American new-music sextet eighth blackbird, which won Grammy Awards for each of its last three Cedille Records albums, continues to connect with genre-spanning, cutting-edge composers on FILAMENT, a CD of world-premiere recordings of works by Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, and Son Lux, plus a Philip Glass classic. The ensemble’s album, FILAMENT, was produced by Dessner, a Brooklyn-based composer, guitarist, and member of the Grammy-nominated, Billboard-charting indie rock band The National. Premieres include Dessner’s Murder Ballades and Muhly’s Doublespeak, both written for eighth blackbird, and Son Lux’s To Love and This is my Line, a remix created from the album’s other tracks. Dessner, on guitar, and Muhly, on organ, join eighth blackbird for a live-in-concert recording of Glass’s mesmerizing Two Pages at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The album’s title, FILAMENT, is a metaphor for the fiber of friendship, collaboration, and mutual influence connecting the composers and performers on the album.

The hook for this terrific recording of three of Steve Reich's most attractive works is the use of alternate versions of the several pieces that differ from the original recordings on Nonesuch. This recording has Reich's imprimatur; he enthusiastically recommends the performances in a program note. The most radical departure from the original version is Piano Counterpoint, Vincent Corver's arrangement of Six Pianos for a single live pianist with the other five parts prerecorded. This allows the piece to fit nicely into Reich's "Counterpoint" series, which includes Vermont Counterpoint for flutes and New York Counterpoint for clarinets. Corver also speeds up the tempo so the piece has an even more propulsive aural energy, although in live performance it's hard to beat the visceral excitement of six pianists on-stage. The London Steve Reich Ensemble version of the Triple Quartet, unlike the Kronos Quartet's premiere recording, uses three live quartets, and is one of three performance options that Reich specified in the score, the third being an orchestral version with 36 players. This is the first commercial recording of this version.

Titled ARTEMIS after the Greek goddess of the moon, violin superstar Lindsey Stirling's 5th studio album takes listeners on a journey of tragedy and triumph. Each song on the album sonically represents the upward struggle that Artemis, the hero of our journey, takes to find the light within to find the upside of down. Stirling is the winner of the 2017 Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Album, earned the #1 Dance/Electronic album of 2016 and 2 certified gold albums. The global sensation has 11.6 million YouTube subscribers and has been featured on Live with Ryan & Kelly, The View, Jimmy Kimmel and more. This Target exclusive features two bonus tracks "Torch" and "Embers."

Following the theatrical release of all three films, Howard Shore reworked the film scores of the trilogy into The Lord of the Rings Symphony, a more structured six-movement work for orchestra and choir. This has been performed in various concert halls around the world, accompanied by a light and visual art show by Alan Lee and John Howe. On September 13, 2011, Shore released "The Lord of the Rings Symphony" on CD and MP3 format. The double-album was recorded in Lucerne, Switzerland and performed by the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus under the direction of Ludwig Wicki.

Two world premiere recordings of works by the brilliant Nico Muhlyare at the heart of this new album by Omega Ensemble, an album that explores the American modern tradition through four remarkable by works by Muhly and the great Philip Glass.

Violinist Jennifer Koh’s Limitless, based on her groundbreaking recital project of the same name, bridges the modern divide between composer and instrumentalist, celebrates artistic collaboration, and revives the grand tradition of composers performing their own music. The album features world-premiere recordings of Koh-commissioned duets by a diverse roster of highly accomplished contemporary composers, which she performs with the composers themselves.

Sleeping Through The Endtimes is the 2006 album by Joshua Geissler, who works under the mononym Worrytrain. This was released as a CD-R on the skean dhu label.

Rihm wrote four movements entitled Verwandlung in the first decade of the new millennium. Each one begins differently; No. 1 out of a single tone, No. 2 from pastoral thirds in the violin, No. 3 from a “coup d’archet”, an orchestral trap effect, No. 4 out of brusque orchestral buffets. All carry along an abundance of musical reminiscences and the voice of Mahler is the one heard most distinctly.

Allar Kaasik has enjoyed a long and fruitful career, in his native Estonia as well as abroad. Reflecting on it in the liner notes to this very personal disc, he singles out one particular aspect: the ambition to embrace the very latest compositions by Estonian composers. Performing in churches as he often does, Kaasik finds music resounding in a church a part of the Holy Service. This is reflected in many of the works which have been written for him, with composers such as Galina Grigorjeva and Kuldar Sink enriching the tradition of Estonian church music. Among Allar Kaasik’s many partners in performing these works, several appear on the present disc, including two eminent choirs – the State Choir Latvija and Estonian National Male Choir – as well as the Latvian organist Kristīne Adamaite. A focal point of the programme is the cello concerto Pro et contra by the most celebrated of all Estonian composers, Arvo Pärt. Kaasik is supported by the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peeter Lilje and the recording has a particular significance – originally released by Melodiya in 1989, it was the first recording of Pärt’s music published on disc in the Soviet Union following the lifting of the unofficial ban on his music. The remaining works on Timeless Light were all recorded between 2014 and 2016.

Live Tracks - Improvisations with Organ and Electronics. Jacob Lekkerkerker is one of the most innovative organists of his generation, performing internationally, organist and director of music at Oude Kerk Amsterdam. Composer, improviser and organist Jacob Lekkerkerker is a renowned pioneer, creating new musical experiences with organ, live electronics and in collaboration with musicians and artists. He explores the relationships between monumental architecture, the spatial sonority of organs and PA-systems, and musical behavior.

The new release from Italy's excellent electroacoustic experimental band Ossatura led by Elio Martusciello takes the band into new territory, detailed and more luminous, more acoustic, with vibes and clarinet (Michael Thieke) and even a lovely song surprising long-time fans.

Universal Music pays tribute to the composer with this keenly priced 4 CD set. Most of the recordings found here are making a comeback to the catalogue, some are first time onto CD. Ten years after his death, the innovativeness of his music has lost none of its force and clearly marks him out as an essential composer of our time. “this is an extraordinary collection of pieces; several of which are among the most ear-stretchingly dissonant, exciting and uncompromising you’ll ever hear…And however hard it is to pin down exactly why, Xenakis’s wildest outbursts always sound controlled, cunningly organised…None of this music is easy listening, but it’s impossible not to be impressed by such craggy, exhilarating physicality.”

Aaron Martin’s album "A Room Now Empty" sees him returning to the memory-based recordings of previous albums such as "Almond", "River Water" and "Chautauqua", where layered meanings in the music and titles don’t allow a single clear-cut reading of the music.

ensitivity and sadness are often known to link hands, but it’s usually not done out of love, less a public display of affection and more like a necessary, binding union. Sensitivity doesn’t always equal an automatic brand of sadness, but on Patterns (Repeat), where David Wenngren’s piano shines upon a lake of black silk, illuminated by nothing more than the pale light of the moon, the two not only clasp hands, but are married.

Sometimes, if you want to live the dream, you need to let the dream come to you. Just ask composer Rob Simonsen, who began playing the piano at a young age, picking out melodies he heard in his parents’ record collection, before he began composing for himself. “I daydreamed a lot when I was young,” he remembers. “I’d sit at the piano, and it was very much about escape: letting my mind wander, exploring.”