Early Recordings 3

On this CD:

1. Années de pèlerinage, 1st Year ("Suisse"), suite for piano, S. 160 (LW A159)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

2. Années de pèlerinage, 1st Year ("Suisse"), suite for piano, S. 160 (LW A159)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

3. Années de pèlerinage, 1st Year ("Suisse"), suite for piano, S. 160 (LW A159)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

4. Années de pèlerinage, 1st Year ("Suisse"), suite for piano, S. 160 (LW A159)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

5. Années de pèlerinage, 1st Year ("Suisse"), suite for piano, S. 160 (LW A159)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

6. Années de pèlerinage, 1st Year ("Suisse"), suite for piano, S. 160 (LW A159)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

7. Années de pèlerinage, 1st Year ("Suisse"), suite for piano, S. 160 (LW A159)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

8. Le mal du pays (Heimweh), for piano (Années I/8), S. 160/8 (LW A159/8)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

9. Années de pèlerinage, 1st Year ("Suisse"), suite for piano, S. 160 (LW A159)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

10. Gondoliera, for piano (Années, suppl. to II/1), for piano, S. 162/1 (LW A197/1)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

11. Canzona, for piano (Années, suppl. to II/2), for piano, S. 162/2 (LW A197/2)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

12. Tarantella, for piano (Années, suppl. to II/3), S. 162/3 (LW A197/3)
Composed by Franz Liszt
Performed by Sergio Fiorentino

Tracks:

Toccata In C: Adagio
Melody, Op.3, No.1, In F
Moment Musical
Nocturne, Op.9, No.2 In E-Flat
Goyescas: Intermezzo
Apr?s un r?ve, Op.7, No.1
Spanish Dance
Carnival Of The Animals: The Swan
Vito (Spanish Dance, Op.54, No.5)
Jocelyn: Berceuse
Gavotte tendre
Prelude, Op.28, No.15
Mazurka, Op.11, No.3
Tannher: Lied an den Abendstern
Serenata napoletana, Op.24, No.2
Die Meistersinger: Preislied
Chanson villageoise, Op.62, No.2
Abendlied, Op.85, No.12
Petite Suite: Menuet
Romance, Op.35
English Suite No.6: Gavotte I: Musette

Amazon.com

These early electrical recordings show a very different Pablo Casals from the grunting old man most people remember. At the height of his technical and musical powers, he plays these mostly charming little encores and transcriptions with exquisite musicianship and breathtaking technical command that remains outstanding today. Whether you want to hear Chopin piano pieces or Wagner arias played on the cello is another issue; there is very little real cello music on this disc. But for what is here, one could hardly imagine better performances. The transfers are outstandingly lifelike, the program very generous (76:19), the price reasonable. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Pablo Casals: Early Recrdings, a defective product.......2007-03-09

The Pablo Casals: Early Recordings 1925-1928 is a fine recording with a production defect. The playing is obviously great but near the end of the CD numerous tracks are missing. I returned the CD and was sent a replacement that had the same defect indicating that there was a production error.

It is good!!.......2005-10-09

I can't buy it in the Austerlia,and it is a good recording. I like it.

Amazing touch of personality.......2005-01-25

This album is perhaps one of my favorite. It features Pablo playing some very romantic and melancholic songs from various composers. It also features Pablo's amazing technique and his capacity of interpretation which gies beyond just reading and playing musical notes.
But also, the fact that this album was recorded so long ago, the original format was gramophone, I think it gives this album very important historical value, the background noise never interrupts the musics, but help listeners to get involved and place himself in the timeline.

Outstanding.......2003-10-20

funny, I hear plenty of "real" music coming from this CD ;)

amazing Casals.......2002-04-07

This recording is for anyone who has dismissed Casals as an ancient cellist who never truly mastered the technique of the instrument. These works are all admittedly light fluff, but Casals is truly dazzling, as both a technical virtuoso and a true musician. This is worth owning if you're a cellist or a Casals fan, but the low quality of the actual compositions should keep everyone else away.

CANTEMIR : Music in Istanbul and Ottoman Europe around 1700

Average customer rating:

Cantemir, Great Sultan, Louis XIV and Peter the Great
Worth exploring, but...
Excellent

CANTEMIR : Music in Istanbul and Ottoman Europe around 1700

Manufacturer: Golden Horn Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

Turkey | Middle East | International | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

International Folk | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0001CVE8E
Release Date: 2004-01-30

Tracks:

Syrba - Moldavian Dance
Syrba - Moldavian Dance
Beraber Taksim - Collective Improvisation
Zhok de Nante - Moldavian Dance
Ostropesul - Moldavian Dance
Syrba with Taksim - Moldavian Dance
Bestenigar Taksim - Improvisation
Pesrev in makam Bestenigar - Dimitrie Cantemir
Tanbur Taksimi - Improvisation (tanbur solo)
Saz Semaisi in makam Neva / usul aksak semai (10/8) - Dimitrie Cantemir
Saz Semaisi in makam Rast / usul aksak semai - Dimitrie Cantemir
Syrbas - Moldavian Dances
KemenTaksimi - Improvisation (kemensolo)
In Honor of Prince Kantemir - Lou Harrison
Beraber Taksim - Collective Improvisation
Andante (from Concertino per Kemance, Violino Picolo 5 Instruments, 'In Honor of Kantemiro, 2000) - Yalcin Tura
A Turkish Air (Travels and Observations, 1738) Thomas Shaw (1694-1751)
Marche a la Turque (Pis de viole, Book V, 1725) Marin Marais (1656 - 1728)
Marche pour la cmonie des Turcs (Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, 1670) J-B. Lully (1632 - 1687)
The Turks' dance (Augurs, 1622) Ben Jonson (1572/3 - 1637)
New metar (The Dancing Master, 1665) John Playford (1623 - 1686)
Rast Taksim - Collective Improvisation
Pesrev in makam Rast / usul berefsan (16/8) Dimitrie Cantemir
Zhok de Nante - Moldavian Dance
Penh Taksim - Improvisation (kemensolo)
Saz semaisi in makam Penh / usul aksak semai (10/8) - yemai (6/8) - Bulgariaska (Floria 16) - yemai (6/8) - aksak semai (10/8) Dimitrie Cantemir and Moldavian Dance
H Taksim - Collective Improvisation (kemen baroque flute)
Pesrev in makam H - Dimitrie Cantemir
Buselik Taksim - Collective Improvisation
Pesrev in makam Buselik / usul devr-i-revan (14/16) Dimitrie Cantemir

Album Description

CANTEMIR honors the amazingly rich life of Prince Dimitrie Cantemir (Kantemiroglu, 1673-1723), born in Moldavia (now Romania) but educated in Istanbul, becoming during his many years at the heart of Ottoman culture a master musician, composer, linguist, and lexicographer. Sent home eventually to rule Moldavia as the representative of the Ottoman Empire, Cantemir betrayed the Sultan by attempting unsuccessfully with the aid of Tsar Peter the Great to liberate his people. In defeat, he fled with his court into exile in Russia.

Featured on the disc is Ihsan Ozgen, Linda Burman-Hall and the ensemble Lux Musica, in compositions in Ottoman classical style by Prince Cantemir, first recordings of new music honoring Kantemiroglu by Lou Harrison and Yalcin Tura, traditional and experimental improvisations, and Moldavian dance music. Ihsan Ozgen plays kemence (Turkish fiddle) and tanbur (Turkish lute). Linda Burman-Hall is playing early keyboards and bendir (frame drum).

Customer Reviews:

Cantemir, Great Sultan, Louis XIV and Peter the Great.......2006-07-30

Firstly, I want to thank Lux Musica and Ihsan Ozgen for recording such a beautiful exquisite album.
Moldavian prince Dmitrie Cantemir stood on cross-roads between the West, Russia and the Orient on the turning point of history - end of the 17th - beginning of 18th centuries. Philosopher, musician and musicologist, orientalist and politician - charismatic and interesting person.
Ihsan Ozgen and Lux Musica decided not to re-create authentic Turkish folk sound of Kantemir`s music, but to incorporate fantastic sound of Turkish string instrument kemence, which reminds crying human voice, and other Turkish instruments into the European ensemble Lux Musica (flute, violin, viola, lute, early guitar, percussion, harpsichord, virginal). Idea is to present the music by Kantemir as synthesis of European and Oriental cultural traditions, to imagine real concerts of his daughter Maria (who played harpsichord) in the court of Peter the Great in Russia, and to describe the cultural context of Kantemir`s music.
You would hear music by Kantemir himself, European "Turkish" style melodies of the 17th century by Lully (melody for famous play by Moliere "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme"), Marin Marais, Ben Johnson, Moldavian folk dances - so this programme wouldn`t be boring for you. I don`t agree with the previous reviewer - to listen to whole CD of authentic Turkish material - it`s a real hard work for European, Russian or American lover of classical music. That`s why I think that Ihsan Ozgen and Lux Musica were right.
So listen to this beautiful music and read a good novels by modern writers devoted to problems of relationships between Orient and Occident - try works by Amin Maalouf, Orhan Pamuk, Milorad Pavic.

Very beautiful album!

P.S. Addition to the text in the booklet. There stated that "Kantemir betrayed Sultan". Let`s be objective - history was more sophisticated. Don`t forget that Kantemir lived in Istanbul as the hostage to guarantee the loyalty of his native Moldavia to the Ottoman Empire. As he wrote in his memoirs, when he was selected by the Sultan to be a ruler of Moldavia, he was informed that he should make a "gift" to the Court - to pay a sum of money. And the sum of this "gift" was very high. Kantemir understood that he should raise the taxes in Moldavia to collect this money. So the choice was - to betray Sultan or to betray his native people. Ruler of Vallachia (modern Romania) sent a letter to Kantemir and invited him to join the revolt of the Orthodox Christians against the Ottoman rule. They secretly asked Tzar Peter the Great to help them. But when the Russian troops started their expedition, Vallachian ruler, who provoked Kantemir, informed Sultan about this revolt and of course rejected to participate in it. So Kantemir in 1711 had no other choice than to join Russian troops and after the unglorious end of this expedition (there were no any revolt) - Kantemir with his family fled to Russia. His life was saved by Peter the Great, because Ottoman powers demanded to return Kantemir to them (of course he would be killed) as condition of peace treaty with Russia.
His son Antoich became Russian poet and diplomate. In Paris he was close to writers and poets of the French Enlightenment.

Worth exploring, but..........2004-08-07

If you're coming to this out of curiosity, rather than as an Ottoman music fan, you may be more pleased with this disk than I was.

The best compositions here are those of Cantemir, the master himself. The folk dances are interesting, but they aren't on the same level of refinement. Cantemir was at the peak of a learned tradition. The juxtaposition with folk material might be justified if Cantemir had drawn on it for his compositions, but that's not the case; we're simply told that the peasants back near Cantemir's home in what is now Romania were playing these dances while Cantemir was off in Constantinople playing his stuff for the sultan. And the point is...? I would have preferred a disk purely of Cantemir pieces.

The music is well played, but I'm not totally sold on the mixture of eastern and western instruments. Obviously, it isn't authentic, but that isn't the problem; sometimes the mixture of instruments just doesn't work. One glowing exception is the neva saz semai, where the tanbur and harpsichord blend quite nicely.

Don't get me wrong; it's worth a listen. But if you already know the Ottoman classical tradition and some of Cantemir's works, be sure you know that you're getting an experimental "fusion" disk, not something traditional.

Excellent.......2004-03-27

This CD finally opens the long forgotten bridge to the early Ottoman music. Although in recent albums (for example, in "Dream of the Orient" by Concerto Koln and Sarband) there are some fine examples of Cantemir's work, this single album is fully dedicated to him.

The examples are carefully chosen to present early Ottoman and Cantemir's own music. The addition of the music from the composers of the West (some are recent, in honor of Cantemir), showing the influence of the Turkish music, is very nice and complementary.

Cantemir, as might be known, is the first musician/traveler/diplomat (and later a trouble maker) from Romania, who recorded the Ottoman music while he was living in the Ottoman lands for near twenty years.

Followed by composers such as Fux, Mozart, J. and M. Haydn brothers, Beethoven, Gluck, Rossini and many others, the Turkish music, its musical instruments (drums, cymbals and triangle, etc.) and themes became the most influential regional effect on the Western classical music for a few centuries.

Tracks:

I. Prelude
II. Allemande
III. Courante
IV. Sarabande
V. Menuets I & II
VI. Gigue
I. Prelude
II. Allemande
III. Courante
IV. Sarabande
V. Menuets I & II
VI. Gigue
II. Scherzo (Pizzicato) - Stephen Kovacevich
IV. Marcia - Stephen Kovacevich
I. El Pano Moruno
II. Asturiana
III. Jota
IV. Nana
V. Cancion
VI. Polo

Tracks:

I. Allegro Vivace
II. Adagio Affettuoso
III. Allegro Appassionato
IV. Allegro Molto
I. Prelude - William Pleeth
II. Air - William Pleeth
III. Sarabande - William Pleeth
IV. Chaconne Iegere - William Pleeth
V. Le Je-Ne-Scay-Quoy - William Pleeth
I. Grave
II. Allegro
III. Sarabande
IV. Allegro

Average customer rating:

Stunning & atmospheric
EBQ Takes the Listener to the Next Passage
Absolutely perfect.

Passage 138 B.C.-A.D. 1611

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

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

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

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

King's Court and Celtic Fair
The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli
Hildegard von Bingen: Canticles of Ecstasy

ASIN: B000003CZU
Release Date: 1994-11-08

Tracks:

Haec Dies
Spiritual Dance
Minimal
Sibley Sanctus Lydian
De Profundis
Hopper Dance
Instrumental
Si Dolce
Factus Est Repente
Sun Credo
Scandinavian Chant
First Delphic Hymn
Dilectus Meus
Peccaniem Me Quotidie
Lydian
The Melancholy Of Departure

Customer Reviews:

Stunning & atmospheric.......2003-11-23

Many casual listeners of classical music (like myself) are often drawn to particular albums within this genre because of the timeless atmosphere and mood that we hope any particular release will encompass. Something that sounds like it could have come from hundreds of years ago, dripping in history and long forgotten places and people, and yet still saying something to todays listener.
I am not even a fan in general of brass quintets, quartets, ect, so if it weren't for a friend at work having purchased this CD, and my own being a major fan of the under-recorded guitarist Peter Maunu (who guests here), I would have never picked up this disc.
I've been buying just about anything Peter Maunu plays on after buying, and loving, his single 1990 solo album as well as his many appearences with Mark Isham (often on soundtracks), so I borrowed this disc to listen to at work from my friend. Then I borrowed it again, then again. Sure, I could have easily burned a CD copy myself from his, but these guys aren't selling CD's like they were Brittany Spears and I thought buying my own copy is kind of like a vote for these guys saying "yeah, this is a classic work". Besides, I even like the cover and the liner info (I just NEED to know who plays what on each track, who the guest musicians are, ect).
So you have this excellently recorded disc with the brass quintet with ever so subtle additions of Peter Maunu's guitar, some voices, and some subtle percussion and fretless bass from two other Mark Isham associates, Kurt Wortman and Doug Lunn. They all add to the great atmosphere (there's that word again) of this disc.
I've had my own copy of this disc for a couple of weeks now and it's the one disc that has not left my cd changer. I just change all the other discs around it it seems.
To top it off, I am a major Mark Isham fan and among all of the ancient works on this disc they do a version of Isham's "The Melancholy Of Departure" from Isham's "We Begin" duet disc with Art Lande.
I would recommend this disc to ANY fan of classical music as well as fans of new age music. It really deserves 5 stars and I hope this disc receives the sales numbers that it truly deserves..
I have no idea how my friend at work discovered this CD, but I sure am glad he did.

EBQ Takes the Listener to the Next Passage.......2000-12-07

I have owned this album for five years now and I never grow tired of it. The music is in turns solemn, majestic, soothing, grandiose and intimate. In the liner notes EBQ trumpeter Rolf Smedvig says, "This represents our latest effort exploring, with new arrangements, the music of the modal system. Modal music is based on scales which dominated European music for 1,100 years, from approximately 400 to 1500 and strongly influenced composers for another one hundred years."

In addition to the members of the EBQ, guest musicians are incorporated into the music on guitar, fretless bass, synthesizer, percussion and wordless vocals.

What I love about this music is its ability to transport the listener to another palce and time. Smedvig summed it up best in the liner notes when he concluded," The music is timeless. The old becomes new, the new old. Melodies never end, they only lead to the next passage..." Beautiful music indeed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Absolutely perfect........1999-07-02

This is a wonderful album, which I can't recommend strongly enough. On this disc, Empire Brass succeeds brilliantly in melding the passion and splendor of early music with the eclectic trickery of modern world-music percussion. The arrangements are intricate & delicate, yet powerful, and the sound is pristine. Think of it as the Roman Empire making a techno jazz album. I even used it at my wedding. Fans of acid/techno jazz, world music and brass should not miss this amazing disc.

Vladimir Horowitz, The Complete Masterworks Recordings 1962-1973, Volume VII: Early Romantics

Average customer rating:

The Schumann Kreisleriana is worth everything, and the Chopin is magical
Chopin + Schumann + Horowitz = Unforgettable Playing
Classic Chopin

Vladimir Horowitz, The Complete Masterworks Recordings 1962-1973, Volume VII: Early Romantics

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Polonaises | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | 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

Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Vladimir Horowitz, Complete Masterworks Recordings 1962-1973, Vol. I: The Studio Recordings 1962-63
Late Russian Romantics
Vladimir Horowitz, Complete Masterworks Recordings 1962-1973, Vol. VI: Horowitz Performs Beethoven
The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Vol. 4: The Legendary 1968 TV Concert
Horowitz: The Historic Return Carnegie Hall 1965; The 1966 Concerts

ASIN: B00000290G
Release Date: 1994-07-19

Tracks:

Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17 No. 4: Lento, ma non troppo
Etude in G-flat major, Op. 10 No. 5: Vivace
Introduction & Rondo in E-flat major, Op. 16
Waltz in A minor, Op. 34 No. 2: Lento
Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53: Maestoso
Mazurka in F-sharp minor, Op. 59 No. 3: Vivace
Mazurka in C-sharp minor, Op. 50 No. 3: Moderato
Mazurka in D-flat major, Op. 30 No. 3: Allegro non troppo
Mazurka in E minor, Op. 41 No. 2: Andantino
Mazurka in D major, Op. 33 No. 2: Vivace
Etude in C-sharp minor, Op. 10 No. 4: Presto
Etude in E major, Op. 10 No. 3: Lento, ma non troppo
Etude in C minor, Op. 10 No. 12: Allegro con fuoco
Prelude in B minor, Op. 28 No. 6: Lento assai

Tracks:

Posonaise in A major, Op. 40 No. 1: Allegro con brio
Prelude in D-flat major, Op. 28 No. 15: Sostenuto
Etude in E-flat minor, Op. 10 No. 6: Andante
Etude No. 2 in A-flat major from 'Trois Nouvelles Etudes': Allegretto
Mazurka in F minor, Op. 7 No. 3
Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2: Tempo giusto
Variations on a Theme by Clara Wieck from Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 14: Andantino
Kreisleriana, Op. 16: I. Auberst bewegt
Kreisleriana, Op. 16: II. Sehr innig
Kreisleriana, Op. 16: III. Sehr aufgeregt
Kreisleriana, Op. 16: IV. Sehr langsam
Kreisleriana, Op. 16: V. Sehr lebhaft
Kreisleriana, Op. 16: VI. Sehr langsam
Kreisleriana, Op. 16: VII. Sehr rasch
Kreisleriana, Op. 16: VIII. Schnell und spielend

Amazon.com essential recording

Schumann and Chopin were staples of Horowitz's repertory, and this late 1960s-early 1970s collection finds him at his mature peak, playing with elan and imaginative fantasy. The Kreisleriana is one of his greatest recordings, trumping rivals with its spectacular pianism and complete identification with the composer. The Chopin set typifies Horowitz's approach--big and bold, with personalized editorial emendations and an energy that shatters the conventional salon approach. But he also sings Chopin's touching melodies as few others can, making the lovely Op. 10 No. 3 Etude an achingly touching poem. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

The Schumann Kreisleriana is worth everything, and the Chopin is magical.......2005-12-20

This is a must have dual CD set of one of the great pianists of all time playing some of his favorite music. Later in life Horowitz made a TV show that became a best selling VHS tape entitled "Horowitz: The Last Romantic". If you ever heard him play, you know that title is appropriate and what the grand piano style was all about.

I have often referred to recordings of music as photographs of music. And just as photographs of people a wonderfully valuable, they are not the real person and do not capture the real person. Even a movie or documentary distorts the reality of the person. Still, we treasure our home movies, photos, and recordings. And we should. We just need to remember what they really are and that they are representations of reality (or of fictions if that is what they are) rather than real life.

It was my good fortune to hear Horowitz in recital three times; twice here in Ann Arbor and once in East Lansing. While I have heard dozens of great pianists, and hundreds of very fine quality, Horowitz (and Rubenstein) had a special charisma that was totally involving. His playing had special qualities that were unique to him. He played more quietly and yet was able to send that whisper of sound to the farthest rows in Hill Auditorium. I believe the secret of his power was that he had so many shades of pianissimo. While we clearly here a great dynamic range in these recordings, the compressed nature of recordings cannot capture the full range of what we heard in live performance.

The other thing he had was the ability to not only keep the voices clear in the music he was playing, but to give each voice its own character and sound. The recording of Schumann's fabulous Opus 16, Kreisleriana included here captures this ability to a stunning degree. This recording should be in your collection and studied carefully. While these phantasies are full of contrasts that make listening to them seemingly easy, there is so much quality and interesting music that they will reward as much close listening and study as you can lavish on them.

The other Schumann work included is the "Variations on a theme by Clara Wieck" (who became Schumann's wife and was a superb and important pianist).

The Chopin pieces included here are a wonderful collection of etudes, mazurkas, the two famous polonaises, preludes, waltzes, and the wonderful but not often heard "Introduction and Rondo in E-flat major Op 16". These are all full of magic and will hold your imagination closely. I find myself saying, "Oh, I LOVE this piece" and then the next one comes on, and I say the same thing again and then again for the next one. They are all pieces I have learned to play or want to learn (like the Intro & Rondo).

Get a hold of these disks if you can. Just a number of wonderful listening experiences.

Chopin + Schumann + Horowitz = Unforgettable Playing.......2003-04-12

Volume Seven of Sony's Horowitz reissue contains very convincing performances of Chopin and Schumann, Romantic composers whose music was sympathetic to the pianist's interpretive style.

It was not uncommon for Horowitz to bring to light a rarely played work by a well known composer, which is the case with Chopin's Introduction & Rondo in E-flat. This early composition (probably written for Chopin's most advanced pupils) abounds with glittery passagework and technical configurations similar to his Concertos (which Horowitz never recorded). Under Horowitz's hands, the work exceeds the boundaries of mere salon piece and emerges as a virtuoso tour de force.

Horowitz (who had a Polish grandmother and was fond of pointing out that he was "half as much a Pole as Chopin") considered the Mazurkas to be Chopin's greatest works, and often stated that there was more music in the shortest Chopin Mazurka than in the longest Mahler Symphony. The pianist treated the Mazurkas less as dance pieces than as "dance-fantasies" and his playing of the works was freer than the more straightforward Rubinstein. Highlights of this set include a seductive F-sharp Minor, Op. 59 No. 3.

Horowitz made several recordings of the ever popular A-flat Polonaise, and this one adheres most closely to Chopin's text. The introduction is very sparsely pedalled (as if Horowitz were saying "Look! I can play the tricky introduction without using the pedal to cover up insufficient fingerwork. Take THAT, Rubinstein!"). The remainder of the piece goes with gusto and flair (too fast to be a Maestoso), but he somehow misses the grandeur which Rubinstein brought to the piece--and which Horowitz himself would attain in his last years. The A-major Polonaise is also taken at a fast clip, but this somehow seems more appropriate to this work, and one is reminded of Chopin's remark that if he were able to play the piece the way he meant it to be played, the piano would lay in ruins afterward.

If anyone thought Horowitz, then approaching 70, had lost any of his fire, their worries were quickly dispelled with the Etudes included here. The C-sharp Minor goes at a rapid clip, but unlike many pianists, there is no loss of clarity. The famous Revolutionary Etude is given a more outwardly virtuosic performance then the pianist's 1963 recording, yet somehow the piece has less impact here.

The ubiquitous C-sharp Minor Waltz is from the Boston concert of April 7, 1968. Three days previously, the Reverend Martin Luther King had been murdered in Memphis. At the beginning of this concert, Horowitz came onstage with an African-American minister, and played Chopin's Funeral March in memory of Dr. King.

Horowitz learned Shumann's Kreisleriana in the 1930s, but did not play it in public until 1968. Several attempts to record the work in concert were not successful, and Horowitz came to the conclusion that he needed the peace and quiet of a recording studio to achieve the concentration for a performance suitable for posterity. Horowitz recorded the work at one inspired session on December 1, 1969, and this may well be the most successful Kreisleriana ever recorded. Ironically, Horowitz, who often had trouble holding together a Beethoven Sonata, makes this structurally splintered work emerge as one piece. This is one Kriesleriana which is never rambling or boring. There is virtuosity here, but never for its own sake, and there is poetry in plenty. This stands alongside the 1932 Liszt Sonata and 1951 Rachmaninoff Third Concerto as one of Horowitz's greatest recordings. However, it should be pointed out that this reissue of Kriesleriana uses a few alternate takes, which are markedly different from the original LP and an earlier CD issue (MK42409). Although the performance is basically similar, there are several differences in detail.

Schumann's Variations on a Theme by Clara Wieck, originally included as a filler for the Kriesleriana record, is given a straightforward reading here. It a lovely little work, but it is even more beautiful in its original context: as the third movement from the composer's Sonata in F Minor, another rarely played work Horowitz would bring to light in 1975.

The sound is more than acceptable here, and especially fine in the Schumann works.

Classic Chopin.......2000-11-23

Volume Seven of Vladimir Horowitz's "Complete Masterworks Recordings" ("Early Romantics") compiles almost two discs worth of classic Chopin performances. There's a little bit of everything here -- Polonaises, Etudes, Mazurkas and Preludes, but sadly no Nocturnes. The Chopin renditions here are as good as, if not better than, anything available -- Rubinstein, Kissin, Pollini and Cliburn included. And just when you thought the highlight of this collection was the Chopin material, on come two amazing pieces by Schumann, "Variations on a Theme by Clara Wreck" and "Kreislerania." The latter piece is a particular favorite of mine -- a wild and turbulent, and at times poetic and lovely, masterpiece which Horowitz captures in all its brilliance. In all, "Early Romantics" is a thoroughly enjoyable couple of discs that anyone should love.

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Russian Intimacy

Russian Songs

Manufacturer: Arabesque Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000T98
Release Date: 1996-05-14

Tracks:

Oh, Do Not Grieve, Op.14, No.8
Lilacs, Op.21, No.5
Christ Is Risen, Op. 26, No. 6
The Answer, Op. 21 No. 4
To The Children, Op. 26, No. 7
A Passing Breeze, Op. 34, No. 4
How Long Since Love, Op. 34, No. 3
The Harvest Of Sorrow, Op. 4 No. 5
The Nursery: With Nursery
The Nursery: In The Corner
The Nursery: The Beetle
The Nursery: With The Doll
The Nursery: Evening Prayer
The Nursery: The Hobby Horse
The Nursery: The Naughty Puss
A Summer Love Tale, Op. 6 No. 2
Blue Eyes Of Spring
The Sounds Of Day Are Still, Op. 47, No. 4
Was I Not A Blade Of Grass?, Op. 47, No. 7
From The Day That I Was Born, Op. 27, No. 5
The Canary, Op. 25, No. 4
It Was In The Early Spring, Op. 38, No. 2
Invocation To Sleep, Op. 27, No. 1
Take Away My Heart
None But The Lonely Heart, Op. 6, No. 6

Amazon.com

This is a wonderful record. The music, mostly mournful in a typically Russian way, enchants ear and heart; the performances are matchless for vocal beauty, expressiveness, and projection of mood, atmosphere, and character, as well as for the incredible quality of the ensemble. DeGaetani, an unusually evocative, versatile artist who tragically died in 1988 at age 56, and Kalish, a splendid pianist equally at home as soloist and in collaboration with singers and instrumentalists, developed an uncanny degree of empathy during their 30-year partnership. Kalish's ability to alternate instantly between leading and supporting is fully displayed in these songs' prominent, often virtuosic piano parts. Together, they bring out the tenderness, simplicity, and sorrow of Rachmaninoff's and Tchaikovsky's moving lamentations and the innocent charm of Mussorgsky's "Nursery" songs without condescending to their childish humor. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Russian Intimacy.......2002-09-09

Another brilliant rendition by the extremely sensitive and artistic duo of De Gaetani and Kalish. Jan DeGaetani especially gives these Russian favourites her gorgeous trademark intimacy; leaving us with a refreshing treatment of Russian repetoire.

The Food of Love: Early Instrumental Music of the British Isles

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Top notch recorder & string improvisations by Hesperus!

The Food of Love: Early Instrumental Music of the British Isles

Manufacturer: Dorian Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00005AKKY
Release Date: 2001-04-03

Tracks:

Dorrington Lads
Westmorland/Moll Peatly/An Old Man Is A Bed Full Of Bones/Ten Pound Lass/Cuckolds All In A Row
Roslin Castle
The Satyrs' Masque
Mr. Baptiste Of France His Ground
My Lord Of Oxenfords Maske
A Ground By Mr. Finger
Browning
The Jew's Dance
Gray's Inn
Lady Rich's Galliard/Lady Laiton's Almain/The Most Sacred Queen Elizabeth Her Galliard
Fancy
Pavan
Washington's March
Devision For A Trible Viol To Play With A Virginall
The Maiden's Song
Fantasia
Bonny Sweet Robin

Customer Reviews:

Top notch recorder & string improvisations by Hesperus!.......2002-11-28

Lovely, soulful string-playing on viols, fiddle, lute, guitar and theorbo by Tina Chancey, Grant Herreid and guest Jane Hershey provides the perfect accompaniment and counterpoint to Scott Reiss's amazing acrobatics on the recorder. Reiss's pitch, technique and tone-control of this temperamental instrument are impeccable, and he makes his intricate embellishments sound impossibly easy. (They are not!) The resulting pieces are light, spirited, and full of fun. Using the title imagery, if this music is "the food of love", I should think the food in question is chocolate, and the listener should prepare to be carried away on an ebullient caffeine/sugar high when this CD is popped into the machine. For more improvisational marvels for recorder and strings, try "Folie Douce: Renaissance Improvisations" by Ensemble Doulce Memoire, and the Palladian Ensemble's "Held by the Ears".

Handel The Water Music in Three Suites Complete

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Handel The Water Music in Three Suites Complete

Manufacturer: Musically Speaking
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Mozart Symphony No. 40, Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"
Beethoven Symphony No. 5, Piano Concerto No. 4

ASIN: B0000B383H
Release Date: 1983-11-12

Album Description

The Water Music in Three Suites Complete. Handel's Water Music is a collection of short orchestral pieces composed to serenade King George I of England during a boating party on the Thames river in 1717. The music is grouped into three suites, each featuring different instrumental colors and having its own distinct character. The individual movements that comprise these suites include overtures, fanfares, instrumental arias and dances. Each CD package includes two CDs. The first, a Musical Performance Disk, features the top performers and symphony orchestras in the world, performing the best-loved music from the classical music Greats.

Accompanying the Musical Performance Disc is a Conductor's Guide on a separate CD. Here, Maestro Gerard Schwarz discusses the musical performances in depth--movement by movement, section by section--using examples from the recorded performances. There's no better, more enjoyable way to get a basic education in classical music.

Tracks:

Aniseed Robin
Cuckolds All A-Row
I Gave Her Cakes And I Gave Her Ale
Taking His Beer With Old Anacharsis
Fye, Nay, Prithee John
Cold And Raw
The Miller's Daughter
Will Said To His Mammy
The Old Fumbler
Walking In a Meadowe Greene
Celia Learning On The Spinnet
Tom the Taylor
My Lady's Coachman John
The Irish Jig Or The Night Ramble
Come Sirrah Jacke Hoe
Dainty Fine Aniseed Water
Most Men Do Love the Spanish Wine
Argreers
Gathering Peascods
My Lady And Her Maid
As Roger Last Night To Jenny Lay Close
Pox On You
Ladie Lie Near Me
'Tis Women Makes Us Love
Sir Walter Enjoying His Damsel
My Thing Is My Own
Here Dwells a Pretty Maid
My Man John Had a Thing That Was Long
When First Amyntas Sued For a Kiss
More Palatino
Poor Owen
Where They Drank Their Wine
Come, Come, Let Us Drink

Customer Reviews:

One of the best CD's out there!.......2007-05-10

All ages and musical backgrounds love this CD. The Baltimore Consort are amazing. One really feels one is in a smoky pub in the 14oo's getting plastered with England's best musicians! Don't miss "Pox on You;" my kids absolutely howl with glee at the "bass fartophone." I haven't heard laughter like that come out of my little boy since he was a toddler. "Sweet Sir Walter" features one of the guys singing in a falsetto that sweeps lustily down into a Tim Curry-esque (think Dr. Frank-n-furter)gutteral guffaw of delight. So outrageously fun one forgets one is listening to Renaissance madrigals.

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2007-03-25

These bawdy catches and ballads take us on a journey to the taverns and other social gathering places of the the real 'Merry Old England'. Some of us may be mildly shocked by the directness and earthiness of the text, but everyday life in the 17th century was much more 'down-to'earth- and forward. These texts-some blatant and other euphemistic-fully explore the spectrum of humor from the sly smirk to the back-slapping guffaw.
The singing of both ballads and catches belongs to a long and venerable tradition in England. The natural habitat of the of the catch was the tavern, while the ballad was known in a wider variety of social settings as well as the stage. By the end of the 17th century, ballads were collected by connoisseurs of popular culture and published in anthologies. The main source for this recording, 'The Catch Club, or 'Merry Companions', was printed in 1762.
A quote from the catch-philosopher (of 'Come, come let us drink') is offered by the Baltimore Consort: "...wine and good cheer will in spite of our fear inspire our hearts with mirth..the time we live, to wine let us give, since we all must turn to earth...."
This is an excellent collection of songs; quite interesting and varied. The instruments are played skillfully, and the voices, for the most part, are good quality. However, as with all 'folk-like' songs, the diction is not always clear, and that is very true of several of these on this disc. The female voices were more difficult to comprehend much of the time. The text is printed out, so ultimately familiararity will make them easier to understand. I do like the disc, and think that it needed to be done.As to a previous criticism concerning the fact that it wasn't 'true' barroom singing. Of course, it's not!!!If it were, you would not understand any of it!!!!!Enough said.

Prelewd to Postlewd.......2005-09-28

The Baltimore Consort, an ensemble of six players, was founded in 1980 with the purpose of performing 'broken consort' pieces of Elizabethan origin. 'Broken' here refers to the instrumentation - treble viol/violin, flue/recorder, lute, cittern, bandore and bass viol. Their repertoire expanded beyond these beginnings to include broader British fare, as well as French and Italian music of the time. This is a happy expansion, as it made this disc of older, bawdy (for its time) music possible.

The Baltimore Consort play with life and vigour, with a good deal of improvisational flair, not being bound to texts and going through the production of notes as if mechanically. This is true to the spirit and nature of the early music, in which performers often had to 'play by ear', neither being able to read music nor having printed music even if they could. This is particularly true of the songs on this disc, where many are derivative of anonymous jokes and stories, and much of the music is likewise folk-tune and anonymously composed.

Some of the songs can be rather shocking. As Mary Anne Ballard writes in the accompanying notes, 'We must remember that in the days before indoor plumbing and pooper-scooper laws, everyday life was of an earthier flavour than it is today.... The men of the singing clubs and the ladies of stage poked fun at themselves and their companions with wit, pleasantry and contrivance.'

The names of many of the composers of these pieces have been lost to history, particularly the more folk-song oriented ones. However, some well-known composers are represented among the pieces here - Purcell, D'Urfey, Aldridge, and others.

The regular players include Mary Anne Ballard (viols), Mark Cudek (cittern, guitar, recorder and bass viol), Custer LaRue (vocalist/soprano), Larry Lipkis (recorder, viols), Ronn McFarlane (lute), Chris Norman (flutes), Webb Wiggins (tambourine and 'virginals'). Some artists are known from other Dorian productions, such as Ronn McFarlane on the lute in the collection 'Greensleeves'.

Added to the regular consort players are the Merry Companions, including Peter Becker (baritone), Alexander Blachly (baritone), Paul Shipper (bass, belch-canto), and James Weaver (baritone).

One more addition includes a guest artist, Lorenzo Labbrobacio, playing of all things, the 'fartophone', a rather mysterious instrument indeed. Labbrobacio defies identification on the internet other than references to this disc, and so the mystery deepens.

This is music that is interesting, truly fun to listen to, entertaining and has a quality about it that makes it a joy both in musical and humourous tones.

Sounds like they're singing Christmas carols.......2004-11-09

This recording is professionally produced - perhaps too much so. I've been in a few taverns and heard my share of bawdy songs. I am used to hearing them sung with gusto, with a wink and a naughty smile, to the raucous and enthusiastic appreciation of the audience. The songs on this CD are performed entirely straight. The results are technically competent but fail utterly in conveying the spirit and fun that make this genre worth listening to.

A sly and rollicksome good time!.......2002-11-29

On this recording, the Baltimore Consort and the Merry Companions are full of fun, both blatant and tongue-in-cheek. Soprano Custer La Rue and the instrumentalists of the Consort are joined by a quartet of classical male singers (Peter Becker, Alexander Blachly, Paul Shipper and James Weaver) with quite a theatrical sense of humor. The two groups take turns presenting ribald tavern songs of merry old England, interspersed by light, catchy instrumentals listed in the credits as the "Prelewd", the "Interlewd" and a "Fresh Ayre". Drinking, sex and other bodily functions are both celebrated and ridiculed in songs that are cleverly worded and enthusiastically sung, and in at least one case, accompanied by a mysterious instrument (reminiscent of P.D.Q. Bach) called a "fartophone". Especially amusing are the "catches" or rounds, and the new meanings that result from the staggering of words when several different verses are all sung together. It sounds silly, and is silly, but that's the point of it all--celebrating the "earthier flavor" of life 17th and 18th century England. My copy came with a parental advisory sticker stuck fast to the case, but my mother didn't seem overly concerned, and in fact enjoyed it too when I played it for her! For more fun Renaissance vocals, both salacious and serious, try "All At Once Well Met: English Madrigals" by the King's Singers, and "The King's Singers' Madrigal History Tour: Italy, England, France, Spain, Germany" by the King's Singers and the Consort of Musicke.