Khachaturian: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) wrote a kind of music that was, for the most part, approved of by the Soviet Union. Most of the time. But he was never a shill for the aparatchiks running the art ministry. We see this in his symphonies, especially the Symphony 1 (1934) where the folk melodies--or refrains of them--can be heard. But these elements aren't Soviet: they are Georgian, Khazar, and Mongolian. Khachaturian's appeal, even to this day, is in his ability to make modern many of the ethnic strains he had heard when he was a boy. And catch the brass-laiden Symphony 3. It's a gas. --Paul Cook

Tracks:

Canon In D
'Brandenburg' Concerto No. 3: Allegro
The Four Seasons - The Winter: Largo And Allegro
Fanfare ('Masterpiece Theatre' Theme)
Camerata Romana: Air For The 'G' String
'Eine kleine Nachtmusik': Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 21 ('Elvira Madigan' Theme): Andante
Introduction To Symphony No. 5
'William Tell' Overture: Finale
'Aida': Triumphal March
On The Beautiful, Blue Danube Waltz
'The Nutcracker': Waltz Of The Flowers
'1812' Overture: Finale

Tracks:

Sabre Dance
'Light Cavalry' Overture: Finale
Carmen: The Toreadors
' Midsummer Night's Dream': Wedding March
Radetzky March
Symphony No. 9, 'Choral': Finale
'Prince Igor': Polovstian Dance No. 17
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
Peer Gynt: Solveig's Song
Sleepers, Wake
Water Music: Hornpipe
Symphony No. 9, 'From The New World': Largo
Emperor Waltz
'Emperor' Quartet: St. Anthony's Chorale
'The Tales Of Hoffman': Barcarolle
L'Arlesienne: Farandole
'The Nutcracker': Dance Of The Mirlitons
'The Nutcracker': Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy
'Rhapsody In Blue': Highlight
'Orpheus In The Underworld': Can-Can

Tracks:

Introduction To 'Also sprach Zarathustra'
Symphony No. 4, 'Italian': Saltarello: Presto
Piano Concerto No. 20: Romance
'The Valkyrie': Ride Of The Valkyries
'The Four Seasons' - The Spring: Allegro
Toccata and Fugue
Trumpet Voluntary
'Royal Fireworks Music': la rejouissance: Allegro
'Moonlight' Sonata: Adagio Sostenuto
London Festival Orchestra: Overture To 'The Barber Of Seville'
Piano Concerto No. 2: Adagio Sostenuto

Tracks:

Carmina Burana: Introduction To 'Carmina Burana'
Peer Gynt: Dawn From 'Peer Gynt'
Lohengrin: Prelude To 'Lohengrin'
'Lieutenant Kije': Troika From 'Lieutenant Kije'
Adiago For Strings
'Carmen': Habanera From 'Carmen'
'Double' Concerto: Allegro From 'Double' Concerto
The Marriage Of Figaro: Overture To 'The Marriage Of Figaro'
(Rondo) Alla Turca
Xerxes: Largo From 'Xerxes'
Symphony No. 5: Allegro vivace From Symphony No. 5
'Swan Lake': Scene: Enchanted Lake From 'Swan Lake'
Clair De Lune
Bolero

Customer Reviews:

CD set is misnamed.......2007-06-08

They should have titled this "classical music for people who love classical music" because most of the selections are typical classical music. The title suggests it would be lively selections of "light classical" music that is more upbeat, i.e. Sabre Dance, etc. I really don't hate classical music at all and have many classical CDs in my collection but I really wanted to hear more exciting selections. I won't be purchasing any more of this set but if you like traditional classical music these are good one.

Do not Buy.......2007-02-21

I do know it says classical music for people who hate it, but serioulsly you would have better luck never listening to classical music again. The recordings are awfull and do not do justice to any of the composers. Buy something else.

Classical Music for People Who Hate Classical Music.......2007-01-30

We love this set of CD's. I just got a new copy because my kids keeping taking our first copy with them so that they can listen at work or in their bedrooms but then I can never find them.

Seek better versions.......2006-12-09

If you are fairly new to classical purchases then compilation CD's can be useful for deciding what to buy next. Sometimes you only need a small taste of a piece to inspire you to buy a release with the whole performance on. The problem with this compilation however is that most of the versions are poor in performance or recording quality (or both) when compared to the best versions and the fact that the conductors aren't even credited on the track listing made me suspect that this would be the case. One of my favorite classical pieces is Tchaikovsky's 1812 festival overture but if the first CD version I had heard had been the finale excerpt that is on this compilation I may not have gone on to buy the whole thing. Luckily I heard Adrian Leaper's version first and Adrian's version is rather good.
My classical CD buying experience is limited to only a couple of dozen discs but I have found that the Naxos and Deutshe Grammophon releases are fairly safe. Avoid any release which does not name the conductors on the track listing or sleeve notes.

It Is What It Is.......2006-10-27

It's fitting that this page is fraught with the same kind of silly snobbery that turns people off from classical music (and necessitates collections like this) in the first place.

Any criticism of this compilation, which focuses on the quality of the performances or the fact that many tracks are excerpts, misses the point. This is not a collection for people who consider such things, nor does it purport to be. The idea is to package as many ultra-famous classical melodies as possible in one affordable collection and market it to people who have never purchased a classical recording. As such, top-tier performances are likely too expensive to be sold so cheaply and are unnecessary anyway. Those of us who already know and love a piece or two can forgive the compilers the inclusion of sub-par recordings, when we are exposed to so many other beautiful pieces for the first time.

It probably comes as a shock for some to hear that most people are not familiar with these classics. We may hear snippets on TV or movies, but are left with no idea as to the composer or historical context. With that in mind, it is extremely intimidating to begin buying classical. I suppose those among us, who so thoroughly dismissed the very notion of a boxed set like this, would have us begin by buying full albums by reputable interpreters. Surprisingly enough though, the majority of people would consider that a tad cost-prohibitive.

To conclude, this is a STARTER collection. It will either affirm a listener's feelings about classical music or lead to an interest in purchasing better recordings. Ideally, I suppose the interpretations would be better, but, for reasons mentioned above, that just isn't in the cards for a collection of this nature. If you're familiar with 50 different recordings of "The Ring" series, or have season tickets to the New York Philharmonic, then this probably isn't for you. For us cretins with limited foreknowledge of classical music though, it serves as a succinct introduction with little to complain about.

Average customer rating:

Fifteen trumpets strong, one organ weak
Worth buying for the 1st Symphony

Khachaturian: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Khachaturian: Symphony No. 2 "The Bell"
Aram Khachaturian: Ode to Joy and other works
Violin Concerto / Cello Concerto
Khachaturian: Concerto for violin in Dm; Concerto for piano in Df
Khachaturian: Piano Concerto; Gayaneh Ballet Suite; Masquerade Suite

ASIN: B0000030TW
Release Date: 1993-12-07

Tracks:

Sym No.1 in e: First Movt: Andante/Maestoso Con Passioine/Allegro Ma Non Troppo
Sym No.1 in e: Second Movt: Adagio Sostenuto
Sym No.1 in e: Third Movt: Allegro Risoluto
Sym No.3 in C (Simfonya-Poema) In One Movt - Armenian PO/Loris Tjeknavorian/Arthur Adamian

Amazon.com

Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) wrote a kind of music that was, for the most part, approved of by the Soviet Union. Most of the time. But he was never a shill for the aparatchiks running the art ministry. We see this in his symphonies, especially the Symphony 1 (1934) where the folk melodies--or refrains of them--can be heard. But these elements aren't Soviet: they are Georgian, Khazar, and Mongolian. Khachaturian's appeal, even to this day, is in his ability to make modern many of the ethnic strains he had heard when he was a boy. And catch the brass-laiden Symphony 3. It's a gas. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Fifteen trumpets strong, one organ weak.......2005-03-03

Khachaturian's first symphony is greatly unrecognized, and unjustly so. The three movement symphony is the epitome of his orchestral writing. There are brilliant passages of excitement, with the expected loud brass, yet he also shows an ability to write soft and delicate, but persuasive, sections. The first movement is especially haunting, yet mystical, exploratory, both in the sense of the committed traveler and the agitated nomad. Half way through the first movement Khachaturian composes a fragile theme with the strings, backed by stratospheric winds and harp. The theme is gradually brought to life with even more support from the winds and strings, soon adding brass and percussion, moving the idea along.

The second and third movements are also interesting in their own right. Whereas the entire symphony is reminiscent of Gayaneh, the second movement is especially so, Khachaturian even directly quoting the Lullaby (or is it vice versa?).

Unfortunately this is the only recording at present of the first symphony. What a shame! Fortunately it is done well enough so as not to make a pressing demand for a second recording (though it would be nice). Of the three symphonies, the first has to be my favorite. And I respect those who favor the second and third, which are meritable each in their own right. But the loudness present in all three symphonies is here supplemented by a gentle introspectiveness that calls the listener to reconsider the cause of the loudness, whereas in the other two symphonies any softer portions do not demand the same gentleness, but rather affirm the loud war-likeness of the thundering portions.

The third symphony has one other recording available. Of the two, this is not the prefered recording. But both are so different that it is worth having both. I believe some material (and/or repeats) are cut in this recording, making it about five minutes shorter. While the fifteen trumpets blast the air, the organ makes a tiny puncture. Be prepared to have your hand on the volume dial before and after the organ solos. Interstingly enough, the soft organ creates a contrasting balance in the sections shared by the organ and the orchestra, where now the orchestra takes on the lead, and the organ accompanies (opposed to the other recording of the third).

If not the third, the first is definitely reason enough to get this CD. Out of all of the unfamiliar symphonies I've heard, this is one the best (as well as Kurt Atterberg's third and Howard Hanson's fourth, also favorites). If you enjoy the concept of an organ with the symphony, and particularly like Khachaturian's rough-edged usage of it contrariwise to Saint-Saen's organ symphony, look into Copland's first symphony, which utilizes an organ throughout the three movements.

Worth buying for the 1st Symphony.......2001-08-13

Khachaturian's 1st symphony is a very laudable work that is hard to find. Since this is the only version I own, I would give it 5 stars. It's very full of the kind of Khachaturian lush orchestration that we've come to expect from this composer.

Tracks:

Le Rondeau ('Masterpiece Theatre' Theme)
Canon in D
Allegro from 'The Spring' from 'The Four Seasons'
Alla Hornpipe from 'Water Music'
Air for the 'G' String
Allegro from 'Brandenburg' Concerto No. 5
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from 'Solomon'
Largo from 'Xerxes'
Minuet and Badinerie from Orchestral Suite No. 2
Adagio
Vivace from Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra, 'Double'
(Allegro) from 'Brandenburg' Concerto No. 3
La Rejouissance: Allegro from 'Royal Fireworks Music'
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Largo ma non tanto from Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra, 'Double'
Hallelujah! from 'Messiah'

Tracks:

Allegro con brio from Symphony No. 5
Allegro from 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik'
Andante ('Elvira Madigan' Theme) from Piano Concerto No. 21
Adagio sostenuto from 'Moonlight' Sonata
Molto allegro from Symphony No. 40
Overture to 'The Marriage of Figaro'
Adagio; Allegro from Symphony No. 104, 'London'
Overture to 'Egmont'
Fur Elise
Allegro from Symphony No. 5
Minuet from String Quartet in E major, Op. 13, No. 5
Finale from Symphony No. 9, 'Choral'

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 1: Introduction
'Pictures at an Exhibition': Promenade
Symphony No. 4, 'Italian': Introduction
'The Valkyrie': Ride of the Valkyries
'Peer Gynt': Dawn
'Carmen': Habanera
Slavonic Dance No. 1
Entry of the Gladiators
'Also sprach Zarathustra': Introduction
Excerpt from 'On the Beautiful Blue Danube'
'William Tell' Overture: Finale
'Aida': Triumphal March
'The Nutcracker': Waltz of the Flowers
'1812' Overture: Finale
'Lohengrin': Prelude
Violin Concerto: Allegretto non troppo; Allegro molto vivace
Symphony No. 9, 'From The New World': Largo
24 Preludes, Op. 28:: No. 4 in E Minor
24 Preludes, Op. 28: No.7 in A Major
24 Preludes, Op. 28: No. 20 in C Minor
'Orpheus In The Underworld': Can-Can

Tracks:

Bolero
Pavan for a Dead Princess
'La Mer' ('The Sea'): From Dawn Until Noon on the Sea
Fanfare for the Common Man
'Appalachian Spring': Variations on a Shaker Dance
'Candide': Overture
Highlight from 'Rhapsody in Blue'
'Gayane': Sabre Dance
Adagio for Strings
'Carmina Burana': Introduction
'Lieutenant Kije': Troika
'The Firebird': Finale

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic!.......2005-11-29

I bought this cd set years ago and they're still my favorite cds. Each cd follows a genre (baroque, classical, romantic, or modern and impressionist) and gives a great sampling of some of the strongest pieces in that genre. I don't know what I'd do without these cds.