5 comments about Reflections of Spain: Spanish Favorites for Guitar.

1. The CD I ordered and received was handled in a very expeditious manner and arrived in perfect condition. k. Seiler



2. One additional element worth noting: David Russell plays the "full" versions of both 'Recuerdos de La Alhambra' (Tarrega) and 'Sevilla' (Albeniz)on this recording. He plays all the repeats in Recuerdos, which times out at 5:31, almost twice the length of most recordings due to the repeats. Hey, the more of Russell's liquid-smooth tremolo we get, the better! On 'Sevilla' Russell repeats the entire 'A' section at the end. Nearly all guitarists in the past (Segovia, Williams, Bream, etc. etc.) have played the piece with a curtailed A section at the end.
   The Granados arrangements are wonderful. Russell's sheet music arrangements of Spanish Dances 5 and 10 and 'La Maja de Goya' are available - it's great to have a clean, modern arrangement of the Spanish Dance #10 in particular.



3. This is my most favorite CD. David Russell has exquisite taste and exquisite execution. He is an absolute master of the classic Spanish guitar, and he shows off this mastery in this beautiful CD. Each piece is a joy to savor. His crystalline technique makes this a superb addition to anyone's collection. You will smell the lemon blossoms in the courtyard of the Mezquita in Cordoba when you listen to this marvelous recording.



4. Having just returned to England after a long spell living in Spain I was searching for an evocative suite of Spanish guitar music to accompany my extensive array of photographic studies. Being familiar with the work 'Recuerdos de la Alhambra' I was immediately attracted to this compilation: 'Reflections of Spain'. The music was a revelation. David Russel made the guitar sing lyrically, recalling many bitter sweet moments of life in Iberia. The light and shade of the choices included covered such a broad scope as to fit my purpose exactly and give enjoyment better than I could have hoped for.



5. This is the best Spanish guitar CDs that I have found. Even with "Essential Guitar: 33 Guitar Masterpieces" having more tracks and two CDs, this is better material. I am not saying that "33 Guitar Masterpiece" was bad, I actually rate it second. No need to skip through "Reflections" like many other compilations of this mixed type CD. The quaility is crisp but lower overall peak (loudness) sound compared to some of my other CDs. Read reviews of other CDs of this type because there is many that have substandard recording measures. I believe this is a must for the any guitar lover!!!

5 comments about Let Yourself Go.

1. The first time I saw Kristin Chenoweth in a movie was the TV "Music Man". Just lately I listened to the "Wicked" soundtrack, and after that, I've been listening to Kristin's CDs whenever I can. This one is a jazzy, Broadway-type CD with fun, engaging songs. She's a different type of singer, and while not everyone might enjoy her voice, I really do. If you like Broadway, jazz, drama, romance, or just fun, catchy songs, this is a CD for you.



2. Once you have seen Kristen Chenoweth in action (check out YouTube) you know not only what an extremely talented musician she is, but also how fabulous she is at acting out and conveying each piece to an audience. She is the WHOLE package! This CD is a great sampling of her extreme talents!



3. I hope she continues doing seperate albums on the side besides her beoadway albums. She sings in so many different stlyes and her voice is so beautiful in each. She gives such heart to every peice she sings.



4. A few years back I caught Kristin Chenoweth's socko boffo performance on a Boston Pops special on PBS and was suitably wowed. I had heard nothing but good things about her prior, but since Broadway is not my main musical interest, I admit I hadn't felt compelled to rush to check her out. Then a friend whose main musical interest is in fact, musicals played me a few tracks of the WICKED cast album, on which both Chenoweth and co-star Idina Menzel excelled (and were swell--hmm, maybe I should take up hip hop). All of that made me eager to hear Chenoweth's solo recordings, to experience--as it were--her full palette.
   
   LET YOURSELF GO from 2001 is as good a sampling as you could hope for. A solid mix of peppy, witty showtunes and heartfelt ballads, all sung with what we critics and would-be critics like to call "genuine flair." She's got the stuff, and she knows how to use it.
   
   Of course, all popular music is, at least in part, selling an artist's personality. Chenowith's impressive vocal prowess would not necessarily guarantee stardom if she weren't so charming and, as John Lahr observes in his liner notes, so downright wholesome. Like Bernadette Peters and rock's Cyndi Lauper, she has a somewhat comic, Betty Boopesque speaking voice, but is capable of turning around and blowing an audience away with sheer vocal power.
   
   Employing all that natural charm and wit, Chenoweth can get away with vocalizing stunts that might seem way too show-offy on paper. Her take on "The Girl in 14G" has her alternating operatic trills with very convincing, very Ella-like scatting. In less hands, it might prove WAAAY too cute. But I defy any listener to listen to Chenoweth's triple-tracked vocal pyrotechnics and not be suitably impressed, if not fully enraptured. Ultimately, the song is about the sheer joy of singing, and Kristin Chenoweth's take on it conveys that joy. And if there's a little bit of showboating going on, well, it's done with warmth and humor and, anyway, the girl's ENTITLED.
   
   The album is beautifully orchestrated and very well sequenced. A light hearted number like the above mentioned "14G" is followed by the sensitively rendered Rodgers and Hart number "I'll Tell the Man On the Street," which proves that the young Barbra Streisand did not OWN that song after all.
   
   The inclusion of the Ogden Nash/Kurt Weill classic "Stranger Here Myself" did make me hungry for something even edgier, though. Yes, I could imagine Chenoweth doing BRECHT/Weill as well. In noting her wholesome appeal, John Lahr suggests that she is something of a throwback to an era of lighter, more innocent musical theater. I take the point, but I disagree that she would not be a good candidate for a Sondheim production. Lahr maintains that Chenoweth is not "desiccated" enough for Sondheim. But surely, he of all people would be appreciative of the benefits of casting against type. After all, the above cited Bernadette has been doing it for years. And even Cyndi made a her Broadway debut a year or so ago doing Brecht/Weill. I could well see the already versatile Ms Chenoweth getting a little, how you say, edgier?



5. Do I mean the best album or the best singer? You are correct if you said both! I saw Kristin Chenoweth on a PBS show "Broadway's Best at the Pops," (though it was not the first time I had heard her) and decided to check out the offerings here. This is a collection of the kind of music and performances I love. She has a great range, a precise pitch, and a great style that is at the same time true to the music and to herself. In an era when singers try to outdo each other re-interpreting the composer's original work, not usually with great success, she is a blessing!

5 comments about Mozart for Meditation.

1. I was expecting this to be true to its title"Meditation".
   Though nice it's really just a random selection of music
   not necessarily soft or meditative.



2. Well, as far as music for meditation goes, I'm not so sure about this product for that purpose. When I meditate, I tend to need more monotonous sounds to do it by - however, this CD is GREAT for relaxation and sleeping. So I still give it 4 out of 5 stars even though I won't be using it for its stated purpose. Still well-worth the money.



3. All the pieces are the perfect ones for the relaxation. As a collector I am impressed of the selections chosen for this album.



4. When I am working and I need to block out sounds to concentrate on what I am doing, I always put on this CD. Besides the fact that it is easy to listen to, it doesn't distract me from my work, and I never get bored or tired of the music. I'm reluctant to purchase a similar album in the fear that it won't be as good as the Mozart Meditation.



5. I'm a licensed massage therapist, and I absolutely adore using this CD during my sessions! It's a great alternative to the new age-y music styles that are so pervasive in the relaxation music scene -- my clients find this CD soothing & relaxing, and not at all "weird". This music suports a "relaxed but focused" atmosphere -- it serves as excellent white noise in the lobby area, and I even use it at home as a soothing backdrop for reading/ sewing/ paperwork/ etc. Excellent arrangements & clarity -- DON'T MISS!

5 comments about Songs from the Labyrinth (Music by John Dowland).

1. I'm no musicologist, but perhaps this album brings up an interesting point.
   
   Consider for a moment, how quiet and intimate string instruments were from this time. The strong, operatic voices commonly employed today for this early music are more at home in large concert halls, not intimate gatherings. In most recordings of Dowland's music you can barely hear the lute because the voice is so powerful in comparison.
   
   I wonder if quieter, "pop" style voices like Sting's were the norm during this period. Perhaps, as instruments became louder, and the venues for hearing them larger, the more powerful-voiced operatic style developed and became the norm.
   
   It would be very odd if vocals did not change over hundreds of years, while instruments certainly did.
   
   Maybe Sting's versions here are more authentic than what is considered "authentic" today.



2. I really like the music on this CD and that includes the spoken parts. It is meaningful in a way that the English tend to capture very well, the intersection or overlapping of happy feelings and tragedy.
   
   I have been biased towards Sting for a long time but especially since his song 'russians' which captures some difficult times I had around 1985.
   
   but thankfully the Cold War is over.
   
   interestingly enough, I have an Irish last name and I used to have an English housemate who feared that I supported the IRA. Growing up in a military family I understood the basis for his concern but I said, don't worry about it. terror is not something I endorse.
   
   which is my way of saying that times change but basic human patterns of thought and passion remain eternal. inferior artists either ignore context altogether or they record CDs that are so topical that they are forgotten when the issues of the day have been resolved.
   
   I think it is much better to preserve an understanding of context and also express oneself in a human way. that means the notes are not going to be perfect b/c that is not how life, or performance, works.
   
   there is a kind of airbrushed sterile perfection to a lot of classical performances - far from all of them - but they require a truly monumental level of student and teacher discipline and years and years and years of endless
   
   training
   
   and
   
   grinding hard work
   
   so that the performance can be unnaturally perfect.
   
   the feminist, Naomi Wolf, has criticized female ideals of beauty in the beauty myth. someone should do the same for classical performances.
   
   that the music is excellent and in general so are the students and teachers but the demand for perfection leads to an airbrushed glossiness combined with lack of error that is just not seen in nature. or in 'naturally' acting human beings.
   
   and that turns a lot of people away from classical music as well as music in general.
   
   so this CD is about hearing music performed very well but with a kind of flawed imperfection that is genuine. b/c we are not robots.
   
   given that, I think the playing is excellent; this is a very interesting and unusual choice of composer to study; I really like the music, and the singing is good.
   
   to me there is everything to like unless life has to be a perfect performance.
   
   this is not the familiar criticism of excellence versus a more human mistake.
   
   this is me saying that the excesses of musical performance will alienate everyone except those few capable of doing the just-about-impossible.
   
   devotees of classical music are digging their own graves with that approach. attendance at concerts has fallen off a cliff and that is as it should be, imo. the focus and dedication required to produce this resembles child abuse in too many cases.
   
   that is why alternatives such as Sting's recording are badly needed.
   
   what we now call 'classical' used to be new and fresh. it also provoked controversy. as this CD has done.



3. Why is it that "experienced classical listeners" are so irate when something like this comes along? Must be that with this recording, Sting has opened the door for the "base commoner" to enjoy these Masterworks from a long-forgotten repertoire. Perhaps in the same way people feel betrayed when a local restaurant turns into a national chain, I believe long-time fans of Renaissance lute music must feel that their "secret" little niche of music has been overrun by the Barbarian Horde thanks to Sting.
   
   Who purchased this recording expecting High Art? If so, your disappointment is of your own making. What made this album appealing to me and so many others is that it was NOT a stuffy, academic endeavor with "pure pronunciation" or "exquisite diction" or an aloof operatic feel.
   
   This is one of England's premier modern pop artists making public his discovery of perhaps the country's most accomplished pop artist in John Dowland. What other artist would have the courage to step so far out of his domain and open himself to such criticism for the love of the music? What lutenist has done more to attract the world's attention to Dowland and his peers?
   
   This recording opened my eyes to the vast and overlooked repertoire for lute from the Renaissance through the Baroque. Because of Sting, I have discovered the recordings of virtuosi like Paul O'Dette, Hopkinson Smith, Nigel North, Jose Miguel Moreno, Paul Beier, and so many others, playing the music of forgotten Masters like Francesco da Milano, Giovanni Kapsburger, Sylvius Weiss, Robert de Visee, et al.
   
   In the last two years, I have acquired an 8-course Renaissance lute, a 13-course Baroque lute, and have commissioned a theorbo to pursue my passion for this music, and again, it all started with Sting.
   
   I still find that some of these pieces move me every bit as much as a technically flawless O'Dette recording. They are intimate and sensitive and they speak to plain folk every bit as much as to early music enthusiasts.



4. Full marks to Sting for making the only worthwhile "Crossover" album in the last decade. This is because he is singing such suberb repertoire.
   
   Whilst these works do not require an opera singer, they do require a singer with considerable musical skills. Alas, Sting doesn't quite convince me that he has such skills yet, although he imagine that he will greatly improve with time and some lessons. I guess he might consider the songs of Thomas Campion, next? Or maybe he has a friend with a fortepiano, and a Winterreise might be considered?
   
   For anyone who has developed a real interest in Dowland's music, please seriously consider the complete recording of Dowland's music by Anthony Rooley's The Consort of Musicke or various recitals of Dowlands songs by Emma Kirkby, James Bowman, Alfred Deller, Paul Agnew, Nigel Rogers (excellent in this field), Steve Rickards or Andreas Scholl.



5. Wow! Was this CD a surprise disappointment. Unless you love medieval England songs, avoid this CD like the plague. I have all of Stings CD's and love every one of them, but this one must have been purely for his amusement, because it is sure not a crowd pleaser.

5 comments about Debussy for Daydreaming.

1. Claude Debussy had been one of my favorite composers even before I knew how to write and behave like a big kid. Growing up my mother would play his tunes on the piano and flute and later I got to follow her footsteps and enjoy his dream like compositions. The French composer has been called the Impressionist and no surprised here, along with another favorite of mine, Ravel, dominated the turn into the twentieth century with his ethereal and magnificent creations. His unusual, radical harmonies have influenced artists that shape the world of music to this day.
   
   This album has all of my favorite pieces, the melancholy Syrinx, bright and almost as if from a magical movie - Maiden with Flaxen hair, silky and soothing Reverie, Clair de Lune -something that sounds like star sprinkled night sky , Deux Arabesques - which I can play but not as well as my mom does - fantastic piano piece with waves of sound and floating chords. Other than Chopin no one else compares to Debussy when it comes to elegance and piano that touches me. This is perfect in the morning, afternoon or night, anytime I need soft, charming but never boring background music. Sometimes it's easy to forget that I'm listening to classical music, it simply sounds the way music should, without labels, taking my mind far away into a happier state. Those who like piano or harp compositions will enjoy this disc; it's really deliciously dreamy and cozy, very yum yum.
   
   - Kasia S.



2. Definitely for daydreaming, or for putting the little one down at bedtime. Good start to those wanting to see if they like Debussy. Includes many of his most famous works (Clair de lune, etc.)



3. This is an excellent collection of interpretations of Debussy's works. This collection is a "must have" for those who want to lose themselves in some of Debussy's most touching compositions.



4. This CD is just pure magic. I know that is such a cliche' thing to say, but it really is. Of course, it really won't appeal to those people who are into EXTREME LIVING...whatever the hell that means, because to me, extreme living is living close to the soul, close to the spirit, close to the Invisible Source that makes and creates all things in and out of Itself.
   
   Debussy was a composer who lived very close to this Invisible Stream. His music reflects a gentleness and yet a strength that flows throughout each composistion. The arrangements are dreamy and mystical and allows one to go into their "inner chamber" and pray in secret to the One who knows their heart as well as their soul.
   
   As much as I love this CD, I tend not to listen to it in the car. I once listened to it while making a routine drive to Santa Monica. The CD stopped and I had somehow missed all of my exits and ended up in Ventura...talk about being in dreamland!
   
   It's a great CD to put in your walkman and go to an outdoor cafe' where you can sip a cafe latte and write poems to an unknown lover whose face you cannot remember, but whose gentle breath is the scent of lavendar...oh, I wax poetic...so sorry...
   
   If you are into quiet and stillness, get this CD...it's truly a breath of fresh air in this noisy, crowded, extreme world we have to be in but not necessarily of...
   
   Peace & Blessings



5. This music evokes both emotions and images of life waking up in spring, even being in a magical forest where anything can happen, or floating on clouds. You can just enjoy the music and let your imagination soar or the music can take you into that trance-like state where you can access creative ideas and creative solutions to any problems - and maybe they just dissolve of their own accord.

5 comments about Nature's Colors [Blu-ray].

1. This Program is amazing if you are a classical music lover, especially those popular title like 'Bolero' you will love it. All you need is get a cup of coffee and nicks nacks and listen from your recliner, there you GO 'very relaxing mood'
   Nature's Colors [Blu-ray]



2. Why buy a bluray disk with only 1080i? I was somewhat disappointed in the quality as I thought I was buying a 1080p disk. It was my own fault, but anyone interested in this might enjoy many other great bluray nature titles that are even less expensive than this one.



3. This video contains scenes from the folks at HDenvironments.com, makers of the Living Landscapes videos. They add classical music instead of retaining the natural sounds. The calssical selections are popular ones you should recognize, and the movement from scene to scene is faster than the original Living Landscapes videos. If this appeals to you, enjoy. If you want the natural sounds and longer scenes are each site, get the original Living Landscapes videos.



4. I enjoyed most aspects of this Blu-Ray disk. The scenery is indeed natural and colorful, but I felt disappointed in my purchase after the first 10 minutes. The scenery was not varied enough, and there are too many scenes of trees, water and common wildlife that I could video myself by talking a walk in a nearby woods. I was expecting more scenery from unusual places around the world. The quality of the music track is fantastic, especially on my high-end home theater. Once again, too many of the selections are classical music that I've heard countless times on television, movies, radio, etc. Something surprising and new would have gone a long way here.



5. This type of scenery and music combination can run for many times and every time it is enjoyable either to watch or to have it as back ground music with nice sceneries of Nature. It is worth the money as it is a Disk to play many times especialy enjoyable on blue ray with large screen highest resolution.

5 comments about Dmitry Shostakovich: String Quartet Nos. 2,3,7,8 & 12.

1. shostakovitch wrote crazy awesome music, and worked with the borodin string quartet while he was composing quartets; this suggests (to me) that the borodin quartet is the best suited in the world to interpret his works; though the original members who worked with shostakovitch no longer play in the group, the original cellist was still with the group at the time of this recording, and surely, experience, knowledge, and wisdom have been shared with new members as they were introduced to the group.
   
   this is amazing, powerful, often bewildering stuff- i love it.



2. It's stupidly inexpensive, it's TWO discs, it should be badly recorded garbage.
   And it's absolutely brilliant.
   
   Amazing music, performed with consummate skill and musicality.



3. Many think that the Borodins' recorded performances of the Shostakovich quartets, especially those made earlier in their career, are definitive. Some critics have complained that these more recent recordings show that the players had lost their "edge". What is missing is the distortion introduced in earlier recordings by the Russian engineers. These recordings are very good. All five of the Shostakovich quartets on these two CDs are superbly played. The performance of the 8th is stunning. Anyone who enjoys chamber music or Shostakovich should not miss this two CD set.



4. I respect the five-star reviews here, but for me this super-bargain selection of Shostakovich quartets sounds a bit tame. One must grant that the Borodin Qt. has long been acclaimed for its readings of these works, but there were two previous sets, one from 1967-71 with the original members (available on Chandos), another from 1978-83 with a new first and second violinist after the emigration of the two original members (recorded by Melodiya, licensed in the West to EMI and BMG). Both are acknowledged as nearly definitive, even though the earleir set lacks the last two quartets, #14 and #15, which had yet to be composed.
   
   These 1990 performances, recorded at the Maltings, Snape in nice digital sound, are typical of the Borodins in their later phase: they sound accomplished, relaxed, and highly experienced. Those are all pluses, and yet when one turns to the competiiton, which is fierce, one hears more drama, commitment, and virtuosity in the Emerson Qt., while at super-budget there is the Shostakovich Qt., who have mastered the idiom within a hair's breadth of their more famous compatriots. In other words, I don't think the later Borodins quite measure up to their earlier selves or to the best of what came after.
   
   Having said that, there's a settled, autumnal quality to these recordings that will always appeal to listeners.



5. These five Shostakovich string quartets were recorded by the Borodin Quartet in London in 1990, and the performance and recording are absolutely brilliant, to match the compositions. (The earlier complete cycle of 15 quartets, recorded in the 1980s by an earlier line-up of the Borodins, is no longer available.)
   
   Quartets 2 and 3, which open and close this set, were written respectively in 1944 and 1946, expressions of DSCH in his prime, during the war and its immediate aftermath. They are among his finest works, too rich in mood and style to summarize briefly. The 8th Quartet of 1960 is his best known, and it was publicly dedicated to "the victims of war and fascism." Of course the interpretation of that phrase by the Soviet officials was at variance with what we now know to be DSCH's view. I heard the Kronos Quartet recording (on BLACK ANGELS) before this one -- by comparison it is harder-edged, emphasizing the bitter rage at the perpetrators, while the Borodin recording emphasizes grief and quiet desolation. Or in other words, the Kronos recording is strong in the louder passages, while the Borodin recording is more expressive and convincing in the slower, quieter passages, which predominate. The 7th Quartet (also of 1960), in honor of Shostakovich's first wife Nina, who died in 1954, is in three movements, and concludes with a powerful raging allegro. Finally, the 12th Quartet, completed in 1968, is in two movements. It can here be seen to represent the "late quartets," 12-15, all of which are dark works written as Shostakovich's health failed and he was in and out of hospitals. The 12th is a powerful, memorable work that continues to show an amazing range, the baring of a complex soul.
   
   Along with the best of Shostakovich's symphonies, his best string quartets are among the finest music of the 20th century, and should be heard by absolutely all music-lovers. Though chronologically later, this is not music that extends the radical innovations of Schoenberg (and Bartok's string quartets). Shostakovich's music is not exactly neo-classical, or neo-romantic, but the modernist elements in his work are integrated seamlessly into a mainly tonal, lyrical conception that makes it more acceptable to the average concert-goer than the music of many of DSCH's contemporaries in the West. Dark and gloomy, yes, but not a radical departure from "the classical tradition."

5 comments about Mozart Edition: Complete Works (170 CD Box Set).

1. I thoroughly enjoy these CDs. I tried collecting Mozart in portions over time, but his repertoire is just way too large to manage for amateurs like me. It is well worth buying the whole collection in one purchase.



2. I have the Philips set, which cost me just over Aussie Dollars 1000.00 Thank you for the reviews. I now feel that the price I paid for the Philips set was justified. No, I'm not a PhD in music - just a soild amateur. I do have the Briliant Bach set, and I'm very happy with that. Oh, yes - I've just ordered the Haydn. Maybe I'll post a review on that!



3. I have been looking for a set like this for a long time.
   
   So far the CDs I have listened to are of excellent quality.



4. I bought the complete set for my birthday. What a wonderful surprise ! Let's say I did not know much about Mozart's music except some few "classics" (the symphonies, the requiem, some piano concertos and sonatas, some serenades and the operas). I love every piece I have listened to until now. I have discovered beautiful music I would never have listened to if I had not bought the set ! For example, some piano music or the Church sonatas. Right now I'm listening to string quartets (vol. 5 - cd 8), they're simply charming ! I keep pressing the "previous" button of my remote control. The music is really well played : good tempi, good sound, beautiful voices. And the price is very very reasonable ! I think this set constitutes an admirable opportunity for anyone to discover or rediscover Mozart's music.



5. Very present and lively. I have been playing these CD's one after another and they are all enjoyable. What an incredible bargain.

5 comments about Lang Lang: Dragon Songs (Plus DVD).

1. Regardless of what you think of Lang Lang, there can be no doubts that this artist is incredibly enthusiastic about his art. This enthusiasm is absolutely infectious. I've used this CD/DVD as part of a unit on Chinese music I teach to my middle school students. They were absolutely fascinated by this young pianist. It offered great information - it was not "dumbed down", but offered ideas they could understand. The documentary portion of the package helped inform them about what they heard on the CD.
   
   I found these pieces utterly imaginative and full of wonderful colors and ideas. It was a pleasure listening to!



2. Many claim Lang Lang to have dire interpretational problem.
   What in fact is 'interpretational problem'? There is simply no standard answer, as the topic is pure subjectivity.
   That said, for those (Chinese especially) who claim that Lang's "Yellow River Concerto" lacks in any thing at all, I would rebut by a direct answer - Lang's Yellow River is his OWN Yellow River; not the one in the 1970's, nor 1940's.
   Lang Lang grew up under the direct influence of Chinese music - his father was member of a Chinese performing troupe and plays the Chinese instrument erhu, as many may have known already.
   This album compiles many songs that Lang Lang has grown up with, and he has a very intimate and personal approach to those songs, transcribed to the pianoforte.
   Some diehard Chinese music followers query the combination of traditional Chinese instruments with the pianoforte in this album. Again, such worries are unfounded. Lang's ability to 'sing' on the pianoforte is abundant, and the pieces flow demurely and elegantly throughout the various tracks.
   Just sit back and enjoy. Do not forget the truth that music is about the senses, not the critical cerebrum.



3. If you are interested in the actual history of the Yellow River Concerto, check out the Wikipedia entry on this piece of music's sordid history. The concerto is the product of a People's Republic committee during the Mao regime (Mao's wife was in charge of the project). This is the same regime responsible for the deaths of millions of people during its reign.
   
   The fact that Deutche Grammophon has released this work is particularly puzzling, since I doubt that they would record and release a work written during or about the Third Reich.



4. Recorded in Bejing in 2006, this combination CD/DVD from Deutsche Grammophon offers a comfortable mix of East and West in fourteen musical selections that run the gamut from major compositions in China such as the 1939 "Yellow River Concerto," running 20 minutes in four major parts and moods [This writer's favorite would be "Ode to the Yellow River" with its rich base and cello introduction and melodic, flowing low-to-mid range piano melody] to the simpler traditional sound of "Dialogue in Song" piano solo. The blending of styles throughout is intriguing.. "Ode," for example, alluded to above, might sound like something straight out an American western, depicting in music the rolling rich prairie land of the American West, yet the music was written as a string choral cantata during the Japanese occupation of China in 1939 and, according to Lang, was a piece "that helped bring back our energy and self-confidence - a reminder that we would do great things." In other words, the piece is, at its foundation, distinctly Chinese in origin. But this two-for package contains something else; it contains a bonus DVD, widescreen, beautifully filmed and composed feature about the pianist, his journey back to China, his concerts and personal glimpses of his family life and teaching techniques to some amazing students. It is a wonderfully entertaining, National Geographic quality tour of Lang's homeland as well as an entertaining - almost hypnotic - biography of this talented pianist. It is a thoroughly enjoyable CD/DVD combination that is hugely successful in what it sets out to accomplish, both musically and visually. This review appeared at [..]



5. I can't praise this CD enough. Hearing this wonderful Chinese piano music, in Lang Lang's brilliant performances, is a total delight! Even the Yellow River Concerto, which could be considered kitsch, is given such a warm and sincere reading that it radiates a kind of "New World Symphony" energy. There are
   guest artists playing Chinese instruments. And there's a bonus DVD about Lang Lang and his roots.
   Pure joy!

5 comments about Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology.

1. Heartland is a haven and a piece of heaven. I was transported.



2. Great violin, appalachian music, brings out your country roots, beautiful song by Allison Krauss, good mix of slow and up beat songs, excellent cd!



3. If you are planning to open up a high-end gift shop specializing in handcrafted wind chimes and micro-bakery scone mixes and the like, then you must have this CD playing for your customers. It might have a certain appeal there that it did not find in my living room. Not to say that the musicianship is not utterly outstanding, which it is most certainly. Aside from Short Trip Home, which is why I purchased this CD in the first place, I found the rest of the pieces somewhat vapid considering the caliber of the artists. Again, it has its appeal in an easy listening realm, but this was not what I was looking for.



4. Didn't expect an outstanding cd, don't know exactly why i got it,maybe because of yo yo and bela, but every piece is played
   beautifully, even the vocal piece by James Taylor. The album is almost too good to be called Heartland, every piece is a class act. Bravo!



5. I drive alot commuting to and from my job. This music has served as the perfect backdrop to an lovely Indiana fall! I'm sure I'll recall those colorful images as I continue to listen to this CD through the colorless days of winter!