Yes, I'm one of those old-fashioned guys who still buys CD's...
The ABC have just released "Into Silence" by Australian pianist Tamara-Anne Cislowska and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, an album of piano & orchestra works by four Baltic composers born "behind the Iron Curtain" either during or just after WWII - including Henryk Gorecki (if you haven't heard his "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs", go to YouTube RIGHT NOW!!!) and Arvo Part (his "Spiegel Im Spiegel" is the most well-known piece on this album).
A very different and very beautiful album of classical piano...
You don't have to know me for long to know that Beethoven is my most admired classical composer. Straddling the Classical & Romantic eras of Western music (and art, and philosophy, and architecture, etc), more than any other his command of musical language and ability (and preparedness!) to innovate paved the way for a whole new style of music.
I'm currently (re)-discovering the Piano Concerti, and as always am amazed at the beauty. Try the slow movement of the 1st Concerto for some late night relaxation...
A quote from Leonard Bernstein, in one of his last interviews before he died:
"Though I can’t prove it, deep in my heart I know that every person is born with the love of learning. Without exception. Every infant studies its toes and fingers, and a child’s discovery of his or her voice must be one of the most extraordinary of life’s moments… Imagine an infant lying in its cradle, discovering its voice, purring and murmuring MMM to itself."
