Classical music reviews

This was my first CD By Tim Janis I came across this by chance it had been playing threw out the mall I was at and it was so beautiful that I had to find out who played this wonderful music I was hearing I had never heared anything like it I was truely hooked this CD is never to far from my player!

I had never heard of Tim Janis, nor his music until I walked past a booth of musicians at the Gloucester Waterfront festival a few weeks ago..two members of his staff were playing his composition "High Sierra" which captivated me immediately, I stopped and bought the CD from the nice young man selling them..who turned out to be Tim himself..chatted a few minutes and realized he was a very special person who had a great gift to give to the world in his music. The two musicians played another number from Acadia, I promptly bought this also, thinking Tim from Newfoundland..but no, from the beautiful seacoast village of Kennebunk Maine. On logging in to the internet at home I looked at his website and read the many amazing things he has done with his music in helping people with cancer and AIDS. I am sending two of his discs to a friend in England who is suffering from cancer hoping they will ease her days a bit. This beautiful music has the ability to lift ones heart and ease physical and emotional pain. I found myself so touched by it Im sure anyone who hears it will agree.

Beautiful, pleasant, relaxing and so enjoyable. Lovely music. If you do not own Water's Edge by Tim Janis, I suggest that you buy it also and try to decide which of these two great pieces of music is the best.

This was my first CD By Tim Janis I came across this by chance it had been playing threw out the mall I was at and it was so beautiful that I had to find out who played this wonderful music I was hearing I had never heared anything like it I was truely hooked this CD is never to far from my player!

I had never heard of Tim Janis, nor his music until I walked past a booth of musicians at the Gloucester Waterfront festival a few weeks ago..two members of his staff were playing his composition "High Sierra" which captivated me immediately, I stopped and bought the CD from the nice young man selling them..who turned out to be Tim himself..chatted a few minutes and realized he was a very special person who had a great gift to give to the world in his music. The two musicians played another number from Acadia, I promptly bought this also, thinking Tim from Newfoundland..but no, from the beautiful seacoast village of Kennebunk Maine. On logging in to the internet at home I looked at his website and read the many amazing things he has done with his music in helping people with cancer and AIDS. I am sending two of his discs to a friend in England who is suffering from cancer hoping they will ease her days a bit. This beautiful music has the ability to lift ones heart and ease physical and emotional pain. I found myself so touched by it Im sure anyone who hears it will agree.

Beautiful, pleasant, relaxing and so enjoyable. Lovely music. If you do not own Water's Edge by Tim Janis, I suggest that you buy it also and try to decide which of these two great pieces of music is the best.

This performance sounds & feels like 'Mahler willed down by the genius of Klemperer', who had his own way with Mahler unlike any other, but here it works out to be great. Klemperer is not going about to seek mellifluousness of tone or flowing lyricism, at least not pers�; his mahler is 'chiseled out of the marble' and the end result stands like a well-built, powerfully proportioned colossus.
There is evidence of true genius here, helped of course by two of the best singers in history. All together, one can speak of a 'grand occasion' ... and that counts for each and every listen of this recording. Christa Ludwig's voice flows from rapt to hushed to extatic and back again effortlesly, digging deeply into all of the emotions seemingly without effort. The same for the inimitable Fritz Wunderlich, with clear, powerful and ringing voice, as ever; his singing is one of delicate articulation and intelligent phrasing, combined with seemingly endless reserves of power and with beguiling sweetness of timbre.
This recording stands like a mountain - like only a few others -, and it will indeed take a long way into eternity (the final words "Ewig ... ewig ..." never sounded with more appeal) for this mountain to be eroded away - if ever.

Gustav Mahler was a great Viennese symphonist and conductor of the late Romantic period. He said that this work was especially personal for him. It was written during one of the most trying years of his life in 1907. He resigned under pressure from the directorship of the Vienna Opera, which he had held for ten years. His youngest daughter also became ill and died. This was a severe blow for him (he was later buried next to her). And his life long heart condition took a turn for the worse. He would die in 1911 just short of his fifty-first birthday.

One of his friends gave him a popular book "The Chinese Flute". It was a German translation of ancient Chinese poetry (not completely accurate it turns out) and some of them struck Mahler as especially appropriate for his life. He set seven of them in this symphonic song cycle (some call this a symphony even though Mahler later wrote a ninth symphony - there is good evidence that Mahler was quite superstitious about the ninth symphony jinx and in fact it was his last completed work. This is a large work for a tenor and mezzo-soprano (or alto). He also approved a version for tenor and baritone that is sometimes performed when a particularly wonderful baritone is available. I quite enjoy the version as performed here with the mezzo. The piece is in six movements with two poems and some words of Mahler being used to form the sixth movement. The work is a little more than an hour with the last movement taking almost half of that time.

It is interesting how Mahler uses the resources of such a large orchestra in small ensembles to support the singer and the poem. The colors are quite varied between the movements and though it is a European symphonic orchestra, it definitely has elements that Westerners would call Chinese. The mood of the movements varies quite broadly. The last movement "The farewell" is wonderfully complex with resignation, longing, and ending with an eternal optimism.

This recording is very fine and when you realize it was recorded over a period of twenty-nine months with two different formulations of the Philharmonia and New Philharmonia orchestra (internal pique) and that the two soloists were never together during the recording (although they had performed the work with Klemperer in 1961), it is a near miraculous achievement and a testimony to Klemperer above all. The tenor, Fritz Wunderlich, has a gorgeous voice that is big enough to sing with such a large ensemble, but lyric enough to make the songs sound like the lieder they are rather than a Wangerian epic. Unfortunately, he died the year the recording was complete. Christa Ludwig has most of the work, because the last movement is for the soprano. She has a wonderfully rich voice with lots of substance and beauty. She sings her songs here with wonderfully appropriate emotion and keeps the line going throughout. One never feels the splices that are all to present in too many recordings.

Mahler has his devoted following and he deserves to have them. His stature never diminishes and you owe it to yourself to treat yourself to this work and this recording. I am not as much a fan of Mahler as many of my friends, but I do love his work and amazed at his ability to pull off so many wonderfully colorful musical effects that add to the poetry being sung rather than overwhelming it.

Highly recommended.

The main Das Lied I had been listening to before hearing this recording is the one with Boulez and Vienna. While his orchestration is extremely tight (as always), I wasn't aware of what was missed in his recording until I heard Klemperer's. Wunderlich, especially, exhibits such a rich, full voice. I had never enjoyed the male pieces nearly as much as I do with Wunderlich. Ludwig seems to be at her prime, perfectly capturing the "natural" feeling intended for these pieces. Der Abschied is so overpowering and always leaves me speechless.

The sound quality is A+. Like many of EMI's Great Recordings from the 60s, it has an airy, yet full sound. Personally, I have begun to really prefer the early stereo recordings to newer ones, which, to me, seem to produce a less natural, more 'electronic' sound.

This would definitely be a first-choice recommendation for anyone looking to acquire a Das Lied. Definitely a must have.

There's not much I can add to the previous reviews. However, I can assure you - they do not exaggerate. Cosi fan tutte, is one of my favorite operas, and I thought we'd never see a recording that could rival Bohm's great recording on EMI, or Solti's great set on DECCA, and Davis' superb effort on Phillips. Well, this set not only rivals those sets, but beats them hands-down, in almost every way, shape, and form.

If you're looking for your first Cosi recording or you're looking to add another to your collection - this is the one to get. It's simply miraculous!

This performance is arrestingly different. Almost every number is shaped in a new and exciting way by Jacobs (not always convincingly) so that one feels he/she is listening for the first time. So many small details pop out, so many different accents which change the shape of a phrase delight the ear. The orchestra is superb. The singing is also excellent, but a little faceless. All the singers characterize well and are technically able, but their timbres are a shade anonymous, save for Fink. That said, this is singing and playing of a high order, and everyone seems to actually have an idea about their music making and characterizations. My one qualm: Why oh why do manufacturers divide the cd's up in such stupid ways? Both Cd 1 and Cd 2 end on the recitative preceding an aria. These recitatives are integral to the number they introduce and should have been on the following cd. This is easily accomplished here since the recitatives are about one and a half minutes long. The cds could have finished on the arias preceding and then the next cd started with the next recitative and its ensuing aria. Don't these manufacturers use their own products? In any event, superb performance and recording nonetheless.

I dont have ANY Cosi fan tutte to compare with this but I am completly satisfied with this and even if we all have different taste etc I am sure that if you dont appriciate this disc you dont like Mozart operas, operas in general or music at all.

It is a little more "symphonic" than his others of the so called great ones (yes I have THE other so called great Mozart operas) AND it is extremly well played, conducted and... singing is def. over average.

You cant go wrong with this version and this is, what I think, the most under rated opera of Mozartz so called great ones (Die Zauberflute, Don Giovanni, Le nozze de Figaro) (I like them all -since I get this version).

THIS WOMAN HAS AS SENSATIONAL VOICE,STRONG AND VERY SEXAUL.
I BELEIVE,NO I KNOW YOU WILL LOVE THIS.I'VE BEEN LISTINING
TO NANCY AT A VERY YOUNG AGE,NOW AT 46 I CAN REALLY APPRECIATE
HER VOICE AND TALENT.I TRUELY THINK EVERY ONE SHOULD LISTEN
TO THIS REMARKABLE WOMAN AS SHE BELLO OUT HER UNIQUE TONES.
MY ALL TIMES FAV (GUESS WHO I SAW TODAY)SINGSATIONAL,I
LOYAL FRIEND ALWAYS,RT

Leave it to Nancy to do a tasteful classy Christmas album. I'm jewish but I'm a big fan of Nancy's and this is the one Christmas album that I listen to.

Nancy departed from the shackels of Sony records and what did she do first? She went into the studio of Telarc Jazz and produced one of the finest Christmas albums I've heard. The names of guests on this album reads almost like a who's who in the world of jazz and when you thought it wasn't to get better, she donates all the profits from this album to charity. Nancy is a class act and that class is evident on all the tracks contained here in. For me a stand out track is the Broadway inspired arrangement of "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow." Nancy sounds like she had a great time recording this album and the various arrangements ranging from Big Band to Trio all flow seamlessly. Nancy is a song stylist, her interpretations sometimes don't follow the standards set by other artists performing and producing traditional Christmas albums so do not expect mundane versions of these carols, they belong to Nancy.

It would be difficult to imagine a more perfect match for these two concerti than Maxim Vengerov and Mstislav Rostropovich. Not only do the two innately understand the shared Russian spirit inherent in Prokofiev's and Shostakovich's music, they also happen to be superb musicians who can make these two concerti appear simple to the ear when they require such an enormous degree of dexterity.

The phrasing and thematic exploration by Vengerov is astonishingly right and in every way and every moment his interpretation is mirrored by Rostropovich and the responsive London Symphony Orchestra. While music lovers will probably be more thrilled with the eloquent beauty of the Prokofiev (and this is certainly the finest recording I have heard of this concerto), Vengerov's virtuosity and clarity of technique should now bring others into the fold of devotees of the Shostakovich.

Recorded in 1994 this CD is remains the Gold Standard for these two spectacular concerti. The recording ambience is rich and full and almost as exciting as being in the concert hall. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, August 05

First off, not only do I think that Maxim Vengerov is the absolute best viloinists I have ever heard but I am equally just as sure that he is the very best musician I know of, living or dead. He is incredible and this recording is one of the best records I have ever owned!!!

His reading of the Prokofiev piece is absolutely flawless. Every note he plays seems exactly right. When I listen to this recording I get so immediately lost in the performance that I am swept away by every succeeding note. An unbelievable performance! This is musical ecstacy!

I liked the Shostakovich peice well enough even before this recording but I always felt it had a disjointed, peiced together feel to it in places that I couldn't imagine anyone overcoming. In Vengerov's hands this piece is transformed into one logically flowing artistic statement that seems to easily state all of this compositions many technical and emotional twists and turns.

This recording is so wonderful that I have purchased it for several friends as a gift and all of them, whether they like this type of music or not, have fallen in love with both this record and Maxim Vengerov.

Prokofiev violin concerto, andantino. I always stopped after that first movement. Every time, I tried to listen further, but I always had to stop after the first movement: 9 minutes and 57 seconds.
Not because the first movement was bad.
No, it was so tremendously moving and impressive that I could never listen to anything else after.
The Shostakovich violin concerto could be remarkable too, but I never had the chance to listen to it. Every time I had this CD in my hands, I only listened to the first track.
I promised myself to listen to the rest next time, but I could never keep my promise.

After that first delirious movement, how could one listen to anything else?

I could only have silence, absolute silence, and a feeling of happiness impressed on my heart.

Violinist Maxim Vengerov. London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rostropovich.
I have never heard such a strange, wild, mad, original, striking composition for violin. It is indescribable.
Vengerov played like a god, hypnotizingly deep, vertiginously magnificent.

I shuddered with joy, lost in a trance.

This CD is summer-time cool. Cool like an ice cream cone slowly drippin' hazy licking vanilla. This is cool like the other side of the pillow as a summer time night breeze blows through the window. This is dandelion seed floating through thick air of rising heat cool. This is George Winston within his element creating auditory pictures from the core of the seasons cool.

This CD is baby sleeping in the crib, mobile slowly turning cranking out lullaby cool. This is eyes closed clouds floating shifting across the sky under the shade of a sycamore cool. This CD is summer-time cool.

Just received this in the mail today, and I am so glad I ordered it. I was looking for relaxing music, and what I got was so much more. The Black Stallion track was a wonderful suprise! I am a huge fan of the movie, and was delighted to hear that beautiful song again. (It's the song that plays at the end of the movie during the credits). If you have a passion for music, and need something to help you relax, this is a fabulous cd. It is calming, uplifting, and moving. Everything I was looking for!!!!!!

This is a remarkable slice of tranquillity on CD. It brings to life the wonders of nature during Summer through the genius of George Winston and his associates.
I find it extremely soothing and sustaining, from the dreamlike opening piece by Peter Seeger 'Living In The Country' to the exquisite Loreta and Desiree's Bouquet. From Spring Creek by Phillip Aaberg - evocative of a waterfall and stream, to the lively Corrina , Corrina. This album is powerful collage of inspirational meditation music.

I bought this CD from Amazon a few weeks ago and have been listening to it almost incessantly, mostly in my car when I have the time!
Admittedly, the voice isn't at its peak (and so on...) but this is the Callas I like best. I am at a loss to describe in words how powerful and moving I find these perfomances. It is through her that I fully understand the intricacy and perfection of these Verdi arias.

If it wasn't Bellini, I would say that Callas' imagination was best captured by Giuseppe Verdi. Despite her successes in Puccini, Donizetti, Rossini, Ponchielli, Leoncavallo, and Mascagni, no other composer except Bellini and Verdi captured her dramatic canvas so vividly...so beautifully. This can be seen in her explorations of great Verdian roles such as Violetta, the two Leonoras, Gilda, Amelia, Elisabetta, Lady Macbeth, Abigaille, Aida, Elena, and what few arias she sang from Otello, Ernani, Aroldo, I Lombardi, Il Corsaro, and Attila. Verdi's music obviously allowed her imagination to soar, and such an imagination we can witness in this recital of arias of Verdian roles she had sung in her earlier career. The bulk of this disc concentrates of Macbeth, a role which she sang in La Scala only once on stage, but one which she is going to be associated with forever. The first selection, "Nel di della vittoria...Vieni t'affretta" is an example of what an excellent musical painter she is. The letter scene, a short yet crucial moment in the fabric of Verdi's opera is read by Callas in what is known to be the greatest exponent of this excerpt ever recorded. The aria and cabaletta that follows is sung to perfection by Callas, every phrase well inflected, especially the portion where Callas sings "Nuovo diletto..nuovo diletto...e necessario!" Callas' knowledge of stressing the right words lends an environment of sinister proportions here, and in her next aria, that aura of evil is felt with an even greater immediacy as well. The Sleepwalking scene, that of which I believe is her best achievement in this recital, is undoubtedly a masterpiece of Verdian singing. Not even de Sabata, who conducted her definitive Tosca, approached Rescigno's reading of the role. While there was a nuance of confusion and delirium in La Scala (1952), Rescigno's conducting in this recital presents even an even greater set of paints for Callas to play with, and play with it she does rather well. I think this is the greatest Sleepwalking Scene ever recorded, and no other soprano was able to approach the degree of artistry and drama that Callas achieved in this great recording. The next selection comes from another early Callas role--the voice-wrecking role of Abigaille. How fortunate we are indeed to have a snippet of a clear-sounding "Ben io t'invenni" from Callas, as we can hear better the kind of Abigaille she could have been were this role recorded in the studio. Her great Abigaille was fortunately recorded, as she only sang this role three times (and fortunate we are that she did, otherwise we would have no Norma, Lucia, Violetta, Tosca, etc.). Her aria from Ernani is beautifully done, with the colors of a woman who is obviously in love. The pace that Rescigno takes in the cabaletta is rather quick, but then suits the vocal colors Callas puts into the role. The final aria from this selection "Tu che la vanita", was fortunately recorded by Callas on studio, as it shows us what a great Elisabetta she was. Unfortunately, none of her performances of Elisabetta di Valois ever emerged, and so we must be happy of what little we have of her Don Carlo arias (also in another disc we can hear her Non pianger and O Don Fatale). Listen to how she stresses the drama on the word "Francia", and you will find that no other soprano can achieve such an amazing painting of Elisabetta's final aria. Indeed a magnificent recital, and a must have for anyone who want to hear good music.

Callas' renditions of Lady Macbeth's are truly dark, whilst the unsurpassable sleepwaking scene finds her at her vocal best, the final note sung to chilling effect. The Ernani and Nabucco arias are well done too, though perhaps the closing note of the latter doesn't fall as kindly in the ears as one would like. Finally, I have to concur with other reviews in that the jewel of this disc is her hauntingly beautiful interpretation of "Tu che la vanit�". I believe that what truly sets Callas apart in these repertoire is her lower register, it's resonance giving just the right touch to the Macbeth selections and great elegance to the Don Carlo.

I bought this set after reading the story behind it--well told in the Amazon review above--but was sorely disappointed. Aldenhoff is the most dreadful Wagnerian tenor imaginable, and although the rest of the cast varies from good to great, that defect was enough for me to feel that as much as others may praise this set, I cannot. I didn't quite hear the supposed excellence of Knappertsbusch's conducting, either, although his slow way with Wagner, his absence of orchestral accuracy, and his casual apaproach to dramatic tension doesn't bother others as much as it bothers me.

The most magnificent aspect of this legendary recording is clearly Knappertsbusch's conducting. The gears never crash and there is a beautiful saturated sound. Kna made me aware of patterns and colours in the score that I had never noticed before. The orchestra is fine and the recording is ideal. Culshaw and Wilkinson have found an ideal balance between voice and orchestra.

The other key distinguishing factor is hearing a 50s Bayreuth Ring opera caught in a professional commercial-standard recording that brings the orchestra, in particular, closer than in the various pirate Rings of the era.

The singers taken all round are very exciting. Varnay can hit the high notes with thrilling impact (love duet) and darken her voice to sheer menace (end Act II) although the fruity tinge in her tone may take some adjusting to. Aldenhoff is not as successful as Seigfried. He sounds strained in the opening duet and his tone is ungainly and sometimes gravelly. The 'bad' characters are memorably bought to life by Modl, Udhe and Weber. The opening Prelude with the mysterious Norms is particularly successful. Here Kna builds a line of dark intensity which is matched by the sheer visceral power and acting of Modl's 3rd Norn. Special mention must almost be made of the glowering menace of Hagen's Watch. So dark and sinister.

The big caveat for me is the prompt who can be heard clearly in some scenes. This is subtly intrusive in the otherwise almost unsurpassed Immolation scene.

Overall, the strong sense of theatrical ensemble combines with immediate sound creating a landmark (arguably, even, a benchmark) in the history of Gotterdammerung recordings.

Technical shortcomings notwithstanding, this is a joy to own and listen to. Represents an "older" conducting style of the "majestic" sort. I am not a musician, but this 1951 recording is a link to an earlier style of Wagner conducting the the late 19th and earlier 20th century. Pretty good sound and Knappertsbusch and the singers are in pretty good form. This recording is a wonderful experience. I own several Gotterdamerungs, but this recording is especially satisfying. I have been listening to Wagner since the late 1950's.

I admit to some strong bias here, having sung on the recording of Tchaikovsky's Liturgy available here from the Russian Chamber Chorus of New York. I was in that choir for five years, and our conductor's view of how to properly interpret Russian music became my own.

Because of Stalin's efforts to cleanse the country of the influence of religion, many musicians and composers were sent to Siberia. They were replaced with those from peasant backgrounds. The result was a huge change in how classical Russian music was performed, becoming less subtle, more interested in brute power and flash.

This recording features a massive and powerful choir. But the listener mostly hears a series of vowel sounds, with the consonants lost in the shuffle. Dynamic range is not as large as it could be. Phrasing is largely absent and we hear a steady wall of sound instead. Precision of rhythm is spotty, what consonants we do hear are frequently smeared. Pitch and richness of tone are good, but on high notes, inevitably given the size of the choir, some members strain.

Having performed and recorded Tchaikovsky's Liturgy I am very familiar with the piece. But listening to this recording of excerpts from it I sometimes barely recognized it as the same work. Tchaikovsky gives us great artistry, frequently crecendos and decrecendos on a single phrase. Each choral voice comes and goes like a wave, not all together like a tsunami in all but a few places. The balance of voices is constantly moving.

I encourage you to listen to the samples available here of the Russian Chamber Chorus's recording of Tchaikovsky's Liturgy, compare the same pieces. This recording is more a Vegas neon version of this great artwork than the fine art it deserves to be shown as. James Oestreich, the New York Times critic, put the Russian Chamber Chorus recording at #4 on his top ten list of classical releases for 2001, and said that if you had not heard it "You only think you know Tchaikovsky."

I hope you give the real Russian classical tradition a listen. It deserves your time, and it will pay you back with a huge amount of pleasure.

Of all my great Robert Shaw Recordings of Bach's B-Minor, the ELIJAH, the Missa Solemnis or Haydn's CREATION, None can match the intensity, sheer choral beauty, spiritual inspiration early in the morning hours than this Treasure! Upon early arising at either 3:30 or even later I begin with meditative listening to this choral gem of Ancient Gregorian Russian Chants.

From Bortnansky to Rachmaninov to Tchaikovsky I soon hear their seamless moving of rich harmonies as whole tone, chromatic, or descending 4ths and 5ths floating through my earphones...later through my memory! I am endebted to my good friend, Dick Talley for this single recording to introduce these Russian Orthodox Chants of unique variety and fabulous interest... Fondly from Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood "Barbara377" (Fayetteville, GA United States)

Sacred Treasures is an exceptional compilation of celebrated choral excerpts from the Divine Liturgy of the Russian Orthodox church. This impeccable recording of some of the finest Russian choirs captures the breadth and clarity of sound unique to these choirs. Although the selections are excerpts of the Divine Liturgy, the music nevertheless inspires an experience of reverence and worship. Opening and closing with the magnificent sound of Russian cathedral bells, the recording transports the listener into a special realm of beauty and peace.