5 comments about Boccherini: Fandango, Sinfonie & La Musica Notturna di Madrid.

1. Over the past 30 years I have developed a passionate love affair with Boccherini's compositions. Of all the performances I have collected this is the best I have ever experienced. In addition to showcasing Boccherini's subtle and sublime artistry it showcases the Spanish flavor of one of his most pivotal periods of composition. Although this import is pricey it is a must for everyone who craves a little more picante in their Baroque buffet.



2. Boccherini: Fandango, Sinfonie & La Musica Notturna di Madrid~ Claude Wassmer is an astounding recording under the direction of the amazing conductor Jordi Savall. The book-let is a true work of art and no expenses has been spared. The art work on the cover is truly splendid. The liners notes written by Jaume Tortella and Andres Ruiz de Tarazona are well-written and quite informative. This is a recording definitely not to be missed and Boccherini is truly a talented and amazing composer in his own right. 5 well deserved stars indeed.



3. And this is almost the best prove of it. Since he created his own record label, Alia Vox, he's been working hard, productive and making wonderful CDs with gorgeous booklets inside. Sadly I haven't seen him performing yet, which is one one my greatest desires for the moment.
   Anyway, what matters here is that Savall gave us the most beatiful reading that I've ever heard of Boccherini's work, specially of La Musica Notturna di Madrid. Though the life of the composer was a bit storming along the years he created this music, almost the whole collection is joyful music that one can share with non-classical likers and, probably, one of the best ways to introduce children to Classic European Music.
   The one and big tag is ENJOY IT!



4. I bought this disc on sight knowing that performances by Jordi Savall are superlative; I was not disappointed. Luigi Boccherini chose to live in Spain, in the area of Madrid following in the footsteps of Domenico Scarlatti. The period of the compositions recorded here come from 1780 to 1790 which was a turbulent time for Luigi Boccherini with the death of his wife (which left him alone with six small children) and the death of his patron in 1785, a place that was soon filled by Charles III. In 1787, the composer married again
   
   The Quintet for Guitar that starts the disc includes Boccherini's famous Fandango as a third movement with a charming Pastorale and Allegro maestro making up the first two movements. The Symphony op. 37, in four movements, was composed shortly after Boccherini's second marriage and is in the key of D minor giving the music a stormy aspect. The symphony is much like those of Haydn but has an Italian perspective. The Symphony in A major (1782) is in three movements, lacking a minute, and is skillfully composed, reminding me of the Neapolitan symphonies of Alessandro Scarlatti etc. The Quintet (Night Music of the Streets of Madrid) from 1780 is an unusual composition recalling the gaiety and bustle of the capital of Spain. The quintet begins with the strings mimicking the sound of church bells followed by a series of dances until a local garrison sounds Retreat, marking the midnight curfew. Anyone who has seen the film Master and Commander will recognize the Passa calle movement from the film; it is beautifully played here, filled out by the full complement of strings.
   
   The CD comes with a richly illustrated booklet that is very informative about Boccherini and the period in which he lived. The music is beautifully played and recorded by Alla Vox. This CD is a must for fans of Jordi Savall and Italian music.



5. I listen to this CD often and love it!! It's uplifting and refreshing. I highly recommend this CD for your collection of classical music and I plan on getting some more of Boccherini's works.

5 comments about Schubert: String Quintet in C, D. 956.

1. It's all in the liner notes: "During the five years preceding his early death, Schubert wrote seven masterpieces of chamber music: three string quartets, two piano trios, the Octet and the C major String Quintet [this piece]. Of these, the last, and arguably the finest, is the Quintet." I first became introduced to this work in the LP recording with Jacqueline duPre & Mstislav Rostropovich (cover graphic, a large wooden C). Out of reverence for that recording now lost to me, I refrained from buying anything more contemporary, hoping for its re-release; but it is unlikely ever to be. I had eyed buying one of the Emerson Quartet's versions, but it wasn't until I heard it on XM Channel 112 that I was transfixed. The XM people so kindly responded by identifying this recording. I have bought two copies; I am giving one to an outstanding High School student, the top Latin language graduate of this year 2008.



2. While the Emerson certainly dots its I's and crosses it T's, musically speaking, and has to be commended for accomplishing every nuance appearing on the page, it's what's NOT on the page that's missing. The performance here leaves me cold. They don't seem to bring a depth of personal feeling to the music.
   
   Annoyingly, the hyper engineering of the recording volume renders the pianos inaudible and the fortes overpowering, leaving one to constantly turn up the volume and then have to run to turn it down. This is a string quintet, for pete's sake, not a hundred piece orchestra!



3. I originally purchased this Schubert CD because Kenneth Branagh's character in the movie "Conspiracy" mentions it: "The adagio will break your heart." I viewed that movie, an HBO original production from a few years back, recently and was curious about the piece. It is beautiful and the adagio is haunting. According to the liner notes, Schubert wrote the string quintet shortly before he died and it has always been the most performed piece he ever wrote. And, of course, you can't go wrong with the Emerson group.Schubert: String Quintet in C, D. 956



4. I consider this work to be found in the front rank of Schuberts work.
   The melodic partwriting brings an atmosphere of tender intimacy which the musicians fully bring over. Their playing together lets me forget that they are 5 individuals but rather they give the impression as if this would be one single instrument played by one musician. You are almost ignoring the role Rostropovich plays here - he is fully integrated and does not impose himself, perhaps he motivates the four others to supreme performance but you do not notice this. Just beautiful music.



5. the string quintet in c , d. 956 is sublimely beautiful especially the slow movements . His death and the maiden was my favourite piece of chamber music until i heard this on the radio and I was entranced by its beauty and could not wait until i had my own cd . The musicians are all truly skilled crafts men and perform this piece extremely well . Before i brought this particular cd i listened to several versions before finally settling on this particular recording . I can heartly recommend this cd to any music lover .

4 comments about Baby Galileo.

1. This is by far the best of the baby einstein cds. I would highly recommend it :)



2. This was the first dvd/cd my son listened to (..and watched we bought both) the music is just GREAT for babies. I also recommend the DVD. The colors and stars/planets just captivates them. This dvd/cd will always have a spot in our hearts because of the way our son responded to it. My wife hears the piano piece Clar De lune from the dvd and cries...tears of joy.



3. Puts our 6-week old daughter to sleep... what more could you ask for!



4. I love all of the Baby Einstein DVD's, so the music CD has been just as good as the DVD's. I play it all the time when my son is in the car and it seems to calm him and keep his attention. I even listen to it in the car when my son is not with me. It is relaxing and soothing. I definitely recommend the CD's for the car.

5 comments about Schubert: The Piano Sonatas.

1. To my uneducated ear this set is excellent. But beware, the first CD of the first set sent to me, when viewed on iTunes was totally in an oriental language. I sent the set back and the second set had the very same thing. The first CD seems to have come from a foreign edition. All other CDs were fine. The paperwork was in English.



2. Schubert's Piano Sonatas essentially are rather private and occasionally introspective works. They are "more Wigmore Hall than Albert Hall" and perhaps this is one reason why they are not so often included in public performances but "Hausmusik" these works are not.
   
   Elliot Richman in an earlier review has said "Modern players, despite their steel fingers and elephantine endurance and machine-like (sometimes machine-gun-like) techniques, stand to learn a lot from this old master's art." How true, how true! Similar exemplars of Kempff's less frenetic approach include Clifford Curzon, Friedrich Wuhrer and Walter Gieseking. Perhaps in some measure it is appropriate that these Sonatas are bypassed by a few of today's heavy hitters on the international recital circuit for these intimate works do not respond well to modern robotics. I am reminded of Rosalyn Tureck's observation: "I have seen a diminution of passionate involvement in the art of music and I have seen a crescendo in passionate involvement with careers".
   
   None of the Sonatas was publicly performed in Schubert's lifetime. This is a sad quirk of history and certainly not a reflection of their musical worth. Beethoven had thirty of his Sonatas published posthumously but in my view these lovely, often haunting Schubert gems are deserving of an appreciation very much wider than they seem to have; certainly beyond the B flat major and a couple of others which are better known.
   
   Wilhelm Kempff's performance here is to his customary and uniquely high standard of interpretation and empathetic treatment; that alone makes this set a "must buy". Whilst the recordings can be a trifle woolly in places and probably would benefit from the digital magic which Deutsche Grammophon successfully has applied to some other older performances, the quality is entirely acceptable and any shortcomings are in no sense obtrusive.
   
   I adore these pieces; it is very evident that Wilhelm Kempff does too.
   



3. I don't really have much to add to the other reviewers vivid discriptions of the superb playing of Kempff on this cycle. While I have interpretations of many of these individual sonatas that I like better than Kempff's (by Richter, Radu Lupu, Fleisher and Uchida), this is easily the most solid complete set. The playing (and sound) is splendid throughout and I can't imagine not owning it. A must have.



4. Kempff himself wrote the liner notes to this highly satisfying set and states the following: "The deeper we penetrate into the world of Schubert, however, the greater is our surprise at discovering that the 'heavenly length' for which he is reproached is to be regarded relatively. If the length becomes evident as longueurs, the fault lies with the interpreter (I speak from my own experience...)." Indeed, in listening to Kempff play the Schubert sonata canon the thoughts of "overly long" or "needlessly repetitive" never entered my head. Barring some extraordinary performances of individual sonatas over the years, such as Richter's old Russian recording of the c minor (D 958) on Melodiya or Serkin's equally old recording of the B-flat (D 960), this is the best playing of the Schubert sonatas I know.
   
   I used to think of some of the earlier sonatas as practice or training pieces for the later masterworks (which of course by definition they are, but they need not be viewed retrospectively from the vantage point of the late works). Unfortunately, they often sound boring and immature. This is due to defects in players and the playing, not a problem with Schubert. Kempff makes all the sonatas here, including the early ones, glow with the utmost musicality so they stand on their own as beautiful works. Just one example: In the earlier of the a minor sonatas he handles little secondary figures that are intercalated within major theme phrases in an amazingly musical and beautiful way. As a pianist myself, I could never figure out how to make them unobtrusive, let alone desirable. Under Kempff's fingers they fit sublimely into the fabric of the work. The playing is clearly layered, every note and phrase has its place and purpose, his internal logic is such that nothing Schubert wrote sounds less than as it should. One more example: The first movement of the G major sonata ("Fantasy" sonata, D 894) floats in its ethereal haze but goes fast, not slow. Kempff can produce the effect of suspended animation without suspending the actual motion. This is no doubt what Schubert intended but it is very difficult to pull off as a performer. Kempff's treatment of the last 5 sonatas (D, G, A, c minor, and B flat) is breathtaking.
   
   This set is a revelation. What a magnificent panorama of Schubert's development as a composer! Also, the origins of later composers' styles can be traced to Schubert's writing for piano. The roots of Bruckner's iterated and protracted symphonies can be heard, for example, in the way the finale of the a minor sonata begins. (I don't think this is apparent from other players, who lack Kempff's lyricism and mysticism.) Included beside the actual titled sonatas are various fragments of incomplete sonatas and collections of piano pieces that in effect are untitled sonatas (such as D 459/459A).
   
   The recordings are from around 1965-1970 and the piano sound is singing, glowing, radiant. I recommend this set wholeheartedly to anyone interested in great musicianship, masterly piano playing, Schubert's piano music, and Schubert's evolution as a composer. Kempff makes you realize that the magic didn't all happen in the last year of Schubert's life, and I can't think of another pianist who does that for me. (There are few, if any, major players of Schubert with whom I'm not familiar.) Kempff was the leading German pianist of the immediate post-WW II era, but I think he has largely been forgotten. His Schubert, Beethoven, and Brahms are wonderful. Modern players, despite their steel fingers and elephantine endurance and machine-like (sometimes machine-gun-like) techniques, stand to learn a lot from this old master's art.



5. Absolutely must have for true music lover and particularly the music of Schubert. This is already an old recording but still stands up the comparison with later, newer CD's ( Brendel, Schiff,Lupu, Perahia). Kempff, the old master, now deceased, left a memorable,moving and romantic in spirit rendition of Schubert Piano Sonatas (the first complete set). I heard Kempff performed in live, and always thought of him as the greatest German Romantic Pianist.
   This set is the work of true love.

5 comments about Brahms: Complete Piano Quartets.

1. After Bach, I think the compositional style of Johannes Brahms must be the most individually recognisable - at least in respect of his mature works; less so in the case of earlier compositions like the string sextets. However, these Piano Quartets are chock-full of typically Brahmsian melody and harmonic invention so that almost from the first bar, we readily are able to establish the composer's identity.
   
   Another reviewer has mentioned the density of Brahms's writing. Nowhere is this more evident than in these works which have absolutely no fat or padding on them; every note has a particular purpose within the structure of the whole. Nevertheless, in most of these quartets, Brahms does hint at the exposition of a subject which might become one of his grand melodic set-pieces but after only a passing nod at development, the idea fizzles out. But before we can sense any disappointment, we are caught up in his next scheme. This is so very characteristic of this great composer.
   
   Given that after the death of his friend Robert Schumann and the failure of his clandestine engagement to Agathe von Siebold, Brahms's emotions must have been at a low ebb so it is perhaps surprising that these quartets, with the notable exception of the C minor, generally are boisterous and optimistic. I particularly like the Andante third movement of the G minor quartet - this conjures visions of a drawing room performance of a broad melodic piece suddenly interrupted by the passing of a military band outside the open window. The platoon and music heads away towards the barracks and the calm of the original material returns. At least that's my fantasy - what Brahms had in mind, I have no idea. It's a curious and seemingly unrelated inclusion made even stranger by being in 3/4 time but it's great fun.
   
   The Beaux Arts Trio, ably augmented by Walter Trampler's viola, play to their customarily high standard with the recordings (from 1973) also being good.
   
   Very highly recommended.



2. These are dense pieces and like a lot of Brahms could become overly heavy and plodding in the wrong hands. On this CD the Beaux Arts really bring out the romantic lyrical quality of this music unfailingly. The recording itself is just a hair distant but the detail is good. What fantastic piano one finds on these CDs! Strongly recommended.



3. This collection of Brahms' piano quartets are a great listen all around. Every quartet has an enormous power and beauty to it.

   I like to say about Brahms' music that it is airtight. There is never a wasted note. Every bit of melody, every nuance and texture in the harmony are masterfully crafted and serve a purpose. There is never a moment when you look at your watch and wonder when the composer is going to get around to wrapping this or that section up and get to the exciting stuff.

   The Beaux Arts Trio along with Walter Trampler do a commendable job of bringing every moment of beauty and excitement out. They balance the sweetness of the slow movements and melodies well with the aggression and rhythmic complexities of the quicker movements. My current favorite quartet is the A Major. There is a singable melody or rhythmic puzzle in every movement. I listened to the final movement four times today (excessive I know, but it's just so much fun to try to figure out how Brahms manipulates those melodies within the time signatures)!




4. This is chamber music at its best played by the masters, the Beaux Arts Trio. All the pieces are played in a crisp, clean manner with the proper emotion and phrasing.



5. I am an avid Brahms fan and just recently picked up this copy of the quartets. I love them! The rondo of the first quartet is fascinating and the pain in the C minor trio is unmistakable. As traditional as Brahms is, he is a definate romantic. I agree [...] about the last trio that is attributed to him. It isn't as good by far. The sound is very clear and the pianist on the recordings impressed me. If you don't own the quartets, go ahead and buy this set. You won't be dissapointed!

5 comments about The Mario Lanza Collection (3CD).

1. I don't know how this could be any better. Mario sings like an angel and I love most of the selections. I have thoroughly enoyed listening to my cd's, over and over.



2. Mario Lanza was, arguably, the greatest tenor and greatest singer of this and the last century. It is difficult to appreciate him without listening to a variety of selections. This collection has some of his best recordings and exhibits the versatility and variety that he possessed that permitted him to "crossover" from opera to popular music with a ease.
   
   I recommend this for those who already know Lanza to some extent but want to go into more depth and understand his marvelous skills.



3. I had forgotten what a beautiful voice Mario Lanza had. This collection contains opera and pop selections that exhibit the power yet sweetness of his voice. Fortunately, we have his CD's and videos so we can remember and listen to his gorgeous, vibrant voice and personality. I highly recommend this collection along with his wonderful movies, especially The Great Caruso.



4. I had forgotten just how beautiful a voice from the past was. It is a wonderful collection



5. extract from most important LPs. Brilliant sound quality from RCA. Also included are soundtrack recordings from some of his movies. The are several reissues from Mario Lanza but this one is a collection you should have.

4 comments about Wynton Marsalis - Baroque Music for Trumpet.

1. I first encountered this on cassette, quite by accident. It later became the background for my work at morning at the easel painting watercolours. But this is no wallpaper music. The technical genius of matching separate recordings of different trumpet parts is surpassed only by Marsalis's bright and lively technique. The masters would be pleased. As for the watercolours, I can now stand before them and see the music's influence on paper. Well worth the listening...



2. This cd features a lot of Wynton's earlier piccolo playing, which, while perhaps not as brilliant as you'd hear on his Gabriel's Garden album, is slightly more refined and appropriate to the repertoire. That isn't to say he doesn't embellish; The Fasch concerto has some tastefully inserted ornaments. "Let the Bright Seraphim" is as well played with soprano Edita Gruberova as it is in Wynton's later recording with Kathleen Battle. The Purcell selections on the album are probably the best examples of good piccolo playing I've found, particularly the trills. One only need listen to the "Entrada" to see how delicate and refined the playing on the whole album is.



3. Marsalis' prodigious talent coupled with the greatest of Baroque brass composers is a combination that cannot be beat! Of course, Anthony Newman takes everything (less the slow stuff, of course) at his characteristic "lively" pace, but Marsalis keeps up. His execution of the ornamentation is awesome! Gotta have this one!



4. Without doubt, the birthday ode to Queen Anne (Eternal Source of Light Divine) is one of the loveliest pieces ever. Couple that with two of the most accomplished talents in the world, you have a near spiritual moment. Even those with even a passing interest in the classics will find this a stirring expierence. this is true candy for the ear and food for the soul.

5 comments about Music For The Mozart Effect, Volume 2, Heal the Body.

1. I don't know if this CD will heal my body. I do know that you will get hours of listening enjoyment with Mozart Volume 2.



2. I don't know if it really heals the body, but it is very very relaxing music, and I did hear somewhere that your body can heal itself better if it is relaxed. I do like Mozart now.



3. this is the 1st ever musical geniuses slow collection.it was designed by a scientist who recognized musics power on the mind and harnessed it.this album has been proven to stimulate the same part of the brain that relaxes you.or for you brainy types,it gets your dopamine flowing.then theres the fact that this music is like pure ear sweetness.it will send all your nuerons off to dreamland and you will feel a dramatic physical change.my favorite song on this one is the violin concerto.extremely relaxing and great for the soul.everybody with anything from a cramp to cancer should put this one on.besides all that,its exquisitely beautiful youll fall instantly in love!an abselute tresure and blessing to music and the world!



4. I first read the research on the positive effects of classical music at 60 beats per minute many years ago. With no commercial options available then, I made my own tape from excerpts of world class recordings I own, largely of Mozart. I rarely tolerate background music while I work because it distracts and diffuses focus. The slow Mozart movements have an astonishingly opposite and positive effect, enhancing concentration and mental clarity. For listening pleasure, I prefer the complete works with all movements, as a prior reviewer noted. However, for calmed focus and concentration, by removing the alternate movements this recording serves that purpose with excellence.

   There is sufficient variety to avoid monotony, and while the musicianship will not garner critical acclaim it is competent and acceptable for the purpose of this recording. I enjoy it immensely. It is one of the rare pieces I will play in the background while doing work that requires serious focus.




5. Good news: contains famous works of Mozart for a very small cost. The music is eloquent and perhaps stimulates the brain with the Mozart effect. It is definitly good to listen while commuting and stuck an a traffic jam.

   Bad news: These music are so well known that to many, it feels redundant. These are not world-class performers or conductors, so the music doesn't have a new intereptation or anything out of the ordinary. Also, I tend to like to have the entire three (or four) movements of the song, not just one movement. And practically all of these songs are the slow movement so it gets redundant.

   I would recommend this to any beginning listeners but for more experienced listners, try investing in a slightly more expensive but better performed recordings.

5 comments about Russian Album.

1. This acclaimed disc is a collaboration of superstars - Valery Gergiev and Anna Netrebko, Russia's two top classical artists of the era.
   But the image really is much bigger than the substance.
   The lining up is strange - some songs, some arias, some scenes. If what it means is to show off Netrebko's singing talent in different fields, then the resounding response must be - so-so.
   Generally, the singing is recorded too backward. The sound is dark (given that the singer does not possess an overly bright timber), and the recording done in the Mariinksy Theater sounds as though taken in the mid last century.
   Apart from the technical flaws, both the orchestration and the singing verge on being cold in some, and indifferent in others. While it may be true that Ms. Netrebko strives to maintain a well-balanced and overall velvety quality of singing, her top-notes sound tight, and the tone color unamimously dull-hued. The over-stressed jawline resultant from a miss-placed rear-tongue position appear to be the crux of her problem in singing. The more passionate songs in the disc are, sadly, under-done with a marked technical inhibition (or more probably, inadequacy) on the part of the singer. And she is not one bit aided by the conductor and orchestra.
   Overall, bordering on dullness.



2. As the title states,I am just starting to learn about opera,and I found Ms.Netrebko's singing on 'Russian Album' to be absolutely breathtaking!
   
   For now,she is my favorite soprano.



3. One of the best and most delightful CDs I've purchased this year. Highly recommended. Don't be put off by a prejudice against "heavy Russian stuff". This young soprano's voice is slightly on the dark side for a true soprano (which for me at least is a plus), but is as agile, expressive and simply beautiful as anyone could wish for, or even imagine. I hope to see/hear her live someday.



4. Although I have purchased many books and cds from amazon over the past 10 years I have never felt compelled to review a purchase. Until now. This album which I purchased based on the reviews I read on amazon - is simply amazing. The artist has the most wonderful voice and I cannot stop playing this cd. (The only other cd that had a similar impact was the first album released by Shu Cheen Yu on the ABC (Australia) Classics label.) The "Russian Album" is destined to be a firm favourite for many years and I plan to purchase lots of copies to give to friends.



5. How intoxicating is Anna Netrebko's dark chocolaty, velvet voice! And what more delicious way to experience it than to hear her sing in her native tongue. This recital is a beautiful collection of arias by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninav, Glinka, Prokofiev and Rimsky-Korsakov. A very pastoral libretto and lyrical piece is Glinka's "A life for the Tsar," (a new treat for us Americans) written, as they say, "in the bel canto style of Donizetti and Belini"-melodic and colorful, albeit heartbreaking. Another piece, "Oh do not sing to me," wherein Iolanta cries of foeboding grief, is breath-takingly passionate and lovely. This is by far Ms Netrebko's finest recording, and Vallery Gergiev does amazing work to facilitate her performance-really bringing out the voice of each composer and his melody and passion. Russian seems to be the magic key to Anna's heart, pouring out what we love to hear when she sings Violetta. This collection is a wonderful treat, and I would recommend it to anyone as drunk as I am for Anna's timbre and coloratura.

5 comments about The Only Classical CD You'll Ever Need!.

1. As an 18 year old univeristy student i would have to rate "The Only Classical Cd You'll Ever Need" as excellent. I dont know much about classical music but i was able to recognize almost every song and able to appreciate the music. Classical music is excellent to study to when i am up late for an exam and amazing to calm down to will i am simply resting. For anyone who has never been interested in classical music i would recomend this CD as a great start to an appreciation for an amazing genre of music.



2. If you're totally and completely new to the genre, this is a fairly good cd, strictly for the purpose of getting to know the popular and familiar classics that everyone knows, but can't place. However.
   I found the recording of some of the tracks to be of pretty poor quality, especially the Swan Lake waltz. It sounds as though it were recorded during dinner - lots of talking, clatterinig dishes, and overall movement in the background that's very distracting. I also found the Air on the G string, track two, to be what I would call an okay performance. You can definitely find better recordings of these and a few other tracks.
   Also, if you really want to delve wholly into classical music, not just listen to the popular few, try a cd that also encompasses opera, and more "modern" classical music, such as Gershwin.
   So, as I've said, for the absolute beginner it's alright, but try to find these same tracks and a few additions on another cd with better quality, and it would be your money better spent.



3. When you assert a title like the above you should deliver. Another almost identically titled album does much better. I offer details about that recording below, revised from my review on the Amazon.uk web site of "The Only Classical Album You'll Ever Need", by Slatkin and others, on the Classics label.

   "I'm a classical music activist and an advocate for imaginative ways to reverse classical's decline. From this standpoint 'The Only Classical Album . . .' demonstrates first-rate creative showmanship and sophistication on the part of its producers. The album does more than just stimulate impulse purchase. The outrageously inspired title was obviously designed to attract newcomers to classical. Having lured the uninitiated, a wrong start on the first track could be the last heard. The inspired choice of Orff's primal rhythms in Carmina Burana as an opener probably breaks stereotypes people may have about classical. Luscious, delicate ballet music by Delibes creates an abrupt but artful change of pace. Then follow all-meat-and-no-potatoes romantic masterpieces in the Dvorak 9th Symphony (appropriately performed by a Czech orchestra) and the Grieg Peer Gynt Suite. The album includes popular classic hits like the Pachelbel Canon and Albinoni Adagio, but embraces diverse styles and less common classics such as the Spartacus Suite by Khatchaturian, and Bizet's the Pearl Fishers (opera). Toward the end come full and unchopped performances of core classical repertory like the Bach instrumental suites and Vivaldi violin concerti (in resonant living-tradition style, led by James Galway). This is a superb present for musically-inclined newcomers to classical. More experienced listeners can relax and enjoy masterly programming and fine performances of great classics."




4. This CD is excellent for introducing classical music to those unfamiliar with the genre. This is a collection of the most popular classical tunes that you have heard everwhere but don't recognize by name. Use this CD for what it is...a stepping stone.



5. It has some very decent stuff, though mainly just the most popluar things. Get it if your starting out listening to classical. Otherwise, youll own all the songs anyway most likely.