Russian Album

On this CD:

1. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano Orchestrated by Ravel
Composed by Modest Mussorgsky
Performed by National Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

2. Symphony No. 1 in D major ("Classical"), Op. 25
Composed by Sergey Prokofiev
Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

3. Fireworks (Feu D'artifice), fantasy for orchestra, Op. 4
Composed by Igor Stravinsky
Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

4. Gayane Suite No.3, for orchestra Suite No 1, No 1: Sabre Dance
Composed by Aram Khachaturian
Performed by National Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

5. The Comedians, incidental music and suite for small orchestra, Op. 26
Composed by Dmitry Kabalevsky
Performed by National Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Leonard Slatkin

Tracks:

Iolanta: "Otago eto preide ne znala ni toski ya" (Iolanta)
Twelve Songs op. 21: No. 7: "Zdes' khoroso" ("How beautiful it is here")
Six Songs op. 4: No. 4: "Ne poy, krasavica" ("Oh, do not sing to me")
The Tale of Tsar Saltan: Aria: "Tï, carevic, moy spasitel" (Swan Princess)
The Snow Maiden: Scene and Aria: "A-u, a-u!" - "Akh, bednaya Sneguroaka,
The Snow Maiden: Finale: "Velikiy car'! Sprosi menya sto raz" (Snow Maiden, Tsar, Misgir, Chorus)
The Tsar's Bride: Scene and Aria: "Ivan Sergeyic, khoces'" (Marfa)
Six Romances op. 38: No. 6: Pimpinella - Florentine Song "Yesli tï
A Life for the Tsar: Cavatina and Rondo: "V pole, pole, cistoye glyazu" (Antonida)
War and Peace: Aria: "Cudo, kak khorosa ona" (Natasha, Anatol, Sonya, Count Rostov)
Francesca da Rimini: "O, ne riday, moy Paolo, ne nado ..." (Franceska)
Eugene Onegin: Letter Scene: "Puskay pogibnu ya, no prezde" (Tatyana)

Amazon.com

This is a collection of well-to-lesser-known Russian arias by composers from Glinka to Prokofiev, with stops along the way for Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Rachmaninov. The lovely Anna Netrebko remains a glamorous singer, pure of voice, with always-musical phrasing and some exquisitely high soft singing. Particularly fine are a little-known Tchaikovsky Romance with castanets, bassoon, and piccolo adding color; the vivid, Italianate selection from Glinka's A Life for the Tsar; two lyrical Rachmaninov songs (here scored for orchestra); and the Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin, which is delivered with the drama of a true singing actress. Otherwise, many of the arias here are slow and have a certain sameness about them. Netrebko sometimes just sings instead of getting inside them. Netrebko's Italian output so far has been far more exciting, but it's great to have this Russian repertoire sung so beautifully on CD. --Robert Levine

Album Description

After astonishing debuts as an unknown young singer, Anna Netrebko is now one of the world's favorite opera heroines. Now, for the first time, she's ready to lavish her pure, powerful voice on composers from her homeland, in a program of some of the most beautiful arias and songs in the Russian repertoire. Russian Songs is a deeply personal recording, made in the opera house where she first found stardom, St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre, and conducted by Anna's mentor and friend who has championed her from the start: Valery Gergiev. This collection includes Anna in her signature role, Natasha from Prokofiev's War and Peace - which launched her career at the Metropolitan Opera in 2002. In addition. Anna gives listeners a taste of roles yet to come with Tatiana's letter scene from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Anna Netrebko has made it her mission to bring opera to a wider public. Following the huge success of her last solo recording Sempre Libera and the acclaimed Salzburg La Traviata releases, Anna will show once again that she knows how to captivate audiences.

Album Description

2006 album from this Russian Opera singer who has stunned critics and audiences alike with her good looks and heart-stopping voice. Features Netrebko tackling some of Russia's most esteemed musical works from composers such as Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov and more. Universal.

Customer Reviews:

Love of her home land.......2007-05-23

Here at last is the Anna Netrebko that has been some what missing from previous encounters on CD.This is a woman whose deep love and regard for her homeland are much in evidence from the first to the last notes .Often in reviews comments are made a the darkness of her voice ,here it is perfect and at home with the somber tones of the great land that has so much to offer the world of music .
The beautiful warmth of her vocal range gives a brilliant tapestry of sound to the album, bringing to life the various characters she portrays ,with her penultimate portrayal of Natasha in Prokofiev's War and Peace,we can only hope to see her preform it one day for western audiences.
Many feel that Anna Netrebko lacks substance ,this I feel is unfair as she has many years to go to reach her peak ,this album shows that she has the range, the talent and the intelligence to make herself one of the greatest sopranos of all time

beautiful music.......2007-05-17

indeed beautiful music and beautiful russian songs, it's just a "must have" for every music lovers.

Great CD........2007-05-07

This CD combines knowledgeable artists about the subject of Russian music, unsurpassed talent by the singer, and a superb sound production. This is world class stuff you can get just for a few bucks.

I love it when she sings in Russian!!.......2007-04-30

I find myself always using food metaphors to describe voices... Netrebko is amazing in any language certainly (like perfectly oaked chardonnay), but when she sings in Russian... The thing that comes to mind is 'amuse bouche' - it's like every phrase sung is a scrumtious little morsel delicately prepared and bursting with flavour. Ahhhh.... Delicious!

beauty and the beast.......2007-04-12

I haven't come across statistical records of how often beauty,in a women,meets talent,but surely this is the case. Anna's voice is a mirror image of her features: clean and seductive,yet powerful. She controls the beast(that's how I would rename "lirica",as we call opera music) to her pleasure,modulating softeness and power to perfection. If performing russian opera music was intended to be a further test to her capabilities, well singing in her mother language has only confirmed her as really outstanding. Anna has added a touch of russian romanticism to the execution of this beast.

Average customer rating:

My 3 yr old loves it!
My baby loves this CD!
A Reasonable Collection

Classics for Kids (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Classics for Kids
Children's Favorites
Classical Music for Children: A Toddler's Introduction to Classical Music
Bernstein Favorites: Children's Classics
50 Kids Favorites

ASIN: B00000IGUV
Release Date: 2000-11-15

Tracks:

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik: Allegro
The Nutcracker: Russian Dance
The Nutcracker: Dance Of The Toy Flutes
Flight of the Bumblebee
Cannon in D Major
Sabre Dance
Happy Farmer
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade (Excerpts)
Pictures At An Exhibition: Ballet Of The Chickens In Their Shells
On The Beautiful Blue Danube (Excerpts)
Fse
Trout Quintet In A Major (Theme & Variations) - Schubert
The Syncopated Clock
The Typewriter
Rhapsody in Blue (Excerpts)
Spring Song In A Major - Mendelssohn
Lullaby

Tracks:

Peter And The Wolf - Classics For Kids
The Toy Symphony - Classics For Kids

Customer Reviews:

My 3 yr old loves it!.......2007-03-17

This is one of my three year old's top requests for listening. She simply loves it; She hums along and can name most of the songs. I am vey pleased.

My baby loves this CD!.......2006-11-05

Of all the many CDs we were given, this is my baby's favorite. Unlike most CDs of classical music for babies, this isn't just smooth, soft music. It does have some of that, but it also has more exciting pieces like the bouncy Nutcracker music, The Flight of the Bumble Bee, and The Sabre Dance. My baby bounces and dances to this music happily. And once she's a bit older, I'm sure she's going to love "Peter the Wolf," narrated by Jack Lemmon.

A Reasonable Collection.......2004-08-11

This is a reasonable selection of works to start with as a child's introduction to Classical music. There are two main flaws - a handful of the pieces are performed rather poorly and the sound quality is muffled. But keeping the intended audience in mind and the price, it's not a bad value.

The Best Choral Album in the World...Ever!

Average customer rating:

I love it and I give it as a gift
MarMSED
Diverse range but the songs are butchered...

The Best Choral Album in the World...Ever!

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Anthems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Chants | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Te Deum | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Choral Masterpieces
Gloria: Music of Praise & Inspiration
The Only Choral CD You'll Ever Need
The Power & The Majesty: Essential Choral Classics

ASIN: B00002ZZH6
Release Date: 2005-06-07

Tracks:

Gloria In Excelsis Deo - Academy And Chorus Of St Martin In The Fields
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring - Choir Of King's College, Cambridge
Zadok The Priest - Ambrosian Singers
Miserere Mei, Deus - Gerald Finley
Veni Creator Spiritus - Choir Of The Monks Of The Benedictine Monastery Of Santo Domingo De Silos
Lacrimosa - London Philharmonic Choir
For Unto Us A Child Is Born - Ambrosian Singers
The Heavens Are Telling - John Shirley-Quirk
Panis Angelicus - Halle Choir
Ave Maria - Groupe Vocal De France
Ode To Joy - The Westminster Choir
Va, Pensiero - Chorus Of the Royal Opera House
Chorus Of Slave Girls - Chorus Of The National Theatre Of Sophia
Coro De Romanticos - Coro Cantores De Madrid
In Paradisum - Choir Of Kings College, Cambridge
Totus Tuus - Choir Of King's College, Cambridge
Song For Athene - Winchester Cathedral Choir
Celebration - London Symphony Chorus
Jerusalem - Royal Choral Society

Tracks:

Zion Hort Die Wachter - South German Madrigal Choir
Pleni Sunt Coeli Et Terra - Charles Brett
Hallelujah Chorus - Ambrosian Singers
Thou Knowest, Lord - Choir Of King's College, Cambridge
Veni Sancte Spiritus - Choir Of The Monks Of The Benedictine Monastery Of Santo Domingo De Silos
Awake The Harp - City Of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
And Then Shall Your Light Break Forth - New Philharmonia Chorus
L'Adieu Des Bergers - Choeurs Rene Duclos
Agnus Dei - Peter Barley
Cantique De Jean Racine - MONKS AND CHOIRBOYS OF DOWNSIDE ABBEY
Ave Verum Corpus - Schutz Consort
Begluckt Darf Nun Dich, O Heimat - Bavarian State Opera Chorus, Munich
Vedi! Le Fosche Notturne Spoglie - Chorus Of the Royal Opera House
Laudamus Te - Radio France Chorus
Chichester Psalms - Rachel Masters
The Lamb - Vasari Singers
Agnus Dei - Winchester Cathedral Choir
Requiem Aeternam - Choir Of Kings College, Cambridge
Dies Irae - Philharmonia Chorus
O Fortuna - London Philharmonic Choir
Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1 (Land Of Hope Glory) - Royal Choral Society

Customer Reviews:

I love it and I give it as a gift.......2006-12-11

This is the first collection of choral music that I've purchased and I love it. I own copies of operas and requiems and masses, but if you attend choral concerts, as I have been recently, you learn there is a huge colletion of choral music appart from the forms I've been listening to. I appreciate the producers selecting "Song for Athene" by Tavener and "Celebration (Standing Stone)" by McCartney. They are new to me and I love them. Disk 1 ends with "Jerusalem" and Disk 2 ends with "Land of Hope and Glory." As an American I rarely hear these and I am so glad they were included. I believe this album was intended to help popularize choral music and I believe the selections do fine job towards that end.

I know snobs rage against popularizing classical music, but everyone deserves exposure to the beauty of song. I will also mention here "The East Village Opera Company" because they work to popularize opera by setting it to a rock beat. They do a fine job but also get criticized for attempting to popularize classical music.

"The Best Choral Album in the World...Ever" was so popular with my teen-age daughter that it was hard to get it back from her. I give the album as a gift to nephews and nieces.

MarMSED.......2005-08-27

The music selections are extraordinary. The only problem has to do with the balance of sound. There are some parts that are very loud, and some that are so very soft. You have to continually adjust the volume.

Diverse range but the songs are butchered..........2005-07-24

Well, this CD isn't horrible by any stretch, but it is irritating to someone who's more than a casual listener of choral music. I'm by no means as musically "literate" as many reviewers out there, but I have a collection of probably twenty-five or thirty choral CD's and this is one that will probably be gathering dust in the back of the CD book.

The peices are well-performed for the most part, but they are hopelessly edited. Beethoven's Ode to Joy is somewhere around twenty four minutes, but this CD only includes an arrangement of about five minutes. The beautiful Miserere is, uncut, almost eleven minutes but is cut down to five and a half minutes here.

Looking back, I should have realized the major editing that would be involved, just by the sheer number of peices on it. I'm familiar with a great many of them and I know they're too long to fit onto a seventy minute disc without some major cutting going on. I just didn't reason that out before I shelled out the money for it.

Bottom line. This CD has decent singing, but is nothing special. If you're a newcomer to this genre, you might get this as a quick overview of the different types of choral music out there, but if you're any kind of an avid listener, this CD will drive you insane with the severity of the cuts. Beginners, if you're looking for a great collection CD, you'd do better to look at "Choral Moods". It doesn't have the diversity in styles of this one, but it will introduce you to incredibly talented composers. To the old hats out there, steer clear of this one and look to CD's by your preferred individual composers themselves. It's more money, but much less frustration in the long run. The old sayings are sometimes the best: You get what you pay for.

Average customer rating:

Chaliapin, the great Russian singer actor.
A Chaliapin feast

Chaliapin: A Vocal Portrait

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Prima Voce: Chaliapin
Great Singers, 1909-1938

ASIN: B00006RHPA
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Customer Reviews:

Chaliapin, the great Russian singer actor. .......2004-08-23

Born in the same year as Caruso and attracting the wild acclaim that used to be accorded to opera singers, Feodor Chaliapin is now featured in the Naxos "Great Singers" series. A selection of his acoustic recordings (1902-1924) occupy the first CD and a selection of his electric recordings (1926-1936), and in charge of restoration is Ward Marston.

Like Caruso, Chaliapin had a huge voice that nevertheless proved eminently compatible with acoustic recording processes. Indeed, collectors need not be deterred by the age of many of these recordings. Some of the very best items, whether opera or song, fall into the acoustic group. The 1911 recordings of Rubinstein's "Demon" excerpts, which I heard a few times many years ago and have never forgotten, are amongst the best of all in this entire selection.

Also like Caruso, Chaliapin's recording career owed much to producer Fred Gaisberg who, in his autobiography, allotted a whole chapter to this great singer. In recent times, eminent critic John Steane has named Chaliapin as one of the two or three great singer actors of the C20th. Gaisberg was responsible for recording the Prayer and Death of Boris during an actual performance of "Boris Godunov" at Covent Garden in 1928. Perhaps this best indicates Chaliapin's work as singer and actor. Another successful item here is the `Le veau d'or' from "Faust", which one critic has judged ideal for showing Chaliapin's special magnetism.

The notes provide an informative survey of Chaliapin's recording output. One error is the attributing some of the orchestral support in the recordings from the 1920s to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and orchestra which was founded by Beecham in 1932.

A Chaliapin feast.......2003-02-14

It's nice of Naxos to collect in one place some of the most representative recordings of the great Russian basso, Fyodor Chaliapin. This is a 2CD set; the first CD is from the acoustic era of recording, the second from the electrical era. Not only are the expected arias and songs from the Russian literature represented, but also there are more than a few Italian/French/German selections.

There are two scenes from 'Boris Godunov': Varlaam's Song and the Farewell and Death of Boris. Three versions of Mussorgsky's 'Song of the Flea', from 1907, 1929 and 1936 (the latter his last recording) are included, all of them marvelous. Other highlights, made all the more effective by Chaliapin's amazing ability to act with the voice, are 'La calunnia' from 'The Barber of Seville' and 'Le veau d'or' from Gounod's 'Faust.' I also liked 'Chanson Bachique' by Glazunov, which I'd never heard before.

The sound is fantastic, the wizardry of Ward Marston who, along with Mark Obert-Thorn, is involved with Naxos's extensive re-issue of treasures from the history of the recorded voice.

Tracks:

Olympic Dream (Eden Mix) - Maksim
Adiemus - Adiemus
Time To Say Goodbye - Sarah Brightman
Adje Jano - Nigel Kennedy And The Kroke Band
Maria Elena/Corazon Corazon/Fina Estampa - Placido Domingo
Romeo And Juliet: A Time For Us - Andre Rieu
Qui Radames Verra O Patria Mia - Maria Callas
Voca Me - Libera
Chariots Of Fire - Vangelis
Happy Valley-The 1997 Re-Unification Overture - Canessa-Mae
Po Karekare Ana - Kiri Te Kanawa
Mull Of Kintyre - The Celtic Tenors
Pie Jesu - Charlotte Church
Sarabande And Variations - Julia Thornton
Song Of Our Homeland - Izzy
Angus Dei - Karl Jenkins
Auld Lang Syne - Helmut Lotti

The Most Relaxing Opera Album in the World...Ever!

Average customer rating:

The Most Relaxing Opera Album in the World...Ever!

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000AXWGWM
Release Date: 2005-10-04

Tracks:

La Traviata - Prelude, Act I - Giuseppe Verdi
Falstaff - Sul fil dun soffio etesio (Nanettas Aria) - Giuseppe Verdi
Andrea Cher - O pastorelle, addio - Umberto Giordano
Manon - En fermant les yeux - Jules Massenet
Les Peurs de Perles - Zurga, quant tous deux Au fond du temple saint - Georges Bizet
Adriana Lecouvreur - Ecco! Respiro appena Io son lumile ancella - Francesco Cilea
Cosan tutte - Soave sia il vento - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
La Boh - Smi chiamano Mim Giacomo Puccini
Don Giovanni - Dalla sua pace - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Tannher - Wie TodesahnungO du mein holder Abendstern - Richard Wagner
Guilliaume Tell - Quel jour serein le ciel prge - Gioachino Rossini
Orfeo ed Euridice - Che farnza Euridice? - Christoph Willibald Gluck
Cavalleria Rusticana - Intermezzo - Pietro Mascagni
Norma - Casta Diva Vincenzo Bellini
Lelisir damore - Una furtiva lagrima - Gaetano Donizetti
Turandot - Signore, ascolta - Giacomo Puccini
Don Giovanni - Deh, vieni alla finestra - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Lakm Viens, MallikaDis (Flower Duet) - Leo Delibes

Tracks:

Introduction to Khovanshchina - Modest Mussorgsky
Rusalka - Song to the Moon - AntonDvorak
Porgy and Bess - Summertime - George Gershwin
Les Contes dHoffmann - Belle nuit, it damour (Barcarolle)
Xerxes - Ombra, mai fu - George Frideric Handel
Le Nozze di Figaro - Porgi amor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Gianni Schicchi - O mio babbino caro - Giacomo Puccini
La Traviata - Di Provenza il mar - Giuseppe Verdi
Nabucco - Va, pensiero - Giuseppe Verdi
Le Nozze di Figaro - Voi che sapete - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Die Zauberfl- Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd sch Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Orfeo ed Euridice - Dance of the Blessed Spirits - Christoph Willibald Gluck
Don Giovanni - Il mio tesoro - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Samson et Dalila - Mon cur souvre a voix - Camille Saint-Sa
La Wally - Ebben?Ne andrntana - Alfredo Catalani
Les Peurs de Perles - Je crois entendre encore - Georges Bizet
Le Nozze di Figaro - Deh vieni, non tardar Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Madama Butterfly - Humming Chorus - Giacomo Puccini

Average customer rating:

One of his best
Brilliant but lots of eccentricities
Horowitz at his most masterful and tasteful
Still Unequaled
A monumental

Late Russian Romantics
Alexander Nikolayevich Skryabin , Nikolay Medtner , Sergey Rachmaninov , Vladimir Horowitz , and Alexander Scriabin
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Alexander Scriabin: Feuillet d'album in E-flat major, Op. 45 No.1, Andante piacevole
Alexander Scriabin: Etude in F-sharp minor, Op. 8 No. 2
Alexander Scriabin: Etude in B-flat minor, Op.8 No. 11
Alexander Scriabin: Etude in D-flat major, Op. 8 No. 8
Alexander Scriabin: Etude in F-sharp major, Op. 42 No.3
Alexander Scriabin: etude in F-sharp major, Op. 42 No. 3
Alexander Scriabin: Etude in F-sharp major, Op. 42 No.4
Alexander Scriabin: Etude in C-sharp minor, Op. 42 No. 5
Alexander Scriabin: Etude, Op.65 No.3
Alexander Scriabin: 2 Poemes, Op. 69, No. 1 - Allegretto
Alexander Scriabin: 2 Poemes, Op. 69, No. 2 - Allegretto
Alexander Scriabin: Vers la flamme (poeme), Op. 72
Alexander Scriabin: Feuillet d'album, Op.58
Nicolai Medtner: Fairy Tale in A major, Op. 51 No.3
Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor
Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor
Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor
Sergei Rachmaninov: Prelude in G-sharp minor
Sergei Rachmaninov: Moment musical in B minor
Sergei Rachmaninov: Etude- Tableau in E- flat minor
Sergei Rachmaninov: etude- Tableau in E-flat minor
Sergei Rachmaninov: Etude- Tableau in D major

Amazon.com essential recording

Russian composers brought playing from Horowitz that was invariably involved and riveting. He was personally close to Rachmaninoff and commands the sprawling B-flat Minor Sonata as few others have done. It's a conflation of the composer's 1914 original and Horowitz's 1931 alterations. Elsewhere on the disc, the Medtner Fairy Tale is a delightful romp, and Scriabin's often impenetrable mysticism is set forth with appropriately Russian brooding. Here, and in the Rachmaninoff études-tableaux, Horowitz's delicacy and power argue convincingly for music that lies close to his heart. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

One of his best.......2005-07-29

Former Horowitz student Byron Janis puts it best in the liner notes: the '60s saw the legendary pianist in inimitable form. The driven quality of his '40s recordings had been replaced with an irresistable simplicity of expression (just compare his two Chopin sonatas or Op. 42 No. 5 on this disc, for example). Horowitz's well-known connection to Rachmaninov has been frequently cited, yet it is not the rugged second sonata (recorded live, no less) on this album, but the Scriabin and Medtner that truly shine. Among recent accounts of selected etudes, Lang Lang may have youth on his side, but Horowitz's love for these works is all but palpable and remarkably wistful. A treasure.

Brilliant but lots of eccentricities.......2004-05-12

I really wanted to rate this a 4.5 but the absolute brilliance of the Scriabin etudes forced me to round upward rather than down. The Etude Op 65, No 3, is a thing of incredible beauty in the master's hands. Something unusual occurred as Horowitz evolved as an artist: His interpretations of individual works did not become static. To be sure, the size of his repertorie shrunk dramatically but those that remained he performed with a panache, newness and vibrancy that continually startle yet satisfy.

This is nowhere more present than on this CD in which he gives his beloved Scriabin yet new meanings and interpretations with all the fire, passion, detail and finesse one can muster. The clarity of the notes is secondary to the overall architecture of the small pieces. As Horowitz aged the length of his performed pieces shrunk so that he achieved an almost crystaline clarity in the few short ones he did play.

Ever the consumate artist, one really wonders what the guiding force of his interpretations was. Whether it is the lighting quick runs or the thundering chords or his almost unique ability to highlight all the inner voices of a piece, there was something almost undefinable about his approach to the piano.

The Rachmaninoff Second was extremely idiosyncratic with none of the "waves of sound" one usually associates with the composer. It is almost as if he transformed the titanic work into a collection of brilliant miniatures, each startling in its own way but by necessity only vaguely related to the others. The best rendition of the fabulous second has to be Van Cliburn's performance in Moscow where the stunning aspect (apart from the fact that he played the original setting) was the overall architecture and organiaation, the totality of the three movements and their cyclic thematic resonance. He (Van Cliburn) also brought a stately grandeur to the sonata that is sorely lacking in this rendition.

Oddly enough, the same problem holds true for the selections of Etude-Tableaux. Again we are in miniature land with brilliance and ardor but the structure again seems to have gotten lost. It is a case of not being able to see the forest for all the stunning trees. The Medtner was a fine choice and rendered with a poetic touch and much attention to detail.

Horowitz at his most masterful and tasteful.......2003-07-15

This is a must-have CD for anyone who loves the great writers of Russian romantic piano pieces. Horowitz's thunderous rendition of Rachmaninoff's incredible and difficult B-flat Sonata, done at the peak of his powers in the 1960s, is in my opinion virtually without peer in the realm of virtuoso pianism. It follows and contrasts nicely with the delicate and beautiful Medtner "Fairy Tale", a song which I had never even heard of prior to buying this CD; now it's one of my favorites as well. And there are several other nicely done selections , demonstrating the Horowitz bell-like "singing tone" that was so uniquely his own. All in all, this is a great CD that I listen to often!

Still Unequaled.......2003-06-29

Volume Nine of Sony's Horowitz reissue contains music by the pianist's fellow countrymen Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, and Mednter which show the virtuoso at the zenith of his powers.

Horowitz, who at the age of eleven met the Scriabin, once described the composer's music as "super-sensuous, super-mysterious, super-romantic. It's all a little bit overboard." The pianist was ideally suited by temperament to play that Scriabin's highly charged, nervous music. Horowitz once described Scriabin's music as "super-sensuous, super-mysterious, super-romantic. It's all a little bit overboard." There have been numerous pianists who have equaled Horowitz's Scriabin technically (most notably Marc-Andre Hamelin) but none have captured the breathless, nervous quality of this music as has Horowitz.

The Scriabin selections were recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in 1972. Part of the success of Horowitz's Scriabin is his clarity, both musical and technical. The pianist adopts an almost structural approach to these works, which runs against the tendency by some others to slather them in Romantic excess. Horowitz uses less sustaining pedal than is customary in these works (as in the stunning Etude in Thirds, Op. 8, No. 10), although one would never think of calling Horowitz's Scriabin "dry." In the later more mystical works, he uses slightly more pedal, but never drowns the work in sustaining syrup as all too many pianists do. Even in Scriabin's most twisted melodic and pianistic contortions, clarity and balance are maintained. Horowitz also manages to produce a stunning fortissimo (as in Vers la Flamme) without hammering the piano to death or throwing the lines out of balance.

The Medtner Fairy Tale heard here was originally released on a Goodyear Tire promotional record in Christmas of 1969, but never attained widespread release until 1992. Horowitz's boisterous, flirtatious performance gets to the heart of the matter. Although the pianist gave all-Medtner recitals before leaving Russia in 1925, and occasionally programmed Medtner's works in the 1930s and early 1940s, his advocacy of the composer doesn't seemed to have gained any headway in his lifetime. Sadly, this is the only Horowitz Medtner recording to have been released.

Horowitz idolized Rachmaninoff, and the elder pianist/composer admired Horowitz in a kind of uncle/nephew way. The two had a close friendship from 1928 until the composer's death in 1943, and it was Rachmaninoff who sought out psychological help for Horowitz after the pianist's nervous breakdown in 1936. Rachmaninoff often had a complicated relationship with his own compositions. Such was the case with the Second Sonata which was composed in 1913, and severely revised in 1931, when the composer was placing greater value in brevity. Horowitz had played the Second Sonata (in the original version) at his conservatory graduation recital in 1920, and felt that the 1931 revision was too drastically cut. Rachmaninoff, who was never fully satisfied with either version of the piece, agreed and left it to Horowitz to put together a "compromise" version for his own performances. Unfortunately, we have no recording of his 1940 performances (the head of RCA, Charles O'Connell, no fan of either Horowitz or Rachmaninoff, scotched plans for the pianists to record the composer's Second Suite for two pianos and the two piano version of the Symphonic Dances) and therefore we have no record of the revisions Rachmaninoff approved. However, Horowitz did resurrect the work in 1968, the 25th anniversary of Rachmaninoff's death. This performance, recorded that December in Carnegie Hall, is one of the most electrifying piano recordings ever made. Horowitz, at the very top of his form, brings a lithe, pantherlike quality to this performance. He knows how to balance Rachmaninoff's thick piano writing to recreate the composer's swirling anguish, and for all the lushness of Horowitz's conception, the pianist's tone remains limber, spare, prizing clarity over histrionics. Even when all Hell breaks loose, the pianist remains solidly in control. Thirty-five years after it was recorded, it remains the definitive version Rachmaninoff's Second Sonata, and one can sense the approving spirit of the composer in the tumultuous audience response.

The shorter pieces are equally convincing. The Prelude recalls the jingling bells of a Russian Troika, while the Moment Musicaux is given an inwardly brooding performance. The Etudes-Tableaux are less melodic, more economical in texture, with an almost barbaric rhythmic thrust. Horowitz concentrates on the epic, picturesque aspects of these works, and the controlled fury of the D Major has to be heard to be believed.

This reissue is a must for all lovers of great piano music. The sound is some of the best Horowitz received in the pre-digital era, and particularly fine in the live selections.

A monumental.......2003-03-12

I heard one of classicial music fan says that Horowitz's playings of any Rachmaninoff works are incomparable. This is not a too bold statement. Listen to these Rach's Etude Tableaux, compare them to other recordings and you'll know what I mean. I don't think anyone can play them better than Horowitz. Not even Rachmaninoff himself.

Sonata 2 is also another reference point on this extremely difficult piece though I would say the best recording of the piece is Horowitz's 1980 recording ( regardless what piece's version we are referring to ). That recording is not as moving as this one but is much more powerful. Yet both of them which are totally different has confirmed how masterful Horowitz is on Rach's works.

We probably can't conclude the above statement to all the Scriabin works but not for these Etudes. Simple they are unrivaled.

Unfortunately the Great Rach's Etude Tableaux Op.39 No. 5 and Scriabin Etude Op. 8 No, 12 weren't included in this album but on another CD from the same SONY's Horowitz complete recording series. No doubt they are also the best recording of the pieces.

Shostakovich: Cheryomushki, The Bolt, The Gadfly (The Dance Album)
Average customer rating:

Disappointed to find out the best piece from GADFLY is not on this disc!!

Sheer delight

very very good and entertaining recording great sound

More Shostakovich Irony

Excellent version, awful cover

Shostakovich: Cheryomushki, The Bolt, The Gadfly (The Dance Album)

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Shostakovich: The Film Album

Shostakovich: The Jazz Album

Shostakovich: Waltzes

Jazz Suites 1 & 2

Shostakovich: Ballet Suites Nos. 1-4

ASIN: B0000042F8
Release Date: 1997-04-15

Tracks:

Moscow-Cheryomushki Suite From The Operetta, Op. 105: 1. A Spin Through Moscow
Moscow-Cheryomushki Suite From The Operetta, Op. 105: 2. Waltz
Moscow-Cheryomushki Suite From The Operetta, Op. 105: 3. Dances (Polka - Galop)
Moscow-Cheryomushki Suite From The Operetta, Op. 105: 4. Ballet
The Bolt Suite From The Ballet, Op. 27a: 1. Introduction
The Bolt Suite From The Ballet, Op. 27a: 2. Polka
The Bolt Suite From The Ballet, Op. 27a: 3. Variations
The Bolt Suite From The Ballet, Op. 27a: 4. Tango
The Bolt Suite From The Ballet, Op. 27a: 5. Intermezzo
The Bolt Suite From The Ballet, Op. 27a: 6. Finale
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 1. Overture
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 2. The Cliff
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 3. Youth (Romance)
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 7. The Slap In The Face
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 9. Barrel Organ
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 13. Contredanse
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 14. Galop
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 16. The Market Place
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 17. Escape
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 18. Montanelli
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 19. Finale
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 20. The Austrians
The Gadfly Excerpt From The Film Music, Op. 97: 23. Gemma's Room

Amazon.com

Shostakovich (1906-1975) had two distinct musical personalities: the grim alchemist of the string quartets and symphonies and the happy Soviet of his dance and film scores. These works are of the latter Shostakovich--but don't let that put you off. There is a great deal of good music here, and if some of it is ultimately trivial, who cares? Much of the frenetic dance rhythms come from the 1920s and 1930s era of Stalinist Modernism: happy workers, happy factories, happy collectives. It's still fun (and remember, even Prokofiev had it). This is an excellent recording all the way around. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed to find out the best piece from GADFLY is not on this disc!!.......2006-08-05

I really liked this CD when I first bought it. GADFLY is one of Shosty's best film scores - very romantic, and one of the more stand-out pieces of writing amidst the 30+ scores he wrote to keep money in his pocket (many of which sound carbon copied from one another).

However, I later heard a most achingly beautiful piece of Shostakovich playing the Main Theme from GADFLY on the piano. When I heard it, I said, "That's not from GADFLY!" I put this disc on and listened all the way through to confirm. That's when I discovered that on the other versions of the GADFLY suite, the "INTRODUCTION - PRELUDE" track IS included. Folks, this is the BEST piece of the score! How could Chially leave it out!!

To be fair, Chially seems to include a few pieces here that aren't in the other recordings. I guess you really have to buy BOTH to get the full picture! And the performances by the Philadelphia Orchestra are top notch, as is the engineering. I just hate missing out on that one track!!

Sheer delight.......2006-04-13

Wonderful music all round. Typical light Shostakovich in mixing sweet and fun mood with darker, more nostalgic feelings.

Superbly performed and recorded too.

I first got this in 1997 when it first came out. I have lots of great CDs of light Shostakovich works which overlap somewhat, but this is probably my favourite of them of all.

The Cheryomushki excerpts in particular are so wonderful.

very very good and entertaining recording great sound .......2005-11-24

The sound is really incredible here. The conductor, Chailly, as well as Concertgebouworkest does/do a great job here. Especially the Gadfly i can recommend for its ambiance and genious ways. You will receive much good music for a full price. This recording almost doe not present bad stuff. I think almost everythging is great. Ther are always recommendations though.

More Shostakovich Irony.......2005-07-14

Shostakovich is so well known for his fifteen large-scale symphonies that some of his other orchestral compositions, up until the last twenty years, have fallen by the wayside. Thankfully, however, Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly has helped to correct this oversight with his recordings of the composer's lesser known music. This recording, known as "The Dance Album", focuses on what passes for "dance" music in Shostakovich's oevure--though one mustn't take the term too literally when dealing with a composer who dealt with irony much of his life.

Featured here are the orchestral suites Shostakovich composed for the 1955 movie THE GADFLY, the 1931 ballet THE BOLT, and the 1959 operetta MOSCOW-CHERYOMUSHKI (the latter in a four-movement suite making its first-ever appearance on record). The dance rhythms are very vibrant and very Russian, something like accelerated Tchaikovsky, especially in MOSCOW-CHERYOMUSHKI; and the quirky "Variations" movement in THE BOLT. The GADFLY suite, in the meantime, contains the famous "Romance" that is by far one of Shostakovich's most popular single movements. Each of these works is supposedly very supportive of the Stalin doctrine, though again one can't look too closely at that, given Shostakovich's consistently troubled relation with that tyrant of Iron Curtain political correctness.

On his previous Shostakovich excursions into "Jazz" and "Film" music, Chailly utilized his Concertgebouw Orchestra. On this 1995 London recording, he leads the Philadelphia Orchestra, the world-class ensemble that was very well known for having given many Shostakovich's works their premieres on this side of the Iron Curtain under the tenures of both Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy. The orchestra's famed Philadelphia Sound, while it did change under the tenures of Riccardo Muti and Wolfgang Sawallisch, nevertheless remains undiminished, and Chailly makes the most of the orchestra's capabilities.

To many, this is certainly going to be new music, and to others very unfamiliar. But it is very worthwhile to have a recording of a great composer's lesser-known works, especially when the performance is by one of the world's finest orchestras under one of the great conductors of our time.

Excellent version, awful cover.......2001-05-14

This is one of the best versions of The Bolt and The Gadfly I've heard up until now.

The recording is clear and balanced. Track 13 "Contredanse" is very convincing. Erez Ofer's violin is always in control. There is a danger with this very romantic piece to get too shmotzi. Ofer's playing is just about right.

Tracks:

Once Upon More Beautiful Days: In Memory Of My Parents
Gavotte (D Minor)
Mazurka
Vito
Fantasie Uber Kleinrussische Themen
Begegung
Papillon
Herbstblume
Gnomentanz
Spanischer Carneval
Nocturne
Gavotte (D Major)
Chanson Villageoise
Weigenlied
Elfentanz
Serenade
Spinning Song
Feuillet D'Album
Menuetto
Tarantelle

Customer Reviews:

A Recording No One Else Could Make.......2006-10-06

Let's face it: David Popper is not Brahms. However, his compositions are well known to anyone who has ever studied the cello as some of the most technically challenging pieces ever written for the instrument. Some of the music, such as the Hungarian Rhapsody, is very good indeed. And clearly Popper was instrumental in showing the versatility and range of the cello--leading the way for later composers such as Kodaly. If you want to be versed in the culture of the cello, this recording is a must.

There is only one cellist alive who could have made this record. I know Rostropovich is famous for playing the Elfentanz as an encore--I've heard him do it. In fact I have a recording of him playing it at a tempo even faster than Starker plays it on this record (which is saying something). With Starker, however, every individual note speaks with discernible clarity. You can hear what Popper actually wrote. If you are a cello student or devotee, you should own this recording and "The Road to Cello Playing" released by Parnassus.