Tracks: 1. Ancient melody from teh Zhongnan Mountain 2. Sound from afar 3. Memory of Yun-nan, 1st movement 4. Moon over the jade mansion 5. The tyrant took off his armour 6. Overlooking the Qin River 7. Yingzhou ancient tunes 8. Memory of Yun-nan, 2nd movement

Michael Daugherty is one of a talented and eclectic group of American composers who have successfully worked in both rock and classical music styles. His compositions celebrate American popular culture—his latest opera, Jackie O, is based on the life of you know who. His largest and most ambitious work to date is this suite of pieces based on characters and events from the Superman comic strip. Rumor has it that the original title was supposed to be "Superman" Symphony, but DC Comics wouldn't give permission to use the name. In any case, the music is jazzy, snazzy, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to ... you get the picture. —David Hurwitz

Michael Hedges hardly needed to prove that he was an astonishing performer in person as well as in the studio, but Live on the Double Planet does the job nonetheless. Hedges features a number of songs from his brilliant Breakfast in the Fields release, including that album's title track and the acrobatic "Silent Anticipation." He throws a few vocal numbers into the mix as well, including standard-issue covers like Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," the Beatles' "Come Together," and one from far out in left field, Sheila E's (courtesy of Prince) "A Love Bizarre." The album shows off Hedges's sense of humor as well, as he interpolates a vocal riff from the Rolling Stones' "Miss You" into "The Funky Avocado." —Daniel Durchholz

The incomparable Michael Nyman (The Piano) pillages his own back catalog by adapting his String Quartet No. 3 as the theme for this acclaimed tale of English boho painter Dora Carrington. Anyone torn to emotional shreds by Christopher Hampton's film and Emma Thompson's performance will find solace in its unspeakably beautiful and desperately sad music. —Jeff Bateman

Working alongside director Laurence Dunmore, Nyman has composed the music for his latest film - The Libertine. The film is a version of the celebrated Stephen Jeffreys play and stars Johnny Depp, John Malkovich and Samantha Morton. It tells the story of the 17th century Earl of Rochester (Depp), his friendship with King of England Charles II (Malkovich) and his affair with actress Elizabeth Barry (Morton).

The Earl of Rochester was a legendary rake of the era and the film has been described as "outrageously sexy". He managed to reconcile being a sensitive poet and a pornographer, was simultaneously a republican and friend of King Charles II and was passionately in love with both his wife and mistress. The film captures the sense of new possibilities at the dawn of the age of enlightenment.