CD-Charts Position 131
Average Rating:

Sanctuary

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: EMI Classics

Release Date February 17, 1998
This album is a beautiful example of some of Arvo Part's best works. Each piece is thoroughly enjoyable and the entire collection makes a wonderful addition to anyone's music library. Arvo Part is one of the most important composers in contemporary music.

CD-Charts Position 132
Average Rating:

Elgar: Cello Concerto; "Enigma" Variations

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: Sony

Release Date October 18, 2005
All good. Elgar the way it should be played- plenty of emotion. Late romanticism should be played from the heart- almost to the extreme of 'haming it up'. The tears will roll, the joy of laughter is obvious- its fantastic. I wish today's performers were brave enough to let their hair down sufficiently when playing music from this era.

CD-Charts Position 133
Average Rating:

The Glenn Gould Edition - Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
by: Johann Sebastian Bach, Glenn Gould

Release Date January 11, 1994
Few music is as addictive as Gould's performances of Bach. Kind of a drug, but far healthier! When you start listening the first prelude in C major staccato-like just like nobody else played it before, you're sure you're listening to something unique.

A copy of this recording should be in each home.

CD-Charts Position 134
Average Rating:

Elgar: The Collector's Edition (30 CDs)

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: Emi Classics

Release Date November 06, 2007
It's hard not to like Elgar -- his music is tuneful, bombastic in all the right ways, and has an air of ceremony that somehow perfectly fits what British music should sound like. I guess it's just that Elgar defines "British" music.

There are certainly highlights in this set -- Falstaff and the Cello Concerto are so good that I think any other performance I'll ever hear of either of them will be ruined because they won't compare. The oratorios The Dream of Gerontius and The Apostles as presented are widely considered the best out there. And I haven't heard better. There's plenty more here to enjoy even if they're not absolutely authoritative.

I don't like Barbirolli's interpretation of the symphonies -- he takes the "noble" ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 135
Average Rating:

Osvaldo Golijov: Ainadamar

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date May 09, 2006
The rhythms are exciting, some of the orchestration is clever and well-done. Listening to the CD overcomes some of the problems of a live production: achieving a balance between acoustic and amplified music, overcoming the lack of contrast (almost all women's voices) and utter lack of dramatic movement (nothing happens). The voices are good and perform the music well. Still, there is not much here for them to work with and the result is mediocre.

The music, while catchy at first, is simple, undeveloped and repetitive. The story lacks drama and movement. It is essentially a reverie on Lorca, not the man, his poetry, his sexuality, his art or politics but just some tired ahistorical cliches about freedom and fighting facism climaxing in his assassination. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 136
Average Rating:

Rossini - La Cenerentola / Frederica von Stade, Francisco Araiza, Paolo Montarsolo, Claudio Desderi, Laura Zannini, Claudio Abbado

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
starring: Frederica von Stade, Paolo Montarsolo, Francisco Araiza, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Claudio Abbado

Release Date January 10, 2006

Despite the fairy tale title, this particular opera is fun for all ages. We think it is the best Rossini opera, and Von Stade is the perfect Cinderella.
Our only objection is that the the voices are synched to the singers, but this is a necessay thing for 'movie' format staging.
We would put this production on a 'must see' list.

CD-Charts Position 137
Average Rating:

Amore: Romantic Italian Love Songs

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: Decca

Release Date September 15, 1992
I got this CD for my teenaged son, who asked for a Pavarotti CD for Christmas. I chose this one among the plethora of recordings because it is a good sampler of the great man's best pieces. My son isn't much into operatic singing, but he loves Pavarotti. I wanted a recording that would "hit the high points" without being too exhaustive for someone who's not deeply interested. This recording has a mix of some of my favorite arias and Neapolitan songs that I wanted my son to hear. It's really a nice set of pieces for beginners, and those who just want a little Pavarotti collection. My son loves it.

CD-Charts Position 138
Average Rating:

Mozart: Symphonien Nos. 35-41

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date January 23, 1996
On these DVDs are the finest performances of Mozart symphonies I have ever seen or heard. I once lived in Vienna and saw Bohm conduct. I was impressed with him then, but not as much as I am now. Karl Bohm is, without question, my favorite conductor of the 20th Century. I used to be a Toscanini fan, but now, I cannot listen to his work at all, after hearing Bohm. I also own the Schubert, Brahms and Beethoven symphonies, all of which are equally good. A very great musician, Karl Bohm, and a superb conductor.

CD-Charts Position 139
Average Rating:

Beethoven: String Quartets

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
by: Takacs Quartet, Beethoven

Release Date May 14, 2002
The Takacs Quartet resides at Colorado Univ. Boulder where they regularly play to sold-out audiences. I was fortunate enough to hear them once and was absolutely mezmerized by the sheer mastery of these musicians. Edward Dusinbere's lead violin especially left me transfixed by the nuance of his playing.

Such artisty is heard on this landmark recording of Beethoven's revolutionary Op. 59/74 quartets which rated a Gramophone "Gem" award along with their sister recording of the late quartets. Behold some of the finest quartet playing on disc - modern or historic. Compositions - 5 stars; Performances - 5 stars; Sound quality - 4.5 stars.

Another budget set to consider is Alban Berg Quartet on EMI which I deeply appreciate for its silky tone and highly ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 140
Average Rating:

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 / Mehta, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

CD-Charts > Music > Featured Performers- A-Z
by: Gustav Mahler, Zubin Mehta, Ileana Cotrubas, Christa Ludwig, Wiener Philharmoniker

Release Date June 13, 2000
This is going to be short and sweet.

First, I am going to completely pass on discussing Mehta's interpretation or the Vienna Philharmonic's performance, as well as the individual merits of Miss Ludwig and Miss Cotrubus. I think all that has been thoroughly discussed here already. In other words, everything that can be said, has been said, although perhaps not everyone has had a chance to say it. This is, simply, one of the great performances.

Therefore, in brief, I would like to give a mention to those amazing men and women who twirl the dials: the engineers. This is an analog recording made near the end of the analog era. The art of analog recording had progressed steadily and significantly for over a half century so that, by the time these sessions ... Read More: