A concept album exploring themes of broadcast communications, Radio-Activity marked Kraftwerk's return to more obtuse territory, extensively utilizing static, oscillators, and even Cage-like moments of silence to approximate the sense of radio transmission; a pivotal record in the group's continuing development, the title track – the first they ever recorded in English – is their most fully realized electro-pop effort to date, while "The Voice of Energy" precipitates the robot voice so crucial to their subsequent work.

Performing on early 19th-century pianos from the Frederick Historic Piano Collection, competition prizewinners Dmitry Rachmanov, a Juilliard graduate, and Cullan Bryant, a graduate of Manhattan School of Music, explore the interrelationships between the keyboard music of Beethoven and his principal teachers in this fascinating double-album of rarities for piano four-hands, culminating in a revelatory account of the Great Fugue in Beethoven’s own keyboard arrangement. The distinctive sonorities of these highly esteemed period instruments transport the listener back to the time when Beethoven, his teachers or his own pupils, may have performed this music themselves for the first time.

Leben is the third studio album by German electronic musician, composer and producer Christopher von Deylen under his Schiller alias. It features collaborations with renowned vocalists such as Sarah Brightman, Maya Saban, Peter Heppner and Kim Sanders.

Minimalist, rhythmic electronic band whose Motorik style became a major influence on artists ranging from David Bowie to Sonic Youth to Stereolab. Collection includes: Neu! (1972); Neu! 2 (1973); Neu! '75 (1975); Neu! '86 (2010).

Emotional was released in the U.S. the same year as his breakthrough album, Falco 3, which included the hit "Rock Me Amadeus." It is hard not to consider that this album (on Sire, not A&M, the home of his hit record) was rushed to market to capitalize on his one-hit wonder status. Standout tracks include the title track, "Crime Time," "The Kiss of Kathleen Turner," and a follow-up to the banned song "Jeanny" called "Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later." "Cowboyz and Indianz'" contains some interesting Star Wars allusions. Not essential by any means, even for somewhat serious fans. However, a surprisingly solid new wave album that is quirky and fun. A great used-record find.

Front by Front is an album by Front 242, released in 1988, and has been labelled as "easily one of the greatest industrial albums ever made". Japanese edition includes five bonus tracks.

Continuing to work with Conny Plank, who once again provides a compelling job as producer and engineer, Kraftwerk went right ahead and named their new album after their two remaining members – an understandable enough move. Like the first two albums, Ralf and Florian still has not seen official re-release, for all that one can practically taste Kraftwerk's leap into the beyond on it. Given that this was the last album before the most famous lineup was formed and Autobahn was released, it's appropriate to listen to Ralf and Florian as a harbinger for the future, though perhaps all too easy. Take it on its own terms – a further investigation of electronic possibilities in a more open-ended, less constantly structured fashion than would be the case later – and Ralf and Florian becomes most enjoyable.

The great recordings of the "Nordic choral marvel": Swedish choral conductor Eric Ericson was one of the true legends in his field. When he died in 2013 at the age of 94, he had spent decades working to place his two Stockholm choirs among the international musical elite. His recordings from the 1970's enjoy real cult status – unique interpretations of a cappella works from the Renaissance to the 20th century, from Gesualdo to Penderecki, released here for the first time in a single box.

Antonio Rosetti, who was almost always mentioned in the same breath as Mozart and Haydn by his contemporaries, composed over 40 symphonies, about six dozen solo concertos and chamber music and a considerable number of sacred vocal works. Ranked amongst his greatest achievements in the latter genre are the large-scale passion oratorio "Jesus in Gethsemane" and the "Hallelujah" cantata. Both show the virtuoso mastery of a whole array of musical techniques. Thanks to their melodic ingenuity, sophisticated harmony, a distinctive sense of proportion and the, as always, accomplished manipulation of orchestral tones, both of these late works are counted among Rosetti's most meaningful creations. There is no better conductor for this disc of Rosseti masterpieces than Johannes Moesus who is president of the International Rosetti Society.

This fabulous recording featuring Matthew Best and the Corydon Singers was first released in 1989 at a time when they were recording the standard repertoire for small choirs for Hyperion, and this disc of Brahms' motets and shorter sacred choral pieces was, and is, one of their finest. From the smooth and lovely Ave Maria for women's choir and organ through their hard and harsh "Warum is das Licht gegeben?" to their craggy yet consoling "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein," Best and his choir deliver technically impeccable and deeply moving performances. The Corydon Singers tend toward a big, lush, and slightly fruity sound, as is common with English choirs. But one cannot fault their diction, articulation, pronunciation or their tone, blend, and balance. Best's interpretations are soulful but not sentimental and expressive but not excessive. Recorded in full-bodied digital sound, these performances will likely please fans of Brahms' sacred choral music.

Falco 3 was the artist's biggest hit album in the United States because of the radio and video success of the song "Rock Me Amadeus." The track "Vienna Calling" is a forgotten minor hit, as it charted in the Top 20. Originally released in 1986, Falco 3 was out of print for years, until its reissue in 1996. "Jeanny" is also of note, as it was ridiculously banned from radio play for its theme of prostitution. A classic, synth pop piece of 1980s guilty pleasure. Six of these tracks appear on Falco's Greatest Hits disc, which is the definitive collection of the Austrian's new wave dance pop. Falco 3 is his best and most popular album.

Although his name might not rate very highly on the recognition meter even of classical music buffs, Franz Tunder was a consequential entity in the early history of the German Baroque. Tunder served as organist at the Marienkirche in Lübeck from 1641 to his death in 1667, and during that time instituted the Abendmusiken, the first series of public concerts to take place in Germany. Seventeen vocal "concertos" exist from Tunder's pen and they were created for these special events; little more than half of them appear on this generous and well-performed CPO disc, Franz Tunder: Concerti. Conductor Hermann Max leads Das Kleine Konzert and the singing group Rheinische Kantorei in 10 concerti, which uses a variety of singers in frontline combinations. Tunder must have had some good basses in his chorus, as they have most of the hardest music in the Concerti, and five of these ten works are sung by bass or basses alone. Both men used here, Ekkehard Abele and Yoshitaka Ogasawara, do an excellent job. The string parts are crisp and do not dawdle, and Max never allows the music to get too grandiose, wisely keeping it within the boundaries of the chamber idiom to which it belongs. The music is never ornately busy and has a relaxed, soothing effect.

The discography of Strauss’s last opera is not exactly crowded, but the two existing accounts provide formidable competition for any newcomer. First there was Sawallisch, conducting the Philharmonia for EMI in 1957 (unfortunately in mono) and a cast led by Schwarzkopf, Ludwig and Fischer-Dieskau. Then, in 1971, came that other supreme Straussian, Karl Böhm, with Janowitz, Troyanos and (again) Fischer-Dieskau, recorded in Munich for DG. The new Decca set brings together many of today’s leading exponents of Strauss’s roles, dominated, for me, by the unsurpassed Clairon of Brigitte Fassbaender, now alas, never to be heard on stage again following her retirement. Heilmann and Bär make an ardent pair of rival suitors, Hagegård an admirable Count and Halem a sonorous, characterful La Roche. (There is a delightful link with the past history of the opera in the person of Hans Hotter: he sang Olivier in the 1942 premiere, La Roche in the 1957 Sawallisch set, and here, at 84 when recorded in December 1993, a one-line cameo as a servant.) For many, though, the set’s desirability will rest on Te Kanawa’s Countess.

On this BR-KLASSIK recording of sacred music by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (b. 1935), the regularly award-winning Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, conducted by Peter Dijkstra, is joined by the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, a frequent occurrence in their concert series that regularly include sacred music from the 19th through the 21st c. The present three compositions were written in 1984 and 1990 in the composer's own tintinnabulation style of composition (from the Latin word for the 'ringing of bells'). In his Te Deum, Pärt makes a conscious departure from the traditionally powerful and festive sound of such precursors as Charpentier, Bruckner and Verdi. The restraint of the Wallfahrtslied (Pilgrims' Song), a setting of Psalm 121, evokes the ancient Judeo-Christian tradition of psalm recitation. The Berliner Messe (Berlin Mass) is so named because it was first performed in the city's St. Hedwig's Cathedral (1990) to mark the German Katholikentag (Catholics Day).

In this concert/motion picture starring the New Romantic Pop stars, Doctor Duran (actor Milo O'Shea) the evil character in the cult film 'Barbarella' returns to earth, crash landing his time machine directly underneath a giant stadium in Oakland, California. He is bent upon doing battle with the five imposters above him (the band) who have stolen his name. The evil doctor sends out his henchmen to destroy them as they perform to a packed stadium. Duran Duran continues to perform throughout, as much chaos ensues around them. Duran Duran are captured at their musical best in Arena by award winning director, Russell Mulcahy, who was to hone his skills working on music promos through the 80's. Also includes the Making Of Arena documentary which opens the lid on the creative processes involved with making Arena.