Grieg: Piano Music, Vol. 8

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Einar Steen-Nøkleberg's performances of Grieg's Lyric Pieces take up Volumes 8-10 of his complete series of Grieg's piano music. Like Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, Grieg's series is an ongoing collection of wonders--delicious little character pieces with hardly a weak one in the lot. For most listeners, a single disc of selections (such as Emil Gilels's on Deutsche Grammophon 449 721-2, or Sviatoslav Richter's on Live Classics LCL 442) may be all the Lyric Pieces they need. But Steen-Nøkleberg's lovely playing gives you the option of owning the entire series for little more than the price of a single full-price disc. --Leslie Gerber

Tracks:

Stuck In The Saddle Again (Light Cavalry March, Suppe)
Sing Verdi Very Loud (La donna e mobile, from Rigoletto, Verdi)
Its The Same Every Verse (In The Hall of The Mountain King, from Peer Gynt Suite, Grieg)
Musical Bs (Hungarian Dance #5, Brahms)
Dont Play That Violin (Violin Concerto #2, Paganini)
Schuberts Trout (Trout Quintet, Schubert)
Dvorak The Czechoslovak (Humoresque #7, Dvorak)
A Fan of Chopin (Prelude 7, Op. 28, Chopin)
Please Do Not Tease The Viennese (Blue Danube Waltz, Strauss)
Its Spring! (Spring, from The Four Seasons, Vivaldi)
Wow What a Wedding Cake (Wedding March, from A Midsummer Nights Dream,. Mendelssohn)
Instrumental Performances:
Light Cavalry March, Suppe
La donna e mobile, from Rigoletto, Verdi (with vocals)
In The Hall of The Mountain King, from Peer Gynt Suite, Grieg
Hungarian Dance #5, Brahms
Violin Concerto #2, Paganini
Trout Quintet, Schubert
Humoresque #7, Dvorak
Prelude 7, Op. 28, Chopin
Blue Danube Waltz, Strauss
Spring, from The Four Seasons, Vivaldi

Amazon.com

From a pure-pleasure standpoint, the first Beethoven's Wig was nothing to flip over, and the second disc in the series follows suit. However, that is not to say that this is not a valuable and possibly ingenious record. Those unfamiliar with the premise will quickly get the picture: Producer/writer/lead singer/chief clever guy Richard Perlmutter gathers a bundle of important classical works (Paganini's "Violin Concerto #2," Strauss' "Blue Danube Waltz") and makes up silly, catchy lyrics to lay over them, informing the listener about the piece or its composer. Standing out for their offbeat brilliance this time are "Dvorak the Czechoslovak" ("Humoresque #7," Dvorak) and "Wow What a Wedding Cake" (Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mendelssohn). Few stabs at mixing education with entertainment succeed so well. As a bonus, the second half of the CD repeats the symphonies straight up, presenting a neat opportunity to quiz kids 5-12 on what and who they've just heard. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews:

Greatest baby gift ever.......2007-03-15

Both of my grandchildren (and their parents and grandparents) are hooked on this CD and all of the silliness and beauty it brings into our lives. We sing to it, dance to it, and find ourselves thinking about it at odd times. Who can't love singing Verdi VERY LOUD? I've now started giving this as a simple baby gift, especially to those with older siblings. They are already equipped with clothing and nursery gear, and Beethoven's Wig invites the whole family to gather round...even if it is just on short car rides.

Great for the whole family.......2007-01-04

My husband, 18 month old daughter and I all love this CD. It's a staple in the car. One caveat- these lyrics will get stuck in your head and I now find myself singing the "words" to these songs when I hear them in a store or commercial! I'm hoping this means my daughter will recognize these songs as she gets older.

More Great Fun.......2006-03-13

Like the first volume, this CD encourages young children to enjoy classical music. The silly lyrics sometimes impart factual information on the composer or the piece. There are 11 sing-along symphonies and then the 11 symphonies are replayed without the lyrics--total of 22 tracks. Booklet with lyrics and trivia is included. All our children (aged 2-12) enjoy this CD, as do we.

One is better but this is still awesome!! Gotta have it!.......2006-01-10

My children loved Beethovens Wig 1. I checked this one out at the library. Then, we decided we had to have this one too.
Yes, one is the best but 2 is still wonderful.
Save yourself the shipping and order both at the same time.
We all thoroughly enjoy it. My 4 yr old can name these classicals when he hears them elsewhere and he can hum these beautiful songs. Much better than kiddie rhymes and Disney jingles. Culture your children the funniest way!!

Absolute joy, and endless fun!.......2005-11-15

The tunes and word stay with you and before you know it, you are signing them along. My two kids (ages 9 and 7) ask me to put the CD on as soon as we get into the car. What a wonderful and fun way to get them to love classical music!

Classical Masterpieces of the Millennium [20 CD Set]

Average customer rating:

Mill. Classical review
classical music for the unitiated
Some little gems there that I had forgotten!
A very helpful collection
Excellent!

Classical Masterpieces of the Millennium [20 CD Set]

Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Polkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Rondos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

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

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

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

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

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00000K1C9
Release Date: 1999-08-24

Tracks:

Brandenbutg Concerto No.3 In G First Movement
Overture No.3 In D Second Movement
Violin Concerto In E First Movement
Prelude In C minor
Jesu Bleibet Meine Freude (Chorus From Cantata No.147)
Overture No.2 In B minor Minuet And Badinerie
Oboe Concerto In D minor Second Movement
Brandenburg Concerto No.4 In G Third Movement
Musical Offering - Fuga canonica
Easter Oratorio - Overture
Minuet In D minor
Kommst Du Nun, Jesu, Vom Himmel herunter(From Choral Prelude BWV 650
Brandenburg Concerto No.1 In F Second Movement
Art Of The Fugue - Contrapunctus 9
Concerto For Flute, Violin, Harpsichord And Strings. Triple Concerto - Third Movement
Overture No.4 In D - Réjouissance
Concerto No. 1 in E: Spring
Concerto No. 1 in E: Spring
Concerto No. 1 in E: Spring
Concerto No. 2 in G minor: Summer
Concerto No. 2 in G minor: Summer
Concerto No. 2 in G minor: Summer
Concerto No. 3 in F: Autumn
Concerto No. 3 in F: Autumn
Concerto No. 3 in F: Autumn
Concerto No. 4 in F minor: Winter
Concerto No. 4 in F minor: Winter
Concerto No. 4 in F minor: Winter
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto Grosso in A minor, Op. 3, no. 8
Concerto Grosso in A minor, Op. 3, no. 8
Concerto Grosso in A minor, Op. 3, no. 8
Water Music - Alla Hornpipe
Xerxes - Ombra Mai Fu (Largo)
Messiah - And The Glory Of The Lord
Concerto Grosso In A Minor, Op. 6, No. 4 - Larghetto Affettuoso
Organ Concerto In F, Op. 4, No. 4 Allegro
Water Music - Air
Messiah - For Unto Us A Child Is Born
Concerto Grosso In B flat, Op. 3, No. 2 - Largo
Salomon - Sinfonia, Act 3
The Choice Of Hercules - While For Thy Arms
Water Music - Allegro (Suite No. 1)
Suite No. 5 In E - Air With Variations
Jephtha - How Dark, O Lord
Organ Concerto In F, Op. 4, No. 5 Alla Siciliana - Presto
Mi Palpita Il Cor (Solo Cantata) S'un Di M'adora
Water Music - Andante Allegro Da Capo
Concerto for Trumpet & Orchestra in E-flat: First Movement
Symphony No. 94 in G: Surprise Symphony-second movement
Concerto for Violin No. 2 in D: Third Movement
Flute Trio No. 31 in G: Second Movement
Symphony No. 31 in D: Hornsignal-First Movement
String Quartet No. 17 in F, Op. 3, no. 5: Serenade Quartet-Second Movement
Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat for Violin, Cello, Oboe, Bassoon and Orchestra-Third Movement
Concerto for 2 Horns & Orchestra in E-flat: Second Movement
Symphony No. 88 in G: Fourth Movement
String Quartet No. 77 in C: Kaiser Quartet-Poco adagio cantabile
Notturno No. 1 in C: Second Movement
Symphony No. 98 in B: Londoner No. 4-Fourth Movement
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - first movement
Piano Concerto in A - second movement
Flute Concerto in D - Rondeau
Serenade - Minuet
Violin Concerto - first movement
Symphony No. 40 in G minor - first movement
Clarinet Concerto - second movement
Turkish March
Divertimento - Minuet
Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat - first movement
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67-First Movement
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, no. 2: Moonlight Sonata-First Movement
Overture
O welche Lust (Prisoners' Chorus)
Ha, welch ein Augenblick (Pizarros's Aria)
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37: Second Movement
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D, Op. 61: Third Movement
Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13: Pathétique-Second Movement
Sympony No. 6 in F, Op. 68: Pastorale-First Movement
Fantasy for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 80: Choral Fantasy - Finale
German Dance No. 1 In C
Impromptu Op. 90, No. 3 In G-Flat
Heidenroslein
Ave Maria
Der Lindenbaum
Quintet In A 'Trout Quintet' - Andante
Mass No. 6 In E-Flat - Kyrie
Die Schone Mullerin Des Mullers Blumen
German Dance No. 2 In G
Piano Sonata In B-Flat
Nachtgesang Im Walde
Winterreise - No. 15: Die Krahe
German Mass - Zum Sanctus (Heilit, Heilig Ist Der Herr)
Symphony No. 8 In B Minor 'Unfinished' - Second Movement
Waltz No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 18 Grande Valse brillante
Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9, no. 2
Etude in G-flat, Op. 10, no. 5
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21-Second Movement
Mazurka in D minor, Op. 33, no. 2
Prelude in D-flat, Op. 28, no. 15 Raindrop
Etude in C, Op. 10, no. 1
Nocturne in D-flat, Op. 27, no. 2
Impromptu No. 4 in C-sharp minor, Op. 66 Fantasy Impromptu
Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35-Third Movement
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 - Third Movement
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor - first movement 113.String Seranade - Waltz
Violin Concerto - second movement
The Sleeping Beauty - Waltz
Capriccio Italien, Op. 45
Swan Lake - Waltz
Eugene Onegin - Polonaise
The Nutcracker - Waltz of the Flowers
Orchestral Suite No. 4 - Mozartiana - Third Movement
Swan Lake - Dance of the Swans
Symphony No. 6 in B minor - Pathétique - Third Movement
Hungarian Dance No.5
Lullaby
Symphony No.1 in C minor, Op. 68 - Third Movement
Intermezzo in E-flat, Op.117, no. 1
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D, Op. 77 - Third Movement
Waltz, Op. 39, no. 15
Concert for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83 - Second Movement
String Quintet in G, Op. 111 - Second Movement
Symphony No.4 in E minor, Op. 98 - Third Movement
Intermezzo in A minor, Op. 76, no. 7
Hungarian Dance No.1 in G minor
German Requiem Selig sind die Toten (Final Chorus)
Die Fledermaus - Overture
Kaiser Waltz, Op.437
Thunder And Lightning Polka, Op. 324
Roses From The South Waltz, Op. 388
AnnenPolka, Op. 117
Vienna Blood Waltz, Op. 354
Eljen A Magyar Polka, Op. 332
Wine, Women and Song Waltz, Op. 333
On The Beautiful Blue Danube Waltz, Op. 134
Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg - Overture
Tannhauser - Die Pilger sind's (Pilgims' Chorus)
Tannhauser - O du mein holder Abendstern (Wolfram's Aria)
Lohengrin - Act 3 Prelude and Bridal Chorus
The Flying Dutchman - Jo-ho-he Traft ihr das Schiff (Senta's Ballad)
The Flying Dutchman - Steuermann, lass die Wacht (Sailors' Chorus)
Die Walkure - Wintersturme wichen dem Wonnemond (Siegmund's Aria)
Die Walkure - Ride of the Valkyries
Siegfried Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Schmiede mein Hammer (Siegfried's Forging Song)
Tristan und Isolde - Liebestod
Thus sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (excerpt)
Don Juan, Op. 20
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64, I.Nacht
Don Quixote, Op.35, first movement: Introduction
Salome, Op. 54, Dance Of The Seven Veils
Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59, Finale: Hab' mir's gelobt ihn lieb zu haben
Piano Concerto 2 In C minor, Op. 18 - First Movement
Vocalise, Op.34, No. 14
Prelude In G Sharp minor, Op. 32, No. 12
Piano Concerto No. 4 In G minor, Op. 40 - Third Movement
Symphony No. 2 In E minor, Op. 27 - Third Movement
Piano Concerto No. 1 In F sharp minor, Op. 1 - Second Movement
Rhapsody, Op. 43 On A Theme By Paganini
Hungarian Rhapsody No.2
Liebestraum No.3 in A-flat
Piano Concerto No.1 in E-flat - third movement
Angelus
Mephisto Waltz No.1 (Dance in a Village Tavern)
Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H
Dante Symphony - Finale. - Purgatorio - Magnificat
Les Préludes
Boléro
Daphnis et Chloé first movement: Nocturne
Rhapsodie Espagnole
Shéhérazade - first movement: Asie
Ma Mère l'Oye - fourth movement: La Belle et la Bête
Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet, and String Quartet
La Valse
Slavic Dance No. 1 in C, Op. 46, no.1
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 'From the New World' - second movement
Humoresque, Op. 101
Slavic Dance No. 8 in G minor, Op. 46, no. 8
Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 22 - second movement
Romance for Violin and Orchestra In F minor, Op. 11
Symphony No. 7 in D minor - third movement
Melodie (Songs My Mother Taught Me)
Carneval Overture, Op. 92
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor, Op. 104 - third movement
Symphony No.4 In A, Op. 90. Italian - First Movement
Frühlingslied In A, Op. 62, No. 6
Wedding March (From A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op.61)
Duetto In F, Op.30, No.6 (From Songs Without Words)
String Symphony No.9 In C. Schweitzer Symphony - Third Movement
Concerto For Violin, Piano And String Orchestra No. 1 In D minor - Second Movement
Symphony No.3 In A minor, Op.56 Scottish - Third Movement"
Notturno (From A Midsumment Night's Dream, Op. 61)
Rondo Capriccioso, Op.14
String Symphony No. 12 In G minor - First Movement
Venetian Gondola Song In F Sharp minor, Op.30, No.6
Scherzo (From A Midsumment Night's Dream, Op. 61)
Violin Concerto In E minor, Op.64 - Third Movement
Peer Gynt - Suite No. 1, Op. 46 - Morgenstimmung
Holberg Suite, Op. 40 - I. Prelude. Allegro vivace
Holberg Suite, Op. 40 - IV. Air. Andante religioso
Arietta, Op. 12, no. 1
Homage March from Sigurd Jorsalfar, Op. 56
Peer Gynt - Suite No. 2, Op. 55 - Solveig's Song
Wedding Day at Troldhauen, Op. 65, no. 6
The Last Spring, Op. 34, no. 2
Peer Gynt - Suite No. 1, Op 46 - Anitra's Dance
Nordic Melody Op. 63
Notturno, Op. 54, no. 4
Elegie, Op. 47, no. 5
Peer Gynt - Suite No. 2, Op. 55 - Arabic Dance
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 - Allegro
Symphony No. 3 in E flat, Op. 97 - Rhenish - first movement
Traumerai (from Kinderszenen, Op. 15)
Mondnacht (from Eichendorff-Liederkreis, Op. 39)
Aufschwung (from Fantasietucke, Op. 12)
Triolett, Op. 114, no. 2
Tanzlied (No. 1 from Duets, Op. 78)
Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120 - second movement
Frühlingsgruss
Abschied (from Waldszenen Op. 82)
Dichterliebe, Op. 48 - Im wunderschonen Monat Mai
Manfred Overture, Op. 115
Romance in F sharp, Op. 28, no. 2
Die Rose stand im Tau
Liebesgarten (from Four Duets, Op. 34)
Warum? (from Fantasiestucke, Op. 12)
Kennst du das Land, Op.79, no. 29 (from Lieder der Mignon, Op. 98a)
Von fremden Landern und Menschen (from Kinderszenen, Op. 15)

Album Description

An extraordinary 20-CD collection of great works by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Ravel, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, J. Strauss, R. Strauss, Schumann, Wagner, Dvorak, Grieg and Liszt. It also features worldrenowned artists such as Sir Neville Marriner, Martha Argerich, Ivo Pogorelich, Hermann Prey, Reiner Goldberg, Sylvia Sass, Jochen Kowalski, Peter Schreler and many more. This exquisite, copper metallic, deluxe boxed set is the perfect gift for the classical music neophyte.

Customer Reviews:

Mill. Classical review.......2007-05-13

This is a great set of recordings for the money, the only problem was I've had to clean some of the CD's before they played correctly.

classical music for the unitiated.......2007-04-01

This set is a good way to start listening to classical music. It's very well produced and easy to listen to. I purchased it to use as part of my world history high school class. It would have been nice to have some bio information on the composers. However, the product is exactly as advertised and good value for the money. The students were intrigued by how many of the excerpts they had heard before.

Some little gems there that I had forgotten!.......2007-03-30

Although I studied classical music at school, I had all but forgotten it until I bought this set. I heard several tracks I haven't heard for over 30 years, and I had been humming Brahms's 'Hungarian Dance no. 5' for years without ever knowing what it was and it was on the disc, so that was nice.

I found it to be a very good selection overall, but I felt too much had already been heard on TV, which of course is what lots of newcomers to classical music might appreciate. I managed to find about 2 hours of tracks that I wanted to keep, which works out quite expensive per disc, but I did find some wonderful music I had completely forgotten about, so it was worth it. All in all, it represents good value, and I have only knocked one star off as so much of it had been used in adverts.

It is definitely a good introduction to classical music, and it has made me want to listen to more of it, so I don't regret this 'expensive' purchase one bit!

Classical Masterpieces of the Millennium [20 CD Set]

A very helpful collection.......2007-03-24

I define this set as an excellent way to find out who you like, and who you don't, among 20 of the important composers. It opens the door to purchasing more complete pieces by composers you do like, and can save a lot of time and money in the process.
To criticize the set for not containing more composers, or more than just snippets of those who are in the set, is missing the point: it is a helpful introduction to finding your way in the huge maze of classical music. It succeeds admirably in this.
Sound quality is uniformly very good on an audiophile system.
Highly recommended.

Excellent!.......2007-03-08

A great way to start a classical music collection. It's nice to have a full CD of each composer. It makes it easy to keep track of selections/composers I already have and what composers I still need to puchase to complete my collection.

Average customer rating:

Stunning. . . .
PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST
A world-changing musician
CZIFFRA - A Keyboard Phenomenon

Les introuvables de Cziffra

Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bourees | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Galops | 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

Rondos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Liszt: Works For Piano
Rendez-vous de Senlis
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Liszt: Piano Concertos; Totentanz; Hungarian Fantasy

ASIN: B000002SBW
Release Date: 2002-08-12

Tracks:

La Campanella, Grande Etude De Paganini No. 3
Nocturne No. 3 In A Flat Major, Reve D'Amour
Mephisto Valse (D'Apres Le Faust De Lenau)
Les Jeux D'Eau A La Villa D'Este
Valse Oubliee No. 1
Rhapsodie Espagnole
Valse Impromptu
La Ronde Des Lutins, Etude De Concert No. 2
Grand Galop Chromatique
Apres Une Lecture Du Dante, Fantasie Quasi Sonata (Extrait From 'Les Annees De Pelerinage')

Tracks:

Polonaise D'Eugene Oneguine (Tchaikovsky)
Rigoletto, Paraphrase De Concert (Verdi)
Tarentelle De Bravoure Sur Des Theme De 'La Muette De Portici' (Auber)
Valse De Faust (Gounod)
Improvisation Sur Les Themes De Guillaume Tell (Rossini)
Valse Triste (Vecsey)
Tritsch Tratsch Polka (Johann Strauss)
Le Beau Danube Bleu, Paraphrase (Johann Strauss)
Danse Hongroise No. 5 (Brahms)
Fantaisie Roumaine (Improvisation Dans Le Style Tzigane)
Le Vol Du Bourdon (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Tracks:

Islamey, Fantaisie Orientale
Toccata In C Major, Op. 7
Andante Et Rondo Capriccioso In E Major, Op. 14
Rondo In E Flat Major, Op. 11
Polonaise In C Major, Op. 89
Rondo A Capriccio In G Major, Op. 129
Andantino In B Minor
Bourree In E Flat Major
Sonata In C Major, K159
Le Tic Toc Choc ,Ou Les Maillotins
Les Barricades Mysterieuses
L'Anguille
La Bandoline
Les Petits Moulins A Vent
Les Folies Francaises Ou Les Dominos
La Poule
Le Rappel Des Oiseaux
Gavotte En Rondeau

Tracks:

Variations In C Major, Sur 'God Save The King', WoO 78
12 Variations In A Major, Sur Un Theme Russe (Wranitzky), WoO 71
32 Variations In C Minor, WoO 80
Fantaisie In F Minor, Op. 49
Book 1 - Variations Sur Un Theme De Paganini, Op. 35
Book 2 - Variations Sur Un Theme De Paganini, Op. 35

Tracks:

I. Grave - Allegro Molto E Con Brio, Sonata No. 8 In C Minor, Op. 13
II. Adagio Cantabile, Sonata No. 8 In C Minor, Op. 13
III. Rondo, Sonata No. 8 In C Minor, Op. 13
I. Allegro - Sonata No. 10 In G Major, Op. 14
II. Andante - Sonata No. 10 In G Major, Op. 14
III. Scherzo -Allegro Assai - Sonata No. 10 In G Major, Op. 14
I. Andante Con Variazioni - Sonata No. 12 In A Flat Major, Op. 26
II. Scherzo (Allegro Molto) - Sonata No. 12 In A Flat Major, Op. 26
III. Marcia Funebre (Andante Maestoso) - Sonata No. 12 In A Flat Major, Op. 26
IV. Allegro - Sonata No. 12 In A Flat Major, Op. 26
I. Andante - Allegro -Allegro Molto Vivace - Sonata No. 13 In E Flat Major, Op. 27
II. Adagio Con Espressione - Sonata No. 13 In E Flat Major, Op. 27
III. Allegro Vivace - Sonata No. 13 In E Flat Major, Op. 27

Tracks:

Preambule Carnaval Op9
Pierrot Carnaval Op9
Arlequin Carnaval Op9
Valse Noble Carnaval Op9
Eusebius Carnaval Op9
Florestan Carnaval Op9
Coquette Carnaval Op9
Replique Carnaval Op9
Papillons Carnaval Op9
A.S.C.H., S.C.H.A., Lettres Dansantes Carnaval Op9
Chiarina Carnaval Op9
Chopin Carnaval Op9
Estrella Carnaval Op9
Reconnaissance Carnaval Op9
Pantalon Et Colombine Carnaval Op9
Valse Allemande - Intermezzo: Paganinni Carnaval Op9
Aveu Carnaval Op9
Promenade Carnaval Op9
Pause Carnaval Op9
Danse Des Davidsbundler Contre Les Philistins Carnaval Op9
I. Des Abends Fantasiestucke Op12
II. Aufschwung Fantasiestucke Op12
III. Warum? Fantasiestucke Op12
IV. Grillen Fantasiestucke Op12
V. In Der Nacht Fantasiestucke Op12
VI. Fabel Fantasiestucke Op12
VII. Traumeswirren Fantasiestucke Op12
VIII. Ende Vom Lied Fantasiestucke Op12
I. Allegro - Carnaval De Vienne, Op. 26
II. Romanze - Carnaval De Vienne, Op. 26
III. Scherzino - Carnaval De Vienne, Op. 26
IV. Intermezzo - Carnaval De Vienne, Op. 26
V. Final - Carnaval De Vienne, Op. 26

Tracks:

Fantaisie Hongroise In F Major For Piano And Orchestra
Totentanz, Paraphrase Sur Le 'Dies Irae' Pour Piano Et Orchestre
Variations Symphoniques Pour Piano Et Orchestre
I. Allegro Molto Moderato - Concerto For Piano And Orchestra In A Minor, Op. 16
II. Adagio - Concerto For Piano And Orchestra In A Minor, Op. 16
III. Allegro Moderato Molto E Marcato - Andante Maestoso - Concerto For Piano And Orchestra In A Minor, Op. 16

Tracks:

I. Adagio Sostenuto Assai - Concerto No. 2 For Piano And Orchestra In A Major
II. Allegro Agitato Assai - Concerto No. 2 For Piano And Orchestra In A Major
III. Allegro Moderato - Concerto No. 2 For Piano And Orchestra In A Major
IV. Allegro Deciso - Concerto No. 2 For Piano And Orchestra In A Major
V. Marziale, Un Poco Meno Allegro - Concerto No. 2 For Piano And Orchestra In A Major
VI. Allegro Animato - Concerto No. 2 For Piano And Orchestra In A Major
I. Allegro Maestoso - Concerto No. 1 For Piano And Orchestra In E Flat Major
II. Quasi Adagio - Concerto No. 1 For Piano And Orchestra In E Flat Major
III. Allegretto Vivace - Allegro Animato - Concerto No. 1 For Piano And Orchestra In E Flat Major
IV. Allegro Marziale Animato - Concerto No. 1 For Piano And Orchestra In E Flat Major
I. Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso - Allegro Con Spirito - Concerto No. 1 For Piano And Orchestra In B Flat Minor, Op. 23
II. Andante Semplice - Prestissimo - Tempo 1 - Concerto No. 1 For Piano And Orchestra In B Flat Minor, Op. 23
III. Allegro Con Fuoco - Concerto No. 1 For Piano And Orchestra In B Flat Minor, Op. 23

Customer Reviews:

Stunning. . . . .......2007-01-10

I bought this set with some trepidation, since I didn't know what to expect from Cziffra's playing of composers other than Liszt. I had only heard him in his mercurially brilliant Lisztian incarnation, and didn't know how he would do with a less flamboyant style.
I have been very pleasantly surprised, especially at his Beethoven and his Schumann. I found that he kept the spontaneity of his Lisztian interpretations, but channelled it chronologically into insightful and spontaneous Beethoven interpretations, while respecting most of the rules and performance practices of the Classic era.
His Schumann was mercurial and spontaneous in a Romantic fashion, also, and - of course - brilliantly digitally played. As to the Liszt, it's par excellence; I've never heard that music played with such spontaneity and
digital fluency.
The sound quality is surprisingly good, altho somewhat uneven. I highly recommend this set to anyone who loves great piano-playing. My favorite pianist is still Richter, but Cziffra takes first prize in his Liszt, and runs a close second with other composers' music.

PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST.......2006-10-15

The eight discs making up this set are invaluable to anyone interested in this extraordinary musician and pianist. His career was cut tragically short, and while it lasted he was most in demand to display his astounding technique in Liszt. He did it because he could. Not being enormously attracted to Liszt I was slow in coming to know Cziffra, but when I did what struck me forcibly was that the picture I had been given of him was seriously misleading. Any suggestion that he was a wilful virtuoso who turned the standard classics into something of his own is 180 degrees wide of the mark, and this selection enables us to hear what his playing was really like in music ranging from Lully and Couperin to the late 19th century, taking in on the way Rameau, Scarlatti, C P E Bach, Beethoven, Hummel, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Schumann. Liszt is here in the shape of the two concertos, the Totentanz and the Hungarian Fantasy plus some solos, my collection of least favourite romantic concertos is enhanced with his renderings of the Grieg and Tchaikovsky, but relief from these is provided with Franck's symphonic variations. Among the non-Liszt solo pieces we are given a number usually thought to call for exceptional virtuosity, namely Schumann's toccata, Mendelssohn's rondo capriccioso and Brahms's Paganini variations. Balakirev's Islamey is here too, but in a version of Cziffra's own, and so are some of his own virtuoso arrangements including one of the Flight of the Bumblebee as well as four similar efforts from Liszt.

Cziffra himself didn't aid popular comprehension by saying that he couldn't play Beethoven. I already owned his Waldstein, but here we have four more sonatas plus some smaller pieces, all early works. If I have a fault to find with his Waldstein it's that it is rather understated. What I don't fault at all is his sense of Beethoven's idiom, and the only flash of Cziffra's phenomenal technique comes where there can be no objection in the up-and-down octaves near the end. These are normally played glissando, because to finger them in strict time is impossible, allegedly. Even Horowitz can't do that - but Cziffra can. This really sums up his way of doing things - the technique is exercised strictly when needed, and then not in a showy way unless the sense of the music demands that. Try the Mendelssohn rondo here - light-fingered in the main rondo theme, relaxed in the episodes - then hear Serkin on Aura in his 1957 recital in Lugano, high-tension and full-speed-ahead. Serkin brought the audience to its feet, Cziffra is simply enjoying the piece, and very Mendelssohnian he sounds. Or again the Schumann toccata. Richter won raptures from the critics for his handling of the rat-tat fortissimo chords near the end while making no concessions to the tempo. He does that no better than Cziffra, if as well. The difference is that Richter `makes more' of the supposedly virtuoso sequences earlier. Now how about Cziffra's Beethoven here? It is natural, idiomatic and kept within a certain volume-level. There is no showing off let alone messing around. If Cziffra recalls anyone it is Kempff, and these performances would be safe models for teachers. In Schumann it's the same story. Not everyone could play Traumeswirren like this, and here and there the finger-work had me rubbing my eyes, but I keep sensing that Cziffra is not even aware that he's doing anything exceptional. The idiom is dead right, the rubato is natural, the lyricism is spontaneous if less `warm' than some, the sense of the overall structure is effortless - and I could say all that about Chopin's F minor fantasy too.

I can't avoid Liszt, but some comparisons are interesting. This high-powered Totentanz has been rightly praised, but both in this work and in the first concerto I feel that Michelangeli beats Cziffra at what is supposedly Cziffra's own game. I hear Michelangeli as Cziffra's solitary equal as a technician, but in second-rate music like this spontaneity and dexterity are trumped by an above-it-all Olympian aloofness, and Cziffra undoubtedly does not take the ultra-care that Michelangeli takes over perfect evenness of touch, sublime poise in the rhythm and super-perfection in the trills. (In the matter of trills, you can hear what Cziffra can do when he puts his mind to it in the fiendish 4th variation in book 1 of Brahms's Paganinis). In the 2nd concerto Cziffra is the best I have yet heard. In sheer technical address neither he nor anyone surpasses Richter, but where I like Cziffra better is in an aspect of his playing that gets too little attention, namely his natural and unaffected lyricism. In the Hungarian Fantasy, the Liszt solos and the various arrangements I imagine Cziffra is unsurpassed and unsurpassable, not that I propose to research that matter much.

The Grieg and Tchaikovsky concertos are here too. Cziffra adopts moderate tempi in the outer movements of the Grieg as the composer directs. The first movement of the Tchaikovsky is done as I like it, insofar as I like it at all. The introduction is taken fast, rather as Horowitz and Toscanini take it although I miss Toscanini's direction. The last movement however is taken at a very moderate pace, with the excitement saved for the end. Later performances are of some French music. In these pieces, as in the Scarlatti sonata, I wouldn't say that Cziffra stands out particularly - with one telling exception, Couperin's Barricades Mysterieuses, atmospheric and bewitching. Was this what they told you to expect from Cziffra?

He was a natural, a child of the gods. The near-unbelievable technique was an important part of his gift, but what I prize most is his lyric manner - simple, innocent and clear-eyed. His actual touch is not one that you could identify within seconds, as you could identify that of Horowitz, Serkin, Richter or Michelangeli, but it is utterly free from affectation. The better you know him, the more you will love him.

A world-changing musician.......2006-01-30

I've not a lot to add to Alan Thorpe's review except to say that to be young when Cziffra burst upon the world in 1956 after he left Hungary & started playing in western Europe was sheer intoxication--and it wasn't all Liszt either! Like Richter, who appeared at the same time, he played Schumann in a way that opened up entire new fields of tonal & interpretive possibility. I must say, too, that from the start, I admired his Beethoven--I like lyrically played Beethoven! Why shouldn't Beethoven sing as well as growl? He did write some lovely songs, after all. Cziffra's versions of Op.13, Op.14/2 & Op.26 on this set are very satisfying--I just wish they had managed to include a recording of his version of the Waldstein, too.

CZIFFRA - A Keyboard Phenomenon.......2001-05-26

Issued in 1991 by EMI France to celebrate Cziffra's 70th birthday this 8 CD boxed set is a bargain. The first CD is all Liszt and contains some of the most spellbinding playing you are ever likely to hear. Fire and brimstone reign as Cziffra tears up the keyboard in the Dante Sonata's demonic moments; surely a whiff of sulphur as he spontaneously combusts during the Mephisto-Valse; the Rhapsodie espagnole and Grand Galop chromatique {see him sweat playing this on Philip's `Great Pianists of the 20th Century video.}. As a contrast, be seduced by his heart-melting rendering of the third Liebestraume; the caprice of the Valse-Impromptu; and have the waters of `Les Jeux d'eau a la Villa d'Este' ever cascaded so onomatopoeically and with such a transcendental variety of touch and nuance. More diablerie follows on disc 2 with transcriptions by Liszt and those {in} famous ones by Cziffra himself. I have never heard a more demonic Gounod/Liszt ` Valse de Faust'; Auber/Liszt `Tarantelle de bravura'; or Tchaikovsky/Liszt Polonaise from `Eugene Onegin'; as for Cziffra's playing of his own transcriptions and paraphrases, especially the Strauss `Tritsch-tratsch polka' and Rimsky-Korsakov `Flight of the Bumble-bee; well, they are in a class of their own. Both Katsaris and Volodos recorded the latter pieces but I'm afraid they cannot compare with Cziffra's sheer electricity and panache. You will now need an ice pack as disc 3 opens with Balakirev's Islamey which starts steadily enough compared to say Simon Barere's famous account {now on APR} but increases in excitement as Cziffra adds all kind of gypsy embellishments as he builds to a fiery conclusion. Excitement is also the key to the next piece; Schumann's Toccata, which Cziffra plays with effortless abandonment and joie de vivre as he also does Mendelssohn's Rondo Capriccioso. Cziffra loved to play Baroque music and the rest of this disc is taken up by mainly short but characterful pieces by Couperin, Lully, Rameau and Krebs. Many were recorded in the 1980s and sound better if played back at a reduced volume level as they were obviously too closely miked. Cziffra once said that he couldn't play Beethoven so preferred to leave it to others who could. He did record a number of sonatas and this selection includes very fine accounts of the `Pathetique'; No. 13 in E flat Op27/1 {companion to the `Moonlight'};and Op. 26 in A flat. He brings a full cantabile to the latter works opening movt. and to the Adagio of the `Pathetique'. Elsewhere he plays with refinement and elegance; everything is in the best possible taste and there is nothing to offend, but those who like their Beethoven a bit more rough and gruff could be a bit disappointed as they might also be with Cziffra's Brahm's Paganini Variations which are technically stunning but find Cziffra musically out of sorts. The Schumann disc finds him on top form. Like many great artists Cziffra loved to play Schumann and he was equally at home with Eusebius { the dreamer} as he was with Florestan { the impetuous side of his character} and this is self evident in his brilliantly characterful accounts of Carnaval, Fantasiestücke, and Carnaval de Vienne - the latter piece highly praised by Cortot after he heard Cziffra during a Paris radio broadcast in the late 1950s. Discs 7 and 8 are all concertante works and show Cziffra at the very height of his stupendous powers. Again Cziffra has his demon up in the most astounding Liszt Totentanz ever recorded; a Hungarian Fantasy with all the improvisational colours of a band of gypsy fiddlers and an ideally recreative performance of the second concerto to make all others sound four-square . To cap this there is a fabulous Grieg concerto in which Cziffra dares to improvise the end of the Lisztian style cadenza; a meltingly beautiful slow movt with an excitingly brilliant finale. Last but certainly not the least, a very poetic reading of Franck's Symphonic Variations and a Tchaikovsky first concerto which combines thrilling virtuosity with all those individual touches that only a genuinely recreative artist can bring to such a familiar masterpiece. This collection is a splendid tribute to one of histories greatest pianists - an artist who knew the authentic meaning of ` bravura'.

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Grieg: The Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Grieg: The Complete Piano Music, Vol. 2
Grieg: The Complete Piano Music, Vol. 3

ASIN: B00000167O
Release Date: 1994-03-25

Tracks:

1. Arietta -
2. Waltz
3. Watchman's Song
4. Fairy Dance
5. Folksong
6. Norwegian
7. Album Leaf
8. National Song
1. Berceuse
2. Folksong
3. Melody
4. Halling
5. Springdans
6. Elegy
7. Waltz
8. Canon
1. Butterfly
2. Solitary Traveller
3. In My Native Country
4. Little Bird
5. Erotikon
6. To Spring
1. Valse-Impromptu
2. Album Leaf
3. Melody
4. Halling
5. Melancholy
6. Springdans
7. Elegy

The Most Beautiful Melodies of Classical Music, Vol. 1-10 (Box Set)

Average customer rating:

The Most Beautiful Melodies of Classical Music, Vol. 1-10 (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Septets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Classical | Box Sets | Stores | Music

Tracks:

The Four Seasons: Concerto No. 1 In E Major 'Spring,' I. Allegro
Overture No. 3 BWV 1068: Air
Water Music: Alla Hornpipe
Orpheus and Eurrdice: Dance Of The Blessed Spirits
Piano Sonata In A Major K. 331: Alla turca
Symphonie No. 3: Allegretto
String Serenade: Waltz
Foreign Countries And People op. 15 No. 1
Flute Concerto No. 1 In G Major, K. 313: Rondo. Tempo di Minuett
Piano Concerto No. 2 In F Minor Op. 21: Larghetto
Quintet In A Major 'Trout': Theme & Variations
Waltz In A Flat Major
Impromptu In G Flat Major D 899,3
Sinfonia concertante In E Flat Major K 364: Presto

Tracks:

Voices Of Spring Waltz Op. 410
Serenade Op. 3 No. 5
Songs Without Words In E Major Op. 19,1
Horn Concerto No. 3 In E Flat Major K. 447: Allegro
Fausts Verdammnis: Dances Of The Sylphes
Flute Concerto In G minor
Salomon: Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba
Piano Concerto No. 23 In A Major K 488: Andante
Holberg Suite Op. 40: Prelude
Carmen: Intermezzo
String Serenade op. 22: Tempo di valse
Impromptu In B Flat Major D 935 No. 3
I Love You Op. 5 No. 3
Roses From The South, Waltz Op. 388

Tracks:

Peer Gynt: Morning
The Tales Of Hoffmann: Barcarole
Melody In F, Op. 3 Nr. 1
The Nutcracker: Waltz Of The Flowers
Standchen
Etude In G Sharp Minor 'La Campanella'
Peer Gynt: Anitras Dance
Moment Musical D 780 No. 3
Canon In D
Overture No. 2: Menuet & Badinerie
Piano Concerto No. 21 In C Major: Andante
Carmen: Seguedille
'Songs without Words': The Venetian Gondola
Eugen Onegin: Waltz
Romance For Violin And Orchestra In G major Op. 26

Tracks:

Die Fledermaus: Overture
Peer Gynt: Solveig's Song
Waltz No. 1 Op. 18 In E flat major 'Grande Valse brillante'
Lullaby
L'Arlesienne: Intermezzo
The Seasons Op. 37b: Barcarole
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Fairies' March
Clarinet Concerto In A Major K 622: Adagio
The Sleeping Beauty: Waltz
La Traviata: Prelude
Carmen, Suite No. 2: Chanson du Toreador
Happy Farmer
Menuet
On The Beautiful Blue Danube, Waltz Op. 314

Tracks:

A Little Night Music K 525: Allegro
Sonata No. 2 In E Major BWV 1031: Siciliano
Op. 11 No. 5: Menuet
Songs Without Words: Duetto
The Nutcracker: Dance of the Toy Flutes
Fruhlingslied (Spring Song)
Waldszenen: Abschied
Mandolin Concerto: Allegro
Music For The Royal Fireworks: La paix: Largo alla Siciliana
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3: Allegro
Waltz In B Minor Op. 69 No. 2
Romance Op. 5
Impromptu In A Flat Major D 935 Nr. 2
Tales from the Vienna Woods, Waltz Op. 325

Tracks:

Ave Maria
Humoresque Op. 101
Sleeping Beautiful: Panorama
Impromptu In E Flat Major, D899 No. 2
Melancholy
Waltz Op. 54,1
Nocturne In B Major Op. 9 No. 3
Caro mio ben
PARTITA IN D FLAT MAJOR: Pastorale
An den Fruhling
The Sleeping Beauty: Pas de quatre, Adagio
Rosamunde - Ballet In G Major
Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Minor Op. 37: Largo
Emperor Waltz, op. 437

Tracks:

Harp Concerto In B Flat Major: Andante allegro
Oboe Concerto In D Minor: Adagio
Flute Concerto In F Major, Op. 10 'La Tempesta di Mare': Presto
Piano Sonata No. 8 In C Minor Op. 13 'Pathetique': Adagio cantabile
Horn Concerto In E Flat Major K 495: Rondo. Allegro vivace
Poeme Op. 41 No. 6
Wilhelm Tell: Soldier's Dance
Liebestraum No. 3 In A flat Major
Violin Romance No. 2
Flute Concerto In E Minor: Rondo
Intermezzo In E Flat Major Op. 117,1
Carmen: Habenera
Symphony No. 3 'Scottish': Vivace non troppo
Vienna Bonbons: Waltz Op. 307

Tracks:

Symphony No. 40 In G Minor K. 550: Molto Allegro
Preghiera - Mozarianna Suite: Ave Verum
Arietta Op. 12,1
Concerto BWV 1056: Arioso
The Four Seasons: Concerto Nr. 3 Autumn: Allegro
Des Abends (Evening)
Holberg Suite Op. 40: Gavotte
Melancholy Galliard
Flute Concerto No. 2 In D Major K. 314: Rondo. Allegretto
Spinning Song
Orchestral Suite No. 3: Valse Melancolique
Flute Quartet K. 285a: Tempo di Minuetto
Moment Musical In A Flat Major, D 780 No. 2
Piano Concerto No. 9 In E Flat Major K 271 'Jeunehomme': Rondo - Presto

Tracks:

String Serenade: Moderato
Traumerei Op. 15
Ave Maria
Cello Concerto No. 2 In D Major: Allegro
Minuet In D Minor
Suite No. 1: Marche Miniature
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Notturno
Mazurka In D Major Op. 33 No. 2
Divertimento K 251: Andantino
On Wings Of A Song
Carmen: Nocturne
Melody
Sonata In C Major BWV 1033: Allegro
Symphony No. 1 In G Minor 'Winter Dreams': Adagio cantabile
Sound Of The Spheres, Waltz Op. 235

Tracks:

The Marriage Of Figaro: Overture
Sonata In C sharp Minor Op. 27,2 'Moonlight Sonata': Adagio sostenuto
German Dance No. 1
Nocturne In C Sharp Minor Op.posth.
Haffner Serenade: Minuet
Septet In E Flat Major Op. 20: Tempo di Minuetto
Symphony No. 4 Italian: Andante con moto
Prelude In D Flat Major Op. 28, No. 15 'Rain Drops'
'3 Small Pieces': Impromptu
'The Nutcracker': March
Romance In E Flat Major Op. 44
Piano Sonata No. 16 In C Major 'Sonata facile': Allegro
'The Nutcracker': Scene No. 10
Enjoy Your Life Waltz, Op. 340

Average customer rating:

Inexpressibly beautiful miniatures.

Grieg: Piano Music, Vol. 10

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Grieg: Piano Music, Vol. 9
Grieg: Piano Music, Vol. 8
Grieg: Piano Music, Vol. 2
Grieg: Piano Music, Vol. 3
Grieg: Piano Music, Vol. 13

ASIN: B000001481
Release Date: 1996-01-23

Tracks:

Lyric Pieces, Book 8, Op.65: From Days Of Youth
Lyric Pieces, Book 8, Op.65: Peasant's Song
Lyric Pieces, Book 8, Op.65: Melancholy
Lyric Pieces, Book 8, Op.65: Drawing-Room
Lyric Pieces, Book 8, Op.65: In Ballad Style
Lyric Pieces, Book 8, Op.65: Wedding-Day At Troldhaugen
Lyric Pieces, Book 9, Op.68: Sailor's Song
Lyric Pieces, Book 9, Op.68: Grandmother's Minuet
Lyric Pieces, Book 9, Op.68: At Your Feet
Lyric Pieces, Book 9, Op.68: Evening In The Mountains
Lyric Pieces, Book 9, Op.68: Cradle-Song
Lyric Pieces, Book 9, Op.68: Melancholy Waltz
Lyric Pieces, Book 10, Op.71: Once Upon A Time
Lyric Pieces, Book 10, Op.71: Summer Evening
Lyric Pieces, Book 10, Op.71: Puck
Lyric Pieces, Book 10, Op.71: Peace Of The Woods
Lyric Pieces, Book 10, Op.71: Norwegian Dance
Lyric Pieces, Book 10, Op.71: Gone
Lyric Pieces, Book 10, Op.71: Remembrances

Customer Reviews:

Inexpressibly beautiful miniatures........2002-02-23

Listening to the 'Lyric Pieces' for solo piano by Edvard Grieg is like stumbling across an old photo album in your attic belonging to a long-dead family you never knew. As you turn the dusty pages and pore over the sepia images, you slowly find yourself lost in a time before you were born, in a place you've never been, feeling emotions for people you never knew.

Collecting three books of these 'Pieces', this lovely and sad CD includes three of Grieg's most famous works: the ringingly festive 'Wedding-Day at Troldhaugen', written for his bride on their own wedding day, and which breaks the celebrations for a moment of hushed reflection; the exhausting mischief of 'Puck', a kind of Norwegian 'Flight Of The Bumblebee'; and the sublimely restful 'Peace Of The Woods', transporting you through time and across space to 19th century Scandanavian stillness.

These three modes figure throughout the collection - the social, deliberately nationalistic pieces (e.g. 'The Peasant's Song'; 'Halling' (a Norwegian Dance)); the playful party-pieces (e.g. 'Sailor's Song'); and, best of all, the heart-melting evocations of nature, nostalgia or wistful moods (e.g. 'Melancholy Waltz', 'Remembrances'). All sound distinctively Griegian, including those adapted from folk materials; if this risks a certain homogeneity, even music that is close to salon kitsch has the power to stop you short and freeze you. The most unaccountable piece is perhaps the most apparently sprightly, 'Grandmother's Minuet', which moves into a haunting Bach fugue.

Tracks:

Prelude In C Minor
Piano Concerto In A Minor - Adagio
Flute Concerto No. 2 - Adagio non Troppo
Andante
Impromptu In B Flat Major
Clair de lune
Divertimento In D K251 - Andantino
Caro Mio Ben
Piano Concerto No. 9 'Jeunehomme' - Andante
Theme And Variations

Customer Reviews:

This is really good for relaxation.......2001-02-27

The music is beautiful, and it is very helpful in relaxation. I play it right before going to bed and I sleep like a baby. I recommend it.

What a wonderful selection..........2000-08-31

I've never been much of a classical music guy. I'm the type who ends up at the bargain racks, walking out with CD's like this one thinking, "Well, maybe there will be something on it I'll enjoy." There was. For me, this CD is worth every penny for just one piece, Grieg's Concerto for Piano in A minor. It runs about seven minutes and, in that time, Grieg (to me, anyway) takes us through an entire life from birth to death. Every emotion comes through at different points of the piece, bridged beautifully...those emotions are expressed uniquely from gentle, to passionate, to powerful. Get the CD just for this...even if you don't like this piece, I'm sure you'll find something else on it that you'll enjoy.

Average customer rating:

Which Hofmann?
Josef Hofmann: Wonderful performances, lots of surface noise

The Complete Josef Hofmann, Vol. 3

Manufacturer: Video Artists Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Gavottes | 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

Rondos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Lullabies & Berceuse | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Caprices | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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The Chopin Concertos

ASIN: B000003LJ8
Release Date: 1994-09-01

Tracks:

Valse In A Flat, Op. 34, No. 1
Valse C Sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2
Valse In E Minor, Op. Post
Polonaise In A Minor, Op. 40, No. 1
Impromptu No. 1, A Flat, Op. 29
Fantasie-Impromptu, C Sharp Minor, Op. 66
Berceuse In D Flat, Op. 57
Chant Polonaise, 'The Maiden's Wish'
Liebestraum No. 3 In A Flat
Conccert Etude No. 1, 'Waldesrauschen'
Venezia E Napoli - 'Tarantella' (Abridged)
Marche Militaire
Der Erlkonig
Gavotte
'Moonlight Sonata In C Sharp, Op. 27 No. 2 First Movement
Fantasiestucke, Op. 12, No. 3 'Warum?'
Papillon, Op. 43, No. 1
Spinning Song, Op. 67, No. 14
Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14 (Abridged)
Spring Song, Op. 62, No. 6
Hunting Song, Op. 19, No. 3
La Jongleuse

Tracks:

Caprice Espagnole, Op. 37 (Abridged)
Minuet In G
Valse-Caprice
Miniatures, Book. 9 No. 7, 'El Dachtarawan'
The Sanctuary
Prelude In C Sharp Minor, Op. 3, No. 2
Prelude In G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5
Valse Gracile
Birds At Dawn, Op. 20, No. 2
Third Etude In C Minor, Op. 120
Polonaise In A Major, Op. 40, No. 1
Hunting Song, Op. 19, No. 3
Spring Song, Op. 62, No. 6
Marche Militaire
Der Erlkonig
Nocturne In E Flat, Op. 9, No. 1
Valse In E Minor, Op. Post.
Papillon, Op. 43, No. 1
Spinning Song, Op. 67, No. 4
Prelude In C Sharp Minor, Op. 3, No. 2

Amazon.com

Volume 3 gathers Hofmann's complete acoustic Columbia 78s, including seven previously unissued sides. While Hofmann allowed a lot of leeway in live performance, he took recording seriously, both from an artistic and technical standpoint. The myriad subtleties of touch, pedaling, and articulation in Hofmann's playing come through loud and clear in these vintage 1912-1918 recordings. Each selection reveals the pianist's singing tone, extremely even fingerwork, aristocratic poise, and taste. There's a sense of purpose and proportion to the playing that belies the notion that all Romantic pianists took insane liberties. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

Which Hofmann?.......2004-09-06

Hofmann - particularly late Hofmann - may be an acquired taste.
Despite having been the protégé of Anton Rubinstein, "the wonderful boy" was recognized from quite an early age as the exemplar of a modern style of playing - textually faithful, eschewing swooning or bombast. (See, for example, the references to Hofmann in Henry Lahee's wonderful survey from 1900, Famous Pianists of Today and Yesterday.)
Still, a number of younger colleagues expressed ambivalence. Horowitz was floored by Hofmann's keyboard command - everyone was - but he, Artur Rubinstein and Arrau, to name just three - seem not to have been terribly moved by Hofmann's musicianship.
But which Hofmann are we considering? His playing for the gramophone - as early as 1903 and as late as 1935 - was as disciplined as it was imaginative and dazzling. The late Harold Schonberg called it "perfection plus."
However, as Gregor Benko makes clear in his essays for the Marston reissues, Hofmann switched on what the pianist called a "spectacular" style for many public performances. This may sound cynical. Often it sounds terribly cynical. Hofmann was not speaking merely of the need to project in a large concert hall. In public performance - at least those performances we have from the late `30s and early `40s - the aristocrat often becomes a mountebank, lurching from the softest pianissimos to explosive fortissimos, rattling off passages or entire pieces even faster than Simon Barere boasted he could do.
Schonberg - and Hofmann's friend and admirer Rachmaninoff - reminded us that during this period Hofmann had many personal troubles, including a severe drinking problem. We must believe that at his greatest Hofmann played as scrupulously and with as much refined feeling in public as he did on many of his studio recordings, though his manner may have differed somewhat. And there are some marvelous live performances. The Rubinstein 4th from his Golden Jubilee concert beggars description.
So where does that leave us? As an introduction to Hofmann, I would recommend the early Columbia recordings, those he made somewhat later for Brunswick, and the American and British test pressings from 1935 - perhaps his greatest recorded playing. These are Volumes 3, 4 and 5 of the complete Hofmann series. Serious listeners will also want the ups and downs of the Golden Jubilee (Volume 2). The Chopin concertos in Volume 1 have some splendid moments, but the superlative (not spectacular; superlative) performance there is a fragment of the first movement of the E minor concerto performed in London -- far more poised and committed than its counterpart from New York. (I wonder if Hofmann played differently in America than he did in Europe? Some musicians - for instance, Mahler, Toscanini, Bernstein - for varying reasons apparently did.)
Having said all this, the entire Hofmann series is priceless. Heartfelt thanks to Gregor Benko and Ward Marston for making it available in superb transfers with fascinating notes.

Josef Hofmann: Wonderful performances, lots of surface noise.......2000-03-15

For Hofmann lovers and devoted students of piano performance, this collection is priceless! For others, the surface noise will be a serious drawback. My assumption is that anyone interested in Hofmann will start by getting Volumes 1 & 2 -- the Chopin Concertos and the 1937 Golden Jubilee Recital. Beyond that, in choosing among Volumes 3 through 6, Volume 3 offers a wide range of Hofmann's repertoire in shorter pieces -- 42 tracks on two CD's. These are Josef Hofmann in his prime and the performances are marvelous. Unfortunately, they were recorded in 1912-18 (with six tracks from way back in 1903!) and the surface noise is pretty severe. Listening to them is an effort, but the effort is well worth while!

Average customer rating:

What a wonderful recital!

Follow Goethe

Manufacturer: Cpo Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000026CXH
Release Date: 1999-10-26

Tracks:

Freisinn Op.25, 2: Lasst Much Nur Auf Meinem Sattel Gelten!
Herbstgefuhl, Op. 19a , 1: Fetter Grune, Du Laub
Phanomen: Wenn Zu Der Regenwand Phobus Sich Gattet
Neue Liebe, Neues Leben, Op.75, 2: Herz, Mein Herz
Meeres Stille D 216: Teife Stille Herrscht Im Wasser
An Die Turen Will Ich Schleichen Op.98a, 8: An Die Turen Will Ich Schleichen, Still Und Sittsam...
Erster Verlust D 226: Ach, Wer Bringt Die Schonen Tage
Blumengruss: Der Strauss, Den Ich Gepflucket
Wonne Der Wehmut Op.83, 1: Trocknet Nicht, Tranen
Singet Nicht In Trauertonen Op.98a, 7: Singet Nicht In Trauertonen Von Der Einsamkeit Der Nacht
Dammrung Senkte Sich Von Oben Op.19a, 2: Dammrung...
Op. 7 Alles Kundet Dich An: Gegenwart
Wandrers Nachtlied D.768: Uber Allen Gipfeln Ist Ruh
Erlkonig op.1, 3: Wer Reitet So Spat Durch Nacht Und Wind?
Op.7: Gesang Der Geister Uber Den Wassern: Des Menschen Seele Gleicht Dem Wasser
Der Fischer: Das Wasser Rauscht', Das Wasser Schwoll
Anakreons Grab: Wo Die Rose Hier Bluht
Nachklang Op.19b, 1: Es Klingt So Prachtig
Lynceus Der Turmer, Auf Fausts Sternwarte Singend Op.9 H. VIII, 3: Zum Sehen Geboren
Mailied: Op.26,5: Wie Herrlich Leuchtet Mir Die Natur!
Versunken D 715: Voll Locken Kraus Ein Haupt So Rund!
Jagers Abendlied D. 368: Im Felde Schleich' Ich Still Und Wild
Wanderers Nachtlied Op.9, H.1, 3a: Uber Allen Gipfeln Ist Ruh
Hoffnung D. 295: Schaff', Das Tagwerk Meiner Hande
Fruhlings Ubers Jahr: Das Beet, Schon Lockert Sich's In Die Hoh
Der Rattenfanger: Ich Bin Der Wohlbekannte Sanger
Zur Rosenzeit Op.48,5: Ihr Verbluhet, Suss Rosen

Amazon.com

The poetry of Goethe has a unique place in German literature and German song--the sheer variety of his lyrics, from heaven-storming passion to calm acceptance, from tender love to vicious cynicism, made his words the source-material of many composers' finest settings. Christoph Prégardien and Michael Gees have put together an intelligent program that combines some of the best-known composers of the German song--Schubert, Wolf, Schumann, Beethoven--with lesser masters--Loewe, Schoeck; we get both Schubert's and Loewe's setting of the achingly nostalgic "Wanderer's Nightsong," and Loewe's jaunty setting of "Der Erlkonig," perhaps Schubert's best-known song, but by no means his exclusive property. Two songs of Gees's own are intelligent modern pastiches of the romantic style, solidly accomplished word-settings with interesting piano writing. All the songs here are admirably selected for Prégardien's darkly sorrowful pure voice and Gees's tactful, occasionally intense, accompaniment. --Roz Kaveney

Customer Reviews:

What a wonderful recital!.......2000-02-17

After listening this CD we will finally know why Goethe is an great poet. Too much possibility contained in his poems, as this CD shows us. This unusual recital consists of 27 lieder from 11 composers, spanned from old Beethovan, Wolf to modern Diepenbrock, Shoeck, Gees. Thank God it contains very few over-sung Schubert-Goethe cliche. Pregardien selected and arrange these lieder wisely and carefully, and he deliberately changes style from one song to another. With his gold, clean voice and deep, intense interpretion, they reflected the wild and wide soul a great poet can be. Gees's accompaniment is as well.

Average customer rating:

In Utero: Music for My Baby, Vol. 1

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music

Compilations | Children's Music | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

UltraSound - Music for the Unborn Child
Mozart for Mothers-To-Be: Tender Lullabies for Mother and Child
Build Your Baby's Brain
In the Nursery: Music for My Baby, Vol. 2
Oh, Baby, the Places You'll Go! (Life Favors(TM))

ASIN: B00004U0B1
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Tracks:

String Quartet In G Minor: III. Andantino, Doucement Expressif - Borodin String Quartet
The Four Seasons, 'Spring': Il Largo E Pianissimo Sempre - Christopher Warren-Green
Le Carnaval Des Animaux: Aquarium - The Nash Ensemble
Apres Un Reve, Op.7 No.1 'Romain Bussine' - Roger Vignoles
Simple Symphony: Sentimental Sarbande - Iona Brown
Avodah - Trio Avodah
Romeo And Juliet: Romeo At Friar Laurence's - Libor Pesek
Lachrymae, Pavan For Viols - Fretwork
Serenade For Wind Instruments, K.388: II. Andante - HARMONIEMUSIK OF LONDON
Ma Mere L'Oye: Le Jardin Feerique - Jean-Bernard Pommier
Marchenbilder For Viola & Piano, Op.113: IV. Langsam, Mit Melancholischem Ausdruck - Leif Ove Andsnes
Adagio For Strings - Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Heart's Wounds - Jonathan Rees
Suite No.3 In D Major, BWV 1068: Aria - English Chamber Orchestra
Blumine - Bamberger Symphoniker

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Music Review

Fugu 1

György Ligeti: Etudes

Martin: Monsieur de Pourceaugnac

Peachtree Road [Import]

Living Game [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 20 "Sun", Nos. 4-6

Infini

La Mosca y la Sopa [Import]

Gigante Hits [Import]

Johann Wenzeslaus Kalliwoda: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6, Opp. 106 & 132

Bride & Prejudice