Classical music reviews

I purchased The LP in 1953 and proceeded to 'wear it out.' No, I have not yet thrown it out.

However, I have had the good fortune to find myself a resident of the San Francisco Peninsula since 1970 and, in time, have had the privilege to make the acquaintance of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, who perform one of each of their annual subscription concert series locally here in Palo Alto.

In 1992 they recorded the Horn Concertos with Lowell Greer performing them on the natural (valveless) horn, the instrument which was in use at the time Mozart composed them. Given the temperamental nature of the the instrument, the recording is doubtless a composite of many 'takes.' It is also a breathtaking performance and is now my 'standard.' See:

[...]

Take a moment to listen to some of the available tracks.

Form your own opinion.

I'm not much of a classical music reviewer. I've been exposed to a lot of music, but I tend to stick to favorite performances, so I don't have the depth needed to really be authoritative. Except perhaps for oboe, and that's because I grew up listening to John De Lancie and Marcel Tabuteau - and once you hear really good, you know what's what. This album is a similar case. Dennis Brain wasn't a 'good' French horn player, he was probably the best that there ever was or will be.

I've heard a lot of performance horn players. All you have to do to see what I mean is to wander through this website and pick off performances of the first movement of Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat and you will discover that Brain never blurbles a note, and every attack in the Allegro Maestoso is pinpoint. He is technically and tonally perfect and couples that with a superb musical sensibility. It was one of the great musical tragedies that he died at the age of 36.

Something to keep in mind is that when Mozart wrote these works for his good friend (and cheesemonger) Joseph Leutgeb, the French horn was a very limited instrument. Many of the notes were reached by stopping the bell to some degree, which affected volume and intonation. Mozart wrote to take advantage of Leutgeb's expertise at this, and Dennis Brain chooses to maintain this effect rather than just play his modern instrument with no thought to the past.

These compositions cover a fair range of time. Number 2(K.417) is really the earliest (1783). And the incomplete No. 1 (K.412) is really the last (1791). The best though, in both my mind and Mozart's is the Quintet in E flat for piano & wind. Mozart was a master in using instrument groupings in novel and powerful fashion and this is no exception.

EMI has remastered this CD over their previous release, which enhances clarity, and makes it easier to hear Dennis Brain's considerable finesse. I own their first release and the difference in clarity makes it worth finding this edition. But even the duller production of the 1997 is enjoyable. It you want a good selection of Dennis Brain's work on one CD this is an excellent buy.

Great recordings of the century, and that is what it is.
Herbart von Karajan conducting, and Dennis Brain on horn tells it all; a wonderful rich music experience are waiting for you.
In my ears its probably one of the best recordings ever made of the horn concert. And even though its from the mid 50`s it comes in a wonderful remastered CD.
The CD comes with a very good booklet in English; telling the story behind the record.
I highly recommend this album

This Mozart sonata for two hands has some of the sweetest piano melodies ever written. Complimented by Schuberts fantasia for four hands, which is a bit more introspective, we are provided with an amazing contrast which makes the CD amazingly easy to listen straigth through. This is music to relax to, feel giddy with and enjoy repeatedly.

I'm sorry I have to do this but I'm starting to get annoyed with this so called Mozart effect. The reviewer below me would like you to get this CD because alledgedly, the Mozart sonata for four hands will increase your temporal lobes. On the other hand, we shouldn't really listen to the Schubert fantasia because it does nt a thing for the temporal lobes. Poor Schubert. I'm sorry, but with exquisite music like this (both the Mozart AND the Schubert), if one is listening because of a percieved effect on the brain, as opposed to the emotions, one will find themselves missing out. This is a sweet, well performed and well recorded CD. With music like this, why care about the temporal lobes?!

At the time of this review, the Schubert recording (wonderful as it is) can also be found on itunes for only 99 cents.

These two performers (Perahia & Lupu) understand their subject matter. The Mozart performance is just right -- not overdone in dynamics, but not wimpy, either. I think the 3rd movement should be just a tad faster, but I really can't quibble with their rendition.

The reason I bought the CD, however, is for the Schubert Fantasia. It is one of my desert-island works. (I agree with the much-beloved classical DJ from CBC, Bob Kerr, that this piece is just about perfect -- it is a mature work of a composer in full control of his medium.) This is now the fourth recording of this work I have, and this one is easily the best. The performance here is perhaps a bit on the Classical side (as opposed to the Romantic side) of Schubert. The tempi are just right; the opening isn't too slow, and the scherzo isn't too fast. The dynamics are shaded and nuanced; for example, the opening statements in the fugue section aren't pounded out so the listener knows for sure what the subjects are. Even the forte sections have some restraint -- they can get loud, but they never pound the piano. They refrain from the temptation of adding a lot of rubato. These are the kinds of things that make for a better reading of the piece.

And this might seem to be a very small point, but this is the only performance I've heard where the performers can actually COUNT. In the transition from the scherzo to the restatement of the opening (just before the double fugue), there are four measures with long rests. The performers in all the other recordings I have "rush the rests" -- they starting playing too quickly. As I said, it's a minor point, but it shows the great care that these two pianists have taken in putting together this performance.

Whlile I really think Szell is great in #40 the really big dissapointment is the slow music in 41 and the performance of the Haffner which lacks the delicacy one comes to expect in this music. I reccommend either Walter or Bernstein in this label or go to the DG version of Karajan to see how much more there is.

Mozart's symphonies, unlike those of Romantic composers don't have taken too deeply when it comes to emotions; what's more important would have to be the technical side of the pieces, and Maestro George Szell is the man for the job, and Symphonies 35, 40, and 41 are no exceptions. His performance is light, confident, and crisp, and at the same time, never overexpressive or demanding(such as Karajan), nor too dull or straightforward. The balance is perfect.

An absolute album at a budget price. Never hesitate to buy it.

They made miracles. Especially, George Szell, who were acknowledged as one of the conductors who have sensitive ears by the recording engineers of DECCA,shall be praised.

Usually, the name of Mozart reminds us of the conductors like Bruno Walter and Christopher Hogwood. But Szell is totally different.

His analysis is more strict than the soft tone of Walter.

His analysis is better arranged than the one of Hogwood.

There shall be nobody who will regret after listening to this CD.

I first bought the Decca set by Ashkenazy for 2 reasons. One, I am a fan of Ashkenazy and I think he plays superbly. Two, I heard that Decca gave Ashkenazy a superb recorded sound. So that was my first set of Mozart Piano Concertos. In the meantime, I kept hearing praise about Perahia's set - how wonderful it is and that it is listed on Gramophone's list of 100 greatest classical recordings of all time. I think very highly of that list simply because many of my favorite recordings are there - and they are my favorites precisely because they are simply fantastic - Klemperer's Fidelio, Klieber's Beethoven 5 & 7, Solti's Ring, Gilel's Brahms Piano Concerto, Klemperer's German Requiem, Solti's Salome, Furtwangler's Beethoven 9, Giulini's Don Giovanni. So I thought to myself, let's put Perahia to the test. I fell madly in love with Perahia's reading immediately. My goodness - if I thought Ashkenazy is outstanding, Perahia is simply divine!! I rarely come across such beautiful and mesmerizing playing. Perahia's Mozart Piano Concerto is simply in the 'legend' league, standing proudly beside all the greatest recorded classical works in the world. His playing is simply gorgeous - beautiful poetic insights and astounding technique. I was mesmerized from start to finish, completely absorbed in his playing. Ashkenazy is superb but somehow, Perahia gives every concerto that extra indefinable special touch.
This is one of those classical sets that I would put in the 'must-own' class for any classical music lover. You will be enchanted from first to last by the special talents of Perahia. To put it in other words, Perahia is to Mozart Piano Concerto what Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson are to Wagner, what Joan Sutherland is to Bel Canto singing, what Rostropovich is to the cello repertoir, what Artur Rubinstein is to Chopin.

Yes, I fear that I will never be able to find other classical music pleasing. BTW, this set can be found at a budget price also on Amazon.

After hearing this set, my only regret is that I fear I'll never find any other classical music as pleasing to my ears!

This is truly one of the great recordings of all-time! And, it has just been reissued at bargain price on 10 cd's in the uk and should be available here by the fall (sony sx10k89500). For those who have thought this to expensive, you will now be able to acquire this for around $, making if far more accesible to many purchasers. I have already ordered two more copies myself from london. I hope more people can come to learn the glories of these recordings as so many already have. Enjoy!

Every time I hear A MUSIC BOX CHRISTMAS, I recall the Christmas 1985. Boston's famed department store Jordan Marsh was still in business, and the store windows had their "Ebben Bears" (a store brand stuffed animals) decorating the house for Christmas, playing in the snow, preparing holiday goodies, and of course shopping. In the background, this recording was playing, setting the mood back to an age gone by.

This recording is a collection of music boxes owned by Rita Ford. All of eth standard Christmas carols, as well as a few works that are not so standard, are available in this collection. The recording is authentic. At certain points listeners hear the actual machinery which gives the recording an old world feel. Some of the tracks are more enjoyable than other tracks, but the variety gives the tracks character.

When I listen to this disc, I usually set the CD player on shuffle, rather than listening to the collection from beginning to end, which can be tiresome. I find it gives variety to my Christmas listening ands always puts me in the holiday mood.

Enjoy!.

If you like to hear bells this is for you. They sometimes get in the way of the music, but bells are for Christmas, aren't they? All the traditional American Christmas music is on this cd. They are played very well, but sometimes you have to break with tradition. I really wish that there would have been some other carols, like "in the bleak midwinter" or "three Kings". Other than that and maybe too many bells, I would reccomend this cd.

Don't bother with some of the other music box CDs; get Rita Ford's CDs first. This is my second one, and it's just wonderful. Very nice sounds for the holidays; especially good as background music for parties. Everybody wants to know what's playing!

I do not personally own this CD but I did check it out a couple of times from the Houston Public Library (Central Library) which does own a copy. Generally very good, relaxing music. Narada's Celtic music selections in particular I have found to be NOT as good as Celtic collections by other labels...can't say why, exactly,though. Still, one thing that Narada artists excell at is acoustic guitar pieces (especially �Nuevo Flaminco! stuff). Unlike the other reviewer, I am generally fond of New Age electronic pieces, it's just that I've heard better elsewhere, particularly, as I said, in regards to New Age Celtic tunes.

I believe I've played this CD, on average, once each week since I first came upon it in Spring, 1999. Atypically, each piece on the album is thoroughly enjoyable, and every one seems better than the one before it. Well represented are works by David Lantz and Paul Speer, and by David Arkenstone. Usually I skip around when playing a CD; this is my one and only exception. And everyone asks for repeats of "Behind the Waterfall".

CD #1 in this double album has three or four pieces that I really enjoy--Tingstad & Rumbel's due, Friedmann's mysterious mermaid composition and of course the wonderful "Cristofori's Dream", which was a big hit CD on its own. I ended up getting the individual albums for Tingstad & Rumbel, because I enjoyed their particular sound so much.

At first, I didn't like CD #2 as well as CD #1, but now I listen to this almost as frequently. There are some Celtic-inspired pieces in particular that are very pleasant.

The great thing about these samplers for me is that I can find artists I am not familiar with, and also there is so much variety that I can play it over and over without getting bored.

Walk with me through timeless moments of beauty as the forest rests and seems to endlessly sleep through days and months, across countless years of winter. The forest lies open and vulnerable, sharing its secrets while resting peacefully through this season of scarcity and earth, waiting patiently for spring and the promise of renewal. ~Zola Van

If snow fell to the earth as musical notes, they might sound like "Snow Dance at Sand Cave." There is a crystalline beauty in Zola Van's playing that almost rivals nature itself. Her playing is born from a love of nature and her connection with her environment weaves its way into the notes in her piano solos in an almost breathless anticipatory beauty.

While the first two solos are fast-paced and the notes dance excitably like sun glinting off ice, Winter's Kiss at Rim Rock Trail has a calming quality reminiscent of the security you would feel looking out from a warm house covered in snow. You will feel the chill of winter in the shivers Zola Van's playing will give you. The notes are especially crisp in this piece.

In Gathering at Teal Pond majesty intermingles with playfulness. Wintertide at Miller's Grove is haunting in its delicacy and an element of bittersweet memories have been inspired by a lonely pine grove. Perhaps my favorite track on this CD because the pace is comforting. I'd like to have an entire CD with songs of this pace. Zola's playing does at times have an intensity to it, but in Wintertide, she captures the true feeling of winter in its stillness.

The Snow Day might remind you of playgrounds and snowball fights. Paint the Forest Winter is exquisite and you can imagine a moonlit woods sparkling like diamonds under a starlit night. Zola's sensitivity to each note is very apparent as she delicately unfolds a painting in a musical observation.

Trail of Tears: Kyrie at Brownfield was inspired by the story of mothers who told their children to run into the forest for safety. Zola captures the immense sense of loss and heart-wrenching despair the Cherokee Indians felt in the winter of 1839. It is almost a tribute to the human spirit and even if you didn't know the story that inspired this song, you would be overwhelmed with a sense of someone feeling despair. I am only left wondering how humans could treat one another with such disrespect when surrounded by such woodland beauty.

Burden Falls is a heavier piece representing a frozen section of waterfall trapped motionless in the dead of winter. Water still moves beneath and you can hear a freedom of rushing water beneath the frozen cascades.

At Rendleman's Grave: Giant City State Park was inspired by a story of a child who lived through the Civil War. "Sleeping Periwinkles cover this site (his grave) to come forth in spring." Zola has captured a solitary stillness that then breaks into the continuation of life as it moves from one form to the next. Promise of Spring follows rather appropriately as the death of winter gives way to new life and a heaven of flowers bursting into bloom. There is a sadness of saying goodbye to winter, and a bittersweet welcoming of spring. Zola completes the mood with Vivaldi's Winter: Largo from Concerto in F minor. Her interpretation is dreamily romantic and the perfect ending to a magnificent CD filled with emotion, wonder and pure musical genius.

I am amazed by the profound way Zola captures emotions and scenic vistas. It makes the heart want to escape to this beautiful area in Southern Illinois were she is inspired and lives. I lived in Illinois as a child and part of me remembers the beauty of deep snow and the atmosphere and scents of winter. The variety in this particular CD is stunning. I have rarely heard music this beautiful and heart capturing. Paint the Forest Winter would enhance any walk out in nature, especially if snow is covering the ground.

~TheRebeccaReview.com

Zola Van's piano solos have so much depth that she virtually touches your soul with the feeling that gave her the inspiration to play these beautiful, melodic tunes.
Imagine being bundled up and warm, trekking through a quiet, peaceful forest in the heart of winter. Ice topped branches sparkling in the sun. Fluffy white snow with deer and rabbit tracks intertwined. Her music can take you there.
I can picture her inspiration to transform the feelings and experience from being alone for hours, sightseeing as she made her way through the deep forest.
But it's best to experience it for yourself. "At Rendleman's Grave", "The Snow Day" and "Paint the Forest Winter" are three of the best songs here but all are beautiful.

If you're antsy to get outdoors but can't due to the winter's weather, the next best thing may be to listen to Zola Van's second effort Paint the Forest Winter. Her 12 impressionist pieces were inspired by hikes through the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois, and most are some of the more melodic, romantic and visual piano efforts you'll hear this year from a piano solo release. An excellent and representative piece is "Winter's Kiss at Rim Rock Trail" (see track 6 on this month's sampler) will make you feel the sting of winter's cold.

The highlight of the CD is "Rendleman's Grave," inspired by the lonely grave that sits in a corner of a children's cemetery--the boy just a day shy of his 13th birthday.

For the piano solo lover, this release has it all: strong compositions with beautiful melodies, a deep well of interesting harmonies, and fine chops at the keys. The CD also contains fantastic liner notes, with explanations from each stop of the hiking journey and several photographs.

Paint the Forest Winter is a fabulous stroll through winter's timeless moments and open forests. -- Peter Manzi, Editor

Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975) is best-known for his symphonies and for his difficult political life in the former Soviet Union. Between 1950-1951, while his work was under a performance ban, Shostakovich composed a work for solo piano, the "24 Preludes and Fugues" Op. 87, which is remarkable for its intimacy and devotion to the art of pure music. It is one of the great piano works of the twentieth century. The complete work is performed on this 2-CD collection by Konstantin Scherbakov, a young Russian pianist.

Shostakovich's work consists of a prelude and a following fugue in each major and minor key. It is modeled after Bach's two-volume "Well-Tempered Clavier" which consists of two volumes of preludes and fugues in each key. (Shostakovich was asked after completing this work whether he would compose another set, to parallel Bach's two sets. "Never!", he replied.) Chopin's 24 preludes is another model. I found Shostakovich's work closer in spirit to Chopin than to Bach.

Unlike Bach's collections, which proceed in order on the chromatic scale, (c major and minor, c-sharp major and minor,d major and minor, etc) Shostkovich's cycle follows the circle of fifths. Thus, the first prelude and fugue is in C major while the second is in the minor key with the same signature as C major -- A minor. The work then proceeds up by fifths -- to G major and its relative minor of E-minor througout the 24 major and minor keys.

In some instances, (such as nos. 3,6, and 10) the prelude and the fugue are written to contrast with each other. But most of the sets, I found, were complimentary in character with both the prelude and fugue expressing different aspects of the same emotional mood. Several of the fugues are based upon and develop the melodic material presented in the prelude. And some of the music does seem to be a deliberate recollection of Bach.

There is a great deal of variety within the set, with some pieces ironic, some humorous, some sad and quiet, and others virtuosic and showy. The final work in the set, no. 24, is appropriately, the most triumphal in the collection; the work marking the mid-point, no. 12, also reaches a climax. The prevailing tone of the collection, for me, is one of deep introspection. It is as if Shostakovich was not writing to please an audience or to adjust to the vagaries of the political censors but only for himself -- to capture in the quiet of his own study and heart what he wanted to say musically without pressure from anyone. Bach's volumes are the model for this type of attempt at "pure" or "abstract" music. Shostakovich's writing reflects his own character as a composer of the twentieth century. No listener will mistake Shostakovich's fugues for Bach's.

I thought Scherbakov's playing quiet, restrained, and thoughtful. It captures the character of this difficult work.

This work is tonal in character and more accessible than much contemporary music. Nevertheless, it will bear repeated listening. I approached the work by listening to it through, and then by listening separately to each half (i.e. dividing it into two sets of twelve). This CD is available at a budget price and will offer the adventurous listener the opportunity to explore a masterpiece of 20th century piano music.

This disc is a revelation for me: I had no idea that Shostakovich wrote so wonderfully for solo piano. He wrote all of the work collected here early in his career (he wrote the impressive, joyous "Three Fantastic Dances" at the tender age of sixteen). Most of these pieces are lyrical and tonal and draw from a wide array of styles, from from Bach to Chopin to jazz. Yet they are original, clearly the work of a great musical mind. Generally affirmative, they are nonetheless personal and the work of--and for--a virtuoso. Fortunately, Scherbakov is well up to the demands, and the recording is, like many Naxos discs, excellent.

These are probably my favorite work by Shostakovich. Not being too big a fan of the more-celebrated symphonies, I believe that this work reveals much more of the man then most people think it does.

Shostakovich once said that his symphonies ultimately represented "a set of tombstones" to him. I mention this not, of course, to detract from those who praise those works. Shostakovich lived through the twentieth century as a Russian and a Soviet, so it's easy to see the root of all the angst and sadness he expressed through them. That, in short, is why they're still istened to even today, because of the level of emotion which was expressed with the aid of his musical genius. I can't help but view the symphonies as amazing in their own right.

The preludes and fugues, op. 87, couldn't be more different. They were written for solo piano, and are mostly subdued pieces where the symphonies are perfectly cacphonous. What I'd like to suggest, is that these pieces represent a kind of photo negative of the symphonies. Take a listen to a few of them. They sound so delicate - so full of innocence and youthful ardor! And yet so precise! One can scarcely believe they weren't written by a 20-year old prodigy. Where the symphonies drown you in a direct emotional assault, the preludes are like a light sprinkle of rain, often merely hinting at the emotions behind them. This of course is just what makes them such wonderful pieces to listen to, time and again. Each fugue behaves in much the same way that those of Bach did, with a well-defined subject and counter-subject, and yet so much arises out of this simple dynamic it is hard to put into words the effect they can have on a person.

I personally believe that Shostakovich was able to exorcise his demons through the symphonies. But what of his happiness? I believe if the man had experienced as much joy as sadness, we would be listening today to magnficent symphonies on a par with those of Beethoven. But unfortunately (or fortunately?) for us, he never felt exuberance on the same level he did melancholy. These preludes are a testament to the joy he must have wished he were capable of feeling. They hint at something that never was, but something that was always longed for. You can hear it in each piece: the misplaced ecstasy

If I had to choose just one adjective to describe the playing of Shura Cherkassky, it would be 'elegant.' I've just been comparing all the traversals of the Chopin 'Preludes' contained in the Philips 'Great Pianists of the 20th Century' collection; it includes those of Marta Argerich, Claudio Arrau, Jorge Bolet, and Alfred Cortot, along with Cherkassky's. Of these surely the most elegant, the most nuanced are those of Cherkassky. Arrau's come close (and are in better sound). For my money, the most exciting, although not necessarily the most accurate, are still those of Cortot, as old as they are. Still, I would not want to be without these gems by Cherkassky. He seems unrushed, unrhetorical, unmannered. The Preludes seem natural, somewhat restrained, always wise and civilized. The sound in these 1968 recordings is just fine.

The '�tudes,' however, are something else. They seem a bit unsettled and the sound, from the early 1950s, shows its age. Still, they are skilfully phrased and he makes music of them, not just show-pieces. The F major and the C minor ('Revolutionary') are particularly effective.

As one earlier reviewer pointed out, the 'Nocturne in F minor, Op. 55, No. 1' is wonderful. And even better is the 'Barcarolle in F-sharp, Op. 60.' Indeed, it is one of the best I know.

The Third sonata does not catch fire, for some reason. I wonder why Philips didn't include his more effective recording of the Second. Ah, well, I think it's still available elsewhere.

The Philips collection is a treasure-house of important performances and this set is particularly valuable for the Preludes, the F minor Nocturne, and the Barcarolle.

I heard Shura Cherkassky play in person three times, and each time he blew me away, but his recordings were not always as warm or exciting as his live performances. This set is an exception. In the Etudes, especially, I can almost see Shura hunched over the keys, his feet working the pedals frantically if instinctively to produce those beautiful corruscating cascades of sound in which he enveloped us all. How magical his playing was, and how unique! I am so happy that this album exists so I can tell people, "THAT is what Shura Cherkassky sounded like."

Excellent disk! When I bought this recorg a few years ago it was intuitive choise. I was beginner in the piano music. But, after many listenings of other pianists this interpretation of Chopin is still the best. Here I'm filling the gone epoch, epoch of lyrics and romantics.
If you like Chopin - buy it.

To combine a voice as beautiful as Pavarotti's with some of the world's greatest music and outstanding orchestras, and end up with this...`thing'...is unforgivable. After buying and listening to it, it brought to mind those painful words "A fool, a fool. I saw a fool today. I saw him in the mirror."

R. J. Rogers

Pavarotti has a voice that can take hold of you and change your entire mood...even if you don't know Italian. The problem with this set is the mastering (mastering evens out the volumes and signal to noise ratio on an album). The first CD in this collection is so quiet that you literally have to crank your player to get any kind of volume. For a professional CD this is absolutely unacceptable.
The song choices are good with the exception of "My Way" with Frank Sinatra. Both singers sound ....ummm...let's just say less than their best on the recording. It sits out like a boil on a pretty girl's face.

I have never been a huge fan of Maestro Pavarotti but I must admit that this compilation is a masterful collection of his operatic highlights.

I particularily enjoy the first disc which contains just about all the major tenor arias. The singing is superb and listening to this CD it becomes obvious what the fuss over the pre-3 Tenors Pavarotti was all about - the man really did have one of the greatest tenor voices of all time.
His diction was flawless, his line perfect and his interpretation in keeping with the greatest of the Italian tenors of days gone by.

The second disc is interesting in that it is a bit uneven. It contains a few neapolitan standards, a x-mas song, a duet with Frank Sinatra and some other random selections.

Overall this is a 5 star CD but due to the extremely low volume, particularily on the first and most important disc I can only give it a 4 star rating.

On a final note, anyone puzzeled by the current hype over the now againg and commercially over-blown Pavarotti should purchase this CD. This is the great tenor in his prime and as such a CD well worth having...even if you're not a Pavarotti fan.
I'm still not, but I recognize greatness when I hear it.