Plays Mozart & Schubert

On this CD:

1. Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310 (K. 300d)
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Artur Schnabel

2. Piano Sonata No. 20 in A major, D. 959
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Artur Schnabel

3. Rondo for piano, 4 hands in A major ("Grand Rondo"), D. 951 (Op. 107)
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Artur Schnabel, Karl Ulrich Schnabel

Plays Mozart & Schubert, Music, Artur Schnabel, Classical

Average customer rating: Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material! Beginner or Expert Very Informative and Enjoyable Frank's view Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra

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Tracks:

1. Overture To 'Tannhauser'
2. Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
3. We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
4. Hungarian Dance No.7
5. The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
6. Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
7. But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
8. The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
9. The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
10. Csardas Music
11. The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
12. The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
13. Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
14. The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
15. Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
16. Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
17. The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
18. Tzigane
19. Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
20. Caprice No.24
21. The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
22. Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
23. Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
24. Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
25. Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
26. The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
27. The Violin Muted
28. Clair De Lune
29. The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
30. Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
31. The Pizzicato Violin
32. Pizzicato Polka
33. In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
34. Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
35. Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
36. The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
37. The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
38. Hungarian Dance No.4
39. Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
40. The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
41. Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
42. Bolero
43. Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
44. Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
45. Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
46. Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
47. Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
48. Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
49. And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
50. Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
51. The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
52. Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
53. The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
54. Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
55. Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
56. The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
57. Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
58. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
59. Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
60. The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
61. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
62. Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
63. Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
64. Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
65. Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
66. To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
67. Elfenreigen

Tracks:

1. Introduction To The Viola
2. Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
3. Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
4. Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
5. Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
6. Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
7. The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
8. Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
9. The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
10. Cypresses (No.9)
11. The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
12. Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
13. The 'Period' Viola In Bach
14. Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
15. The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
16. Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
17. Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
18. Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
19. Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
20. Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
21. In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
22. Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
23. But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
24. Elfentanz, Op.39
25. Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
26. The Protecting Veil (Opening)
27. A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
28. Flamenco
29. Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
30. Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
31. It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
32. Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
33. It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
34. Symphony No.9 (Finale)
35. Introduction To The Double-Bass
36. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
37. But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
38. Elegy No.1 In D Major
39. The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
40. Capriccio Di Bravura
41. Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
42. The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
43. Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

1. The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
2. Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
3. The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
4. Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
5. The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
6. Sa'Dawi
7. Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
8. Chamber Music No.II
9. The Piccolo - Aptly Named
10. La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
11. From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
12. Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
13. A Variety Of Techniques
14. Chamber Music No.II
15. Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
16. The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
17. From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
18. Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
19. An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
20. Naelden, Naelden
21. The Bachian Oboe
22. Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
23. Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
24. Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
25. The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
26. The Swan Of Tuonela
27. The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
28. Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
29. Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
30. Bolero
31. The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
32. Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
33. As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
34. Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
35. The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
36. The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
37. The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
38. ...And Quite Low.
39. Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
40. The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
41. Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
42. But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
43. Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
44. Introduction To The Saxophone
45. Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
46. The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
47. L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
48. The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
49. Bolero
50. The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
51. Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
52. The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
53. Sax-O-Phun
54. The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
55. Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
56. The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
57. Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
58. Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
59. And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
60. Bolero
61. The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
62. Symphony No.3 (Opening)
63. The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
64. The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
65. Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
66. The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
67. The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
68. Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
69. The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
70. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
71. The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
72. Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
73. Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
74. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
75. The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
76. Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

1. The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
2. Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
3. The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
4. Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
5. The Ceremonial Trumpet
6. Fanfare For The Common Man
7. Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
8. Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
9. The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
10. Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
11. The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
12. Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
13. The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
14. Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
15. The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
16. Billy The Kid
17. The Trumpet As Character Actor
18. Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
19. The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
20. Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
21. The Birth Of The Trombone
22. Aenmerckt Nu Hier
23. The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
24. Canzon 12 In Double Echo
25. The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
26. Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
27. The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
28. Hosannah
29. The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
30. Symphony No.5 (Finale)
31. The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
32. The Trombone As Caricaturist
33. Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
34. The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
35. The Horn And The Hunt
36. Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
37. The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
38. Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
39. The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
40. Walter Music (Minuet 1)
41. The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
42. Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
43. Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
44. The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
45. Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
46. The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
47. Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
48. The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
49. Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
50. The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
51. Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

1. Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
2. Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
3. At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
4. Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
5. Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
6. Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
7. The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
8. The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
9. Den Hoboecken Dans
10. Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
11. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
12. No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
13. Gymnopedie No.2
14. The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
15. Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
16. More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
17. Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
18. Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
19. Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
20. A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
21. Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
22. The Birth Of The Bongo
23. Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
24. From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
25. Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
26. From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
27. Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
28. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
29. But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
30. Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
31. Taking Advantage Of Tunability
32. Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
33. The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
34. Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
35. Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
36. The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
37. Ravel And The Xylophone
38. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
39. Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
40. Introducing The Vibraphone
41. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
42. The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
43. Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
44. Folk Dances
45. The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
46. Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
47. Introducing The Tubular Bells
48. Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
49. A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
50. Carmen Suite (Introduction)
51. But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
52. Introducing The Celeste
53. The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
54. Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
55. Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
56. Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
57. A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
58. The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
59. Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
60. The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
61. Petrushka (Russian Dance)
62. The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
63. Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

1. Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
2. Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
3. But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
4. Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
5. The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
6. An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
7. Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
8. Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
9. Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
10. Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
11. Mahler's Sleighbells
12. Symphony No.4 (Opening)
13. A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
14. Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
15. Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
16. Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
17. National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
18. And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
19. And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
20. The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
21. The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
22. The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
23. The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
24. The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
25. The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
26. The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
27. The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
28. There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
29. The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
30. Nocturnes
31. Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
32. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
33. The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
34. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
35. The Oboe As Duck
36. Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
37. The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
38. The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
39. The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
40. Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
41. Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
42. Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
43. Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
44. The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
45. A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
46. Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
47. A Thunderstorm In A Million
48. Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
49. the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
50. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
51. Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
52. The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

1. The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
2. Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
3. A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
4. Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
5. Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
6. String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
7. The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
8. String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
9. The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
10. String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
11. The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
12. String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
13. The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
14. String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
15. The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
16. Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
17. Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
18. String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
19. The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
20. Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
21. Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
22. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
23. In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
24. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
25. In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
26. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
27. In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
28. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
29. Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
30. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
31. And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
32. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
33. The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
34. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
35. Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
36. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
37. A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
38. Octet In F (Mvt 3)
39. The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
40. Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
41. Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
42. Canzon 28
43. Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
44. Symphony No.5 (Finale)
45. From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
46. Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
47. Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
48. The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
49. Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
50. When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
51. Images (Gigues)
52. A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
53. Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
54. The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
55. Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
56. Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
57. Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
58. A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

The one complaint I have is the last CD. This deals with the orchestra. I wanted more of a tour of how the orchestra has been used through history up to the present. Instead, it was a tour of how different groups of instruments sound. I thought it could have been better. The other 6 CDs are excellent.

Average customer rating: excellent but obscure! The Art of Michelangeli

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli plays Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, etc. (Box) [Germany] Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Manufacturer: Documents Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Vol. 2 [Germany] Beethoven: Piano Sonatas [Germany] Lazar Berman Edition (Box Set) Historic Russian Archives Emil Gilels Edition [Box Set] Emil Gilels Plays Beethoven (Box Set) ASIN: B0009QYPBA Release Date: 2006-05-04

Tracks:

1. Piano Concerto No.15 In B Flat Major, Kv450
2. Piano Quartet In E Flat Major, Kv493
3. Scherzo No.1
4. Scherzo No.2
5. Ballade No.1
6. Piano Sonata No.2, Op.35
7. 'marche Funebre'
8. Fantasie In F Minor, Op.49
9. Waltzes
10. Mazurkas
11. Carnaval, Op.9
12. Faschingsschwank Aus Wien, Op.26
13. Piano Sonata No.11
14. Piano Sonata No.12
15. Piano Sonata No.32
16. Four Ballades, Op.10
17. Variations On A Theme By Paganini, Op.35
18. Children's Corner
19. Images I
20. Images Ii
21. Preludes
22. Livrei (Excerpts)
23. Italian Concerto In F Major, Bwv 971
24. Seven Sonatas
25. Sonata V In C Major
26. Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op.54
27. Totentanz (Dans Macabre) For Piano And Orch., S126
28. Symphonic Variations For Piano And Orchestra
29. Concerto In A Minor, Op.16

Customer Reviews:

excellent but obscure!.......2007-02-09

The Art of Michelangeli.......2006-11-09

Average customer rating: Lovely Towering record! Schiff's Mozart

Andras Schiff Plays Mozart Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Gigue | Baroque Dance Suites | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Rondos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Variations | Variations | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Schiff, András | ( S ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Mozart: The Piano Sonatas Andras Schiff Ludwig Van Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas Vol. III (3) Haydn: Piano Sonatas Handel: Keyboard Suites, Vol. 2; Beethoven: Piano Sonata, Op. 31/2 Songs Without Words ASIN: B0000041UA Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. 12 Variations On 'Ah, vous durau-je, Maman', K265-300e
2. Andante For Mechanical Organ In F Major, K616
3. Rondo In A Minor, K511
4. Adagio For Glass Harmonica In C Major, K356-617a
5. Minuet In D Major, K355-576b
6. Gigue In G Major, K574
7. Adagio In B Minor, K540
8. 10 Variations On 'Unser dummer Pobel meint', K455

Customer Reviews:

Lovely.......2006-11-15

Towering record!.......2004-07-14

Schiff's Mozart.......2002-10-21

Average customer rating: I agree ..sorta Mozart would enjoy these versions

Plays Mozart Manufacturer: Winter & Winter ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Sonatinas | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Classical | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Sinfonia Concertante | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music | Cantatas | Romances German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Goldberg Variations: Aria and 70 Variations Adapted, Arranged and Composed by Uri Caine Lawn Chair Society Live at the Village Vanguard Mahler: Urlicht - Primal Light / Caine, Bensoussan, et al. Sound Grammar ASIN: B000IY043G Release Date: 2007-02-13

Tracks:

1. First Movement
2. First Movement
3. Second Movement
4. Fourth Movement
5. Second Movement
6. Third Movement
7. Aria 'Batti, Batti, O Bel Masetto'
8. Medley: Duet 'Bei Mannern, Welche Liebe Fuhlen'/Aria 'Der Holle Rache Kocht In Meinem Herzen'
9. Turkish Rondo
10. Third Movement

Album Description

Customer Reviews:

I agree ..sorta.......2007-04-22

Mozart would enjoy these versions.......2007-03-07

Average customer rating: Standing Ovation for Mr Libermann!!!! I wanted to like this. Good music, superbly performed Delicious New Wine in Fine Vintage Bottles The best flute music of the twentieth century

James Galway plays Lowell Liebermann Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Liebermann | Liebermann, Lowell | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Galway, James | ( G ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Lowell Liebermann: Complete Chamber Music for Flute Liebermann: Piano Concertos Lowell Liebermann: Piano Works, Vol. 2 Liebermann: Symphony No. 2 / Concerto for Flute & Orchestra Orchestral Excerpts for Flute ASIN: B00000DFKH Release Date: 1998-10-13

Tracks:

1. Concerto For Piccolo And Orchestra, Op. 50: Andante comodo
2. Concerto For Piccolo And Orchestra, Op. 50: Adagio
3. Concerto For Piccolo And Orchestra, Op. 50: Presto
4. Concerto For Flute, Harp And Orchestra, Op 48: Moderato
5. Concerto For Flute And Orchestra, Op 39: Moderato
6. Concerto For Flute And Orchestra, Op 39: Molto adagio
7. Concerto For Flute And Orchestra, Op 39: Presto

Customer Reviews:

Standing Ovation for Mr Libermann!!!!.......2002-03-27

I wanted to like this........2001-12-07

Having studied flute, I was excited to hear the new repertoire being hailed as an "instant classic" . . .after all doesn't the CD cover say "these compositions have become staples of the modern flute literature?" Well, give me a staple remover. How something becomes a staple within a year or two is beside the point. The music is repetitive, the harmonic language cloying, the orchestral colors almost non-existent. (I know you have to write lightly to showcase these solo instruments, but enough celesta already!) You hear a heavy John Williams influence throughout . . .unfortunately the influence does not take seed to produce an individual vocabulary. This review may not ssem "helpful" because it is so critical, but I am generally easy to please. One listen is all I could bear.

Good music, superbly performed.......2000-10-01

I was privileged to be at the world premiere of the Liebermann Flute Concerto in St. Louis years ago. The audience went nuts afterward. My impression of his music has only gotten stronger since that time.

This disc contains wonderful performances of exciting music which satisfies one more with repeated listening. I don't know any greater measure of good music.

Delicious New Wine in Fine Vintage Bottles.......2000-09-30

The concertos on this album contain some of Liebermann's most satisfying and idiomatic music, all compellingly performed by James Galway at his most committed and inspired. The slow movement of the Flute Concerto soars through lush washes of splendorous colors to emotional peaks of glorious sonority, the likes of which have been sadly absent from any composer's bag of tricks since the arching oceans of sound that flowed so effortlessly from Richard Strauss.

The idea of a piccolo concerto might seem preposterous, until one hears the warm, rich voice the instrument assumes in Galway's hands. Simply put, never before has a piccolo sounded like this. The piccolo has always been something of an orchestral extravagance, added to a piece in much the same way that a chef garhishes the main course. What a revelation it is to hear this diminutive instrument's hidden lyricism swell to operatic proportions.

Liebermann's music itself is significant not only for its sonic beauty and often profound emotion, but for its impeccably detailed architecture, as well. Each piece grows organically and naturally from small, meaningful sounds and figures. One is never lost, even though it may not be apparent exactly why, because the elements that hold each piece securely together are subtly interwoven beneath the surface in a masterful manner that often remains elusive to an untrained ear. In a sense, Liebermann is a musicologist's dream, for the complexity of his music unfurls in astonishing, graceful layers, somewhat in the manner of a sweet yet sharp Vidalia onion.

Unhappy, cynical music critics -- most of whom are, unfortunately, bitter, failed musicians -- would be quick to dismiss the sometimes sensuous, sometimes austere lyricism of Liebermann's music as derivative. Those professional musicians among us who have had the pleasure both to hear and to perform the works of this remarkable artist know better. Liebermann's music is derivative in the same way that Beethoven is derivative of Haydn, the way Strauss is derivative of Wagner, only Liebermann draws effortlessly from the entire spectrum of Western music, to which any curious musician living in this age of recordings cannot be oblivious. There is no truly new music, and that's a good thing. Anything worth playing or hearing is a culmination of its musical heritage, which any composer is foolish to try to subjugate. All the elements of Liebermann's immediately identifiable works come together to reveal a uniquely individual musician elegantly situated along the timeline of musical history.

The best flute music of the twentieth century.......2000-09-28

There is a very good reason why the music of Liebermann has become so popular with flautists all over the world. As we all know, the flute does not have a very large repertoire, and certainly not a large repertoire of good pieces. Although there have been some very good flute concertos written this past century, Liebermann's concerto has to be considered the strongest, on the basis of its melodic, harmonic and technical inventiveness, not to mention the wildly colorful orchestration that surpasses even the concertos of Nielsen and Ibert. An even stronger argument in Liebermann's favor is the very high percentage of standing ovations his pieces receive in concert. When was the last time YOU saw an audience rise spontaneously to its feet after the Prokofiev Sonata or a Mozart concerto?

Add to this Galway's impeccable playing and you have a disc that every serious flute student should own, not to mention anyone interested in the future of American music.

Average customer rating: Outstanding Szell's Moazrt No Chocolate Sauce... A famous Mozart conductor gets his due -- in spades

George Szell Plays and Conducts Mozart Manufacturer: Sony Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Divertimentos | Serenades & Divertimentos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Classical | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Sinfonia Concertante | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Requiems | Forms & Genres | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Clarinet | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music | Cantatas | Romances German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Arturo Toscanini: The Complete Philadelphia Orchestra Recordings 1941-42 Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies Pierre Monteux Decca & Philips Recordings, 1956-1964 Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies; The 5 Piano Concertos [Box Set] George Szell: Decca & Philips Recordings 1951-1969 ASIN: B000I5YRQ0 Release Date: 2006-11-14

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding .......2007-03-23

These performances are taken from the time when George Szell was the conductor of the Cleveland Symphony. They are magnificent performances, and the transfer to CD makes them sound better than the original LP in many cases.

I am absolutely loving to listen to these wonderful performances.

Szell's Moazrt.......2007-03-14

No one has conducted MOzart the way Szell did. And this album has some of his best recordings with the Cleveland Orchestra. Not to be missed!

No Chocolate Sauce..........2006-12-10

"There is a difference between the chaste sensuality of Mozart or Haydn and the lascivious sensuality of Richard Strauss. One cannot pour chocolate sauce over asparagus." George Szell

Sony's Original Jackets series continues with this release of the music of Mozart featuring (with a few exceptions) conductor and pianist George Szell. This is the second Original Jackets issue dedicated to Szell. The other, featuring Beethoven's Symphonies is also highly recommended. Sony has changed the format somewhat. Whereas the series initially rigidly adhered to the original LP programming, most of the CDs here are generously filled with bonus tracks. So much the better.

It must have taken some arm twisting on Szell's part to get Symphonies K. 200 and K. 319 recorded, as neither were repertoire staples in the 1960s (they still appear relatively rarely). Kudos to both Szell and Columbia for undertaking the project. Many of the other works here have been issued multiple times.

As with nearly everything else they recorded, the Szell/Cleveland combination brings forth performances of common sensibility and uncommon balance. The tempos and phrasing for each work and movement seem inevitable, and the performances are stripped of all phony Gemutlikeit. The various choirs of the orchestra are balanced with chamber-like precision, so that each voice is heard in proper perspective. This is even evident in the monaural recordings of three of the Symphonies, which are a tad more flexible than their stereo counterparts.

Szell, a co-pupil of Rudolf Serkin, was also a fine pianist. Szell's arrangement of Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel (featuring sound effects from his cuff-links) is legendary. Both the Violin Sonatas and Piano Quartets show Szell as a sympathetic collaborator who was comfortable with ceding the spotlight to his partners. Szell was also an excellent collaborator in Concertos, as the Clarinet Concerto K. 622 with Robert Marcellus and the Piano Concerto K. 503 with Leon Fleischer demonstrate. Unlike, say, Toscanini, Szell did not feel the need to steamroll a soloist into complying with his own conception of a piece.

A few of the items here do not feature Szell as either pianist or conductor. The Leinsdorf conducted performance of the Minuet K. 409 - - charming, fluid, and transparent - - belies the notion that the Cleveland Orchestra was a second rate band until Szell came along. Likewise, Louis Lane, who was solidly in the Szell tradition of conducting, leads a superb performance of the Divertimento, K. 334. There are many in Cleveland, including myself, who feel Lane would have been a more appropriate successor to Szell than the eccentric Lorin Maazel.

The sound in the stereo items, recorded at Severance Hall, is greatly improved over previous issues. The location for the mono items is not documented, but to my ears it sounds like they were recorded at nearby Masonic Auditorium. The mono sonics are acceptable, if a bit boomy. Dynamics, which were constricted, have been opened up. The strings have lost their aggressive edge and have a sweeter, more natural character. It's well worth replacing the earlier issues of these recordings, and a must if you don't have them already.

A famous Mozart conductor gets his due -- in spades.......2006-12-09

NOTE; Please ignore the large number of negative reviews here. They are from an anonymous Internet stalker.

At the height of his fame, George Szell was often praised by critics as the perfect Mozart conductor, a reputation that seems puzzling today. Today we get to hear many approaches to Mozart besides the kind exemplified here, which is fast, clipped, ultra-precise, and humorless. Shorn of elegance and reduced to a display of incredibly precise ensemble, Szell's Mozart can hardly be understood without realizing how dominant Toscanini was in the Forties and Fifties, when Szell rode in on his stylistic coattails. Strict disciplinarians make pretty sour concerts unless they possess Toscnini's genius, and Szell had at least that portion that could dazzle with virtuosity.

Given my opinion, why wuold I rate this big box set, which contains almost everything by Mozart that Szell ever recorded (or evverything Sony has decided to pluck from their Columbia and Epic archives)? Well, the music-making is dazzling, it must be admitted. Since Amazon doesn't give the contents of these 10 discs, I will copy the listing from the Crotchet, the British online store:

Symphony No.28 in C K200. Marriage of Figaro K492 : Overture. Symphony No.33 in B flat K319. Symphony No.35 in D K385 'Haffner'. Symphony No.39 in E flat K543. Symphony No.40 in G minor K550. Symphony No.41 in C K551 'Jupiter'. The Impresario K486 : Overture. Divertimento No.2 in D K131. Symphony No.41 in C K551 'Jupiter'. Sinfonia Concertante in E flat K364. Exsultate Jubilate K165. Serenade No.13 in G K525 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik'. Serenade No.9 in D K320 'Posthorn'. Divertimento No.17 in D K334. Lacrimosa. Minuet in C K409. Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A K622. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.25 in C K503. Sonata for Piano and Violin No.24 in F K376. Sonata for Piano and Violin No.18 in G K301. Sonata for Piano and Violin No.21 in E minor K304. Sonata for Piano and Violin No.17 in C K296. Quartet for Keyboard Violin Viola and Cello in G minor K478. Quartet for Keyboard Violin Viola and Cello in E flat K493.

Sym. 39-41 are duplicated in mono and stereo (rather pointlessly since the performances are identical in every respect). Szell himself appears as pianist in the violini sonatas (with Cleveland Orch. concertmaster, Rafael Druian) and the piano quartet (in mono with members of the Budapest Qt.) Fleisher is the sazzling soloist in piano concerto (the concertos with Rudolf Serkin aren't included). The clarinet concerto is done by the orchestra's first char, Robert Marcellus. Druain reappears with the first-chair viola, Abraham Skemick for a dry-as-dust reading of the lovely E-flat Sinfonia Concertante. Judith Raskin is the superb soprano in Exultate Jubilate. To make matters confusing, the conductor of the Divertimento K. 334 isn't Szell at all but his assitant in Cleveland, Louis Lane, hwo does a reasonable job.

I don't know who wants this much of Szell's Mozart, but if I had to choose one cherishable recording, it would be the Posthorn Serenade, in which we get the usual precision but also a measure of charm and relaxation.

Average customer rating: melodious marvels Glowing and sublime

Perahia Plays and Conducts Mozart Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Perahia, Murray | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Mozart: Piano Concerti Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 21 Mozart: Concertos for piano No24; Concertos for piano No22 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 26; Rondos for Piano & Orchestra Mozart: Concertos Nos. 17 & 18 ASIN: B0000026F6 Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Concerto No. 20 For Piano & Orchestra: I - Allegro
2. Concerto No. 20 For Piano & Orchestra: II - Romance
3. Concerto No. 20 For Piano & Orchestra: III - Rondo: (Allegro assai)
4. Concerto No. 27 For Piano & Orchestra: I - Allegro
5. Concerto No. 27 For Piano & Orchestra: II - Larghetto
6. Concerto No. 27 For Piano & Orchestra: III - Rondo: Allegro

Amazon.com

During the 1970s and '80s, Murray Perahia recorded all the Mozart piano concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra, conducting from the keyboard. His playing here is on the highest level--vibrant, unfailingly beautiful, wonderfully acute in its grasp of style and expression. Equally outstanding is the work of the ECO, which turns in an effortlessly brilliant performance of both scores. The recorded sound, while not quite as radiant as the music making, is consistently good and well balanced. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

melodious marvels.......2002-12-12

These two concertos are glorious, with melodies to sweep you off your feet and fall in love with them.
Concerto # 20 is powerful, and has an exquisite second movement "Romance". One of the two most frequently performed of Mozart's piano concertos (the other being # 21, with its "Elvira Madigan" slow movement), it is what the liner notes call "the most Beethovenian" of the concertos, pointing the way to 19th cent. music.
Mozart did not write any cadenzas for this piece, and Perahia plays one written by Beethoven in the opening Allegro, and dazzles us with one he composed himself in the third movement.

Concerto # 27 was completed in the year of Mozart's death, and despite his ill health and much sadness, wrote an intensely spiritual concerto, with an uplifiting, beautiful finale; of the two, I think this one might be my favorite.

Perahia's interpretations are masterful. With flawless technique and fluidity, there is a purity and simplicity to these performances, both as pianist and conductor of the excellent English Chamber Orchestra. Recorded in '77 and '79, the sound is good, liner notes minimal, and total time 61'32. A truly wonderful CD of two of the loveliest pieces ever written for the piano.

Glowing and sublime.......2001-03-13

Nos. 20 and 27 are two of the greatest five piano concerti ever written by Mozart, and both are given glowing, unsurpassable performances here by Murray Perahia and the ECO. Perahia is at his best in the melting slow movements, stamping the themes forever into your consciousness, but he is fine too in the allegros, technically perfect but emotional, never going over the top for the sake of virtuosity, letting the music speak for itself. Great rapport between soloist and orchestra throughout. You cannot possibly go wrong with Perahia here or in any of the other Mozart concerti.

Average customer rating: She is the real deal

Sabine Meyer Plays Mozart: Serenade, K361 "Gran Partita" Manufacturer: Angel Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Divertimentos | Serenades & Divertimentos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B00005B5NJ Release Date: 2001-10-02

Tracks:

1. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': I. Largo - Molto Allegro
2. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': II. Menuetto - Trio I - Menuetto Da Capo - Trio...
3. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': III. Adagio
4. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': IV. Menuetto (Allegretto) - Trio I - Menuetto...
5. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': V. Romance (Adagio - Allegretto - Adagio)
6. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': VI. Tema Con Vars: Andante
7. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': VI. Tema Con Vars: Var I
8. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': VI. Tema Con Vars: Var II
9. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': VI. Tema Con Vars: Var III
10. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': VI. Tema Con Vars: Var IV
11. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': VI. Tema Con Vars: Var V (Adagio)
12. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': VI. Tema Con Vars: Var IV (Allegro)
13. Ser No.10 in B flat, K.361 (370A) 'Gran Partita': VII. Finale (Molto Allegro)

Customer Reviews:

She is the real deal.......2007-06-26

Meyer is the best. Mozart's partita is a remarkable piece of music but it is often "pushed" so that the walking tempo of the "organ grinder" is lost. She gets it right.

Average customer rating:

Griller Quartet Plays Mozart & Haydn Manufacturer: Dutton Labs UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Franz Joseph Haydn | Haydn, Franz Joseph | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music CDs Under $7 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Griller Quartet Play Mozart Quintets The Griller Quartet Plays Bloch & Dvorák Mozart: The Six String Quintets Schumann: Sinfonie Nr. 4 Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 ASIN: B00004YU91 Release Date: 2000-11-14

Tracks:

1. Str Qt No.14 in G, K.387 (Haydn Set No.1): I. Allegro Vivace Assai
2. Str Qt No.14 in G, K.387 (Haydn Set No.1): II. Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto
3. Str Qt No.14 in G, K.387 (Haydn Set No.1): III. Andante Cantabile
4. Str Qt No.14 in G, K.387 (Haydn Set No.1): IV. Finale: Molto Allegro
5. Str Qt in C, Op.33 No.3 (The Bird): I. Allegro Moderato
6. Str Qt in C, Op.33 No.3 (The Bird): II. Scherzo: Allegretto
7. Str Qt in C, Op.33 No.3 (The Bird): III. Adagio
8. Str Qt in C, Op.33 No.3 (The Bird): IV. Finale: Rondo Presto
9. Str Qt No.15 in d, K.421 (Haydn Set No.2): I. Allegro
10. Str Qt No.15 in d, K.421 (Haydn Set No.2): II. Andante
11. Str Qt No.15 in d, K.421 (Haydn Set No.2): III. Minuetto & Trio: Allegretto
12. Str Qt No.15 in d, K.421 (Haydn Set No.2): IV. Finale: Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Piu Allegro

Amazon.com

The Griller was Britain's preeminent string quartet in the 1940s and 1950s, notable for outstanding recordings of quartets by Bloch and Haydn, among others. Dutton's budget release features sophisticated playing whose great technical security is complemented by humane interpretations of great emotional depth. The two Mozart quartets are distinguished by rounded, tonal warmth, wide dynamics, and a generous molding of phrases and melodies. Part of Mozart's series of "Haydn" quartets, they're among the composer's finest works in that form, and the Griller's readings are still desirable, even after the passage of half a century. Haydn's "Bird" quartet is as good, with first violinist Sidney Griller contributing outstanding moments. This is an important release, pleasing for the repertory and interpretations and as an excellent introduction to the Griller's art. --Dan Davis

Album Description

For 34 years, the most eminent of British quartets performed and recorded. From their first public performance in London in 1928 until the tragic death of Philip Burton (viola) in 1961, they courted fame in a country not known for its tradition of chamber music. Towards the end of the '30s, tours of Europe and in 1940 USA, with a debut in New York and NBC contract helped with their growing popularity. After WW2 they were invited back to the USA, this time to Berkeley, and the University of California as a resident teaching quartet.

Average customer rating: Stop The way Liszt lives Focused on Virtuosity Astounding playing from the superman of the piano Lisitsa is a Hag

Marc-André Hamelin plays Liszt Franz Liszt , and Marc-André Hamelin Manufacturer: Hyperion UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Liszt | Liszt, Franz | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Character Pieces | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Nocturnes | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Paganini Studies / Schubert March Transcriptions Marc-André Hamelin Live at Wigmore Hall Godowsky: The Complete Studies on Chopin's Etudes Marc-Andre Hamelin: It's All About the Music Kaleidoscope ASIN: B000002ZXV Release Date: 1997-01-10

Tracks:

1. Apparition No. 1 In F Sharp Major S155 No. 1
2. Waldesrauschen S145 No. 1
3. Un Sospiro S144 No. 3
4. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 In E Major S244
5. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 In A Minor S244
6. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 In C Sharp Minor S244
7. Nuages gris S199
8. En reve - Nocturne S207
9. Reminiscences de Don Juan S418

Customer Reviews:

Stop.......2007-03-04

I guess it's time for Hamelin to quit playing the piano before he makes all other pianists, past and present, look like clumsy amateurs. I think Hamelin is a mean person who should be arrested for murdering the reputation of the most cherished piano legends. Someone please stop this man!

The way Liszt lives.......2006-08-11

Marc-André Hamelin once again shows us how Liszt should be tackled with his superhuman piano technique. This is the technique that enables Liszt's music to be respected among the people of classical music world. He plays so gently, but relentlessly at the same time that allows him to give the piano what it really deserves.

Look carefully at his interpretation of "13th Hungarian Rhapsody", the way he divides the piece into two completely different parts. "Un Sospiro", then. Having given a Liszt recital early this year (playing this piece), I almost cried when I first heard him play it. The beauty, the "sigh" effect. And of course, the cadenza of "2nd Hungarian Rhapsody" and "Reminiscences de Don Juan". I am speechless.

You will never regret buying this CD.

Focused on Virtuosity.......2006-04-29

I have bought several Hamelin CDs recently - this one, Scriabin and the Composer Pianists. All are benchmarks for technique. Perhaps the ease with which he navigates the obstacles is the problem, I just don't get the feeling that his heart is in it. And I'm tired of hearing his recurring mantra about how virtuosity is artistry in itself. I don't agree. While I'm happy to hear how he avoids the pounding that Ashkenazy inflicts on Scriabin, he could use more of Vladimir's emotion. Perhaps I just don't "get along" with his style well enough. I think he's trying too hard to be different. If you want to hear breathtaking technical performance and excellent recorded sound, then by all means, this is a great choice.

Astounding playing from the superman of the piano.......2005-09-06

When I listened to this CD for the first time, I was truly blown away. Not only this, but I knew that people would slate Hamelin's playing for being 'too technically orientated, or lacking 'soul'', which I personally think is an absolute load of nonsense.
Never have I heard such natural, controlled interpretations of Liszts music. Where many pianists have suffered under the immense technical demands of pieces such as Hungarian rhapsody No2, and the Reminiscences de Don Juan, Hamelin effortlessly succeeds. However there is so much more to his playing than this, contrary to what has been said on many of the reviews on this page. people seem almost offended by his level of natural intuition, his innovativity (is that a word??!), his innate musicality. Eveything on this disc, and I mean everything, has been intimately thought about and polished to the point of jaw dropping control and authority. The final product is truly wonderful.
His Un Sospiro is faster than usual - yet it feels so natural. It really sounds as though the piano is breathing (Un Sospiro translates as - A sigh). Alot of people have been incapable of playing this piece at full speed simply because of the technical difficulty (myself included). Hamelin's interpretation however, is relentless in its tempo and ultimately sensitive in its structure. Beautiful.
The Hungarian Rhapsody number 10 - not well known at all, in fact the only other recording I have heard is by Cziffra, which I love as well. However, one can not get around the basic fact that Hamelin's recording is better. His tone, his control, his sense of humour, all shine in this piece. The middle section, quite simply composed of ascending and descending scales played at light speed, is sloppy and wild in Cziffra's recording. It is for this type of composing that Liszt was slated by is contemporaries - but I believe that he was focussing on a different type of composition. He was concerned not so much with harmony, and progressiveness in his music, but more with timbre, and creating sound effects on the keyboard. Hamelin bears this out in his middle section, playing elegantly, and at a quite simply baffling speed. Hearing him move his fingers this fast is hilarious, and he does it on purpose - he's a joker.
His Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 is wonderful. His rubato is natural, his dynamics in the opening movement are sensitive, and above all beautiful. His own cadenza is fantastic - where alot of people believe the way to a musical end is to trawl through pages and pages of Beethoven and Bach etc, Hamelin stays in the spirit of Liszt and concerns himself with other musical ideas. This is my favourite recording of this piece.
The Don Juan fantasy is staggering. Where the opening of the piece can drag on if it is played too slowly, Hamelin takes it up a notch. The excitement, the trauma, the utter and absolute bliss just shine through at every possible moment - the second variation especially. His gentleness of touch, the rubato, it really is as if he were telling a story with his playing. You can feel his excitement as he gloriously plays through pages and pages of this rich and beautiful music. The final encounter is magic - the level of difficulty in the closing pages of this piece is really ridiculous, but as usual Hamelin storms through with seeming ease and musical intelligence of someone twice his age and experience.
Enough ranting - Mr. Hamelin, you are the finest pianist of today. Just because he is not a traditionalist gives no one the right to slate his playing - I have always been a firm believer that one should judge something for what it is, not for what it isnt. Bearing this in mind, I will be surprised if you dont fall in love with his playing just as I have. Now to listen to my new Alkan CD :D

Lisitsa is a Hag.......2005-07-03

Whoever recommended Valentina Lisitsa's Don Juan over Hamelin's ought to be horse-whipped. Of all of the recordings of that piece I have heard, Hamelin's is second only to Earl Wild's. Lisitsa's, on the other hand, has to be the WORST, even worse than Lang Lang's. Pyrotechnics be damned, she was SO fast and SO careless that it sounded more like a Warner Brother's cartoon than Liszt. One man once said "she's a tall, attractive blonde and that's all she sells," but frankly all I see in her is a spoiled 4-year-old playing with fire. If you want proof, view a video of her performance here...

http://www.valentinalisitsa.com/valhome.html

Go to the video section and look for Don Juan. But believe me, it is not worth your time.

Hamelin is the greatest virtuoso of our generation. He isn't perfect and can often get a little too carried away, but when he's on, he's on. If you haven't heard him play, do yourself a favor and pick up one of his CD's. You will not regret it!

Music Track:

1. Plays Mozart, Tchaikovsky & Glazunov
2. Poulenc: La Voix Humaine (The Human Voice) - Tragedie lyrique en un acte
3. Putnik: Russian Pilgrims
4. Rockin' on Broadway: The Time, Brent, Shad Story
5. Romance of the Opera
6. Schubert: Death and the Maiden
7. Shostakovich: Suite sur des sonnets de Michel-Ange, Op. 145
8. Shostakovitch: SYMPHONY 10 / Romance for the film "Gadfly"
9. Spiritual Classics
10. Starlight Classics

Music Track

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