CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music, Fifth Edition, Volume 2: Classic to Twentieth Century (6 CDs)

CD-Charts > Music > ( I )
from: W. W. Norton

Release Date January 01, 2006
Excellent product..one of the standard anthologies available for studying Music History.

One caveat, if you're using Hanning's Concise Grout as a companion text, be sure to match the correct edition of the anthology + recordings to the correct edition of the text.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Norton Recorded Anthology of Western Music, Concise Version (6 Compact Discs)

CD-Charts > Music > ( I )
from: W. W. Norton

Release Date January 01, 2006
Excellent product..one of the standard anthologies available for studying Music History.

One caveat, if you're using Hanning's Concise Grout as a companion text, be sure to match the correct edition of the anthology + recordings to the correct edition of the text.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Charles Ives: The Three Orchestral Sets

CD-Charts > Music > ( I )
from: Naxos American Classics

Release Date May 27, 2008
The other reviews above provide detail and background which is important to have in listening to, and comparing these performances. The versions presented are of historical significance; I find however a major "lack" here that is to be found in almost all of the American orchestra versions I have heard - the American orchestras seem to "know the tunes". For my ears, not having the tunes (and the english words!) in the performers' blood frequently produces a flat rendition. Tunes which are hidden inside the complex texture are played like european orchestral parts; they are not BIG and BOLD, and they are 'sung' delicately with a european accent.

For contrast, listen to Ives singing his own music, as in "We are there". This is a man ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Philips Recordings, 1967-1974 (Limited Edition)

CD-Charts > Music > ( I )
from: Philips

Release Date November 25, 2003
I love the Beaux Arts Trio. Recordings of the piano trios of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms & several others that I have led me to aquire this set. And, as usual, I was quite happy after I listened to the first couple of discs. But when I got to Tchaikovsky's trio, things changed. I was stunned to discover that they unexplicably left off the 8th variation. I'm also a bit surprised the other reviewers didn't notice this fact. This is quite a shame, because up to that point I was thinking that this was one of the best Tchaikovsky op.50's I had heard. I'm also not that fond of this rendering of the Shostakovich, which is not that big of a deal since I don't really much care for his work anyway. Aside from that, everything else is wonderful, especially the ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Sing We Christmas

CD-Charts > Music > ( I )
by: Chanticleer

Release Date September 19, 1995
There's not much more I can add to the glowing reviews of this CD except to say that I'm surprised that "A un nino llorando" doesn't get a mention! It became my favorite on the album, even though the rest are excellent also.
"A Christmas Carol" is quite serene and nice, as well as "A Virgin Unspotted". Perfect! These guys are the musical male answer to Anonymous 4.

CD-Charts Position 6
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Charles Ives: Symphony No. 2 / The Gong on the Hook & Ladder, or Firemen's Parade on Main Street / Tone Roads No. 1 / Hymn: Largo Cantabile, for String Orchestra / Hallowe'en / Central Park in the Dark / The Unanswered Question - Leonard Bernstein / New York Philharmonic

CD-Charts > Music > ( I )
by: Charles Ives, Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic

Release Date July 24, 1990
Ives' works seem the precursor for many alternative, avant-garde composers of today. I've never genuinely cared for Symphony No.2, but, as programed into a sort of mini-suite of minor Ives compositions, I very much enjoyed the other pieces on this disk. Visionary and intriguing.

CD-Charts Position 7
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Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3/Debussy: La Mer/Ibert: Escales

CD-Charts > Music > ( I )
from: RCA

Release Date March 09, 1993
The Third Symphony, with the dramatic entry of the organ in the fourth movement (Maestoso/Allegro), is Saint-Saens's most popular symphonic work. It needs brilliant sound, but also great sensibility, for example in the second movement (Poco adagio). Pacing here is the key.

It is not surprising that this symphony was one of the first (in 1959) recorded in the 'Living Stereo' series by RCA Victor.

This release manages to combine excellent sound, thanks to the innovative engineers of the day, and a thoughtful, sensitive, interpretation, under the baton of Charles Munch, conducting the superb BSO, with Berj Zamkochian at the organ.

True, some of the louder passages may sound a bit woolly to modern ears, but nothing recorded since can compare ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

The John Adams Earbox: A 10-CD Retrospective

CD-Charts > Music > ( I )
from: Nonesuch

Release Date October 19, 1999
Never before in my life was i moved so intensely and directly by classical music. I put the first cd in my player and a few minutes later tears are flowing. I find myself dancing and moving to a rythm i already seem to know. Wow, i just have to share that.

CD-Charts Position 9
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Ives: Holidays Symphony

CD-Charts > Music > ( I )
from: Sony

Release Date October 25, 1990
Since becoming my favorite "classical" composer some many years ago now, Ives' incredibly unique and uncompromising music has an unexplainable quality that works magic over repeated listens. With the Holidays, this is a case in point.

Not only do I consider Ives Holidays to be sitting at the pinnacle of Ives orchestral oeuvre (along with Robert Browning, Orchestral Sets Nos. 1 and 2, and the mighty Fourth), but you will not find a better or more convincing performance on disc as of late 2007. To my ears, the only competition is Sinclair's excellent "Washington's Birthday" on Naxos (coupled with a tremendous Third Symphony), but sadly that is only one of the four movements. The Two Contemplations also found here are excellent, with one of the finest and most mysterious "Unanswered Question" ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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Fright Night: Music that Goes Bump in the Night

CD-Charts > Music > ( I )
from: Sony

Release Date July 01, 1991
We enjoyed broadcasting the tunes thru our mp3 player on Halloween night. THe trick or treaters and their parents really enjoyed the music