• Amazon Sales Rank: #193501 in Music
• Released on: 1993-12-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Gyrgy Ligeti Kammerkonzert Picture

Gyrgy Ligeti Kammerkonzert Image

Gyrgy Ligeti Kammerkonzert Image

Gyrgy Ligeti Kammerkonzert Image

Gyrgy Ligeti Kammerkonzert Image

Gyrgy Ligeti Kammerkonzert Picture

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Ligeti’s sound world — the advent of micropolyphony
By R. Hutchinson
This is arguably one of the most important collections of Ligeti’s works now available. The Ligeti Edition never got around to his orchestral works before it was terminated by Sony! “Atmospheres” from 1961 is hard to find anywhere else, and it was one of Ligeti’s breakthrough works. An abbreviated version is the first track on the “2001″ soundtrack, but it is complete here in a 1966 recording. “Lux Aeterna,” also made widely known by Kubrick’s film, is here in its original 1966 recording. The other works, the “Chamber Concerto” of 1969-70 and two versions of “Ramifications” from 1968-69 (one for string ensemble and one for full orchestra), are wilder and more diverse than “Atmospheres” and “Lux Aeterna,” expanding Ligeti’s sound world into multiple dimensions! All in all an essential collection from one of the 20th century’s leading composers. Wergo followed this with the “Cello Concerto/San Francisco Polyphony” disc, and together they capture Ligeti’s pioneering orchestral works from the late 50s through the early 70s.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Nice, but listen for the dodgy editing
By Rob KB
This disc is a digest of various recordings of Ligeti’s works made by Wergo in the 60′s and 70′s. So – first thing to note – these are all taken from analogue masters. The recordings of the Chamber Concerto and the two versions of Ranmifications still sound good, particularly the last movement of the Concerto, which has precisely the right “sparkling” quality the piece demands. Lux Aeterna and Atmospheres are amongst the infamous recordings used by Stanley Kubrick in “2001: A space Odyssey”. The former stands up well. However, the very noticeable edit towards the end of Atmospheres is definitely absent from the original vinyl release of the movie soundtrack, and I can only surmise that the engineers have tried, ineptly, to cover up some damage to the master tape. You can’t fool us, boys and girls! On the whole, though, a worthwhile reissue of some of the premier recordings of groundbreaking 20th-century music.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Magnificent and electrifying Ligeti
By Marcelo Uzcategui
Chamber concerto for thirteen players: First of all I am not an expert in contemporary music or so not very well called the music of the last quarter of the twentieth century, but what I remember when I was a child (ten years or less) I was very pleasing impressed with two different kind of the music I listened in the film “2001 A space Odyssey” The first one was of course the beginning of “Also sprach Zarathustra” of Richard Strauss, and the second one was the music which concerns to the rest of the film. Believe me I did not know until some years ago that this music was composed by this magisterial Hungarian- Austrian composer Gyorgi Ligeti.

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• Amazon Sales Rank: #216367 in Music
• Released on: 2005-04-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Piano Concertos Of The 1920s Photo

Piano Concertos Of The 1920s Photo

Piano Concertos Of The 1920s Image

Piano Concertos Of The 1920s Photo

Piano Concertos Of The 1920s Photo

Piano Concertos Of The 1920s Image

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Le hot jazz–Real Hot
By M. C. Passarella
If this album were a movie, I guess it would be called a “high concept” flick. And the concept is a good and interesting one. France in the 1920s was in love with “le hot jazz,” and all of the works on this CD have a French connection, either because the composer studied in France, worked in France–or was French. Odd-concerto-out is Aaron Copland’s since it was written in 1926, after his return to America from studies with Boulanger in France. It is the second of his “American” works, the first being “Music for the Theater,” and while that work is a charming, lively piece, the Concerto is pretty much a bust and probably convinced Copland that he was on the wrong track with his jazz-influenced direction. He would start approaching America from a different musical direction soon, and the rest, as they say, is history.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
A well-filled and intelligently conceived disc, at a bargain price, with Antheil a real find
By Discophage
The same recording has previously been published by Arte Nova with a different cover, and I have reviewed it at length under two of its entries on Amazon (Piano Concertos of the Twenties; Piano Concertos of the 20s: Antheil, Copland, Honegger, Ravel [IMPORT]). I refer you to these reviews. It is a lengthy (70′) and intelligently conceived program of (more or less) Jazz-inspired piano concertos, all composed in a same time-span (1922 to 1930) by French composers and American composers with strong French ties: Copland as a pupil of Nadia Boulanger and Antheil as the riot-stirring “Enfant terrible” of the Parisian scene between 1922 and 1927.

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Grieg Piano Concerto In A Minor Op 16

One of the most enchanting and popular piano concerti ever written, this is for galore the epitome of nineteenth-century Romanticism, showing the outstanding influence of both Schumann and Liszt, as well as Grieg’s own fascination with Norwegian folk melodies. This concerto is less demanding than a good deal of of the huge Romantic concerti, and more accessible to the severe student. This brand new recording features famous European powerhouse Milena Mollova in a finish reference version, then you take center stage with the Plovdiv Symphony Orchestra underneath Maestro Nayden Todorov for your own brilliant performance! Includes a beautiful, newly engraved printed music score, edited with new fingering suggestions from Ms. Mollova, and with informative liner notes; a digital stereo compact disc, voluminously indexed for your convenience, containing a finish version with soloist, then a second performance of the orchestral accompaniment, minus you, the soloist; and a second compact disc containing a -20% reduced-tempo version of the accompaniment for exercise purposes. Performed by Milena Mollova, piano Accompaniment: Plovdiv Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Nayden Todorov

• Amazon Sales Rank: #260778 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-29
• Released on: 2006-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .70″ h x 8.80″ w x 11.60″ l, .65 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 72 pages

Grieg Piano Concerto In A Minor Op 16 Pic

Grieg Piano Concerto In A Minor Op 16 Picture

Grieg Piano Concerto In A Minor Op 16 Pic

Grieg Piano Concerto In A Minor Op 16 Picture

Grieg Piano Concerto In A Minor Op 16 Photo

Grieg Piano Concerto In A Minor Op 16 Image

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
good for amateurs, maybe not for professionals
By Khurynn
To learn, refine, and ultimately perform a concerto without the dynamic response of a real orchestra has inherent flaws that this package attempts to address. If you want to perform the piece using the CDs (which presumably you are), the tempi are of course fixed for you, but they seem to be consistent with most recordings of the piece that I’ve heard. In cases where the piano enters alone, there are audible “clicks” that allow the performer to adjust for tempo and to begin at the correct time. These can be edited out of a recording with the proper equipment/software. The main problem seems to lie in the cadenzas, where the soloist should be allowed much more freedom to interpret the piece as he wishes – including the speed. There is a silence of fixed length in the recordings for each of these, but again, this can be edited if you know how to do such things. The orchestral playing is not stellar, but should be acceptable for most people trying to learn the piece. The printed score has no fingerings; some might find this annoying. Otherwise it has most of the necessary markings, and some additional reference points that correspond to CD tracks and places where the aforementioned “clicks” occur. All in all, I would recommend this item for an amateur pianist who wishes to learn a concerto (as it is one of the easier ones) and who doesn’t have the luxury of a live orchestra at his disposal. Not being a professional musician, I can’t say whether or not it would be useful for professionals, but I suspect there would be better options.

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• Amazon Sales Rank: #76079 in Music
• Released on: 1993-03-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Alban Berg Violin Concerto To The Memory Photo

Alban Berg Violin Concerto To The Memory Photo

Alban Berg Violin Concerto To The Memory Picture

Alban Berg Violin Concerto To The Memory Photo

Alban Berg Violin Concerto To The Memory Image

Alban Berg Violin Concerto To The Memory Pic

47 of 54 people found the following review helpful.
Lyrical and Modern
By M. Friedman
I admit to having been dubious about Anne-Sophie Mutter. There have been so many crossover fiddle-babes lately, that I had subconsciously filed her alongside Vanessa Mae and Linda Brava. That was unfair, probably sexist, and ill-considered, as this disc makes clear.

Mutter is the real thing. She displays an extraordinary command of her instrument in what is really an very difficult and technically demanding piece.

The Berg Violin Concerto is magical. At times jagged and strident and at times soaring and lyrical, it demands exceptional range from the soloist. Although it is [mainly] atonal, the concerto is capable of expressing great warmth and melodic invention in the right hands. Mutter’s hands are the right hands.

I hesitate to use another sexist term like “a woman’s touch,” but the truth is that there is something ineffably feminine in Mutter’s performance here. Perhaps it’s a lyricism that I don’t here in Stern’s performance of the same piece. Perhaps it’s a lightness of touch. In any event, Mutter proves herself by seeming to start from the position that she has nothing to prove.

I had never listened to Wolfgang Rihm’s music before, and Gesungene Zeit remains the only composition of his that I have ever heard. I was quite dubious at first, having been disappointed in the past by neo-conservative “modern” composers like Gorecki and Part. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Rihm’s composition on this disc.

It may be just that Mutter plays the solo part so well, of course. But Gesungene Zeit has sort of griwn on me. It is minimal [rather than minimalist] in the same way as Ives’ Unanswered Question, with some srong tutti chords in the second half. I’m not sure I would class it as one of the GREAT concetante violin pieces, but it does have a charm — certainly as performed by Mutter — that seems to improve with each listen.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
One of the greatest CDs Deutsche Grammophon has put out
By Christopher Culver
I’ve held off on reviewing this Deutsche Grammophon disc for a long time, since I didn’t think I could add anything to the praise already lavished on it by the press and my fellow reviewers. Yet, it is the fate of reviewers to ultimately throw in their two cents in spite of all that has come before, so here follow my thoughts on these performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by James Levine, with Anne-Sophie Mutter on solo violin.

Alban Berg’s “Violin Concerto” (1935), with the dedication “to the memory of an angel”, seems to have finally entered the standard repertoire. Written after the death of the young Manon Gropius, daughter of Alma Mahler-Werfel and Walter Gropius, it is a work of constant elegy sometimes tempered with praise of a beautiful young soul, but at other times giving in to the darkest feelings of mourning and catastrophe. Like in all his work, Berg uses the twelve-tone system inherited from his teacher Arnold Schoenberg, but with strong echoes of traditional harmony. Romanticism is abundant in this work too often considered undesirably “modernist”; it opens with the lushest sounds of clarinet and harp, moves towards the softest touches of strings, and ultimately roars thundering crescendos pregnant with meaning. While the violin is sometimes a sort of protagonist, representing the bloom of youth held down by Fate, often the work is intensely directing us to higher themes outside of the ensemble itself.

Since Berg left the door open to traditional harmony, he brings in two objets trouvees that link the work to a long tradition before it. The most readily noticeable is Bach’s chorale “Es ist genug”, variations on which provide the basis of the second movement. Another is a Carinthian folk song Berg knew in his youth, when he had an illegitimate child with a family maid, giving the concerto a “secret programme”. This being 2007, when film music has gone to much greater extremes of “dissonance” than Berg ever approached, the harmonies of the concerto will seem pleasing and elegant to all but the most conservative of classical listeners.

There are, of course, many other performances of Berg’s concerto out there. But several things set this apart. For one, the digital sound quality is superb, bringing a clarity to a piece too often heard in primitive recordings. And it was recorded after examination of the original sketches in the 1980s revealed that a key part of the work was muddled in the published score. Finally, there is Mutter’s technique itself. While she has now grown rather stale and trite, at this time the violinist was at the height of her powers, and this performance is simple flawless.

The second piece on the disc is Wolfgang Rihm’s “Time Chant” (1991-92). Here the violin is meant to exhibit nearly vocal characteristics, and when the small orchestra contributes, it is only in the role of filling out a line that is, as Rihm, claims, “in essence monophonic”. The writing for the violin hovers in the heights of its range, playing crystalline sounds in the longest durations. This is actually something unusual for Rihm, as his music is often concerned with movement and energy–see JAGDEN UND FORMEN in DG’s “20/21″ series for an excellent work in this vein. Here Rihm amost approaches Alexander Knaifel in the light purity of the writing. I enjoy it immensely, especially played on a top-of-the-line stereo where its fragile beauty shines through, but I’d certainly recommend that people look elsewhere for an introduction to Rihm.

This disc is one of the greatest achievements on the CD. It commands so much respect and demand that 15 years after its release, it still has not been lowered to mid-price. It deserves a place in your collection, and the music will undoubtedly find itself a place in your heart as well.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Anne-Sophie Mutter Plays Berg
By Robin Friedman
Alban Berg (1885 — 1935) composed his violin concerto as a requiem for a young woman, Manon Gropius, but the work effectively became Berg’s own requiem as well. It is Berg’s last completed score, written in 1935. This is passionate, emotive music which staddles the bounds between atonality and musical romanticism. The performance by Anne-Sophie Mutter and James Levine conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, recorded in 1992,is justly celebrated. This is an ideal introduction to Berg and to his masterful violin concerto. This is difficult music, make no mistake. The new listerner should stay with it, as the violin concerto will reward many hearings.

I used the discussion of this work in Michael Steinberg’s book, “The Concerto,” (1998) as a guide to my listening. Steinberg writes with great enthusiasm for Berg’s concerto and gives the reader a good, brief introduction to Berg and his work. The violin concerto is a hermetic work. That is, the concerto is filled with allusions to Berg’s love life, to affairs both late in his life and to an affair he had as a young man. The work also shows Berg’s fascination with secrecy and with numerology. He followed certain pseudo-science of his day in thinking that the number 23 had some mystical significance for the life-rhythm while the number 28 had significance for women. This thinking, and other beliefs in lucky numbers and the like are built into Berg’s score.

But of the music were only a code to be deciphered, it would not be of much interest. The emotion and force of the violin concerto drew me in and will make the work live for other listeners as well. The work is in two movements, each of which has two parts. The first movement opens slowly and elegaically with a quiet figure in the harp, followed shortly by an ascending 12-tone figure for the violin. The second part of the music is more rapid in tempo and develops nostagically an old folk-song — in Berg’s case, perhaps, to remind him of a love affair he had when young, the memory of which remained with him through life.

The second movement opens with a violently dissonant passage that speaks of calamity and loss. The second part of the movement, though, is a response and an answer to deep sorrow. It develops a chorale theme from a Bach cantata, “Es ist Genug” through a combination of Bach’s harmonies and Berg’s own. The chorale goes through a number of variations and moods ranging from a rememberance of love and passion to quiet acceptance and resignation. The work fades away with only the solo violin remaining at the end. The solo and the orchestral writing are deeply intertwined in this concerto.

It may be a shame that Wolfgang Rihm’s “Time Chant: Music for Violin and Orchestra” is the companion piece on this CD. It seemed to me a thoughtful work, but it pales in comparison with the Berg. Rihm is a prolific contemporary German composer, and he wrote this work for Anne-Sophie Mutter. This was my first exposure to his music. The “Time Chant” is in two movements, both of which feature the violin playing declamatory passages at the top of its register punctuated on occasion by orchestral outbursts. The work shimmers and has the quality of a chant but functions mostly as a showpiece for Ms. Mutter’s formidable technique. There are some striking passages for the violin but they are surrounded by musical moments in which not much happens.

The Mutter-Levine reading of Berg’s concerto is more than enough reason to hear this CD with Rihm’s work an intriguing addition. This disk offers an outstanding opportunity to get to know one of the great masterpieces of Twentieth Century music.

Robin Friedman

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• Amazon Sales Rank: #8815 in Music
• Published on: 1990
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Beethoven Triple Concerto Overtures Picture

Beethoven Triple Concerto Overtures Picture

Beethoven Triple Concerto Overtures Picture

Beethoven Triple Concerto Overtures Photo

Beethoven Triple Concerto Overtures Photo

Beethoven Triple Concerto Overtures Pic

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
Triple Concerto…..Mutter? Yo-Yo Ma? Perfect!
By A
Recording of the Triple Concerto is soundwise, very good. Performance is superb! This is one of my absolute favorites…if you have not heard it, you are missing a great piece of work! Highly recommended! There is also another recording of this out with Karajan and the BPO with Rostopovich, Richter, and Oistrakh…also a fabulous recording…I have both. If I was stuck with just a couple of CD’s on a desert island (with a lot of batteries), this would be one of them.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
A delightful, fresh Triple Concerto
By Santa Fe Listener
To settle the dispute over dating this CD, the three overtures were taken from much earlier sessions (1965-70) to fill out the 1980 Triple Concerto. Karajan led a blockbuster version of this work with the incomparable trio of Richter, Oistrakh, and Rostropovich (on EMI), so it was an audacious move to try and repeat the feat. He was wise to spotlight three young soloists rather than grand lions. Yo-Yo Ma and Anne-Sophie Mutter went on to great fame, of course, and they overshadow the now-forgotten Mark Zeltser, but he’s light, bright, and sparkling, as is the performance as a whole. (Strangely, however, Ma has some intonation problems that mar the first movement.) Karajan lightens his accompaniment from the earlier version and takes faster tempi. I’ve heard other readings with a more heroic trio of soloists, but the presence of a great Beethoven conductor and the wonderful Berlin Phil. is a major asset here.

I’m a bit less happy with the three overtures. All are played on a grand scale, particularly the earth-shattering Egmont, which comes off best. The Coriolan sounds majestic but feels emotionally inert to me, with Karajan attempting to prettify the great development section, and the Fidelio Over. is rather too grand and foursquare. All are magnificently played, needless to say. I am giving five stars to the Triple Concerto and perhaps the Egmont Over. in a pinch.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
excellent!
By Mark Long
Generally, I am not fond of Von Karajan’s Beethoven recordings. This definitely is an exception. I think it is excellent in every way. Fine performances all around are matched by a solid recording. And the wonderful, although often neglected, concerto is nicely balanced with the master’s most famous orchestral overtures.

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• Amazon Sales Rank: #812 in Music
• Released on: 2001-03-27
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

The Most Relaxing Piano Album In The Picture

The Most Relaxing Piano Album In The Picture

The Most Relaxing Piano Album In The Image

The Most Relaxing Piano Album In The Photo

The Most Relaxing Piano Album In The Picture

The Most Relaxing Piano Album In The Photo

82 of 84 people found the following review helpful.
Perfect For Its Intended Purpose
By Bon Jovi fan
This double CD helps you relax. Period. It doesn’t demand any more of you than to pop it in, sit (or lay) back and relax. You don’t have to be a classical music expert of any sort to appreciate this, it isn’t meant to be “listened” to. And I love it. I work at a rock/metal radio station and as much as I love that type of music, I own dozens of rock CDs, oftentimes it’s the last thing I want to hear more of at home. Sometimes, complete silence is the best relaxation “technique” but in lieu of that, try “The Most Relaxing Piano Album in the World…Ever”.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful.
Aesthetically Pleasing
By Lina
I simply love piano music. If you’re looking to relax, enjoy a peaceful time, then you must check out this album. If you truly enjoy piano music, this album is by far one of the best you can purchase.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful.
So Relaxing!!!
By C. Willison
These CDs are so much more than I expected! There are the classics you hear on all piano compilations, but also some additions that I’ve never heard before but really enjoyed. I don’t hear background noise on any of the tracks–just pure & simple piano with the ocassional accompaniment of a few other instruments. If you’re looking for something to get you to relax or to play during dinner, this is it. As a pianist, I enjoy it even more for those times when I’m not able to play the songs myself!

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Everyday Etiquette: France

Meeting People

In usual the French prefer to be introduced to strangers, if at all possible wait for a third party introduction when meeting somebody new. When speaking with someone it is mutual to use their title plus their family name (Madame Brown) until given permission to do otherwise.

Personal compliments and remarks on physical aspect (I love your dress) are not suitable as they are considered overly personal.

The interchange of business cards is a mutual exercise when firstborn meeting someone

Physical Greetings

When greeting an individual a handshake accompanied by a “Pleased to meet you” is appropriate. When departing be sure to shake everyone’s hand, a popular group wave as is oftentimes done in the United States is not looked on favorably.

An “air kiss” (first to the left and then the right) is an suitable greeting once you have established a kinship with someone.

Physical Space

The French are comfortable with standing somewhat closer to one another than Americans do.

Eye Contact

Intense direct eye contact is common, looking away is a sign of disinterest and/or that you are behaving rude.

Good Topics of Discussion

Politics, issues of controversy, current events, soccer, arts and anything that results in a good debate.

Bad Topics of Discussion

Avoid the mutual American question of “what do you do?” as it is considered rude and too personal. Also keep away from commenting on specific “French” things unless you are an expert on the topic.

Communication Style

Moments of silence in France are rare once a speech gets rolling. Initially upon meeting the French are politely restrained but once they get to know you they may be deafening and highly animated.

The French are a combining of the logical North and the ardent South and as a result they are often times competent to routine and explain their points rather logically, nonetheless when an issue arises of which they are passionate regarding a highly dramatic outburst may occur.

Waiting in Line

In frequent the French are not fantastic with regards to waiting in line. A friendship with the banker at a bank might concede you to bypass the line altogether.

Walking

France is a country of walkers; the majority of errands are done on foot.

Shopping

Customer service is not as “in your face” as it is in the United States. Generally a salesclerk will ignore you until eye contact is made signaling service is required. A person who is dressed nicely will get more respect and better treatment than a person who is dressed in sweats and a t-shirt.

When buying goods at the grocery store be conscious that if you touch the fruits or vegetables-you buy them.

Public Transportation

When on the bus or train it is polite to give up your seat for the elderly, handicapped, pregnant women and parents with children.

Casual conversations with strangers on public transportation is not mutual or overly welcome.

Tipping

The tip is in general already included in the price at a restaurant. A popular tip for a taxi driver is 10 percent. Bellmen commonly receive 1 Euro per bag.

Appropriate Dress

The French are very thoughtful in their style of dress and value taste and quality. What one chooses to wear in the morning is always very well thought out. In frequent the French dress more formally than Americans do.

Women are very concerned with their skin (facials commence at a young age) and hairstyles. Accessories are a ought to and distinctive color combining is common.

Meal Time

Breakfast is specifically from 7 to 9 AM.

A conventional French Breakfast is a cup of coffee along with a croissant.

Lunch is quintessentially from 12 to 2 PM

Traditionally lunch is the biggest meal of the day and may be rather elaborate. Nowadays a typical lunch is often sandwiches or salads, and meat and vegetable plates. Desert, wine and coffee closely always accompany the meal.

Dinner is quintessentially from 7:30 to 8:30 PM.

Dinner comprises of an appetizer, soup, a main course, dessert, coffee and chocolates. Wine is conservatively chosen and always served.

Table Manners

The French do not switch their knife and fork as humans do in the States. The fork remains in the left hand and the knife in the right hand. Almost everything in France is eaten with a knife and fork.

Placing your utensils down on your plate signifies to wait staff that you are finished.

When not in use keep your hands in your lap and pass dishes to the left.

Who Pays?

In popular the person who did the inviting is the person that pays.

Punctuality

Arriving “fashionably late” (15-20 minutes) is acceptable.

For more travel tips to France, visit Glamour Getaways at http://www.glamourgetaways.com

• Amazon Sales Rank: #181394 in Music
• Released on: 2009-07-28
• Number of discs: 1

French Festival Image

French Festival Pic

French Festival Picture

French Festival Image

French Festival Image

French Festival Picture

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Dreamy, wistful music with surrealistic atmosphere
By Leslie Richford
Unlike the Spanish and Italian Festivals in the same series, Naxos’ French Festival presents music by indigenous composers (unless one counts Jacques Offenbach as a German). Chabrier’s ‘Joyeuse marche’ with which the disc begins is an almost over-lively piece with some brash brass and provides a stark contrast to the mostly tender, wistful and gentle music which is to follow. Ravel, Fauré, Godard and Débussy all contribute short pieces, some of them extracted from other works, which create a dreamy, almost surrealistic atmosphere that may not be typical of France, but is perhaps typical of French music at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. A special treat is given with Erik Satie’s Gymnopédies I and II which are here done very well and deserve praise: Satie was something of an odd-ball, but this music can make one curious to know more. The one-hour long programme closes with another faster piece, Saint-Saens’ ‘Danse macabre’, a witty dance of death with clanking skeletons and a spooky violin. All in all, I would say that you have to be in the right mood to enjoy this music, but that it is comparatively well performed and therefore excellent value for money.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
A Heart-String Puller
By A
This is a fabulous little collection of music–some of the prettiest and sweetest from the greatest of the French musicians. The “odd man out” is the first track (a little too stirring) and maybe the last, but the rest of the CD is a sweet dream, believe me!

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• Amazon Sales Rank: #128858 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-18
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Maria Joo Pires Schumann Piano Picture

Maria Joo Pires Schumann Piano Image

Maria Joo Pires Schumann Piano Photo

Maria Joo Pires Schumann Piano Photo

Maria Joo Pires Schumann Piano Photo

Maria Joo Pires Schumann Piano Image

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Patrician Readings by Pires
By Doug – Haydn Fan
Schumann’s delightful Kinderszenen, The Scenes from Childhood, are among his most original and attractive works. Strikingly enough they were composed before the Schumann family became filled to overbursting with new young faces! All of the works are very brief minatures, and each has its own personality. The Waldszenen, or Forest scenes, continue this approach with nine more individual miniature tone poems or poetic sketches. The generous Cd next has three charming little works from the Bunter Blatter, Op 99, an album about falling leaves and the colors of that season, and concludes with five equally short selections from the Albumblatter, simply, album leaves, tiny pieces where again brevity and directness is all as Schumann depicts the moods of Fall. The short Praludium adds a nice close to the selection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Wonderful Schumann and early Pires
By E. Willinger
I tend to separate the art of Maria Joao Pires into two phases: BC (Before Chopin) and AC (After Chopin). I’m sure Pires played Chopin throughout her career, but once she made the switch from Erato (now Warner) to DG and scored big with her recording of the complete Nocturnes, something changed. The clarity and sensitivity of her playing remained, but she became a more self-conscious, less forthright and (to my ears) a more mannered performer. This CD of reissued Schumann from the mid 1980s shows Pires (along with her earlier set of Mozart sonatas and concertos) at her finest, articulating the mercurial, challenging shifts of these pieces with poise and beauty. Very highly recommended.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Delightful!
By S. B. Volchan
This is a delightful CD with some of Schumann’s fantastic miniatures. Maria João plays with incredible precision, clarity and a tender touch. Just wonderful.

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The Electric guitar hasn’t been around almost as long as the Acoustic and Classical guitars. In fact, the Electric guitar was devised just 70 years ago (the 1930s) by Adolph Rickenbacker. Since that time, the Electric guitar has primarily evolved to the where it is today. In this article, we’ll go over the history of the Electric guitar.

The History

Guitars, or similar instruments, have been around for thousands of years. The Electric guitar was firstborn fabricated in the 1930s by Rickenbacker. Original Electric guitars employed tungsten pickups. Pickups basically convert the vibration of the strings into electrical current, which is then fed into the amplifier to formulate the sound.

The very earliest Electric guitars featured littler soundholes in the body. These guitars are known as semi-hollow body Electric guitars and still are more or less popular today, primarily due to the fact that they are flexible guitars.

However, with the use of pickups, it was possible to manufacture guitars without soundholes (like the Acoustic and Classical guitars have) that still had the capacity to be heard, if plugged into amplifiers. These guitars are called solid body Electric guitars.

The Electric guitar’s popularity started out to increase for the duration of the Big Band era of the ’30s and 40s. Due to the loudness of the brass subsections in jazz orchestras, it was necessary to have guitars that could be heard above the sections. Electric guitars, with the capacity to be plugged into amplifiers, filled this void.

The Electric guitar that is most prevalent today is the solid body Electric guitar. The solid body guitar was invented by musician and inventor Les Paul in 1941. It is a guitar made of solid wood with no soundholes. The introductory solid body guitar formulated by Paul was very plain–it was a simple rectangular block of wood connected to a neck with six steel strings. Les Paul’s initial solid body guitar shape has, of course, changed from the initial rectangular shape to the more rounded shape Les Paul guitars have today.

During the 1950s, Gibson introduced Les Paul’s invention to the world. The Gibson Les Paul, as it was and still is called, speedily became a very popular Electric guitar. It has remained the most frequent guitar for 50 years.

Around the same amount of time of time, another inventor named Leo Fender came up with a solid body Electric guitar of his own. In the late 1940s, Fender introduced the Fender Broadcaster Electric guitar. The Broadcaster, which was renamed the Stratocaster, was officially introduced to the public in 1954. The Strat, as it is now known, was a very dissimilar guitar in comparison to the Les Paul. It had a dissimilar shape, dissimilar hardware and was significantly lighter. Fender’s Stratocaster Electric guitar is the second most frequent guitar in the world, second to only the Les Paul.

Over the years, other companies, such as Ibanez, Jackson, Paul Reed Smith, ESP and Yamaha have all developed solid body Electric guitars of their own. However, most Electric guitars still feature the intimate shape of a Les Paul or Strat guitar.

• Amazon Sales Rank: #626093 in Digital Music Album
• Released on: 2008-12-12
• Running time: 0 seconds

Story Of Dvork In Words And Music Picture

Story Of Dvork In Words And Music Image

Story Of Dvork In Words And Music Photo

Story Of Dvork In Words And Music Picture

Story Of Dvork In Words And Music Pic

Story Of Dvork In Words And Music Picture

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The top 10 piano songs of all time may be more a matter of personal preference than anything. Ask any piano student though, and he’ll likely name at least five of these 10. This list holds a heap of of the “staples” of piano instructors worldwide:

1. Beethoven’s “Fur Elise.” Take piano lessons a few years and you’ll surely encounter this classical piece. Most each young piano student requests Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” early in his or her career.

2. Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer.” Joplin managed to capture audiences for the duration of an era when “Negro music” was still controversial. Classical musicians of the early 20th century would have balked at Joplin’s name appearing alongside the likes of Beethoven and Mozart. Today, few would exclude this ragtime song from a top 10 piano songs list.

3. Pachelbel’s “Canon in D major.” Simply referred to as “Pachelbel’s Canon,” it often gets left off of favored piano songs lists. That’s because it was in the first place written for stringed instruments. Nevertheless, the piano adaptation is one that most each intermediate to innovative piano student plays for the duration of his or her career.

4. Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Beethoven had one of the most prolific musical careers in history. It’s little wonder that his name appears more than once on the popularity list. His “Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor” is in all likelihood more widely recognized by it is mutual name, the “Moonlight Sonata.”

5. Brahm’s “Hungarian Dance.” Brahm may be known better in mainstream culture for his “Lullaby.” Every piano student learns both his “Lullaby” and the “Hungarian Dance.” The “Hungarian Dance” specifically refers to his “No. 5 in F sharp minor.” The “Hungarian Dance” is in truth a series of 21 songs. A outstanding a good deal of of them were plainly adaptations of existent songs. “No. 5 in F sharp minor” was one of a few originals.

6. Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.” This song appears as one of four movements in Claude Debussy’s “Suite Bergamasque.” The suite was in all likelihood based on Paul Verlaine’s poem of the same name. Its soft, lilting sounds contrast beautifully with the rest of the suite’s joyful parts.

7. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” Ludwig van Beethoven cracks the list again with this song from his last finish symphony: “Symphony No. 9.” It was strange in regard to a good deal of of his works, as well as others of the time. It was based on Friedrich Schiller’s poem of the same name and included humane voices as orchestral instruments.

8. “Minuet in G.” This intimate piece is somewhat controversial. It is with respect to history attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, having appeared in Bach’s “Notebook for Anna Magdalena.” The book was a series of compositions consecrated to Bach’s wife. The authorship of “Minuet in G” and another work was called into question hundreds of years later. Many musical historians now attribute it to Bach’s contemporary, Christian Petzold. Controversy aside, it remains a loved favored of pianists everywhere.

9. Mozart’s “Turkish March.” No top 10 piano songs list would be finish without a nod to Mozart. His “Turkish March” or “Turkish Rondo” is a difficult piece to play, ordinarily only attempted after assorted years of piano lessons.

10. Billy Joel’s “Root Beer Rag.” It’s fitting to include at least one contemporary artisan in a top ten piano songs list. Billy Joel’s career is ofttimes scaled down to his influence on pop music. But soulful ballads like “The Piano Man” only provide a glimpse into his musical talent. Billy Joel is considered one of the most proficient pianists alive today. His “Root Beer Rag” is attempted by a heap of innovative piano students. Most agree, however, that few carry out this lightning-fast number rather like the master himself.

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35232 in Music
• Released on: 2002-05-14
• Number of discs: 6
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: .51 pounds

Grieg Complete Music With Orchestra Box Photo

Grieg Complete Music With Orchestra Box Photo

Grieg Complete Music With Orchestra Box Pic

Grieg Complete Music With Orchestra Box Pic

Grieg Complete Music With Orchestra Box Photo

Grieg Complete Music With Orchestra Box Photo

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
It’s all here
By Eric S. Kim
Norwegian-born Edvard Grieg has created many works for the orchestra, and this 6-CD box set contains almost all of them. Neeme Jarvi handles the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the choirs very well. The sound is crystal clear and has the perfect digital sound for every CD player/stereo.

For the long works, the Piano Concerto is attention-grabbing and beautiful. The Symphonic Dances and the Norwegian Dances are lively and tremendously extraordinary. The lesser-known Symphony in C Minor should be more recognized, as it is as powerful as other symphonies, like Mahler’s first and Beethoven’s sixth. For the short works, In Autumn and Landkjenning can be best described as sheer masterpieces.

For Peer Gynt, it is good to hear the first digitally-recorded authentic version. The suite version is just not enough for that full listening experience. NOTE: if you want to buy a Peer Gynt that includes the complete dialogue, I would recommend conductor Ole Kristian Ruud’s version with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra; the dialogue lengthens the 90-minute work by two hours.

To know the rest is to listen to them straight through. All the works in this box set (especially the Piano Concerto) should be a possession for all Grieg-lovers.

A+

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful.
Wonderful recordings, slightly marred by lack of texts
By A
Jarvi has been a fine advocate of Scandinavian music over the last 30 years. Even of those such as Grieg and Sibelius who you would think no longer needed advocacy. Most of these recordings were warmly welcomed on their releases and several won awards. And it’s nothing but a pleasure to see them reappear again. The orchestral playing is sumptuous, but the real stand out is the singing of Barbara Bonney on several CDs.

This is now the fourth or fifth release for some of these CDs, first came the individual volumes, then the full price box, then releases on budget DG Classikon, and now a Collector’s Edition box at half the price, but sadly minus the texts to CDs 2,3 and 6. This won’t matter so much in the orchestral songs, CD6, where the texts to Bergtekne, Bergliot etc. are available in other releases or on the Lieder web page, but CDs 2 and 3 are currently the only complete recording of Peer Gynt and the sung or spoken texts are not available outside sheet music collections. Personally (as someone more interested in the vocal music than the orchestral) I would try and locate the original volumes, but at least DG has given those who don’t feel the extra expense is justified a cheaper option.

Further recommendation: Anne Sofie von Otter’s recording of the Haugtussa song cycle.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful.
An excellent box-set
By Sungu Okan
This box-set a must have for any Grieg lovers.
Neeme Jarvi is very good.

In first CD, there is a powerful performance of Piano Concerto by Zilberstein.She is also great in F.Liszt recordings (at DG Classics). In second CD, works for string orchestra (including, famous Holberg Suite) to be found. And in 3rd and 4th CDs, marvellous recordins of Peer Gynt and Sigurd Jorsalfar (Sigurd, the Crusader)to be found.This works are the first recordings of complete score. Still, speakers to be present at Peer Gynt.And Funeral March for R. Nordraak is very influence in 4th CD.The wind ensemble of Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is very good…

In 5th CD, there is an unknown work by Grieg: Symphony in C-minor. This work written in early period, but didn’t perfomed often. Still, this work’s name is “Forbidden Symphony”…And then, a majestic work “Land-Sighting” to be found. This is very successful choral work of composer and he written in a heavenly tone:E Major…And then, there is an unknown work again, an incomplete opera: “Olav Trygvason”… Grieg written this work on a libretto by his friend, Bjornson (a famous poet of Norway), but he could finish first act…

And in last CD, there are other vocal works, and his beatiful work: “Old Norwegian Melody with Variations”. And then, 5 Songs to be found. This songs originally written for voice and piano (like other many songs) but he later orchestrated these works.And the first song “The First Meeting” was discovered in 80′s and still, they used a new edition, published from new founded manuscript, so this is the first recording of Grieg’s beatiful song.

In other words: this box-set is excellent and Highly recommended.

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