Classical music reviews

Though I have listened to quite a bit of Celtic music and really love bagpipes, this introduction to "The Legacy of Turlough O'Carolan" has captivated my entire being. There are melodies which have me up on my feet dancing to the tune of quiet waltzes (Si Bheag, Si Mhor by William Coulter; Captain O'Kane by Seamus McGuire) or either attempting some type of jig! My all time favorite is "Lord Inchiquin" performed by Deiseal. This is a fascinating and fun piece of music that transports me back to the 17th century to join others in a spirited dance at some outdoor festival! Marvelous!! Additionally, the biography supplied giving details of O'Carolan's life is inspiring considering what would seem like an insurmountable physical limitation - blindness! Buy a copy of this CD! Enjoy!!

This was my first exposure to O'Carolan's music and it was a superb experience. It is hard to believe he lived in the sixteen hundreds. His music is beautiful and relevant. I would strongly recommend this CD to anyone who enjoys lovely folk music. Squire Parsons/James Betagh is my absolute favorite arrangement and I could and do listen to it everyday.

Many of the other Celtic albums that make their way to my CD player have modernized influences and characteristics. This release has been the most true to this wonderfully soothing genre. Everyone should give it a try.

In brief, this may be the best single album to jump start the novice on Ives -- and a great ride for the already converted among us. The comprehensive reviews in this thread say it all; I won't repeat. Let me add this, though: the earlier, excellent recording on Columbia (SONY) coupled with the 3rd Symphony, has a cut in the 4th movement, which Lenny opens up in this more recent recording. So, if you have the earlier recording this one is still something of a 'must have.' Buy it for that 'alternate' library of special recordings, like the Tatrai set of Bartok Quartets, Furtwangler's Beethoven Symphonies from the war years, Toscanini's recordings of OTELLO and FALSTAFF -- and Benny Goodman live at Carnegie Hall, 1938.

Often faced with the question from friends who are just beginning a classical music collection and want to try the 'American school' - the question being which of the many Ives recordings is a solid groundwork for understanding and appreciating Ives' importance - this is the recording I recommend. Despite the now gratefully multiple recordings of all of the works on this CD (especially the Symphony No. 2), this collection surveys Charles Ives well.

Leonard Bernstein was a champion for Ives performances both in this country and abroad. This recording shows why. His approach to Ives' work is not only diligent in his preparation of the orchestra, but it also programs a spectrum that allows each of the works to enhance the others. Here the Symphony No. 2 begins the survey, finding within the work the humor and nostalgia that abounds. And as if to recapitulate Ives' thoughts, Bernstein follows with the quirky 'The Gong on the Hook & Ladder or Firemen's Parade on Main Street', the 'Tone Roads No. 1, for chamber orchestra', a perfectly infectious 'A Set of 3 Short Pieces, for string quartet, double bass & piano',
Hallowe'en, for string quartet, piano & optional drum, the luminous 'Central Park in the Dark', and of course ends with the now American iconic 'The Unanswered Question (I & II).'

This recording may be dated in sound, but the performances remain definitive. And as for a fine introduction to both the well-known side of Ives as well as the slightly esoteric aspect of the genius' music, this well curated selection fits the bill. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, March 06

Ives was an uncommon, refined distillate. Much like Wallace Stevens, another Connecticut Yankee insurance specialist thoroughly out of step with his environment, Ives's structural and thematic advances foretold radical new worlds. Many liner notes to recent Ives releases talk about his work as if it were like most other orchestral offerings--in reality, few touch upon how cataclysmic and inventive his realizations were.

Bernstein, conversely, grasps Ives in totality and advances the cause of this frighteningly bold new music, both in practice and in writing at length about these scores and the Protean imagination that engendered them. Bravo, Lenny.

The most sensitive piano playing I've ever heard. My wife likes it too.

The Phillips label "Set Your Mood" contains classical music for any frame of mind, life event, setting or mood. Others in the series include "Mozart For Your Morning Commute" "Bach For Barbecue" "Baroque For Bathtime" "Beethoven For Book Lovers" "Tchaikovksy For Teatime" "Liszt For Lovers" "Puccini And Pasta" and countless of other delightful albums, each with
its own theme and each containing beautifully performed classical music. On this album, the music of Chopin is meant to accompany your romantic evening or your drinking champagne after dinner. The music of Chopin does effectively describe nocturnal scenes and has a very melancholy romanticism which is very internal and reflective. It's perfect ambiance music. If I owned an office I would pipe in Chopin for the Musak.

The selected pieces here are exquisite and some of Chopin's most beautiful works for piano, the instrument that he made entirely his own in the 19th century. Frederic Chopin, a shy, sickly Polish man, composed countless of nocturnes and preludes, all which bear a sad, introspective, wistful and evening feel. The famous Nocturne No. 2 in E Flat is on here, the so called "Murmurs Of the Seine" a romantic description of the moonlit Seine river. In other preludes, such as the "Raindrop" Chopin captured the sound of water and rain perfectly, as he does with some of his other works. There is fluidity, finesse and elegance in everything he wrote. The opening excerpt is the Larghetto from his Piano Concerto No. 2, a slow movement whose dreamy mood is absolutely breathtaking. It was for this movement and the following Berceuse In D Flat Major Opus 57 that I even bought this album. The Berceuse is a sublime piece, full of intricate trills, falls, runs and an unforgettable melody. It really is rather difficult to play as well. Chopin made the piano a singing voice, with leaps, octaves and floritura. It's really on the same level as Franz Liszt, though Liszt preferred more dynamic, dramatic even shocking sounds while Chopin's music remained ever gentle and romantic. This is a great album for fans of Chopin. The piano artists here, especially Claudio Arrau are doing a remarkable job with the music.

I found this CD on line after hearing a recording of a Chopin prelude on WCRB 102.5, the Boston classical station. I didn't know the pianist but when I found it to be Claudio Arrau, I had to hear more of him. I have kept Vladimir Ashkenazy in such high esteem in his piano interpretation of Chopin and Rachmaninov that I was floored to find in Arrau an even higher level of sensitivity to the emotion of the pieces, in this case, those of Chopin. It is true that the somewhat tacky cover and concept of saving Chopin for champagne and romance may be off-putting, but if this is the way to bring such wonderful recordings to more listeners, then I am all for it.
I can't begin to express the delight and even rapture I experience when I listen to this CD. I need to save it for special times, so it won't become too familiar to me.

Pollini's interpretation and execution of the 24 etudes is superb, as are his polanaises. His preludes however, no.19 especially, I feel, have a touch of delicacy which it could do without. Where marked 'vivace' it is played closer to 'presto'. Apart from this however it is a first class performance, and fully worthy of the 5 stars I have given it.

Matt

While sometimes a little faster than generally performed (as my teacher put it "because he can!") Pollini exeplifies near flawless technique with wonderful interpretation of Chopin. The only complaint I personally have, is that the playing seems a bit technical, and not as much emotion is put into the actual peices. Though Etudes are not generally known for their musicality, Pollini, I feel, could still be afford a little more push/pull in some of the selections.

Pollini does bring a new freshness to the set of preludes. Overplayed and sometimes butchered by the amateur pianist, Pollini peroforms these preludes masterfully and brings them to a level that I've rarely heard.

Other than my minor complaint, I feel that for any student or teacher willing to complete, add or update their library this is a great choice. Pollini delivers a crystal clear performance, worthy of any listener. Easily one of my favorite recordings in my collection!

It takes a very great artist to be able to play pieces which have been overperformed and overtaught, and bring something fresh to the table. Pollini does just that, especially in his performances of the Preludes and Etudes.

I would love to take a poll of the pianists and piano teachers here to see how many times they have taught the Chopin Preludes. From my own experience, I've taught these pieces so many times that I find myself dreading teaching #4 (e minor), #6 (b minor), #7 (A Major) or #20 (c minor) -- and I think we forget that these pieces are actual music and NOT "teaching pieces".

Pollini succeeds in taking these over-played pieces and transforming them back into "music". It's really nothing short of amazing. As I listened, I began noticing secondary melodies I'd never heard, particularly in #5 (D Major), #13 (F-Sharp Major), and #14 (e-flat minor). The F-Sharp Major Prelude is particularly gorgeous -- almost heart-rendingly so in the middle section. The g-sharp minor Prelude has exactly the right sense of fire and drive to bring this piece across; the A-Flat Major, E-Flat Major and F Major Preludes are nothing short of ravishing.

I bought this CD collection on suggestion of a friend of mine (also a pianist) who has experienced the same kind of burn-out I have with Chopin pieces which are over-taught and over-played, and/or over-interpreted to the point where the pieces become parodies of themselves. (I never heard so much bad, truly affected Chopin playing as I did at the school where I initially trained as a pianist!).

Pollini's Chopin is a real breath of fresh air -- restrained, elegantly timed rubatos; enough pedal to effect tonal coloring without the overpedalling so common in so many Chopin performances; a sense of drama in the playing combined with an edge of restraint so the pieces are never "over-played"; and he has an uncanny ability to convey a strong sense of structure to these pieces.

I can say quite honestly that the performances of the Preludes and Etudes on this CD have the force of a revelation. The proof of this is that after hearing the CD (many times), I have decided to learn all 24 Preludes (plus the C-Sharp Minor Prelude, op. 45) and play them all in a recital.

The Polonaises aren't quite as spellbinding as the Preludes and as riveting as the Etudes; but the Preludes and Etudes make this a compelling collection. I strongly and enthusiastically recommend this CD compilation!

Mr. Nakamatsu's Chopin interpretation is absolutely beautiful and poetic, and it does not suffer from the quirky eccentricities that some performers add into their interpretations- instead, it is fresh, clear, precise, dynamic, and captivating. A negative is that the recording suffers from some echoing reverbs. However, this is more than made up for by the amazing Steinway concert grand that Mr. Nakamatsu used for the recording: it has a brilliantly rich and sonorous tone that magically assists him in conveying the deep emotions and the lyrical richness of Chopin's music- indeed, this is one of the best pianos I have ever listened to.

This is heroic playing like we used to hear from the old masters like Rubenstein etc. I find this CD thrilling. I play this for friends who are not classical music fans and they love it also. I predict a great future for Jon Nakamatsu!

I think people will find a renewed appreciation for these Chopin standards, as interpreted and dynamically played by Jon Nakamatsu.

An excellent complilation of Chopin works which includes 3 of the pieces I am currently learning. Definitely has encouraged me to improve my piano skills and allow me to better appreciate his style of music.

Beautifully done 2 CD of Chopin works. I've played it every weekend since I got it, loving every track. It's well performed and recorded, and is an excellent collection for anyone interested in Chopin or his adopted homeland of Poland. And, of course, you can't often go wrong with the London Label.

this is a wonderful collection of the mazurkas but Ashkenazy plays a lot of them too fast my music teacher played these with more pathos he seems like he cant get done fast enough with some of them some introductions should be slower with more feeling otherwise all the mazurkas i wanted are in this disc just wish i had got better artist like Claude Arrau

Rather than goading and beating his players sensely Walter was always a gentleman of conductors and was very much old world by the time the 50s came about. Never in a rush, these interpretations balance a view halfway between modern interpretation of Conducting and yet maintains the old world sense of proportion and blend. The Columbia symphony sounds wonderfully European...robust woodwinds out front and a natural unforced balance between winds and brass.

Rather recently I heard the Naxos Tintner set and was very dissapointed with the Beethoven installments..and in No. 4 you simply have to listen to Walter. The warmth and roundness of phrasing and the subtle dovetailing of phrases is an instance where Walter can never be matched. I also dislike the idea of doing Romantic interpretations with Chamber music forces...here the Columbia symphony is around 75 players and yet play with a smooth clean sound that is very delicate...

I have a great admiration for Szell as well and for different reasons...Szell is very clean and more tense generally which works for Beethoven. However, I really think any genuine collector must have Bruno Walter's complete recordings on the "shelf". They are simply great and appeal to the sensibilities of serving the music without fuss.

These vintage recordings from the last fifties and early sixties capture all the warmth, insight, and gentle intensity of Bruno Walter's interpretative stance on Beethoven. Textures are clear, inner voices sing, and melodies flow with a gentle and passionate inevitability. The structure of the symphonies (despite the absence of any exposition repeats) unfolds with both clarity and narrative expansiveness. At times, Walter's art reveals a distinctive charm in the handling of rhythm: just note the opening of the second movement of the fourth, the genial ritardtando at the opening of the "Pastoral," or the almost coy viola patterns at the end of the second movement of the eight--absolutely inimitable Walterian timing.
Charm, however, is not the whole story. The epic grandeur of the "Eroica," the rhetorical gestures of the fifth, and the rhythmic vitality of the seventh all find unique expression in Walter's imagination: his third blends power with pathos, his fifth unites drive with ardent longing, and his seventh seamlessly and paradoxically weds febrile energy with Viennese swing. As for the ninth, the almost operatic passion of the first movement of the ninth, the granite-like strength of the scherzo, and the elysian warmth of the third movement are all unique in the Beethoven discography. Disappointingly, the crowning fourth movement lacks a foward moving structural impetous (how uncharacteristics of this set!); nevertheless, the soulful unfolding of the "Ode to Joy" theme in the strings is very moving. The choir tries to deal with the slow tempi--it seems that Walter is seeking some sort of metaphysical stasis to contrast with the drama of the opening movements--but ultimately, though there are many heart-warming touches, the finale fails to ignite. (This recording could be nicely supplemented by a "live" version of the ninth that Walter made with the London Symphony--what fireworks go off in that performance!!)
Despite this important blemish, this set of Beethoven symphonies is indispensable to the serious collector--endlessly fascinating in detail, warm in recorded sound, a living portrait of an artist who combined seraphic gentility, clarity of structure, and Dionysian passion to a unique and unrepeatable degree.

While there are many historic Beethoven symphony recordings of great merit (Furtwangler, Toscanini, Von Karajan) the Walter recordings (1958-1963) are perhaps the most satisfying overall. Walter takes a decidedly un-modern approach to tempo (SLOW-ER!!) so you hear many things in especially the second, third, seventh and eighth you normally do NOT hear in the more popular brisk tempi of Toscanini, Bernstein or Von Karajan.

While Von Karajan's Ninth is probably THE gold standard for the greatest of Beethoven's symphonies, overall, the Walter set is important if you want to hear how Beethoven was interpreted before either the technical bravura of the 70's and 80's or the harkening back to "as Beethoven would have heard it if he weren't deaf" attempts of reconstructionists.

The sound isn't so clean and bright--these were older recordings, but the interpretations never fail to please me. Lots to listen to in this set for lovers of the Titan Beethoven.

This CD was originally created to go along with Neale Donald Walsch's book by the same name. Whether or not you read or agree with the book is completely up to the individual listener. The CD speaks for itself, and it does so eloquently. It is a compilation of New Age music crafted into a CD that creates a soothing, relaxation enhancing back drop. And the appeal isn't limited to New Age fans. My grandparents use this CD for background during their bridge parties and book club meetings. My best friend puts it on at night for her newborn baby. Even my New Age hostile mother never argues when I slip this CD on the player.

Out of the fifteen tracks on this disc, there isn't one that should be discarded. Her Knees Deep In Your Mind by Ray Lynch is the first selection on this CD. It's unsurprising that some listeners have bought the collection after sampling that song alone. If you can, check out the audio sample available here. Other artists on this album include Jim Brickman, David Arkenstone, Yanni and George Winston, to name just a few. If nothing else, this CD offers the New Age listener a feast of styles, instruments and artistry to sample. I've discovered everyone has their favorites. Some love the piano performance of If You Believe by Jim Brickman. Others are drawn to the more esoteric works, like Shadowfax's Angel's Flight.

Compilations are an excellent way to explore new artists without committing to an entire album by said artist. This particular compilation has made a wonderful gift for many friends and family. The title is slightly misleading. While the compilation was put together by the author of the book by that same title, there is no necessity to read or subscribe to the ideas in the text to enjoy the CD. Most, if not all these chosen pieces were first recorded well before this book was ever written. This is excellent background music, or meditation music. I don't recommend the second or third CD compilations created under the same title, as I found the music choices less inspiring or interesting.

Happy listening! ^_^ Shanshad

I love the music of Windham Hill, and this disc is no exception! Compiled from 14 different artists, each and every track is incredibly beautiful. The White Spirit (track #13) by Uman is evocative and Reflection (track # 6) by Oystein Sevag is just one of those songs that transports you.

I have a disc for my car, which just sets the tone for the day!

The music is varied, including such artists as David Arkenstone, George Winston, and Patrick O'Hearn to name a few.

The music is soothing, yet evocative at times and can transport you to the depths of your soul if you let it carry you away. Great compliation - just another great winner from Windham Hill!

When I first heard a track of this CD, I didn't know the CD's title nor even the exact music genre. Yet, I knew one thing after hearing only one track. I had to purchase it.

I tracked down the name of the CD and bought it immediately. So, I was braced and prepared to be disappointed because I hadn't listened to the entire CD before purchasing it. What a wonderful and uplifting surprise to find myself absolutely mesmerized and seduced by every single track of this excellent CD.

It would be misleading if I said the CD gets progressively better beginning with Track 1 because every single track will offer you something extraordinary. (Track 13 is the grabber for me.) The power of this music is masked by its ethereal qualities, but powerful it is. After sharing this music with so many of my relatives, friends and co-workers, I'm convinced that this music can only be explained by whatever defines you. It will reach, touch and soothe anyone's core.

I purchased a second copy of this CD for my car. I'm a big music lover but I've never done that before. It's the best musical decision I've ever made.

one of slatkins best recordings.with copland hes on, the sound on this cd is ok,not as good as his telarc recordings witch i think are his better recordings but this one is one of them to.

When I purchased this collection I was already very familiar with Mr. Copland's more popular fanfaric motifs. I was astounded at how much I enjoyed the wonderful division of both sweeping dramatic themes and friendly, home-grown melodies. His film scores for the 1939 'Of Mice and Men' and the 1940 'Our Town' are a testament to classic films set in simpler times. The 'Red Pony' tracks for which the compilation is named are a magical digression from the listener's pre-conceived notions of Copland western fare. When one expects "Rodeo" (arguably one of Copland's most famous themes) one instead receives a gentler and sometimes powerfully moving score. The crowning jewel of this collection, however; is the beautiful suite from his Academy Award winning score for William Wyler's 1949 film of 'The Heiress.' When listening to this magnificent piece of musical history I am reminded how so many great scores are unavailable to listeners of today, and only through recreation and re-recordings can we re-capture those glimpses of film score artistry. I can only hope that many lost or hard to find works continue to be found or recorded so that film score and music lovers in general can continue to discover and rediscover the joy and beauty of our masters in film composing.

In a way, filmgoers have been listening to Copland's film scores nearly every time they go to the cinema, since film composers have been shamelessly ripping off Copland for the last half-century or so. When you listen to the "Our Town" suite, do you get the nagging feeling that you have heard this music somewhere before? No doubt you have, in dozens of derivitave film scores from the 1980's and 1990's, sometimes (shamelessly) right down to the exact chord progressions.

How nice it is then to be able to go back to the source, and have rendered in so superb a fashion as it is by Slatkin & the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Slatkin, as usual, upholds his reputation as one of the leading interpreters of American music.

This CD contains the premier recording of "The Heiress Suite," which is a delight to listen to, and of course the fairly well-known "Red Pony" music. Is their a more quintessential piece of "Western" music than the "Walk to the Bunkhouse?" How does a jewish boy from Brooklyn nail it on the head so perfectly, anyway?

Other selections include "Music for Movies," a collection of bits & pieces from an assortment of Copland-scored movies that Copland arranged in 1943, and "Music for Radio," an earlier composition that isn't really "movie music," but fits well with the rest of the compositions on this CD.

Instead of wasting your time on movie soundtracks that are nothing more than just derivitave hack jobs, listen to music by a composer who had truly mastered his craft.

A mandatory purchase (at a bargain price!) for all violin lovers- it contains some of Oistrakh's greatest recorded performances, including mind-boggling performances of the Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Brahms and and Dvorak concerti as well as the famous sonata recordings with Richter. Please, BMG, could we have more such treasures from Melodiya's legendary vaults?

Perhaps the great accomplishment in playing an instrument is to play it naturally, as if it were like breathing. Few artists prove this point as well as Oistrakh, the Soviet Union's artist, a true symbol of the Russian's school of music's excellence. As some other reviewer said, this is a moment of true musical orgasm. As an aspiring violinist, hearing Oistrakh's effortless rendition of the Tchaikovsky brings one almost to tears before such greatness. Some may complain about his dated method, but I favor it above any other artist, and highly recommend his interpretation of both the Brahms and the Tchaikovsky. Considering the fact that people didn't walk out of his performance of the pieces while a bombing raid was going on (during WWII), the man's musical prowess is second to none. Of special attention is the Brahms Sonata in A Major with Richter, easily one of the purest performances of the piece.

David Oistrakh has arguably the best pure tone of all who have ever played the violin--bar none.