The most popular works by Frederick Delius, like Summer Night on the River and On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring are orchestral tone poems with a British tinge, seeming to offer a British counterpart to Debussy's Impressionism. Eine Messe des Lebens ("A Mass of Life") has little that is British about it at all unless it be a general commonality of mood with the vast spectaculars written for England's choral festivals. This work has had its champions, including Sir Thomas Beecham, but it has rarely been performed or recorded. The fact that it is in German is one impediment; the work sets texts from Friedrich Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra. Many readers of the day put a grandiose spin on that work; nowadays, it is seen more as lyrical and poetic. The Richard Strauss tone poem based on Also sprach Zarathustra reflects the former view, and so does the Delius work, although it has some almost static mystical passages. There are influences from English choral music, from Wagner, perhaps from Grieg. The work requires a double chorus and a large orchestra; this live performance from Bergen in 2022, with the Bergen Philharmonic, four soloists, and one Norwegian and one English chorus, must have been a logistical challenge. Eine Messe des Lebens (which is in no sense a mass) is something of a beast, but conductor Mark Elder makes a strong case for it. His handling of the large forces is lucid and moves clearly toward goal points, and he balances the choruses, soloists (the principal being baritone Roderick Williams, in fine form), and orchestra well; perhaps the prize should go to the LAWO Classics engineers who kept all these layers clear in a live concert situation. This recording may or may not rescue Eine Messe des Lebens from obscurity, but those interested in Delius, and for that matter in Nietzsche and his reception, should definitely hear it.© James Manheim /TiVo

John Williams skillfully utilizes the formidable talents of renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and equally beloved violinist Itzhak Perlman to flesh out director Rob Marshall's celluloid rendering of the bestselling novel by Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha. Elegant and predictable, Williams sticks to the source, building grand Western themes off of traditional Japanese melodies with a heady mix of regional instrumentation (shakuhachi and koto) and cinematic know-how. This is the composer at his most refined and nuanced, providing a textbook example of professional composition that revels in its subject matter without ever intruding.© TiVo

Here's a recording that amply demonstrates why Yo-Yo Ma has reached perhaps a wider public than any other serious classical musician. Over the course of his career he has vastly expanded the classical repertory while still staying true to its core. There has been a profound idealism, a high-mindedness, to what he does, combined with an ability to reach ordinary listeners that the greats of the past often mastered, but that is a rare commodity these days. He has rarely recorded short crowd-pleasers and it is typical of his genius that now, when he does so, he does it in an entirely compelling way. The core of the program consists of well-loved classical tunes, including one of the best-loved of all, the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria. But Ma varies the concept in two ways. The first has to do with the explicit program, depicting the "arc of life." The pieces proceed from childhood to youth, adulthood, and finally "beau soir" and death, and the whole thing is nicely explored in the notes in the form of a conversation between Ma and his longtime accompanist Kathryn Stott. They make these rather generic pieces seem like the most personal thing in the world. Then, on top of this, Ma and Stott pick some pieces that aren't common encores at all, such as the "Louange à l'éternité de Jésus," from the Quartet for the end of time. These are exceptionally well chosen to modulate the moods of the arc of life, and by the final group of pieces even the skeptical may well find themselves hypnotized. Throw in superb sound from perhaps the premier American recording venue, Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, and you have an exceptional package that should rightly put Ma and Stott back at the top of the charts.© James Manheim /TiVo

On this LP issued by Columbia, Mingus thanked producer Teo Macero for "his untiring efforts in producing the best album I have ever made." From his deathbed in Mexico in 1979 he sent a message to Sy Johnson (who was responsible for many of the arrangements on the album), saying that Let My Children Hear Music was the record he liked most from his career. Although Mingus' small-group recordings are the ones most often cited as his premier works, this album does, in fact, rank at the top of his oeuvre and compares favorably with the finest large-ensemble jazz recordings by anyone, including Ellington. The pieces had been brewing over the years, one from as far back as 1939, and had been given more or less threadbare performances on occasion, but this was his first chance to record them with a sizable, well-rehearsed orchestra. Still, there were difficulties, both in the recording and afterward. The exact personnel is sketchy, largely due to contractual issues, several arrangers were imported to paste things together, making the true authorship of some passages questionable, and Macero (as he did with various Miles Davis projects) edited freely and sometimes noticeably. The listener will happily put aside all quibbles, however, when the music is heard. From the opening, irresistible swing of "The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jiveass Slippers" to the swirling depths of "The I of Hurricane Sue," these songs are some of the most glorious, imaginative, and full of life ever recorded. Each piece has its own strengths, but special mention should be made of two. "Adagio Ma Non Troppo" is based entirely on a piano improvisation played by Mingus in 1964 and issued on Mingus Plays Piano. Its logical structure, playful nature, and crystalline moments of beauty would be astounding in a polished composition; the fact that it was originally improvised is almost unbelievable. "Hobo Ho," a holy roller powerhouse featuring the impassioned tenor of James Moody, reaches an incredible fever pitch, the backing horns volleying riff after riff at the soloists, the entire composition teetering right on the edge of total chaos. Let My Children Hear Music is a towering achievement and a must for any serious jazz fan.© Brian Olewnick /TiVo

By 1988, alternative/college rock was becoming a recognizable force in the mainstream. Several bands were big enough to play arenas, and many even earned gold and platinum albums. The tide was clearly changing for such previously misunderstood bands such as Fishbone. Their second full-length release Truth and Soul was issued that year, and remains one of the band's (and the '80s) very best. On past albums, Fishbone's sound was a melting pot of ska, punk, and funk. This time, hard rock has been added to the mix -- especially evident in guitarist Kendall Jones' six-string work, with often-spectacular results. Also, the songwriting has improved tremendously and has become much more focused here. The party anthem "Bonin' in the Boneyard" is one of the band's finest (with superhuman bass work by Norwood Fisher), as is the ska-based "Ma and Pa," and a cover of Curtis Mayfield's early-'70s hit "Freddie's Dead." Also featured are several musically varied tracks that deal with the same topic: racism, past and present ("Deep Inside," "One Day," "Subliminal Fascism," "Slow Bus Movin'," "Ghetto Soundwave"). Truth and Soul remains Fishbone's most consistent album.© Greg Prato /TiVo

K-pop septet BTS' double-disc The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever collects the songs from both 2015 EPs -- The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pts. 1 and 2 -- adding three new songs ("Fire," "Save Me," and "Young Forever"), as well as a handful of remixes for "I Need U," "Run," and "Butterfly." With this collection, BTS became the second K-pop act to secure two consecutive albums in the Billboard 200. They also charted at number two on the U.S. World Albums chart, as well number ten on the Top Heatseekers chart, and claimed the top three slots on the World Digital Songs chart with their new singles.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

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Further establishing his credentials as one of Europe's most well-respected urban artists, former Lunatic MC Booba's sixth studio album, named after the hip-hop duo he formed with Ali, boasts an impressive, star-studded array of guest artists. Recorded in his adopted hometown of Miami, the French-Senegalese rapper's follow-up to 0.9 includes collaborations with Diddy ("Caesar Palace"), Akon (the title track), and T-Pain ("Reel"), alongside songs featuring lesser-known home-grown acts like Dosseh ("45 Scientific") and 92i ("Si Tu Savais").© Jon O'Brien /TiVo

With the release of their chart-topping album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2, Bangtan Boys ride the wave of a massively successful year, coasting toward the end of 2015 with two big releases and a sold-out international tour. On this second installment of their 2015 two-part opus, the BTS boys combine typical K-pop dance jams and ballads with aggressive rapping and honest lyrics. "Run" shimmers as a fine piece of driving dance-pop, while the rough-and-tumble "Silver Spoon" brings the bass for fans of rap and hip-hop. Sly hints of Justin Bieber, Jack Ü, Drake, and the Weeknd make this a timely amalgamation of some of the biggest sounds of the year.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

Higher Than High expands on the spacy vibes first exhibited on Down to Earth, expanded on via Cosmic Truth, and maximized on this, their exit album from the Gordy/Motown family of labels. Members, Joe Harris, Calvin Stevens, Tyrone Berkeley, Tyrone Douglas, and Virginia McDonald bend your mind on a set that's comparable to critically acclaimed Funkadelic albums of the same period. "Life Ain't So Easy," asung by Joe and Virginia, is a haunting ballad about the perils of big city life; "Poontang" probably shocked Berry Gordy Jr. out of his mansion -- the risqué chorus goes "I used to hate it, til I ate it." "Help Yourself" is the best rocker on the set; this version is different from an earlier version they recorded. And I can't imagine what type of dance you would do to "Boogie Bump Boogie," a psychedelic groover performed at laser speed. "I Saw You When You Met Her" is an eerie ballad about a woman who caught her man cheating; nice, but I like David Ruffin's version off the Me & Rock n Roll are Here to Stay album better. "I'm In the Red Zone" compares sexual frustration to a jonesing junkie. A nice parting shot for the group and Norman Whitfield.© Andrew Hamilton /TiVo

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