Fazil Say), the other from 1921. The delicate and expressive Drei leichte Stücke 'Cello in first position', composed in April 1938, are intended for the didactic sphere, without renouncing the peculiarities of the harmonic language of the composer. The same can be said of the brief and melancholic Meditation, a transcription of a movement from Hindemith's orchestral ballet Nobilissima Visione. More complex is A Frog he went a-courting. Despite it's brevity, it is one of the finest pieces on this program. A dozen concise variations, framed by the initial exposition and the concluding return of the traditional English theme, present a wealth of instrumental, timbral

Late Night Conversations (2005) is the debut album by Illinois indie-rock band The Forecast, released on Victory Records. Known for it's emotive, Midwest emo-rock sound, the album features dual vocals from guitarist Dustin Addis and bassist Shannon Burns, blending catchy, guitar-driven melodies with relatable, often romanticized, lyrics.

Reissue of Australian band Twerps' 2009 debut EP, collecting all of it's songs on vinyl for the first time. Twerps started off with a the in their name some time in 2008, playing their first gig at a warehouse party above a drug store in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick East. Their ambitions were humble and their musicianship was rudimentary, but their songs were touching, cheeky, and instantly captivating. At first it was guitarist and vocalist Martin Frawley, guitarist Julia McFarlane, bassist Rick Milovanovic, and drummer Patrick O'Neill. After releasing some lo-fi home recordings on Myspace, the band received an offer from US tag Night People to do a cassette. Guy Blackman and Ben O'Connor from Chapter Music were at their first gig and also asked to something, but after a while Twerps thought they'd changed their mind - turns out the band had forgotten to send the tag their recordings. Recorded by Mikey Young, the nine-song self-titled EP eventually came out on Night People and Chapter in 2009. Chapter's version took the odd form of a four-song 7 accompanied by a nine-song CD. Everyone loved it. From that simple starting point, Twerps have become one of Australia and the world's favorite guitar pop bands, releasing two much-loved albums, Twerps (CH 091CD, 2011) and Range Anxiety (2015). The band has changed over time - they dropped the the, Milovanovic and O'Neill departed and were replaced by Alex Macfarlane and Angus Lord, and McFarlane stepped forward to share songwriting duties with Frawley. It's clear that Twerps captures a special time and a special magic. Out of print physically for years, the 2009 EP is now available on vinyl in it's entirety for the first time, with new photos, liner notes, and a download code, plus a bonus rehearsal version of early classic Little Guys.