Classical music reviews

This 1972 Beethoven Ninth from Solti is surprisingly expansive--it's strange to think of the Hungarian fire-breather conducting slower than Furtwangler. Although the Gramophone called Solti's 1986 remake 'extraordinarily tedious' and 'exciting if you are a nonagenarian German,' the slow tempos here mostly work. The Adagio definitely becomes tedious at Solti's crawl, not because of the slowness but because he finds so little inner life and tension in this movement.

But that's the only bad news. As other reviewers have said, the choral work in the finale, along with the solo quartet, is outstanding. Margaret Hillis's CSO Chorus was justly famous; here they are musical, clear, in tune, and well recorded. In addition, Solti gives the soloists and chorus permission to sing lyrically rather than shout--always a relief in the Ninth. Martti Talvela sings the bass recitative so fluidly that you wonder why other basses resort to barking.

The first movement is also fairly broad, and Solti is not the best at evoking mystery or a searching quality htat great Ninths invariably have, but the CSO plays so well and he conducts so respectfully that this movement holds one's attention. So does the Scherzo, which is middle-of-the-road despite one's expectation that Solti will let 'er rip with the timpani interjections. He doesn't, which is consistent with his middle-European approach to Beethoven in general.

In sum, a more than respectable Ninth that by comparison makes Abbado on Sony, Wand and Mehta on RCA, and even Giulini on EMi look to their mettle. Anyone interested in Solti's Beethoven could do worse than begin here. (Note: Listeners put off by Solti's broad tempos should know that his 1986 remake is less crisp and at times even slower.)

Four years ago I bought Solti's Beethoven-Symphony cycle for his No.9 that I listened nearly ten years ago. Though I don't like this cycle but I found no.2 and no.9''Choral'' as extraordinary. If you want a great performance of No.9 or a great sample from Solti's catalogue, buy this one...I have some problems with this recording; some string&bass passages and horn parts are poor. But totaly, this is very good performance, especially for chorus and soloist performances and Solti's tempi. In comparison with other great performings (Furtwaengler, Klemperer, Stokowsky, Bohm, Jochum, Isserstedt, Reiner, Giulini, Fricsay, Szell, Celi or Karajan-62 / See my Beethoven list) ofcourse, this is in same first class. On the other hand,my favorites are still Furtwaengler (1951), Klemperer (1964 and 1957) Karl Bohm (1970 and 1980), Stokowsky (1968), Isserstedt (1965), Jochum (1970's) and Giulini (1972,with LSO and 1980's, with BP).

This recording, from the 1st cycle that Solti recorded with the Chicago, is a stellar performance. I purchased it because Decca, in the interest of saving a few bucks, split it up onto two discs in the boxed set (pretty stupid, huh?). I'm sure everyone would agree with me that they would be willing to pay a few extra bucks to not have this greatest of symphonies split up between two discs. Luckily, we have the option of picking up this recording and hearing the whole thing uninterrupted. A truly landmark recording.

Echoing another reviewer, I don't believe Brendel's third go-round with the Beethoven concerto cycle is on a par with Arrau or Ashkenazy, but it is by far Brendel's best effort, demonstrating lyricism that, unfortunately, one cannot always depend on. It is a worthy addition to the serious music lover's collection, although I would not want to make it my only resource for the Beethoven concerti.

Alfred Brendel is probably the most knowledgeable Beethoven interpreter that we have seen in the past half century along with Richard Goode. It also helps that he is a phenomenal pianist and chamber musician. When listening to these performances I got a sense of a warmer more intimate ideal for the works, not everywhere, it was as soloistic as these need to be, but the connection between melody and accompaniment was very well balanced right on par with Fleisher and Szell. Levine gives the music everything it needs and the Chicago Symphony plays wonderfully. The live recording gives these works a wonderful atmosphere and the audience is reverently silent. If you want to seek out individual performances of these concertos by all means do it but for a box set of them all I would recommend this as well as his more recent with Rattle, as well as Fleisher and Arrau. All of them are wonderful however this is by far the best live recording of these works. Highly recommended

Alfred Brendel doesn't come across as a meticulous craftsman, but instead, as a lyrical, joyful interpreter of Beethoven in this version of Beethoven's piano concerto cycle which he recorded with James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the CSO's Ravinia Festival in the early 1980's. While this won't replace my recordings of Arrau, Perahia, Kovacevich or Ashkenazy performing these concerti, Brendel's third traversal is one of the best performed - and recorded - versions currently available. His warm, expressive playing reaches its peak in the last two concerti. Both Levine and the CSO are admirable, sympathetic accompanists. If you are looking for your first set of Beethoven piano concertos or your latest, then you certainly won't go wrong with these fine performances.

Having discovered and listened to Beethoven's nine symphonies at least ten thousand times during my teen years, his five piano concertos came into my life during a very particular moment. Along with Mozart's and Haydn's piano works, Beethoven's concertos constitute, for personal reasons, a body of work very, very dear to me.

Beethoven inherited from Mozart's 27 piano concertos a form so finely developed that one can naturally feel Mozart's influence on Beethoven during his first two concertos, where (I believe) he struggles to find his own identity. These two concertos have the soft, jovial side of Mozart's concerto style: they certainly are sublime at patches, but maybe not Beethoven's very best work (he wrote them in his early twenties).

The third concerto created something entirely new, which would serve as a model to later generations of composers (Brahms certainly being one of them). This is Beethoven's best (to me) piano concerto, certainly the most gentle and poetic and perhaps his very first "original" one not to be mistaken for a Mozart or Haydn concerto. Most of the time the solo instrument is soft and lyrical, while the orchestra is severe and sometimes fierce, the piano eventually softening and subduing the orchestra, with the two melting together into an exuberant, magnificent finale.

The fourth concerto is perhaps the most unusual one. This one constitutes an example of the transcendence of form: for the very first time in the history of form the solo instrument opens a concerto alone. The second movement is simply a dialogue between piano and strings. And towards the concerto's finale, drums, trumpets and wind instruments, which had been silent during the entire second movement and most of the first one, burst out in a joyful explosion.

The fifth concerto, "The Emperor", is the most popular one nowadays and has always been. This one is almost completely different from his four siblings. My favorite Beethoven concerto, along with the third one.

Beethoven's five Piano Concertos are certainly up there with Mozart's piano works. I have caught myself many a time running the gamut of all possible kind of facial expressions, from melancholy to extasy, while listening to these sublime concertos. One thing I'd like to stress though: the great Ludwig Van went on to live and write magnificent music for twenty years after having finished his fifth and last piano concerto, never to write a sixth one, thus leaving us with only five of them. What a shame!

This recording is simply amazing. The way Perahia plays each note in such a way that notes no longer exist but ooze out as sugary themes piqued by sweet harmonics which in themselves become the theme, over and over again, like undulating waves upon a lake. The 3rd and 4th are my favorites. The recordings are perfectly clear, limited only by your own hardware--speakers, wires, etc. The piano itself rings with perfect tonality. What can on say except that these recordings are sheer perfection. A definite buy.

Many recordings of the five piano concertos are available, to suit every taste and pocket. Complete cycles are usually on 3CDs, often with a price reduction over the separate issues, although some cycles are only available as a set, and not on individual CDs. Generally speaking, the most recommendable cycles are those by Perahia, Kempff, Fleisher, and Kovacevich. Alfred Brendel has recorded three cycles on Philips, but he is perhaps better attuned to the sonatas than the concertos. If one wants Brendel in these works, it is better to go for his cycle with Haitink than his live set from Chicago with Levine or the set with Rattle. Similarly, Pollini's earlier DG cycle is finer than his live recordings with Abbado.

To obtain the very best recordings of these works it is necessary to buy separate CDs.

The Piano Concerto No 1 in C major (in fact the second of the extant five to be composed) has been superbly recorded by Lars Vogt on EMI, coupled with an equally fine No 2. His playing is classically poised, with a vein of fantasy that brings both works to life, and he is ideally accompanied by the CBSO under Sir Simon Rattle. Another fine digital recording is that by Murray Perahia with Bernard Haitink conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra. This Sony recording (from his complete cycle) is more traditional, and perhaps less individual than Vogt's, but enjoyable all the same. The coupling is again the Second Concerto, which is an even better performance than Vogt's: possibly the best in modern sound, in fact.

The occasionally maligned Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli offers a highly individual account on DG: poised, often cool, but he gives one of the finest performances ever recorded of the first movement cadenza. The coupling is his equally idiosyncratic interpretation of the Third Concerto.

The older (mono) cycle by Wilhelm Kempff on DG yielded an outstanding version of No 1, which is finer than the equivalent recording from his 1961 stereo cycle, also on DG. On the Philips label, Stephen Kovacevich gives highly spirited, occasionally even fiery, perfomances of Nos 1 and 2 that are typical of his entire cycle, which is good value at budget price. A similar interpretation of No 2, with perhaps greater subtlety, is provided by Leon Fleisher, coupled with his inpired No 4, on a budget price Sony CD. This is part of a cycle that is only let down by a rather lacksadaisical account of the First Concerto.

The C minor Concerto (No 3) is a work in which many outstanding pianists have given of their best, among them Wilhelm Kempff, again from his 1953 mono cycle (which is only available as an integral set), Annie Fischer on DG under Fricsay in 1957, Daniel Barenboim on EMI with Klemperer and the Philharmonia (again, only available as a cycle), and Murray Perahia on Sony.

An outstanding modern version is Mitsuko Uchida on Philips at full price, accompanied by Kurt Sanderling: spontaneous and powerful playing, with superb recording to match. Stephen Kovacevich's coupling of the Third and Fourth Concertos is fine value, if occasionally a little too unrelenting in its approach.

The Fourth Concerto can lay claim to being the most profound of the five, and Leon Fleisher provides an interpretation which has never been equalled. The playing of the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell is absolutely superb, and the 1959 recording, now on Sony, still sounds well. This remains one of the greatest piano concerto recordings ever made.

Alongside Fleisher, most pianists fall short in the Fourth, but mention should be made of the great Emil Gilels, whose recording with Leopold Ludwig conducting the Philharmonia has been reissued on Testament, with a fine Emperor Concerto as coupling. Other recommendable Fourths include those by Perahia, Uchida, and Kempff (in stereo).

The Fifth Concerto, the Emperor, remains the most popular, and has been recorded innumerable times. First choice is perhaps Murray Perahia on Sony. Wonderful playing, very much from the eighteenth century, and a finale that really sparkles, but which does not lack power. Beautiful sound too.

Wilhelm Kempff's stereo DG account from 1961 is fine: magnificent playing throughout, with a sense of humanity in the Adagio that is compelling in its intensity. The finale is well paced: it is difficult to accept that Kempff was aged 65 when this recording was made.

Michelangeli's DG recording with Giulini is not one of his finest; anyone wanting to hear Michelangeli in this work, one of his most famous interpretations, should seek out his 1957 Prague Festival performance on Praga, in remarkably fine sound.

In his eighties, the late Claudio Arrau recorded a version of the Emperor Concerto on Philips that is nearly the equal of any other recorded in the digital era. Highly spontaneous, with a superb orchestral backdrop provided by the Staatskapelle Dresden under Sir Colin Davis.

A remarkable performance of the work can be heard on a Piano Library CD: Walter Gieseking's 1944 Berlin broadcast in superb early stereo, which sounds remarkable in its clarity. This remains one of the most exciting Emperors ever, with the protaganists even ignoring audible anti-aircraft fire during the closing pages of the first movement.

An impressive recording, but the notes accompanying the recording are not only misleading but downright erroneous. Stravinsky wrote Ebony Concerto for Woody Herman, not Benny Goodman. In fact, Woody Herman and the First Herd performed the world premier of Ebony Concerto at Carnegie Hall on March 25, 1946. A fragment of that first performance is avaiable on CD...

I've never heard a "classical" composer sound like this. Some of the dissonances and just plain musical weirdness of Berg and Stravinsky make this CD impossible to resist. Stravinsky's "Ebony Concerto" is delightful. You can tell that he totally understands the musical concept of black jazz, but because he's Russian, gives us an entirely new slant on the music! I can't believe it's the same guy who wrote "The Rite of Spring" (another piece I love!). I'm not really an expert on classical music (I've only been listening for about a year, in fact), but I know good music when I hear it! And if you like to be adventurous once in a while and try something really bold, brave, and new, give this CD, and these great composers a shot! You won't be disappointed!

When the Rite of Spring was premiered shortly before WW1 there was a bad-mannered riot in the theatre. 90 years later Stravinsky does not seem much more radical than Brahms, and I was surprised to see that all 3 of the Stravinsky items here are later in date than Berg's Chamber Concerto. Assuming then that Stravinsky is a fully accepted classic these days, maybe I can use his comparative popularity to do my little bit towards 'popularising' Berg, or at least reducing the level of antipathy and indifference to him. In the last resort if you still find you can't put up with him, you will always have a very good set of Stravinsky performances at a very reasonable price.

Persuading people to listen to Berg is not helped by supercilious remarks by Boulez that he is 'of course very romantic' or words to that effect. He is quite obviously not romantic in the way Strauss or Elgar are romantic, and I do not necessarily acquit Boulez of pseudism and affectation in talking like this. I guess that most people getting to know Berg start with the violin concerto which can, at a stretch, be called romantic in the familiar sense. For the chamber concerto this takes a bigger stretch, but I can still hear Brahms in it. What its idiom resembles is Schoenberg's two chamber symphonies, firmly across the 12-tone rubicon and full of the squawking effects that characterise the second Viennese school but not totally uncompromising like Schoenberg's concertos. In my diet I couldn't live indefinitely on 'nice' flavours, and in my musical diet, while I always tend to be a bit suspicious of fashionable cacophony, I couldn't take myself seriously as even an amateur musician if I were totally deaf to Berg and Schoenberg. If you like Stravinsky and buy this record you will not have wasted your money. If the Berg chamber concerto succeeds in interesting you in the second Viennese school, a good next step into that territory would be either his violin concerto (I recommend Perlman) or Schoenberg's chamber symphonies in the Holliger recording.

Listen... Right from the first echo of brass to the pounding sfzortzando chord that bursts through it, to the devastatingly lyric reading of the second movement, to the capricious (and the absolutely accurate) reading of the third, to the final unhalting pace taken in the fourth, this recording by the great Leonard Bernstein shines forth as one of the best of this work, not to mention of all of Bernsteins own recordings.

The first movement puts forth everything perfectly in place for the rest of this cyclial symphony. Most passionate is the orchestra after the recapitulation and in the coda, where at the last second the luftpause in the entire orchestra will make your heart drop, only to be picked right back up an eternal second later for a most convincing resolution.

Not much can be said of the second but that it is absolutely beautifully lush and the phrasing is dead on perfect for the recurring melody (especially in the hands of the celli).

The third in the hands of Bernstein here makes such a stark contrast in itself and from the other movements as it is read with an almost youthful bravura. Delightfully playful especially when strings and winds play off of each other in the closing section.

The tempo in the finale, to me, is at first the slightest bit slow (even slower in the repeat of the exposition). But it is worth while as it results in one of the greatest eight minute build ups ever recorded. The second occurence of the second theme here is almost devastatingly bold at first, but a brillianly exaggerated ritardando gushing into a repeat of the opening theme of the symphony releases boundless tension at the moment to fade into the close/

Bernsteins closing passage here deserves a paragraph all its own. I have heard recordings that dont even dare accelerate this passage at all, but those recordings simply deflate at its end. Here, Bernstein shocks you; the dramatic increase in tempo can even be anticipated in the timpani roll that begins the brilliant build up to the now lightning fast descending runs that are to follow, and it rages to the closing bars without any comprimise.
Absolutely envigorating and almost painfully exciting to the end.
An absolute joy that any Bernstein or Tchaikovsky fan must own.

Also the capriccio is good, but I am not a fan of the piece so a review from me would be quite biased.

This was the first of the 3 recordings that Bernstein did of this warhorse...all with the New York orchestra. The one in 1975 was uninspired and uninspiring. The reading was akin to browsing yesterday's newspaper...all the notes were in place, but that's about it. His final recording, about 10 years later is an unmitigated disaster. It shows all the peculiarities of the maestro's conducting in the last years of his life. Tempos taken at a lugubrious pace to the point of bringing the music to an essential halt, phrasing which defied explanation and some real rag-tag execution by his charges. The 1958 recording stands as a hallmark of genius in the interpretation of this symphony. The playing, the re-mastered recording, the interpretation...all PERFECT! When one takes into account that this was the first year of the stereo era and only Lenny's 3rd or 4th outing within the new technology, it is really marvelous that the results are nothing less than stunning. The engineering is even so good [some 4 decades ago] that you can hear a violinist cough rather loudly during a quiet passage in the first movement. One cannot say enough about each of the orchestral sections. It is sufficient to simply state that the musicians and conductor's hearts beat as one during these recording sessions. The "Capriccio Italien" filler is a great one. Done in 1963, the piece is played at a hell-bent for leather pace, but not at the sacrifice of the lyrical sections. All in all, the #1 choice for these two works. At mid-price, BUY THIS NOW if you love great music-making!

Okay, so maybe you're not interested in soundtracks to plays or musicals. Well, guess what? Neither am I!

Bigsmorgasbordwunderwerk is neither pretentious nor "Broadway". It is a unique sonic experience (even when subtracted from the show) that blends skill with whimsy. If you like your music moody, moving, and just plain unusual, this is a fine choice to add to your collection. It is a tastefully-spicy dish you can't *not* like!

Bsbww is a very rich piece. The musical lines (vocal and instrumental) are very interesting. While seeing the show should be on your list, the CD is worth every penny.

I have known about this amazingly creative theatrical troupe/musical group since the 90's, and I was lucky enough to finally be able to see their production of "BSWW" recently. The stage settings, artistry, and musicianship all blended together perfectly; the theme of the production is left up to the viewer to make what they will of it. The idea that I took away from it personally is that it is a "feast of the senses"-funny, dark, abstract, and even beautiful in some instances. The music flows along perfectly throughout, and Jody Abbott has an angelic, powerful voice that helps drive it all. Squonk Opera is art personified in all its most glorious forms, and they are an act not to be missed. I am proud to say that they are a local band/troupe, stationed out of their main base of Pittsburgh, PA.-I for one am so glad we have such a fantastic group of artists/musicians who are forever evolving in their craft. While this production is several years old, I am anxiously awaiting my chance to see their next production of "Inferno", which was just staged last year (the recently released cd is gorgeous-don't know if it can be purchased here or not as it is an independent...best to try their website). I highly recommend this cd to anyone who loves dreamlike, artsy/progressive music..and if you ever get the chance to see them perform live, don't pass it up!!! :-)

ok first of all i would like to say what a great album this is (from the awesome guitar solos to crazy train, which is a great song), but i'm not here to talk about how good it is just buy iti am hear because last night i was reading a review of back in black (another great album i would recommend it to anyone) and i read a review by some idiot who said that the only reason every1 likes ac/dc is because of some band named "jet", and i was confused because i have never heard of "jet", and i was also confused because mtv certainly does not rock, it sucks more than anything else. then today i decided i would read some more of his reviews and i discovered he was even more of and idiot. then i got to his review of blizzard of ozz. if you dont know who ozzy osbourne is first of all you might as well just die but then to go on and say bad things about him should be punished by more than death. then to go on and say that it is "poser junk"... dude ozzy invented heavy metal how the heck can u call him a poser u idiot! then you go on and call randy rhoades (one of the greatest guitar players ever) to be to lazy to play the guitar anymore, im sure if someone put a guitar in his grave he would be happy to play it for you so you can see how great of a guitarist he is. yeah thats right hes dead u idiot.
"I lost a ton of respect for this guy when I found out Ozzy had been a member of fake metal bands." do you even know anything about black sabbath? cause they freaking invented heavy metal you idiot. and as my closing comments nobody listen to this idiot he has no idea what he is talking about, go ahead and buy this cd it is great!

I listened to the re-mastered version of Blizzard of Ozz and I agree with the previous reviewers: the new mix compromises the strength of the original recording. However, my review is based on the original recording, which I believe is a landmark Metal album.
Released in 1980, Blizzard was an unprecedented commercial and musical success for Ozzy. Blizzard also introduced to the world the brilliant and influential guitar work of Randy Rhoads, which set a new standard in guitar virtuosity. Blizzard is as much of an Ozzy album as it is a Randy album.

Here is my review by song:

I Don't Know - The backward-recorded gong is the dramatic opening to one of Ozzy's classics. The combination of killer riffs and solos contradicted with a melodic middle eventually become an Ozzy trademark copied later by many other metal bands.

Crazy Train - THE classic Ozzy track. A great example of why legions of Randy fans still consider him one of the best guitarists ever. Randy's fierce distortion doesn't stop us from hearing every single note. His riffs, solo, tone, speed, and clarity of playing are unparalleled. If there's any song that represents Ozzy and Randy at their best, it is this song.

Goodbye to Romance - Ozzy shows us his sensitive side with this ballad, bidding farewell to his old band and moving on. The song ends with a beautiful keyboard outro.

Dee - A short classical piece that Randy wrote for his mom. In 1980, who would have expected this from an Ozzy album? Another small milestone.

Suicide Solution - A song that Ozzy wrote for the late singer of AC/DC. This song would later become one of the targets of PMRC (Parent's Music Resource Center founded by Tipper Gore - Senator Al Gore's wife) and a reason for creating the warning labels on albums. Ozzy had to pay dearly by appearing in court for years for misinterpretation of this song by families that blamed this song for their children's suicide. Suicide is also the only song on the album without a solo. However, Randy more than made up for the missing solo with his awesome solo in the live shows. Check it out on the "Tribute" album.

Mr. Crowley - Another Ozzy classic about the life of the controversial Satanist, Aliester Crowley. It features a great keyboard intro and two killer solos by Randy.

No Bone Movies - Randy shows his versatility as a guitarist by delivering some slide guitar on this otherwise average song.

Revelations (Mother Earth) - Revelations is a song about how society is destroying the earth. Randy's classical influences are highlighted in this song followed by an intense solo. One of my favorites.

Steal Away (the Night) - Randy's intro riff to this song is as cool as it is innovative. It is signature Randy Rhoads that involves some intricate guitar playing.

When I first heard about Ozzy Osbourne when I was 13 years old back in 1980, I was told by a sort-of friend who hated him so vociferously that to me at the time, Ozzy sounded like a real no-talent slimeball. I knew nothing of Ozzy's seminal influence as the original lead singer of Black Sabbath; in fact, I didn't even *know* Black Sabbath for anything other than their demonic-sounding name! I wasn't even into heavy Metal at all back then. I certainly knew nothing of Ozzy's talent or influence on heavy rock. Then, later that year, I first heard "Crazy Train" and I was stunned: *This* was the same guy who likes to pee on things, inlcuding the Alamo, and bites the heads off birds??

Of course, I became fascinated with Ozzy in part because of his contradictory aspects. I fell in love with "Crazy Train" and as soon as I first heard "I Don't Know" a couple of years later, I had to FINALLY go out & get the album. I purchased BLIZZARD OF OZZ (1980) on vinyl---of course---in 1983. I purchased the 1995 remaster on CD just a couple of years ago. As influential an album as this was back then, we really take for granted the fact that, when Ozzy assembled himself on lead vocals, Randy Rhoads on lead guitar, Don Airey on keyboards, Bob Daisley on bass guitar and Lee Kerslake on drums, Ozzy was operating heavily on a wing and a prayer---and on heavily controlled substances. His attempt at a comeback after being dismissed from Black Sabbath for good after their so-so NEVER SAY DIE! (1978) album was almost not to be.

As I and many others have learned in the past few years, thanks to Ozzy's candor on VH1, Ozzy was down & out in 1978 when he met Sharon Arden, the daughter of a record company exec who had given up on Ozzy as a drugged-out has-been. Sharon saw something special in him. Soon, they became romantically involved, then married. She tried to shop BLIZZARD OF OZZ around to everybody, and was soundly rejected over & over again---until a growing division of Columbia, Jet Records, decided to give him a shot. (Of course, it was at the release party for the record that Ozzy got drunk and bit the head off a dove that had been released as a sign of goodwill!) Ozzy waded through his newfound infamy while many people---like me---became awed by his music.

After all, what's not to love about his music? On Black Sabbath's NEVER SAY DIE, Ozzy and his soon-to-be-former bandmates sounded rather disjointed & tired. Just as Sabbath became re-energized by the arrival of Ronnie James Dio (culiminating in their own great 1980 album HEAVEN AND HELL), Ozzy became re-energized as well. Working with great British Metal veterans Daisley & Kerslake, and especially with young up-and-coming Californian guitar virtuoso, Randy Rhoads, Ozzy finally re-found his musical inspiration. Ozzy's sound was now very modern and very American. Even with his penchant for drugs and drink, his high tenor voice was in great form. The great, fast-riffing, heart-pumping opening song "I Don't Know" became an anthem for disaffected youth, and the equally-driving "Crazy Train" became the most popular Heavy Metal song of 1980, directly causing a huge resurgence in the popularity of heavy Metal, which in the wake of Disco in the late '70's had been dismissed as "dead music." Talk about rebirth!!

Thanks to this rebirth, I became a huge fan of the music that ended up informing my high school years. I appreciated the melody that went along with the heaviness of the music. All of Ozzy's songs on this album are melodic, and not all of them are heavy. Witness "Goodbye To Romance," a non-heavy, acoustic ballad that shows Ozzy did have a heart, after all! Randy Rhoads' light, acoustic instrumental "Dee" also shows that metallers are not just about "noise." Then, we have the song which actually took four years to become controversial, the unfairly-maligned "Suicide Solution." Let me tell you something about my experience listening to this song: No, I didn't take drugs, I didn't drink, I didn't worhip Satan and this song certainly didn't make me want to kill myself. Enough said. :)

"Mr. Crowley" has a great keyboard intro courtesy of Don Airey, again showing that guitar isn't the *only* instrument used in Heavy Metal. The last three songs never really made much of an impression on me, but that's probably because I played the other songs hundreds of times each! Maybe one of these days, I will revisit "No Bone Movies," "Revelation (Mother Earth)" and "Steal Away (The Night)." Even just on the basis of the first five classic 80's tunes alone, Ozzy Osbourne fully deserved his comeback all the way, and BLIZZARD OF OZZ became his first of many multi-Platinum albums which all shared incredibly smooth production values, great blazing guitar riffs and melodic singing by Ozzy, who never gave himself enough credit for his unique voice. This is still one of the all-time greatest rock albums of the 1980's.

MOST RECOMMENDED

These are dense pieces and like a lot of Brahms could become overly heavy and plodding in the wrong hands. On this CD the Beaux Arts really bring out the romantic lyrical quality of this music unfailingly. The recording itself is just a hair distant but the detail is good. What fantastic piano one finds on these CDs! Strongly recommended.

This collection of Brahms' piano quartets are a great listen all around. Every quartet has an enormous power and beauty to it.

I like to say about Brahms' music that it is airtight. There is never a wasted note. Every bit of melody, every nuance and texture in the harmony are masterfully crafted and serve a purpose. There is never a moment when you look at your watch and wonder when the composer is going to get around to wrapping this or that section up and get to the exciting stuff.

The Beaux Arts Trio along with Walter Trampler do a commendable job of bringing every moment of beauty and excitement out. They balance the sweetness of the slow movements and melodies well with the aggression and rhythmic complexities of the quicker movements. My current favorite quartet is the A Major. There is a singable melody or rhythmic puzzle in every movement. I listened to the final movement four times today (excessive I know, but it's just so much fun to try to figure out how Brahms manipulates those melodies within the time signatures)!

This is chamber music at its best played by the masters, the Beaux Arts Trio. All the pieces are played in a crisp, clean manner with the proper emotion and phrasing.

This is my all time favorite. Music with tons of true passion! It has such power that one cannot do other things while listening to it. No, it cannot be background music. Every piece in this CD totally takes one into it. Must have!

I bought this CD for the Mendelssohn, but I have a hard time listening to anything but the incredible performance of Brahms given by Perlman and Ma. It's an inspiring blend of virtuostic ability and sensitive chamber playing. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

The first recording I heard of the Brahms Double was the Heifetz/Piatigorsky, accompanied with the RCA Orchestra conducted by Wallenstein. It took me a long time to warm up to the piece, and I think a lot of that was due to the flabby orchestral accompaniment, which really sucked the life out of the whole performance.

If ever there was a composer who, in his concerti, made the orchestra an equal player with the soloists, it was Brahms, and if the orchestra is not up to the task, there is no way that the soloist alone will be able to save the performance. With this in mind, one has to give Barenboim the lion's share of the credit, as he urges the CSO towards as passionate a performance as I have heard.

Perlman & Ma are remarkably well-balanced in the performance, considering that it is a live recording. Each has a tone & interpretation particularly well-suited for the other, and the result is a wonderful synthesis. There are points, especially in the 2nd movement, where it sounds as though a single 8-stringed instrument is being played.

The Mendelssohn, despite some pretty brisk tempi, strikes me as one of the more reflective & contemplative performances Perlman has given us. Again, the balance between soloist & orchestra is very nice, considering that it is a live recording. I prefer this Mendelssohn over Perlman's studio versions.

Karajan is not my idea of the perfect accompanist. Instrumental, operatic, choral -- I can not think of a performance of his that I do not find, in some way, irritating.

This reading is an odd combination of the elegant (the first two movements are rather nice) and the grotesque. The exxagerated crecendos are vintage Karajan. Overall, a little too quirky for my taste. I am reminded of the accounts of the 1867 Vienna preview of the first three movements. Apparently it was inadequately rehearsed and in the fugue ending the third movement, the tympanist felt inspired to play as loud has he could, drowning out everyone else. No mean accomplishment.

An interesting document for the afficianado, otherwise choose Klemperer and/or Walter.

As important as Brahms is to the Classical world and as great as his music is, it would be a far lesser thing without the incredible interpretation of von Karajan. I choose to look past all the many criticisms - too stolid, too slow, too grand, too careful - and look at the final product.

Brahms inhabited Karajan's soul as no other composer with the possible exception of Richard Strauss. I have the Symphonies (two versions), the Concertos and now the Requiem. The music is simultaneously beautiful and touching, moving on several levels. I have often wondered about the artists and their fount of inventiveness. What is Brahms "trying to say"? This is not the traditional Requiem of a Verdi, Mozart, Schubert or Beethoven. No, it is more a celebration of the human spirit. If you must get only one version, this is the one. The voices are clear, the orchestra just the right tone, the longing and "Germanenss" of the music stand out above all. It has that haunting forest mood that inhabits so much of Brahm's music.

In a century entirely dominated by the often brutal progress of man, i.e. a male individual, through industrialization and the invention of railroads, cars, steam engines, the steel industry, coal mines and so many other - often polluting - things, in a century where the male figure of life and death dominates, alienates, exploits all beings, Brahms sings the earth, the growth of nature and grass, the call of the wild and open space, immense space and unlimited time. Brahms calls to his side the feminine, the female mother-earth from which all life and sustenance come and to which all human beings go back for their last sojourn on this planet and for their last comforting home and sleep. Brahms dedicates this Requiem to the mother, the evercomforting woman who can take all suffering men in her embrace, in her arms, in her warm tear-sprinkled patience and understanding, love in a word. Brahms moves the Requiem from the male figure of the Father, God, or the male figure of the sufferer and savior, Jesus, to the female suffering and yet comforting figure of the mother. Brahms is at the antipodes of the German myth : Death is � der Tod �, hence masculine, a male character, but Brahms makes it an incarnation of the mother, the archetype of all mothers, of Mary weeping at the foot of the cross. Yet at this moment we remember what the dying Christ said, near the end, to his disciple and his mother : � See, this is your son ! See, this is your mother ! � This reflects the suffering of Brahms in front of a world that is changing too fast and is becoming blindingly inhumane, in front of the loss of his friend Schumann and the loss of his own mother. He is able to recapture his lost past, the love of his mother, the friendship of Schumann, the comforting certainty of mother-earth, in this shifting of a death dominated requiem into a motherly and comforting communion with the very principle of humanity that the mother represents on Earth. In fact he goes back to the old Romanic and Romanesque tradition of the mother church in the Middle Ages and rediscovers the mother in a male dominated Germanic world.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan