CD-Charts Position 101
Average Rating:

Mendelssohn: Elijah

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: EMI Classics

Release Date February 15, 2005
I was so pleased to come across the CD release of this old recording. I have a CD of a cassette tape of a reel-to-reel tape from the 60s and it's my standard. This recording finds all of these magnificent singers at their best, and Mme. Jones is here sans wobble which accompanies her later in her career. My only regret is M. Fischer-Dieskau. His singing is lovely as ever, if a bit too lovely for the music, but one misses a real bass (or bass/baritone) in this role. The chorus and conducting are fine. What I love about this recording is the straight-forward playing and singing which this chestnut needs. A more recent Elijah with Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming is unfortunately marred by someone's idea of "drama" (I guess the conductor, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 102
Average Rating:

Dvorák: Symphonie No. 9; Smetana: Moldau

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: Deutsche Grammophon

Release Date October 12, 1993
I hear something special in Karajan's late recordings with the Vienna Phil., an orchestra that brought out the most affectionate detail and sunniest mood in him. Besides this "New World," his third in the modern era, there's an inspiring Dvorak 8th, the last three Tchaikovsky symphonies, and legendary valedictory readings of the Bruckner Seventh and Eighth. The conductor wasn't to die for another four years when this "New World" was made, so we can't call it a farewell, and it's by no means as dreamy and laid back as the 8th from Vienna. Even so, it holds its own fascinaiton simply because of where it falls in Karajan's whole career.

As remastered, the mid-eighties digital sound has been tamed, but you need to be prepared for some snarling ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 103
Average Rating:

David Oistrakh: The Complete EMI Recordings

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: EMI Classics

Release Date September 16, 2008
As a violinist who has occasionally been known to utter things like "Oistrakh is God!" I am very happy to see this collection come out and I may well pick it up, even though I have almost all the recordings on vinyl. But a few words of caution might be in order, given what I can glean from the track listings and the review that lists the performers and tracks more thoroughly.

First I should say that there are many great recordings here. The Cluytens/Beethoven Concerto is certainly up there with the greatest recordings of this piece, as is the Brahms Double with Szell and Rostropovich. And no one plays Mozart better than Oistrakh; the set is surely worth owning for the Mozart concerti alone. His EMI recordings of the Khatchaturian and Shostakovish ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 104
Average Rating:

The Most Relaxing Classical Album In the World Ever, Volume II

CD-Charts > Music > General
by: Gabriel Faure, Frederic Chopin, Antonio Vivaldi, Gustav Mahler, Claude Debussy, Sir Neville Marriner, Maris Jansons, Lorin Maazel, Sir Adrian Boult, Miklos Rozsa, Riccardo Muti, Stephen Cleobury, Sir John Barbirolli, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Berlin Philharmonic

Release Date March 11, 2003
The selections chosen are, for the most part, to my taste, but the volume is comprised of fewer supurb selections, such as those masterpieces by Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart that were found in Vol. I.

CD-Charts Position 105
Average Rating:

An Organ Blaster Sampler

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: Telarc

Release Date February 10, 1991
I am by no standards an expert on music, let alone organ music. I just purchased this CD because I love the sound of the organ, and wanted an album from a mix of artists before I started branching out to single composers. I would also consider myself an audiophile, only listening to high quality music with my portable headphone amplifier and Sennheiser HD-555's. Let me tell you, the quality is perfect, and the music is incredible! Such a full sound, it's *almost* as good as sitting in audience, only lacking the full body experience of organ music. I would recommend this to anybody looking to get a foot into the world of organ music.

CD-Charts Position 106
Average Rating:

The Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould Plays Bach

CD-Charts > Music > General
starring: Glenn Gould
directed by: Bruno Monsaingeon

Release Date August 28, 2007
Let me begin by saying that the Goldberg Variations are somewhat of an acquired taste. Very few appreciate the Variations on the first listen...

Glenn Gould's 1981 interpretation is divine. The overwhelming technical prowess of his 1955 rendition has been excelled by this emotional and mature interpretation - what can only be attributed to the passage of years...

I listen to this every night at bedtime. It's simply beautiful.

CD-Charts Position 107
Average Rating:

An English Ladymass: Medieval Chant and Polyphony

CD-Charts > Music > General
by: Anonymous, Marsha Genensky, Anonymous 4

Release Date March 08, 1993
I never tire of listening to this CD. Lovely and enchanting. Includes a booklet with all the words if you want follow each song closely.

CD-Charts Position 108
Average Rating:

Richard Einhorn: Voices Of Light

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: Sony

Release Date October 24, 1995
I heard this CD playing at a friend's home and ordered it the next day. I have enjoyed listening to it repeatedly and find it powerfully moving and beautiful.

CD-Charts Position 109
Average Rating:

Satie: Piano Works

CD-Charts > Music > General
from: EMI Classics

Release Date January 23, 1992

Ciccolini's recording of Satie's piano music had dominated decades as finest set, but only because there wasn't any rivals at the time. Now compared to other superior recordings, his playing, highly sophisticated, sounds rather conventional and shallow. I get an impression that this pianist regarded Satie's music as some witty light music. I would love complete satie piano works played with more depth and delicacy (Leeuw's earlier recording comes close to ideal, but it was not complete set). Thibaudet's complete recording is very fine, but again without much depth.

CD-Charts Position 110
Average Rating:

Peace Like a River

CD-Charts > Music > General
by: James Lucas, Janice Kapp Perry, John Rutter, Jean Sibelius, John Tavener, American Traditional, English Traditional, Spiritual Traditional, Mack Wilberg, Craig D. Jessop, Clay Christiansen, John Longhurst, Richard L. Elliott, Daron Bradford, Meredith Campbell

Release Date June 22, 2004
This CD is one of my favorites to listen to when I feel the need to be closer to the Spirit. Mack Wilberg is a master at transforming old hymns into glorious arrangements. I have had experience with high school students who love singing his arrangements even within the context of a world that seems in a state of constant conflict. THIS CD IS FABULOUS!