Plays Brahms Chamber Music

1. Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
Composed by Johannes Brahms
with Artur Rubinstein , Marcel Maas , Alphonse Onnou , Germain Prevost

2. Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
Composed by Johannes Brahms
with Artur Rubinstein , Paul Kochanski

3. Sonata for Cello & Piano No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38
Composed by Johannes Brahms
with Artur Rubinstein

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Customer Reviews:

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

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

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

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

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

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

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

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

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

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

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

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

Tracks:

Pno Con No.1 in b, Op.23: Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso
Pno Con No.1 in b, Op.23: Andantino Semplice
Pno Con No.1 in b, Op.23: Allegro Con Fuoco
Piano Concerto No.2 in B-flat, Op.83: Allegro Non Troppo
Piano Concerto No.2 in B-flat, Op.83: Allegro Appassionato
Piano Concerto No.2 in B-flat, Op.83: Andante
Piano Concerto No.2 in B-flat, Op.83: Allegretto Grazioso

Customer Reviews:

Horowitz and Toscanini.......2005-12-31

For interpretation, I prefer the live concert performance that Vladimir Horowitz and Arturo Toscanini gave of the Tchaikovsky first piano concerto in 1943. That performance has also been digitally remastered by RCA Victor and it is very exciting, even including the applause at the end of both the first and third movements. That event took place in Carnegie Hall, as did the 1941 recording session included on this CD.

For many music lovers the 1941 recording, long available on 78-rpm discs and later on vinyl LPs, was the benchmark for interpretation of the Tchaikovsky concerto. It has been digitally remastered and remains an exciting, dramatic performance. Yes, there is some surface noise from the original sources (presumably 78-rpm disks since relatively few of RCA Victor's metal masters still remain from that era), but the performance more than makes up for any scratches or blemishes. This is one of the very Romantic interpretations of the concerto and it is an absolute treasure. It certainly shows how well Toscanini and Horowitz worked together.

The Brahms second piano concerto was recorded in 1940, also in Carnegie Hall, and this, too, is the epitome of Romantic performances. This is another extremely difficult work for the soloist and Horowitz was more than equal to the tasks. It is a wonderful recording of one of the longer piano concertos from the Romantic Era, a virtual symphony since it is in four movements rather than the usual three.

These are performances to enjoy over and over from two exceptional musicians, working with the top-notch orchestra that David Sarnoff assembled in 1937 for Toscanini.

Get Set for an Amazing Ride!.......2003-08-16

I'm not sure that these recordings are what you would call the
"definitive" performances of these two giants of the piano
repetoire, but they are certainly the most exciting and galvanic
performances of them you will find anywhere. Okay, so the
recordings date from 1941 and the sound is somewhat scratchy and
flat. So what? This is Horowitz at his absolute peak as a performer and Toscanini, while placing his orchestra completely
at the service of his soloist, makes sure Horowitz never engages
in the eccentricities, neuroses or exhibitionism that marred some of his subsequent concerto recordings.
There may be a few minor mistakes in the orchestra here and there
but I can't hear them. Horowitz is flawless and and daring to a
degree that only he could pull off. Certainly, you will never hear anyone take these two concertoes at a faster clip, and yet,
for all their formidable technical difficulties, not a single
note is missed or out of place. Every phrase is articulated with
incredible precision, nuance and feeling. You can actually start chuckling at how IMPOSSIBLY good it all is! The Brahms
Concerto is particularly astounding. The story goes that Horowitz heard a performance of this piece once in Berlin, fell in love with it, but thought he could do it better and taught it
to himself in six weeks! I believe it! His playing here is that
masterful and that sensitive!
This is the Horowitz of legend. Thank God these performances
were recorded! Compared to these HEROIC interpretations of these
two great concertoes, everybody else (and I mean that) simply
WIMPS out!
There are a lot of great recordings of these two pieces out there
by some truly great pianists, and they may have better sound, but
nothing matches this for its combination of technical brilliance,
daring and emotional commitment. There is a FIRE to these
recordings that simply has no equal.

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli plays Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, etc. (Box) [Germany]

Average customer rating:

excellent but obscure!
The Art of Michelangeli

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli plays Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, etc. (Box) [Germany]
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Manufacturer: Documents Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Vol. 2 [Germany]
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas [Germany]
Lazar Berman Edition (Box Set)
Historic Russian Archives Emil Gilels Edition [Box Set]
Emil Gilels Plays Beethoven (Box Set)

ASIN: B0009QYPBA
Release Date: 2006-05-04

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.15 In B Flat Major, Kv450
Piano Quartet In E Flat Major, Kv493
Scherzo No.1
Scherzo No.2
Ballade No.1
Piano Sonata No.2, Op.35
'marche Funebre'
Fantasie In F Minor, Op.49
Waltzes
Mazurkas
Carnaval, Op.9
Faschingsschwank Aus Wien, Op.26
Piano Sonata No.11
Piano Sonata No.12
Piano Sonata No.32
Four Ballades, Op.10
Variations On A Theme By Paganini, Op.35
Children's Corner
Images I
Images Ii
Preludes
Livrei (Excerpts)
Italian Concerto In F Major, Bwv 971
Seven Sonatas
Sonata V In C Major
Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op.54
Totentanz (Dans Macabre) For Piano And Orch., S126
Symphonic Variations For Piano And Orchestra
Concerto In A Minor, Op.16

Customer Reviews:

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

I have all of michelangeli,s recordings on the bigger labels. deutsche grammopon,EMI these recordings are top rate. they are done from euro radio and tv shows. most all the matrial is from 1962-1990. the last disk was done in the forty's this disk is not very good but all the others are par excellence! the debussy images,the brahms.schumann,beethoven and most of the chopin,these recordings put the big labels to shame. this set is not a bargin its simply a giveaway! Buy it NOW!

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

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
This 10-CD set represents the recordings of the great Italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, from the maestro's earlier, post-World War years to the 1990's, spanning half a century of outsanding pianism and musicianship.

Michelangeli was an eccentric, a truly special personality in the world of music who offered surprises and delights at every turn. His concert repertoire was insignificant and limited compared to those of his contemporaries Richter and Arrau, and he cancelled concerts at the slightest whims. His playing was equally unpredictable; it was at times extremely beautiful, colorful, and divinely expressive; on the other hand, it could also be robust, sturdy, and deafeningly powerful. His Debussy offered a transparent, watery atmosphere splashed with delicious sweetness and surreality, yet his Beethoven was direct and vigorous; his Chopin involved elements of both. Simply put, the art of Michelangeli was a fusion of sheer brilliance and an unmovable, forceful personality.

The track listings are as follows:
CD 1 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (64:12)
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.15 in B-flat Major, KV.450
Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, KV.493

CD 2 - Frédéric Chopin (76:48)
Scherzo No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.31
Ballade No.1 in G Minor, Op.23
Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante in E-flat Major, Op.22
Berceuse in D-flat Major, Op.57
Piano Sonata No.2 in B-flat Minor, Op.35
Mazurka in F-sharp Minor, Op.59/3
Valse in E-flat, op. posth.

CD 3 - Robert Schumann (57:45)
Carnaval, Op.9
Faschingsschwang aus Wien, Op.26

CD 4 - Ludwig van Beethoven (72:05)
Piano Sonata No.11 in B-flat Major, Op.22
Piano Sonata No.12 in A-flat Major, Op.26
Piano Sonata No.32 in C Minor, Op.111

CD 5 - Johannes Brahms (46:56)
4 Ballades, op.10
Variations on a theme by Paganini, Op.35

CD 6 - Claude Debussy (77:24)
Children's Corner
Images, Livres I & II
Préludes, Livre I (9 Excerpts)

CD 7 - Bach/Scarlatti/Galuppi (70:54)
Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004 (trans. Busoni)
Italian Concerto, BWV 971

Seven Sonatas

Presto in B-flat major
Sonata V in C Major

CD 8 - Frédéric Chopin (70:36)
Scherzo No.1 in B Minor, Op.20
Fantaisie in F Minor, Op.49
3 Valses
7 Mazurkas

CD 9 - The Concertos in Vatican City for Pope John XXIII (63:56)
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op.54
Liszt: Totentanz

CD 10 - Schumann/Franck/Grieg (74:51)
Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op.54

Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra

Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op.16

Nicola Benedetti Plays Szymanowski, Chausson, Saint-Saëns

Average customer rating:

Superb
as good a debut as Van Cliburn's Tchaikovsky Concerto album
THE SCOTTISH VIOLIN PRODIGY IN DAZZLING PERFORMANCES WITH THE LSO

Nicola Benedetti Plays Szymanowski, Chausson, Saint-Saëns

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Nicola Benedetti plays Mendelssohn, MacMillan & Mozart
Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1; Spohr: Violin Concerto No. 8
The Romantic Cello
Janine Jansen: Concertos & Romance
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Janine Jansen

ASIN: B000EOTF8U
Release Date: 2006-04-04

Tracks:

Vivace Assai
Vivace Scherzando
Cadenza (Allegro Moderato)
Havanaise In E Major For Violin And Orchestra, Op.83
Poeme For Violin And Orchestra, Op.25
Meditation From Thais
Contemplation (Wie Melodien Zieht Es Mir)
Fragment For The Virgin
Meditation From Thais (Performance Track)

Customer Reviews:

Superb.......2007-01-03

To find such skill in someone so young is wonderful. These are some difficult pieces, beautifully played.

as good a debut as Van Cliburn's Tchaikovsky Concerto album.......2006-11-25

This is one of the best albums I've listened to in some time. Fantastic! It's just great. At last, a new young violinist who has higher aspirations than to add one more recording of the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius concerti to the pile. Benedetti has chosen a stunning program here; each piece is quite different from the next, and she traverses an impressive range of expression with them. Her playing is poignant and assured, and she is possessed of a sophisticated artistry well beyond her years.

The Szymanowski is one part Debussy, one part Bartók, combining kaleidoscopic, non-functional harmonies with Eastern, modal flavor. It's a sprawling, fascinating piece, distinctive and unique -- one you'll return to, and want to hear other recordings of, as well. The Brahms Contemplation (an transcription of one of his lieder by Fritz Kriesler), the Massanet Meditation, the Saint-Saëns Havanaise, and the Taverner Fragment are all gorgeous, and played beautifully; and the Chausson Poème, perhaps my favorite piece on the disc, drew a tear... it's so beautiful as read here.

You're in for a real treat with this one. Still a teenager, Benedetti of course doesn't present this music with the sage wisdom of years; but that fact really only adds to her achievement here. If she's capable of this caliber of playing already, it excites me just to think of where she'll be in a decade, or in two. I'm eagerly awaiting her subsequent releases.

THE SCOTTISH VIOLIN PRODIGY IN DAZZLING PERFORMANCES WITH THE LSO .......2006-04-26

Five BLAZING Stars!! Award-winning Scottish violin prodigy Nicola Benedetti continues her rise in musical maturity and expansiveness with these dazzling performances. In her debut CD, the teen phenom displays awesome talent, patience, and determination in presenting one of her favorite award-winning programs, among other sterling performances. And she is BRILLIANT. Daniel Harding and the London Symphony Orchestra are no less brilliant in providing stunning support to this rising star. This is truly awe-inspiring, highly introspective music.

The 'Pieces De Resistance' begin with a sensational 10 minute "Havanaise in E for Violin and Orchestra" by Saint-Saens, which allows her to both show off her brilliant technique and produce bowed fireworks. This is followed by a blazing performance of the work which she performed when she won the BBC Young Musician of the Year award, a truly wonderful and complex Szymanowski "Violin Concerto No 1" with breathtaking support from the LSO. Also check out her spectacular 'soliloquies' during Chausson's "Poeme for Violin and Orchestra, Op 25", so exposed and so brilliant. The world premier of "Fragment for the Virgin", written by Sir John Tavener for Nicola is performed so poignantly as she shows her awesome control using the portamento technique. "It Ain't Necessarily So" is pure convoluted gratuitous enjoyment for her and us. Look up prodigy in the dictionary and you'll see "Nicky" pictured there. She's something to behold both visually and musically. Universal/Deutsche Grammophon, we await the DVDs! Five BLAZING Stars!!!

(Notes:
*Track 9. Meditation from Thais - Massenet is the LSO background track without Nicola's violin.
*Track 10. The sizzling "It Ain't Necessarily So" from "Porgy & Bess" (Recorded Live At Angel Studios) is a Bonus Track, only available from ITunes.
*Trivia: Nicola plays a 1751 Petrus Guarnerius of Venice violin.
*This review is based on a 10 track ITunes Music Store download with 3 page digital booklet.)

Average customer rating:

Fulfilling.
The Messiah Plays Brahms
PERHAPS THE BEST IS STILL TO COME
Stunning and Dramatic Kissin

Evgeny Kissin Plays Brahms

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Schubert: Piano Sonata in B-flat; Schubert-Liszt: Four Songs; Liszt: Mephisto
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Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 2; Etudes-Tableaux
Evgeny Kissin Plays Chopin

ASIN: B00009PAC2
Release Date: 2003-08-05

Tracks:

Allegro Maestoso
Andante Espressivo
Scherzo: Allegro Energico
Intermezzo: Andante Molto
Finale: Allegro Moderato Ma Rubato
Intermezzo
Capriccio
No. 1 in G Minor
No. 3 in F
No. 2 in D Minor
No. 7 in F
No. 6 in D-Flat

Amazon.com

The centerpiece of this CD is Brahms' Sonata, Opus 5, which he composed when he was 20 years old. At 38 minutes, it is a grand, expansive, five-movement work, practically symphonic in its complexity and format. The first movement is severe and intense, the second a love song-lullaby, the third alternates big-boned expressivity with great lyricism, the fourth evokes great tragedy, and the finale is a masterpiece of contrapuntal writing. Kissin's virtuosity is astounding--he can thunder or whisper--and his sense of line, melody, and mood are impeccable. His joy at playing the piano and just plain music-making is something to behold. Two pieces from Op. 76 (composed 22 years after the sonata) express a folksy flavor and sentimental yearning, respectively, and the five brief Hungarian Dances (transcribed for piano by the composer from his orchestral works) are perfect encores--energetic and easy to grasp. This is a glorious disc, a must for lovers of great pianism, and another feather in Kissin's already impressive cap. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Fulfilling........2004-08-06

Evgeny Kissin is quite possibly the best child to hit the world's stage, receiving international acclaim for his performance of the chopin concertos at age 12, since Josef Hoffman at the turn of the century. I know I am with all when I say this, he has the greatest potential of a pianist alive today. Before, I have listened to a great deal of Kissin, the Rachmaninoff 2nd and 3rd concertos, Chopin ballades, scherzi, several nocturnes and other assorted pieces. All have been close, very close, to incredible. It's just that he didn't really figure out the pieces, except the Rach 2 which was as good as it gets. But on this CD. It's everything. The Sonata, first and foremost, is an absolute delight. It's practically flawless. The Opus 79 pieces are "dessert" pieces, and very well played. But the Hungarian Dances! They absolutely capture the essence of a Hungarian Dance. My teacher stresses the feeling of "ballando", you should be able to make the listener want to get up and move around and dance while you are playing. And, quite frankly, that's exactly what I did while listening to each of these. They are fantastic, purely fantastic.

Thank you, Mr. Kissin. If this CD doesn't get where you should, it will sure as heck get you about 3/4 of the way. An encore, please. I wouldn't mind hearing Brahms' concertos . . . .

The Messiah Plays Brahms.......2004-02-14

Kissin has done it again, surprising his listeners in the most unusual places (I'm thinking of the tender passages of the Paganini Variations and the funeral march of the Chopin Sonata on earlier recordings). I, too, expected to be wowed by the Sonata on this disc, and then to enjoy the Hungarian Dances as pleasant little additions. Think again, folks. The sonata is, of course, brilliant and wonderful and more interesting than I've heard it from anyone else, but in the passion and sheer MUSIC that he finds in those old over-worked Hungarian dances, he truly brings the dead back to life. Listen to this while you're alone, because if you can recognize and respond to great piano playing, you will be jumping up and down and howling and weeping with joy.

PERHAPS THE BEST IS STILL TO COME.......2003-12-09

The sound at the start is simply terrific. At first I couldn't remember such an impact from the opening bars of any piano piece since I heard Serkin in the Hammerklavier more than 30 years ago, and that was a live performance. The mood stayed with me through the rest of the sonata. Everything was not only right, but outstandingly right. The alternations of blazing declamation and hushed awe and unease in the first movement were balanced perfectly. The flowing lyricism of the second movement built up with just the right intensity to its climax and relapsed again as it ideally should. The swagger in the third movement was effortless and in the right sense arrogant. The Ruckblick was pensive, anxious and resigned. The finale's wide tonal contrasts were handled with an effortless command, and from first to last the monstrous technical demands of the work were met with an Olympian near-disdain.

The A minor intermezzo from the op 76 set was next, and I was struck again by the natural instinct this player has for this composer, as I had been when I heard him in the op 116 set on a disc he had done 10 years or more previously. I remembered comparing his accounts with those of Katchen in his great omnibus Brahms set, and I remembered on balance rating Kissin better. This prompted me to remind myself how Katchen handled the sonata, and that was when I got something of a shock. The recorded sound Katchen was given was good in its time, but not even distantly comparable to Kissin's with its tremendous resonant low registers. All the same, it was quite good enough for me to realise that Katchen's despatch of the opening bars, and indeed of the whole first movement, was every bit as virtuosic and commanding as Kissin's. I found the same in the scherzo, and I found the same again in the finale. What was more, I found a marked similarity in the interpretations, and where they differed, notably at the end of the first movement where Kissin delivers a `triumphant conclusion' (Beethoven-style presumably) as specified in the liner note and Katchen gives me something I found more distinctively Brahmsian, I found myself tending to prefer Katchen. This impression was reinforced in the two slow sections. Good as Kissin is in the main andante, there is more inwardness from Katchen. Moreover to my surprise I even found Katchen more effective in some minor technical aspects, notably better definition in the trills and a more even delivery of the drumming repeated left-hand phrases in the Ruckblick.

The famous B minor capriccio is excellent, the speed fastish like Backhaus although predictably more flexible, not slowish as in Rubinstein's very striking reading. It leads in the 5 Hungarian dances, apparently favourite encores of Kissin's. These are less to my taste. Kissin changes his style of playing here, and I find him a bit too excitable. The changes of speed are right up to a point, but I have actually heard a Hungarian dance played (and introduced) by Brahms himself and it was a bit more sober than this approach. Kissin departs, I can only suppose deliberately, from his previous rhythmic finesse and pecks at the rhythm in a way I can't really get on with, particularly in the second and fourth of his selection - I heard Rattle give the former as an encore in the orchestrated version and it was another experience entirely.

This has to be a 5-star issue because the performance of the sonata is simply prodigious. The last recital disc I bought by Kissin was when he was 20 years old or less, and then I hoped and expected to find in him the special kind of individuality that I find in, say, Horowitz, Serkin, Michelangeli, Richter, Cziffra, Gould and Ogdon. Maybe I yet shall.

Stunning and Dramatic Kissin.......2003-12-05

'I wish I didn't have to play a virtuosic pieces for the sake of virtuosity. It's not that I dislike these pieces, but I am interested in other things' - Kissin

Tracks:

I. Allegro Affettuoso
II. Intermezzo: Andantino Grazioso
III. Allegro Vivace
Allegro Vivace
Tranquillo
A Tempo. Sostenuto
Un Poco Animato. Quasi Cadenza

Tracks:

I. Capriccio - Presto Energico
II. Intermezzo - Andante
III. Capriccio - Allegro Passionato
IV. Intermezzo - Adagio
V. Intermezzo - Andante Con Grazia
VI. Intermezzo - Andantino Teneramente
VII. Capriccio - Allegro Agitato
I. Andante Moderato
II. Andante Non Troppo
III. Andante Con Moto
I. Intermezzo - Allegro Non Assai
II. Intermezzo - Andante Teneramente
III. Ballade - Allegro Energico
IV. Intermezzo - Alegretto Un Poco Agitato
V. Romanze - Andante
VI. Intermezzo - Andante, Largo E Mesto
I. Intermezzo - Adagio
II. Intermezzo - Andantino Un Poco Agitato
III. Intermezzo - Grazioso E Giocoso
IV. Rhapsodie - Allegro Risoluto

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Adagio - Andante Con Moto
III. Allegro Agitato
I. Allegramente
II. Adagio Assai
III. Presto

Tracks:

I. Maestoso
II. Adagio
III. Rondo - Allegro Non Troppo
Applause - Applaudissements - Applaus

Tracks:

I. Allegro Moderato
II. Andante Con Moto
III. Rondo: Vivace
I. Vivace Ma Non Troppo
II. Prestissimo
III. Gesangvoll, Mit Innigster Empfindung (Andante Molto Cantabile Ed Espressivo)
I. Moderato Cantabile, Molto Espressivo
II. Allegro Molto
III. Adagio Ma Non Troppo - Fuga - Allegro Ma Non Troppo

Tracks:

I. Moderato
II. Adagio Sostenuto
III. Allegro Scherzando
Allegro
No. 1: Allegro Non Troppo F Minor
No. 2: Allegro C Major
No. 9: Grave C Sharp Minor
Variations On A Theme Of Corelli, Op. 42

Customer Reviews:

Fine Retrospective From Warner Classics Of Helene Grimaud's Best Recordings For This Label.......2007-05-26

Warner Classics has turned once more to its vaults, hoping to reap some additional financial rewards from legendary young French pianist Helene Grimaud, who has now an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. While cynics may criticize this latest compilation from Warner Classics, serious fans of classical music may find much that is rewarding here. Grimaud's disciplined, yet emotionally intense performances have been compared favorably to the likes of Martha Argerich and Claudio Arrau. Many critics and fans have observed that she performs with the wisdom and maturity of an artist who is far more advanced in age than hers (This is an interesting observation in light of the recent success earned by another Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, Lang Lang, who has yet to attain the artistic maturity which Grimaud has demonstrated for years.). In these recordings made for Teldec in the mid to late 1990s, Grimaud was fortunate to work closely with such eminent conductors as David Zinman, Kurt Sanderling and Kurt Masur, and with excellent symphony orchestras in North America and Europe, including the Berliner Staatskapelle, New York Philharmonic and Baltimore Symphony orchestras. Among my favorites is her fiery performance of the Schumann Piano Concerto, which sounds remarkably fresh in her capable hands and in the excellent muscianship demonstrated from the Deutsches-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and conductor David Zinman. Yet another favorite is an exquisitely well-played performance of the Brahms 1st Piano Concerto, in which she is accompanied by Kurt Sanderling and the Berliner Staatskapelle. Not surprisingly, yet another highlight is her excellent, rather vibrant, performance of the Gershwin Piano Concerto with David Zinman conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. If you've wondered why Helene Grimaud has received such ample praise from critics and fans alike, then hopefully you'll find this CD set as an important reason why she has earned such warm adulation from critics and classical music fans across the globe.

Dinu Lipatti plays Chopin, Enescu, Ravel, Liszt & Brahms

Average customer rating:

Ohhhld recording but excellent
untitled
The Pianist's Pianist
go buy it
Buy any CDs as long as it is by Dinu

Dinu Lipatti plays Chopin, Enescu, Ravel, Liszt & Brahms

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005AVMN
Release Date: 2001-04-10

Tracks:

Pno Son No.3 in b, Op.58: I. Allegro Maestoso
Pno Son No.3 in b, Op.58: II. Scherzo (Molto Vivace)
Pno Son No.3 in b, Op.58: III. Largo
Pno Son No.3 in b, Op.58: IV. Finale (Presto Non Tanto)
Sonetto Del Petrarca No.104
Alborada Del Gracioso ('Miroirs' No.4)
Waltzes, Op.39 Nos.1, 2, 56, 10, 14 & 15
Pno Son No.3 in D, Op.25: I. Vivace Con Brio
Pno Son No.3 in D, Op.25: II. Andantino
Pno Son No.3 in D, Op.25: III. Allegro Con Spirito

Customer Reviews:

Ohhhld recording but excellent.......2004-09-09

These recordings date from 1937-47, Lipatti died in 1950. So they are of that era: somewhat boxy, muddy, and periodically oversaturated mono.

So if you were expecting modern quality you will be somewhat disappointed, but you can still hear everything quite well, and certainly evaluate the performances. Just imagine you're listening on one of those ancient phonographs with the big horn connected to the needle, and you will be thrilled.

As for the performances, I think everyone else has done a good job of describing them...they are sensational, and it is a pity this man didn't live long enough to have an adequate record of his genius. What remains is certainly worth appreciating.

untitled.......2004-09-08

Lipatti was a great artist, especially when he played great music. This is great music.

The Pianist's Pianist.......2003-07-29

Dinu Lipatti was perhaps the greatest pianist of the modern age. Such hyperbole is usually suspect in a review, and no doubt many will argue with it, but I find the recorded evidence to support the claim. Rubenstein may have been brasher, Horowitz splashier, Serkin more intellectual, Giesking more delicate, but Lipatti combines more of the virtues of a great pianist into a complete whole than any other giant of the century.

This recording is a case in point. Playing the music of composers as diverse as Chopin, Lizst, Ravel and Enescu, Lipatti shows many sides of his musical personality. The Chopin Sonata is by far the best recording of this work I have ever heard. The Sonata is phenomenally difficult, and yet, listening to Lipatti's version you are not aware of the difficulty. Lipatti tosses off the most fiendish run as if it were Chopsticks...and you are left to marvel at the sheer beauty of Chopin's creation. The third movement especially is breathtaking. This is an extremely difficult movement to pull off well. It hangs together by a line that tends to be hidden in the music, but Lipatti finds this line. The performance has a spirit and poetry that I've never heard equalled.

The other major work on this disc is the Enescu 3rd Piano Sonata. Enescu has recently undergone something of a renaissance, with more of his non-Romanian Rhapsody No. 2 works appearing on disc and in concert. But Lipatti was an early champion of his godfather's music. The Third Sonata is a delicate, almost neo-Baroque work, with a heavy debt to Debussy. Lipatti makes it sing lyrically, even in it's most virtuoso passages. His filigree is delicate and his sense for the inner poetry behind the music is unequalled.

The "filler" on this disc includes a lovely version of the Liszt Sonnet #104 of Petrarch, a duet reading of Brahms' Waltzes with Nadia Boulanger on second piano, and a stunning recording of the Ravel Alborada de gracioso. In all these works, Lipatti's touch is meltingly delicate, his virtuosity unmatched...and yet the spirit of the work is paramount. I cannot say enough about this wonderful pianist or this stunning record except, go get it now!.

go buy it.......2002-04-20

This is far and away the best performance of the Chopin (one of my favorite pieces) I've heard, quite possibly one of the best interpretations of anything... There's a fine line between not interpreting music and distorting it, and most classical and romantic artists, respectively, fall into one of these two categories. A handful of the old "classical" pianists, especially Gilels and Lipatti, managed to tread this line with a sublimely restrained kind of interpretation which still somehow does more for the rhetorical sense of the music. Though he is technically more subtle, the potency with which he delivers the music reminds me of Furtwangler. I'm not the biggest fan of the Brahms waltzes but all the other stuff on the disk is fantastic.

Buy any CDs as long as it is by Dinu.......2001-12-14

Listen to his Ravel and Brams and Chopin, you will be totally intoxcated. You can't expect a better pianist. Horowitz is slightly inferior. Rubinstein existed only to reflect how great Lipatti is.G.Gould makes you feel the same sometimes but he makes you uneasy most of the time.

Customer Reviews:

An Admirable, Distinguished Collection Of Helene Grimaud's Earliest Recordings.......2007-05-25

This is truly a magnificient box set which demonstrates the early artistry of one of our finest contemporary pianists, the celebrated French pianist Helene Grimaud. It's an amazing collection not only because it was recorded when Grimaud was in her teens and early twenties when she was contracted to Denon, but more importantly, it demonstrates just how accomplished a musician she was at the start of a brilliant career. Her excellent playing of these works, especially of the Schumann and Brahms pieces, can hold their own against legendary competition from the likes of Claudio Arrau, Alfred Brendel and Murray Perahia, to name but a few of the most noteworthy interpreters - past and present - of these scores. However, I think the real gems are her spellbinding, exquisite performances of the Rachmaninov piano concerto and solo pieces, which I find as admirable as those I've heard from Vladimir Ashkenazy and Zoltan Kocsis, to name but a few. Those unfamiliar with the earliest phase of Helene Grimaud's distinguished career as a celebrated solo pianist will find this box set most rewarding.

Not just exceptional piano playing for a teen-ager - exceptional piano playing, period........2006-12-03

Brilliant Classics, a cheapo-cheapo label based in the Netherlands, has licensed from Denon the five recordings which launched Helene Grimaud's career, and marketed them at a price which makes them a steal. Miss Grimaud was 15 when she recorded the first of these five, the Rachmaninoff collection, in 1985, comprising his second piano sonata (in Horowitz' abridged edition) and a selection of Etude-Tableaux, plus two Preludes. She went on with Schumann (1st piano sonata in 1987, Kreisleriana in '88), Chopin (1st Ballade) and Liszt (Dante Sonata - both in '87), Brahms (second piano sonata in '88 followed by third piano sonata and Klavierstücke opus 118 in '91), and it was all topped-off, in 1992, by the concerto recordings: Ravel's G major and Rachmaninoff's 2nd, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted bu Jesus Lopez-Cobos. She then moved own to Erato, and now DG - and that was it for Denon.

So these discs span the 7 first years of her recording career, and it is not easy stuff that she tackled either. These are among the most daunting compositions of the piano repertoire, not only technically but also musically.

It would be unfair to Miss Grimaud to say that these are astounding recordings for a 15-to-22 year-old girl. These are astounding recordings, period. Throughout she displays unflinching muscularity, gripping rhythmic bite, magnificent control of the long line and the succession of variegated moods, from drama to lyricism, and admirable attention to the inside voicing and complexities of contrapuntal writing. All these recordings are not just fine visiting cards for a fledgling pianist - they are equal to the best. Brilliant as reissued the Denon discs as they were originally, short timings and all - the Rachmaninoff is 44 minutes long and the longest of the five is under the hour - but given the price and the excellence of piano playing it is still a bargain.

Miss Grimaud is now in the public's eye almost more for her infatuation with wolves than for her pianistic skills - and the Brilliant release surfs on the wave, albeit with some discretion, by the choice of its cover art. But judging from these recordings, one suspects that this kind of claptrap is almost detrimental to her cause. The wolf hype would easily lead you to think that some wise-axxed PR was trying to make up by that tacky attention-catcher for what her mere pianism was unable to achieve. Not so. Miss Grimaud's pianistic and musical gifts can amply stand on their own. Let the wolves howl, and hats off to the pianist.

Gorgeous Music - Great Value.......2004-07-31

This box set consists of 5 CDs of Helene Grimaud's beautiful piano playing. These CDs were originally released by Denon which has a great reputation for audio quality. Grimaud plays Rachmaninoff (Piano Concerto 2, Piano Sonata No.2 and others), Ravel (Piano Concerto in G major), Chopin (Ballade No. 1), Schumann (Piano Sonata No. 1 and Kreilserana), Liszt (Apres une lecture de Dante), Brahms (Piano Sonata Nos. 2 and 3 and Klavierstucke Op. 118).

A lot of great music beautifully played and recorded without breaking the bank.

Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Mesmerizing

Todd Levy Plays Brahms & Schumann

Manufacturer: Avie
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000E41KCE
Release Date: 2006-04-04

Customer Reviews:

Mesmerizing.......2007-01-09

This collection of music is by far one of the most beautiful I have listened to. The artist's style and abilities shine through with a hypnotizing quality. This CD should be in every music lover's collection.

Leonid Kogan Plays Beethoven, Brahms, Frank, Ravel

Average customer rating:

Leonid Kogan: the unforgettable violin's legend!

Leonid Kogan Plays Beethoven, Brahms, Frank, Ravel

Manufacturer: Orfeo D'or
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Brahms: The Complete Violin Sonatas
Emil Gilels: 3 Sonatas for Violin and Piano
Michael Rabin, 1936-1972
Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1; Spohr: Violin Concerto No. 8

ASIN: B000BLI5FK
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Customer Reviews:

Leonid Kogan: the unforgettable violin's legend! .......2006-08-31

The interpretative art of Leonid Kogan was always overshadowed by the figure of David Oistrakh. But his name and relevance -against all the odds- has been enhancing by itself, thanks to the time's steps and the legendary transcendence his faultless technique and amazing phrasing.

In this album we will be able to listen his well commented performance in Salzburg Festival in 1978, when he was in his 54; owner of an overwhelming expression, virile attacks and superb tonality, this album deserves a status place into your important collection.

Don't miss it.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Live [Import] [Original recording remastered]

Paganini Played on Paganini's Violin

Pearl Street

Jazzflora: Scandinavian Aspects of Jazz

Rain Steam & Speed [Import]

Shanice

Rhythm in My Shoes

Stephen Jaffe: The Rhythm of the Running Plough

Road West

Returning

Steady as She Goes [Explicit Lyrics]

Skinhead

Ridin Dirty Remix [CD-single] [Explicit Lyrics]

Im Land, Wo Die Träume Wohnen

Brian Regan Live