Plays & Conducts Mozart

1. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by NBC Symphony Orchestra with Bruno Walter
Conducted by Bruno Walter

2. Divertimento No. 15 for 2 horns & strings in B flat major ("Lodron Serenade No 2"), K. 287 (K. 271H)
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by NBC Symphony Orchestra with Bruno Walter
Conducted by Bruno Walter

3. Prodaná nevesta (The Bartered Bride), overture to the opera
Composed by Bedrich Smetana
Performed by NBC Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Bruno Walter

Plays & Conducts Mozart,Walter,Mozart,NBC Symphony Orchestra,Grammofono 2000,Classical

Average customer rating: Is it bad to say I like this better than the original soundtrack? Absolutely Exquisite Yo Yo Ma and the Maestro Marvelous!!! Better Every Time Fabulous CD

Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ma, Yo-Yo | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Mission: Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture The Essential Yo-Yo Ma Obrigado Brazil Appassionato Vivaldi's Cello ASIN: B0002YCVXI Release Date: 2004-09-28

Tracks:

1. The Mission: Gabriel's Oboe
2. The Mission: The Falls
3. Giuseppe Tornatore Suite: Playing Love from The Legend of 1900
4. Giuseppe Tornatore Suite: Nostalgia from Cinema Paradiso
5. Giuseppe Tornatore Suite: Looking for You (Love Theme) from Cinema Paradiso
6. Giuseppe Tornatore Suite: Malena (Main theme)
7. Giuseppe Tornatore Suite: Remembering (Ricordare)*
8. Sergio Leone Suite: Deborah's Theme from Once Upon A Time In America
9. Sergio Leone Suite: Cockeye's Song from Once Upon a Time in America
10. Sergio Leone Suite: Main Theme from Once Upon a Time in America
11. Sergio Leone Suite: Main Theme from Once Upon a Time in the West
12. Sergio Leone Suite: Ecstasy of Gold from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
13. Brian DePalma Suite: Main Theme from Casualities of War
14. Brian DePalma Suite: Death Theme from The Untouchables
15. Moses and Marco Polo Suite: Journey from Moses
16. Moses and Marco Polo Suite: Theme from Moses
17. Moses and Marco Polo Suite: Main Theme from Marco Polo
18. The Lady Caliph: Dinner
19. The Lady Caliph: Nocturne

Amazon.com

Ennio Morricone is well-known to moviegoers. His soundtracks for The Mission, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in America, Cinema Paradiso, and others are invariably warmly melodic and superbly suited to the films they grace. They not only add atmosphere; they help tell the story. For this CD Morricone has created new orchestrations for many of his scores, adding a solo cello part for the indefatigable Yo-Yo Ma, whose musical curiosity seems to be endless. Outside the films, these pieces tend to be lovely melodies, mostly pretty sentimental stuff, and, in the best way, gorgeous aural wallpaper. The most moving are the two selections from The Mission, but fans of Morricone's music will find plenty to enjoy here. Ma's playing, as always, is exquisite---warm, deeply felt (given the circumstances), and entirely idiomatic within the context. Perhaps not quite for the classical music lover, but an affectionate reworking of music by an important film composer. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Is it bad to say I like this better than the original soundtrack?.......2007-06-02

I never thought Yo-Yo Ma would do Gabriel's Oboe (Track 1) from THE MISSION justice, but I was wrong. There's a pureness to this version that makes it easier casual listening than the version(s) on the soundtrack CD itself. So no matter how much I love the theatrical "largeness" of the Original Soundtrack (not to mention the full choir), this is the version I grab for the CD player/iPod/whatever.

My two other recommendations are Main Theme from ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (Track 11) and Ecstasy of Gold from THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY (Track 12). I suggest playing these consecutively as a single medley. Track 11 *WILL* bring tears to the manliest among us --particularly if you remember in the movie where Sergio Leone pulls the camera up to reveal the town rising.

I get the feeling "hardcore" classical fans would dismiss movie scores as commercial work. I truly believe Ennio Morricone transcends that. Even moreso than, say, John Williams, and on a different plane than a Danny Elfman. And I can't say more about the emotion Yo-Yo Ma brings to the table than what's already been discussed.

Absolutely Exquisite.......2007-05-15

The combination of Morricone and Ma is pure perfection. This CD fills my heart with so much joy that I could just cry. I listen to it almost daily and have given it away as a gift to my loved ones. I am captivated by their incredible talents, and I know you will be too.

Yo Yo Ma and the Maestro Marvelous!!!.......2007-05-13

Having recently succumbed to Yo Yo Ma after a longtime love of Ennio Marricone I was excited to get this CD from Amazon. It is superb! All of the songs had to be recrafted by Morricone to suit Yo Yo Ma but it is a great listen as you sonically travel down memory lane through some of Maestro Moricone's musical marvels. "Gabriel's Oboe" from "The Mission" now becomes "Gabriel's Cello." I laugh as Yo Yo Ma bows his brains out on the "Ecstacy of Gold' from "The Good,The Bad, and The Ugly." I recommend this to all Yo Yo Ma and Morricone fans...a great listen. Soothing after a hard day!

Better Every Time.......2007-05-09

This CD gets better with every listening. It was a great purchase.

Fabulous CD.......2007-05-07

I love Morricone and this CD has some of the best versions of my favorite pieces. I have ordered several as gifts for friends.

Average customer rating: Sound Quality not perfect on CD Before Sondheim's COMPANY and after MAN OF LA MANCHA... Overrated Tony Award Winner Brilliant, Definitive and Remarkably Accurate! Saw this on Broadway

1776 (1969 Original Broadway Cast) Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Classic Vocalists | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Musicals | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: 1776 (Restored Director's Cut) 1776: The New Broadway Cast Recording (1997) 1776: A Musical Play (Penguin Plays) Shenandoah (1975 Original Broadway Cast) Camelot (1960 Original Broadway Cast) ASIN: B0000027WJ Release Date: 1992-05-19

Tracks:

1. Overture - Orchestra
2. Sit Down, John
3. Piddle, Twiddle And Resolve/Till Then
4. The Lees Of Old Virginia
5. But, Mr. Adams
6. Yours, Yours, Yours
7. He Plays The Violin
8. Cool, Cool, Considerate Men
9. Momma Look Sharp
10. The Egg
11. Molasses To Rum
12. Is Anybody There
13. Finale

Amazon.com

Evidence that one can make a musical about anything, Exhibit A: 1776. As one might expect, the whole concept of making a musical about the creation and signing of the Declaration of Independence was greeted in the late 1960s with, well, ridicule. The show debuted on Broadway in 1969, and three years later, when its run finally ended, it was its producers who had the last laugh. In addition, it toured for an additional two years and beat out Hair (in 1969 yet!) for a Tony Award. This recording, with the original Broadway cast, includes many of the same actors who went on to star in the film, the version with which most audiences today are probably familiar. One notable exception is Rex Everhart, who replaced Howard da Silva at some performances and on this recording. But there's still William Daniels as John Adams, though in some cases his performance is more subdued than it was on film. Musically, 1776 is an odd creation, considering when it came into being. As one might expect, there's a lot of fife and drum going on, especially in the opening number and during "The Lees of Old Virginia." For those less than familiar with the plot, it hinges on the idealism of Adams, who's trying his best to back up the American Revolution with some legislative action, and spends much of his time arguing with either the Continental Congress or God, as in "Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve": "A second flood, a simple famine / Plagues of locusts everywhere / Or a cataclysmic earthquake / I'd accept with some despair / But no, you sent us Congress / Good God, sir, was that fair?" (One could argue that he gets further with God.) While not entirely historically accurate, and containing some rather peculiar numbers (Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams sitting around debating what their new country's national bird is going to be ranks among the oddest), there's no questioning 1776's staying power. --Genevieve Williams

Customer Reviews:

Sound Quality not perfect on CD.......2007-07-18

This is a new CD, overall quality and amazon procedure were excellent. The CD itself on a few songs fails to provide enough amplification to the background chorus or secondary singer, thus I must strain to actually hear both duet parts, with the latter almost inaudible. For example, Lee's of Old Virginia, Till Then, and Who will write our new declaration. It is not in my players, but within the CD. I actually ordered this because I wanted Violin by Betty Buckley and am satisfied with the reproduction overall, but it also has the audio problems with Adams and Franklins lines within the song

Before Sondheim's COMPANY and after MAN OF LA MANCHA..........2007-04-30

For me, 1776 is a great companion to MAN OF LA MANCHA as one of the most entertaining AND intellectually worthy amalgams of music, lyrics, book, theme, plot, characterizations and dialogue to ever come out of pre-1970's Broadway musical theatre. Each song is like a little gem, and displays the broad range of emotions and ideas with which 1776 brims. Satiric, romantic, hilarious, heartbreaking, disturbing, dark, inspiring, thoughtful, humane, and even a little bawdy, the songs glide and tromp all over the map, as does the show itself. As with LA MANCHA, 1776 broke open the Broadway musical, making it a pitch-perfect example of what can truly make a musical more than a toe-tapping time killer... while never becoming tedious, pompous, windy, or dull. If anything, it crackles with suspense.

And as to the reviewer who was shocked that it would win out over HAIR? Listen to "Mamma Look Sharp" or "Molasses to Rum to Slaves" to hear exactly the play's political and often-unflattering ideological landscape. This was definitely a Vietnam-era play whose content was as disturbingly pertinent, then, as it is, now. And, despite all of this, the score and play never become leaden or preachy. On the contrary, each performance is a gem, and each character is witty and unique. Who knew that history could be a passionate and fun adventure?

Overrated Tony Award Winner.......2006-06-16

How could this musical win the Tony award having as a competitor a play like HAIR which - for many people - stands as an emblematic theatre piece of the 60's? Who remembers a tune out of this musical? On the contrary, "Aquarius", "I Got Life" or "Walking in Space" are still popular and they play all over the world. Even ZORBA and PROMISES PROMISES - both candidates for the award in the same year - have songs that are still remembered. 1776 may wake up patriotic feelings to American listeners which is quite understandable but the music and songs are old-fashioned, overrated and awfully boring.

Brilliant, Definitive and Remarkably Accurate!.......2005-12-18

1776 has become an institution, thanks to the motion picture which was made of this original Broadway show, and which starred most of the cast from the theatrical production. It gets rerun every July 4th week on some movie channel or local station!

William Daniels IS John Adams to many people, and even though the story of the birth of the United States probably wasn't this lyrical and lively, Composer Sherman Edwards was historically accurate in the facts of the tale.

In addition to learning about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this is also love story... in fact two love stories, with John Adams and his wife Abigail, separated by circumstance and interacting only in his mind, and Thomas Jefferson and his wife, Martha, here, played by the big throated (and now legendary) Betty Buckley.

There is also a sense of fraternity, with the members of the Continental Congress grappling with the concept of breaking away from a tyranical ruler. And even though you know the outcome, the story is still filled with tension and excitement in the mechanics of it. Just how DID this country get formed?

The disc's liner notes explain the show's libretto and give you some rare behind-the-scenes info about the creation of the musical, the challenges it faced before becoming the standard that it now is, and a bit about the amazing Mr. Edwards, which is a story worthy of being told as well.

It's an Independence Day must!

Saw this on Broadway .......2005-11-12

Saw this show, with original cast, on Broadway in '69 and it has stayed with me ever since then. Every time I listen to these songs, I laugh. The historical figures (done with some tongue-in-cheek) are highly entertaining and even better if you see the movie. I would recommend the dvd for a great, lighthearted evening, and good family entertainment. You can't miss with this one! A winner on all fronts.

Average customer rating: Lost is Found, finally Martha Argerich CD Fabulous recording Excellent A restored jewel in the Argerich catalog

Martha Argerich Plays Chopin: The Legendary 1965 Recording Martha Argerich Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Polonaises | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Chopin | Chopin, Frédéric | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Nocturnes | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Sonatinas | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Argerich, Martha | ( A ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music $9.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Chopin, Frédéric | ( C ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Argerich, Martha | ( A ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Debut Recital / Martha Argerich Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 / Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 J.S. Bach: Toccata, Partita, English Suite 2/ Martha Argerich Chopin, Liszt: Piano Concertos / Martha Argerich, London Symphony Orchestra Chopin: 26 Préludes, etc / Martha Argerich ASIN: B00000IWVS Release Date: 1999-05-18

Tracks:

1. Piano Sonata No.3 In B Minor, Op.58: I. Allegro maetoso
2. Piano Sonata No.3 In B Minor, Op.58: II. Scherzo: Molto vivace
3. Piano Sonata No.3 In B Minor, Op.58: III. Largo
4. Piano Sonata No.3 In B Minor, Op.58: IV. Finale: Presto, non tanto
5. Mazurka No.36 In A Minor, Op.59 No.1
6. Mazurka No.37 In A-flat, Op.59 No.2
7. Mazurka No.38 In F-sharp Minor, Op.59 No.3
8. Nocturne No.4 In F, Op.15 No.1
9. Scherzo No.3 In C-sharp Minor, Op.39
10. Polonaise No.6 In A-flat, Op.53

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

Record-label politics prevented this awesome recording of Argentinean pianist Martha Argerich from being released for 34 years. The spitfire musician delivers a powerful set of Chopin's best-loved works that still sounds riveting today. Intense and gorgeous. --Jason Verlinde

Amazon.com essential recording

How can it be that a recording by one of today's indisputably unequaled pianists performing some of her prime repertory--made fresh within months of her triumph in the 1965 Warsaw International Chopin Competition--could languish for decades in the vaults before its official release? Chalk it up to the exclusivity clauses of rival recording companies and legal constraints from which not even Wotan with the help of Loge could extricate himself. Thankfully this belated EMI release--recorded in a few sessions at the Abbey Road studios--is finally available.

It's a significant complement to Argerich's other accounts of Chopin on disc. From the white-hot intensity of Argerich's way with the composer, you can easily extrapolate a sense of what had recently wowed the jury in Warsaw. The Argentinean pianist undertakes the Third Sonata as a vast, big-voiced, far-reaching statement that encompasses both molten power and moments of almost unbearably intimate lyricism (listen closely to her gestures of illumination in the Largo). With a characteristically unforced spontaneity, Argerich sounds the shattering chords that launch the finale (recorded in one take); her sense of flow in the Nocturne No. 4 is a perfect mesh for the illusion of improvising that is so central to Chopin. She commands the logic--both emotional and musical--of the composer's skittish turns in the Scherzo No. 3 and crafts three of the mazurkas into perfectly chiseled character pieces. The sheer force of Argerich's personality might seem overwhelming to those accustomed to a tamer Chopin--listen to how she dives into the A-flat Polonaise--but it's always at work dusting off tired clichés and uncovering the music's expressive wealth. For those who know about Argerich's artistry, this disc is indispensable; anyone who has yet to make that enviable discovery will find it (together with the Argerich anthology in Philips' Great Pianists series) a great place to begin. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

Lost is Found, finally.......2007-07-08

This Argerich Chopin performance, recorded by EMI in 1965 while she was actually under contract to DG is formidable for an artist so early in her career. Both the artistry and sound are superb and it's a shame we fans had to wait so long for this recording to appear. These Chopin performances completely justify the competition judges decision to award her the grand prize at the 1965 Warsaw International Chopin Competition. It's a collection must have!

Martha Argerich CD.......2007-06-12

Excellent service -- speedy, just as described, well-packaged. I'd definitely buy from this seller again.

Fabulous recording.......2007-04-12

A most interesting history in the liner notes and a fabulous recording. One of the best for a piano CD collection.

Excellent.......2007-04-12

Only one word: Excellent.
Though someone might have different feeling, I'm crazy on this 1965 recording.

A restored jewel in the Argerich catalog.......2006-09-03

If I had to pick a single CD to win awed admiration for Martha Argerich, this Chopin recital would be it. Only 24 when she made these long-suppressed recordings, Argerich's musicality and dazzling technqiue defy belief. Every ounce of praise for her Third Sonata is deserved--it's spontaneous, flexible, intense, by turns tender and declamatory. The most blessed quality is that she doesn't bang or harangue us--not always the case in later years. Her sense of urgency doesn't become eckless; the bursts of excitment aren't oerly explosive.

My only caveat would be for audiophiles. Although an Abbey Road studio recording, you get the feeling somewhat that Argerich is performing in a boomy hall. Also, in the loudest fortes there's mircophone shatter. For many listeners these drawbacks won't matter a whit, not in the face of an undisputed keyboard genius.

Average customer rating: Volodos the Artist Arcady Volodos, plays Franz Liszt + SACD = Liszt reincarnate? Fabulous Liszt Beyond Stunning More thrilling Liszt would be hard to imagine

Volodos Plays Liszt Manufacturer: Sony Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Liszt | Liszt, Franz | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Elegies | Requiems, Elegies & Tombeau | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Bagatelles | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Character Pieces | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Nocturnes | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Haydn: Piano Sonatas Marc-Andre Hamelin: It's All About the Music A Piano Evening with Martha Argerich [DVD Video] Piano Quintet in F Min / Complete String Quartets (1, 2, 3) Brahms: Violin Concerto and Double Concerto [SA-CD - CD compatible] ASIN: B000MGB0JW Release Date: 2007-04-17

Tracks:

1. Années de pèlerinage I - Suisse, S 160; No. 6 La vallée d'Obermann
2. Années de pèlerinage II - Italie, S. 161; No. 2 Il penseroso
3. St François d'Assise, S. 175; No. 1 La prédication aux oiseaux
4. Bagatelle sans tonalité, S. 216a
5. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13, S. 244/13
6. Années de pèlerinage II - Italie, S. 161; No. 1 Sposalizio
7. Prelude in F minor after Bach "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen", S. 179
8. Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S. 173; No. 7 Les Funérailles
9. La lugubre gondola (Trauergondel) No. 2, S. 200/2
10. En rêve (Nocturne), S. 207

Customer Reviews:

Volodos the Artist.......2007-05-31

When Liszt was made Director of the new Musical Academy of Budapest, he insisted that all piano students study composition and improvisation. Very few pianists these days have ventured to mix composition and piano playing; the last known few were Busoni, Rachmaninoff, and even Horowitz. All legends of the pianoforte. When Volodos released his first CD, Piano Transcriptions, he set himself apart from the new age of piano virtuosos. He was a singer and conductor before venturing into piano playing. His Turkish March and Cello Paraphrases are musical gems that are rarely seen in this day and age. He has no fear of including his own cadenzas to the pieces that the composer suggests.
After 3 years of complete silence, Volodos returns with an all Liszt CD. And not the commonly known pieces: Valle d'Oberman, Sposalizio, and the atonal Bagatelle. All played perfectly and evocating the deepest memories of Liszt's emotions. Volodos does not need to struggle with such things as technique, he works directly with the sound and the images they convey. He would have been a perfect pupil of Liszt.
After having purchased all of his discs, I'd recommend the Transcriptions and Rach 3 concerto CDs for further Volodos listening. Let us hope more CDs from the blessed hands of Volodos.

Arcady Volodos, plays Franz Liszt + SACD = Liszt reincarnate?.......2007-05-27

Listening to this SACD in multiple channels, I felt faint.

For starters, a listener simply has to hear this recital quite a few times before it even begins to sink in, as music. Like some deity with multiple arms, Volodos exhibits a sheer and athletic physical command of the Steinway keyboard so high and effortless that few players, indeed, could even move into a nearby technical neighborhood. His playing somehow seems to evoke combined associations with Alpine glacier skiing, luge, Houdini-like death-defying escapes, myth about King Midas golden touch, the finest possible human or animal gymnastics, ballet, modern dance, and maybe even the ancient Greek myth of Icarus.

Whew.

After a few spins, I stopped sitting in my listening room, jaw dropped and mind completely numbed by the sheer, vertiginous physical presto-chango of it all. Letting my ears and mind and heart seep past those outer flash barriers, then I could begin to get an inkling of this Liszt recital as music.

Whew, what music.

We continue to have an vaguely fond and enduring image of Franz Liszt - part genius, part virtuoso, part charlatan. Like one of those extremely well-read figures that used to pop up in novels or theater, an itinerant alcoholic (more often than not) who knew Shakespeare exhaustively without erring from memory, but who couldn't resist hamming it all up, every single time. We have grown a tad wary and cautious these days when Liszt gets programmed into a recital or concert. We rather regularly anticipate that one part genius to two parts glitz and blitz will be par for the musical course.

Not here and not with Arkady Volodos.

Vallee d'Obermann erupts at times from the Steinway keyboard as if we were reliving Vesuvius and the ancient panoramas of Pompeii. But Volodos' high-minded focus on the immense scale of the musical narrative never falters. He always finds the lyrical through lines of even the most complex or animated passages. Hearing him do this so consistently is a bit like being able to ride lightning, thanks to an Oppo touch of a button. Suddenly the arch-Romantic Era notion of the soul as an angel of embodied fire seems entirely less far-fetched and fanciful than before I put this SACD on for the first of many spins.

Whew, what a composer.

Could any number of later, great musical figures have dug so deep into musical color, musical electricity or magnetism or atonal dark matter - without Franz Liszt cracking open all these doors, just so? Note to Sony BMG marketing: Volodos must do the Scriabin piano sonatas as soon as he can manage recording them. Unless he says, No and has other fish to fry.

Pensoroso moves into other realms. The fires in this piece are completely banked, transforming all the extrovert mad feeling of the preceding work into something so sad and inward that it is difficult to grasp intellectually, and probably the only way to hear it is to let it take hold of you as you listen, and make you feel ethereal atmospheres which cannot quite be apprehended. Is this thought really a thought? A sensation? A perception? A mood? A feeling? Before one can figure it all out, the work is finished, and we are on to the next track.

Saint Francis preaching to the birds opens yet another, distinctive and fantastic musical vision. Volodos has his incredible way with the birds speaking, and perhaps under this magic spell a listener may be forgiven for believing that, like Siegfried after he has tasted Fafner's spilled blood, we really do hear and understand something Nature is saying to us, utterly beyond practical words rooted in socialization and culture. The religious overtones are clear - but never render the saint's sermonizing in any religiously amateurish or overly sentimentalized manner. Imagine Franz Liszt glimpsing realms within which modern French composer Olivier Messiaen would later take mystical and musical wing.

The Bagatelle without Tonality simply shows us how easy it already was in music by the composer's era to start floating free of the received legacy tonal hierarchies. The ability of the piece's harmonic aura to shift gears, turning deftly on a single note reminds one of Beethoven's abilities in this regard; but Liszt is reaching far beyond Beethoven's enharmonic or other key changes. A sprite breathes upon us in this seemingly improvised encounter. Can we trust our eyes or ears? Do we partly realize how wispy and homespun the brain's perceptions really are, of a constantly-changing and transforming world that is not at all solid?

Hungarian Rhapsody 13 returns us to the culturally rooted Franz Liszt, proud of his Hungarian ethnic heritage. Volodos has made his own arrangements of the original, suited ever so artfully to his own special high abilities. Now it takes a certain respect and technical reputation to get away with this sort of thing, at minimum, and Volodos obviously in this regard is the closest living performer who could stand without the slightest glare or embarrassment in the lineage of, say, Vladimir Horowitz.

Unlike even Horowitz, however, Volodos yields not a moment's sense of strain or effort. He manages the rhapsody so well that when he lets his fingers rise to break free of Planetary Gravities, we feel that freedom is the inevitable fulfillment of the earthbound restraint and pull that makes things cohere. What keeps this rhapsody from being nothing but a tasty bon-bon is the immense fun and joy that Volodos has in his way with it. Like running outside on a very fine Spring day, with the breezes let loose and the saps of Nature running, full flow. One feels very green, very young, juiced.

Oops. Space is running out for comments. Get this disc now unless you are terribly allergic to the piano or to Liszt.

The rest of the SACD is every bit as wonderful as the first has been.

Fabulous Liszt.......2007-05-08

This is without question the best recording of Liszt's piano music I have ever heard. Many of the selections are late works that tend to be rarely played, and certainly not played with this amount of skill. I now find myself appreciating these pieces much more than I had before. Volodos makes this music sound beautiful and visionary. While I hope in the future to hear Volodos' take on the Sonata and the Petrarch sonatas, and other of the more popular Liszt works, I think this CD is a magnificant achievement, a landmark recording.

Beyond Stunning .......2007-05-02

Arcadi Volodos is the pianist to watch. He seems to believe the 88 keys of the piano are not enough. This recording is gorgeous - beyond stunning. I have been a fan of the wide range of Liszt's keyboard and orchestral music for decades: this recording is the finest I have ever heard - beyond Bolet, Arrau, Horowitz, Brendel, Richter, Nyiregyhazi, Wild. Only Cziffra is close, in interpretation. Volodos mingles passion, introspection, technical brilliance and a sense of Liszt's importance to the musical traditions from which he emerged and which drew from him. Liszt is rare in that his life (from 1811 - 1886) enabled him to reflect and influence generations of composition. You can hear the stirrings of Debussy, Gershwin and Rachmaninoff in his music.

Volodos plays pieces from various parts of Liszt's career. These selections are most judiciously chosen. For those who like their Liszt at white heat, with fireworks and brio, the disc is a delight: Volodos is amazing. He has superlative command of the keyboard. But Liszt, a true Romantic and an abbe in the Catholic Church, was also capable of rare sensitivity, calm, introspection, and humility. His religious music, though sometimes simple and sweet, is profoundly moving. Volodos again reaches depths many pianists have not plumbed, with an effect that gives this music a power far beyond words. It is overwhelming how much emotion, experience and insight are found in this single recording. It will take several sessions to sit and listen to these pieces and let them sink in. Playing it all at once is simply too much to absorb. I had to put it aside for a day to let it sink in but I am eagerly awaiting the chance to be transported again by any of these mesmerizing works. Volodos is the greatest thing to happen to the piano since Horowitz and Richter, rolled into one. He is in his 30's. There should be much more from him. Already his recordings sound like more. I have simply been amazed at his recordings of Rachmaninoff, Schumann, Schubert and Scriabin, among others. And the sound - ! This is a hybrid super audio CD. It is exquisite even if you do not have a super-audio CD player and the added speaker(s). I agree entirely with the other reviewer. You will not regret buying this.

More thrilling Liszt would be hard to imagine.......2007-04-18

Volodos made a huge impact with his first CD ten years ago, an unknown ?Russian of 24 who had acquired a technique equal to Horowitz. All the more remarkable was the fact that he had started seriously studying the piano at age 16, his previous background being in singing and conducting. There's such a plethora of Russians with lightning fingers that something more is nee4ded, and Volodos offered sensitive musicanship, a natural ability to phrase, and gorgeous tone. He has remained at the top of the profession form the day he first appeared.

Here Volodos leans into strength with Liszt, whose Second Hungarian Rhapsody was one of the knockouts on his first CD. The program includes a cluster of Lidzt's gnomic, terse late works, three great pieces taken from the Annees de pelerinage series, and a scatterig of showpieces and rarities. It's a very agreeable mix, and Volodos plays with enormous sonority, captured extremely well by the vivid close-up recording that takes us into the heart of the instrument. Pianists could only dream of such sonic realism even a few years ago--the thundering octaves of Vallee d'Obermann send chills down the spine.

Vallee d'Obermann opens the recital, and Volodos makes a triumph out of its long, long melodic lines and spare fingering. This is one of the most convincing versions I've heard in years. As much as I hate to disparage Kissin, Volodos in many ways has gone where Kissin should have gone--inward. Both have technique to burn, but Volodos makes you think and feel in a way that only the younger Kissin did. Perhaps Volodos is a touch too serious; he wants to convince us that Liszt's music isn't flash and fireworks, which qite often it is, even in the best pieces. But I doubt anyone will have complaints. It would be hard to imagine a more thriling recital.

Average customer rating: Monsoon Wedding Soundtrack is Terrific Loved it! Just as fabulous as the movie! Love It, Love It, Love It Culture-Happy-Dance-Reflect-Appreciate-Savor-Relax-Laugh

Monsoon Wedding (Score) Manufacturer: Milan Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Monsoon Wedding Bend It Like Beckham The Best of Bollywood Bride & Prejudice Bhangra Beatz ASIN: B00005UKLV Release Date: 2002-03-05

Tracks:

1. Feels Like Rain
2. Aaj Mera Jee Kardaa (Today My Heart Desires)
3. Baraat
4. Aaj Mausam Bada Beimann Hai (Today The Weather Plays Tricks On Me)
5. Your Good Name
6. delhi.com
7. Fuse Box
8. Mehndi/Madhorama Pencha
9. Banished
10. Good Indian Girls
11. Fabric/Aaja Savariya (Come To Me, My Beloved)
12. Allah Hoo
13. Hold Me, I'm Falling
14. Love And Marigolds
15. Chunari Chunari
16. Aaja Nachle (Come On Dance!)
17. Aaj Mera Jee Kardaa (Zimpala Remix)
18. Fuse Box (Alexkid's Dub Remix)
19. Fuse Box (Julio Black Remix)

Amazon.com

Monsoon Wedding is Mychael Danna's second collaboration with film director Mira Nair, (Kama Sutra was the first), and he has again compiled a winning soundtrack. Danna explores a wide range of emotions, from solemn to celebratory, through different generations of Indian culture. The contemplative "Good Indian Girls" and "Hold Me, I'm Falling" feature Danna's trademark piano ambience over traditional Indian instrumentation, and the vivacious "Baraat" sounds like a Punjabi variation on Dixieland, while "Delhi.com" ventures into dreamy ethno-techno territory. Sukhwinder Singh's "Today My Heart Desires" serves up lively bhangra rock, and Laxmikant Pyarelal's "Today the Weather Plays Tricks on Me" (performed by Mohammed Rafi) swoons with strings and male vocals. In all, the soundtrack's pleasing variety of Eastern music mirrors the film's old and new worlds living within a singular culture. --Bryan Reesman

Customer Reviews:

Monsoon Wedding Soundtrack is Terrific.......2007-05-18

I really enjoyed the movie and was pleased to find the soundtrack. Great cd if you're a fan of Bollywood!

Loved it!.......2007-03-24

I just saw the movie MONSOON WEDDING and I absolutely loved it! Of course, I just HAD to have the soundtrack, so I bought the Cd recently and loved it too! WOW!

The Cd will leave you in a happy mood... Wonderful up-beat songs, many are so danceable and hipnotic. I've been playing this Cd all week ...I just wish it were longer because I would love to have more Cds like this in my Cd collection.

Just as fabulous as the movie!.......2007-01-31

This is an excellent soundtrack from an excellent movie. The music is fantastic - makes you want get up and move your feet! It's got such a happy, wistful, exotic flavor throughout the CD. I think this will probably be one that I wear out from listening to it so much!

Love It, Love It, Love It.......2007-01-21

I just love this CD. I'm preferential to the work of Mychael Danna and this is another awesome work of his. There is everything from old Indian love ballads to the popular Bollywood music of today, with some very beautiful instrumentals in between.

I'd recommend seeing the movie too. As well, I'd check out Danna's music for another Mira Nair movie, "Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love."

Culture-Happy-Dance-Reflect-Appreciate-Savor-Relax-Laugh.......2006-11-06

Above I listed some words that first came to mind when I thought about this cd.
It is very Culture rich and soaked in Indian flavor. It's colorful and makes you happy with a laugh or two; as it seeks to portray the traditional music typical of a Punjabi wedding in Delhi, India.
You want to dance with most songs and sit quietly to reflect with others. I listed appreciate because we often don't sit back to appreciate the richness that other cultures provide. My 2 year old appreciates this music in her broken wanna be Hindi mimic.
She dances as does my 6 year old to this music. It's really a great CD but I would recommend seeing the movie first.

Average customer rating: Wayne truly does play well with others! Wayne...Wow! Absolutely splendid! Simply the best of everything wayne Bergeron's new CD

Plays Well With Others Wayne Bergeron Manufacturer: Concord Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Wow! The Formative Years On a High Note: Best of the Concord Jazz Recordings M.F.Horn 2 & The Ballad Style of Maynard Ferguson M.F Horn 4 & 5 - Live at Jimmy's Up and Running ASIN: B000G73UDG Release Date: 2007-01-09

Tracks:

1. Endless Torture (Tortura Sin Fin)
2. Maynard & Waynard
3. Scheherazade
4. You Go To My Head
5. Georgia
6. Samba Brassiliero
7. High Clouds And A Good Chance Of Wayne
8. Requiems
9. You Hid What In The Sousaphone?
10. The Hipster

Amazon.com

A trumpeter with chops from here to San Diego, a no-nonsense approach to soloing, and an 18-piece band that hits and swings hard, Wayne Bergeron is a classic product of the West Coast studio system. The patron saint of Plays Well With Others is the late Maynard Ferguson, whose appearance here on the comparatively toned down "Maynard and Waynard" was one of his final recorded efforts. Bergeron, who has been heard behind countless pop artists, is not the stratospheric threat Ferguson was, but he embodies the same brash aesthetic in leading his well-drilled ensemble through a program that ranges from driving originals by the likes of Big Phat Band leader Gordon Goodwin to a rhythmic awakening of "Georgia" to go-for-the-throat ballads like "Requiems" to a frisky reading of Rimsky Korsakov's "Scheherazade." Those who like a bit more subtlety or wit in their mainstream big bands might want to look elsewhere. But for those who like these sounds straight up and fancy free, this is a good place to be. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews:

Wayne truly does play well with others!.......2007-07-23

Listening to Wayne play will generate one or the other of two responses. First, you will get out your horn and start practicing as if your life (or livelihood) depended on it. Or second, you will make a lamp out of it and never play again!

Keith LaMotte
Spokane, WA

Wayne...Wow!.......2007-05-12

This CD is very special because of the track with Wayne Bergeron and Maynard Ferguson together..."Waynard and Maynard." While neither musician goes into the trumpet stratosphere, their very entertaining performance together is worth the cost of the CD. The other tracks definitely show off Bergeron's awesome talent, especially "Endless Torture"(love that latin beat). Also check out Bergeron's other CD, "You call this a Living?" That one made me a Wayne Bergeron fan.

Absolutely splendid!.......2007-04-11

Wayne has put together another magnificent project. The playing is great, the arrangements are great, and the production is great. This is a big band cd you need to hear.

Simply the best of everything.......2007-04-05

This is a must have for listeners of Jazz, Big Band and the likes. Everything is played in such accuracy it is almost unreal!!! Well engineered, orchestrated and performed. Congratulation to Wayne and his Big Band. Truly a magnificent album in every sense of this word.

Yours sincerely,
Peter Tuason

wayne Bergeron's new CD.......2007-03-18

"Plays Well With Others" is a spectacular collection of great players, wonderful arrangements. Wayne's playing is absolutely amazing. His command of the trumpet and his musicality are a joy to listen to.

Bill Peterson

Average customer rating: Wonderfully American A Gersh-winner Interesting... but I think I'd prefer a good Gershwin interpreter Gershwin's playing overated The jazzy Gershwin. What a CD!!!!!!!

Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Gershwin | Gershwin, George | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Tone Poems | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music Tin Pan Alley | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Gershwin, George | ( G ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Traditional | ( T ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls, Vol. 2 Essential George Gershwin Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue - Piano Concerto in F - An American in Paris Levant Plays Gershwin George Gershwin: Greatest Hits ASIN: B000005J1I Release Date: 1993-11-09

Tracks:

1. Sweet And Lowdown
2. Novelette In Fourths
3. That Certain Feeling
4. So Am I
5. Rhapsody In Blue
6. Swanee
7. When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em...
8. Kickin' The Clouds Away
9. Idol Dreams
10. On My Mind The Whole Night Long
11. Scandal Walk
12. An American In Paris

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully American.......2007-05-14

I've had a copy of this CD for years and love it. The power and optimism of the music is really quite remarkable... regardless of who or what is actually playing here. The arrangement of Swanee is light but rich with major chord trains like you just want to go marching around the room. And American In Paris leads you on a swaying, dischordy journey the deeper you go, as the narrative begins to trade delicacy for passion. (and I love renditions where you can hear the MUSIC and the instruments don't get in the way, like four-voice midi versions of Bach which reveal the eloquence).

When I listen to this CD now, and which is most surpring to me, I hear a profound pride in America - back "before." I play it when I have people over and we put burgers on the grill. This CD is the song of sitting in my back yard with the clouds blowing by and for the moment things feel OK.

"Before" - OK, there is no old perfect Amercia; but I'm thinking of the time before we learned to distill petroleum into toxic pollution, before pride meant vanity and thuggery, before hate-filled invective became public amusement, and before presidents went to war because it was good for business.

A Gersh-winner.......2007-01-07

George Gershwin had a long association with the mechanical device known as the player piano. At the age of ten, Gershwin used a neighbor's pianola to teach himself how to play, by very slowly pumping the foot pedal that advanced the hole-punched rolls, and placing his fingers on the depressed keys. His parents were so impressed by his abilities they enrolled the boy in formal piano studies when he turned 13. Thus, an American genius was born.

The existing films of Gershwin (who died of a brain tumor at age 38 in 1937) show him to be a virtuoso at his instrument. His 1924 acoustic recording of Rhapsody In Blue (with the Paul Whiteman orchestra) is further evidence of this. But no film or recording has what is contained within the album GERSHWIN PLAYS GERSHWIN: THE PIANO ROLLS, and that is-- full fidelity range.

The CD comes in a standard jewel case packaged in a heavy paper slipcover. Biographical liner notes are included along with details on the rolls. The earliest performance in this set is from 1916, made when Gershwin was an 18-year-old song plugger. My favorites here are "Swanee," from 1920, and "An American In Paris," from 1933, which is undoubtedly one of the last significant piano rolls ever made.

Gershwin's dynamic performances are not in the least obscured by the few extra notes added to the piano rolls (such practice was standard in those days). Listening to these recordings is like sitting next to this brilliant man, observing his fingers fly over the keys as he plays some of his best work.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 60:36

Interesting... but I think I'd prefer a good Gershwin interpreter.......2006-05-14

Composers are not necessarily the best performers of their own work. A songwriter's songwriter like Jules Shear or Jimmy Webb comes to mind -- surely the best representations of their songs are on other artist's albums.

This album is charming in its own way -- a taste of the music and performance style of a bygone era. Someone complained that these rolls were edited. So what? I'm going to review the final product, now how it was made. Do you eat sausage? Ask not what's in it!

I like to listen to this CD in short bits -- a few songs at a time. For some reason I find it to be fatiguing if I listen for more than 20 minutes or so. I'm not absolutely sure why this is so. Possibly the meter is just a little too metronomic on many of the songs. This lends a "mechanical" quality to the performances.

Additionally, I felt that the dynamic range was restricted. The music does get louder and softer, because of the piano rolls themselves and because of the computer programming used to read the piano rolls -- the dynamics were deliberately adjusted by the record producers in some spots, if I read the liner notes correctly. And yet. And yet. Still these songs do not dynamically "breathe" fully in and out the way they ought to. I find this disappointing, but I think it has something to do with inherent limitations in piano roll recording technique. I'm guessing.

Taken for what it is, it is an interesting concept, and the sound quality is very pleasant. The performances are very good for piano rolls, but fall short of what a good interpreter could do. Take, for example, the Rhapsody in Blue from Woody Allen's Manhattan soundtrack. Listen specifically to the piano part -- the dynamics and variations in rhythm. This is not by any means the best performance of Rhapsody, but it is better than the Gershwin rolls.

Gershwin's playing overated.......2006-04-09

After I heard this cd I bought Gershwin plays Gershwin on the naxos label which arn't piano rolls. Any pianist can tell that many of these rolls are heavily edited and can't be played by a pianists with two hands. On the naxos album that has some of these same songs Gershwin's actual playing doesn't sound very good. Many of Gershwins contempories such as James P. Johnson, Eubie Blake, Luckey Roberts and even Zez Confrey were much better pianists than he was, however they didn't have his melodic gifts as a composer. I would recommend Artis Whodhouse's
transcriptions of Jelly Roll Morton's piano rolls (on the same label) instead because most of those are exactly how he played them and in my opinion Morton was a better musician in every way than Gershwin.

The jazzy Gershwin. What a CD!!!!!!!.......2006-02-23

I got this CD as a gift. I am all for the austrogerman post- romantic music and as imagined Gershwin is not my favourite composer. I know him from his best known works such as the 'Rhapsody", the 'American' and his great songs. This CD is a treasure as mentioned from other reviewers of this site. Gershwin full of passion, his music being jazzy to the very end and that great feeling you get after a great live performance is present all over the length of this 'treasure'. No question about the presence of the music. Not to be missed

Average customer rating: A Wonderful Gift jack@earthlink.com Great Purchase Remarkable album - poor sound quality Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Rachmaninov, Sergei | ( R ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rachmaninov | Rachmaninov, Sergei | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff Rachmaninoff Plays Chopin Rachmaninov Plays Rachmaninov--Ampico Recordings (1919-29) Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff/Concerto for Piano in Dm; Sonata for Piano No2/Vladimir Horowitz, Pianist A Window in Time: Rachmaninoff Performs His Solo Piano Works ASIN: B000003FGS Release Date: 1994-08-16

Tracks:

1. Concerto No.1, Op.1: Vivace
2. Concerto No.1, Op.1: Andante
3. Concerto No.1, Op.1: Allegro vivace
4. Concerto No.4, Op.40: Allegro vivace
5. Concerto No.4, Op.40: Largo
6. Concerto No.4, Op.40: Allegro vivace
7. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Intro: Allegro vivace
8. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var I: (Precedente)
9. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Tema: L'istesso tempo
10. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var II: L'istesso tempo
11. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var III: L'istesso tempo
12. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var IV: Piu vivo
13. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var V: Tempo precedente
14. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var VI: L'istesso tempo
15. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var VII: Meno mosso, a tempo moderato
16. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var VIII: Tempo I
17. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var IX: L'istesso tempo
18. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var X: Poco marcato
19. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XI: Moderato
20. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XII: Tempo di minuetto
21. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XIII: Allegro
22. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: : Var XIV: L'istesso tempo
23. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XV: Piu vivo scherzando
24. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XVI: Allegretto
25. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XVII: [Allegretto]
26. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XVIII: Andante cantabile
27. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XIX: A tempo vivace
28. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XX: Un poco piu vivo
29. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XXI: Un poco piu vivo
30. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XXII: Un poco piu vivo (Alla breve)
31. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XXIII: L'istesso tempo
32. Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op. 43: Var XXIV: A tempo un poco meno mosso

Tracks:

1. Concerto No. 2, Op. 18: Moderato; Allegro
2. Concerto No. 2, Op. 18: Adagio sostenuto
3. Concerto No. 2, Op. 18: Allegro scherzando
4. Concerto No. 3, Op. 30: Allegro ma non tanto
5. Concerto No. 3, Op. 30: Intermezzo: Adagio
6. Concerto No. 3, Op. 30: Finale: Alla breve

Amazon.com

Unlike most composer/pianists, Rachmaninoff's instrumental prowess was fully commensurate with his creative gifts. He embraces his youthful First Concertos as if he had encountered an old lover, consumating his passion with stupefying fingerwork in the first movement cadenza. Conversely, the composer seems bored in the Third. He laconically dispatches its torrents of notes, opts for the easier ossias in difficult passages, and makes cuts in the first and third movements. And pianists like Arturo Michelangeli and Earl Wild have recorded more incisive, demonic Rach Fourths. No question about the Paganini Rhapsody and Second Concerto, where Rachmaninoff's fierce authority and luscious, molten tone permeate every bar. RCA's transfers, however, could have been better. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Gift.......2007-07-07

I consider this a true gift in this age to hear the composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff perform his own music as he intended. This CD is a marvelous opportunity for any one who is already a lover of Concertos 2 and 3, or the Variations on a Theme by Paganini. It is a simply a fine introduction to a truly great 20th Century composer.

jack@earthlink.com.......2007-06-27

This is Rachmaninov playing Rachmaninov - the master playing his own works. The audio quality is not what we might expect from modern recordings, but this is not a modern recording. If we ignore the hiss and concentrate on the artistry, we find a wonderful rendering of the Rachmaninov works. There is little opportunity these days to hear the masters play their own works, but this is an exception. Rachmaninov's piano music is extraordinary. If you enjoy classical piano music, this is a "must have".

Great Purchase.......2007-05-13

To hear such a master play his own work is priceless. I bought this for my 17 year old son who is a cellist and classical music fan. He plays it over and over. It is remastered, of course, but it is very high quality sound considering that it was not recorded on modern equipment, and does not sound crackly or difficult to listen to. If you are a fan of Rachmaninoff's work how can you resist getting this CD?

Remarkable album - poor sound quality.......2007-03-28

I agree with reviewers heaping superlatives about Rachmaninoff playing Rachmaninoff. It is truly a rare gem. However, buyers should be aware that the recording quality is marginal and tape hiss nearly unbearable. No blame here - it was probably the best technology of its day. If you are used to modern recordings of concert performances, you will need to set an equalizaton to moderate the high tape noise. A good DSP unit might be able to extricate the music from the noise. In any case, once acclimated to the sound quality, you will adore the underlying performance.

Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff.......2007-02-08

These recordings were all originally issued on 78-rpm discs by RCA Victor. In all of the music, Rachmaninoff was the soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in sessions held in the historic Academy of Music, renowned for its acoustics until remodeling in the mid-1950s reportedly changed that (as Eugene Ormandy always complained).

Rachmaninoff and Leopold Stokowski began making an acoustical version of the second piano concerto in 1924, near the end of the acoustical era. Already the Bell Laboratories and Western Electric were perfecting the electric recording process that would be adopted the following year by both Victor and Columbia. For some reason, the acoustical recording was never finished; Victor later issued it (in 1973) in their boxed sets of the complete Rachmaninoff recordings, filling out the gaps with sides from the electrical recording that Rachmaninoff and Stokowski made a few years later.

The recording of the second concerto has always had been something of an enigma because it doesn't have the best sound of that era, when Victor used a single microphone placed either in front of the orchestra or over the conductor's head. For some reason, the recording is a little muddy or distant at times; nevertheless, one can clearly hear the brilliant playing of the composer, as well as the astonishing, very capable accompaniment by the Philadelphia Orchestra. It is clearly one of the best performances of the concerto ever recorded, even if one wishes it were a bit clearer. Perhaps further advances in digital restoration will someday improve the situation. Having heard both the original 78-rpm discs and the 1973 LP version and the first of the CD versions, it is clear that the sound is somewhat disappointing, while the performance is outstanding.

In 1934, soon after the world premiere in Philadelphia, Rachmaninoff and Stokowski again joined forces to record the "Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini." It's clear from the original discs and the various reissues that RCA Victor had made tremendous strides in its recording techniques. This recording has much improved sound over the second concerto. The performance is astonishing and brilliant at times; Rachmaninoff clearly displays the virtuosity that so amazed listeners who heard him in person. He was clearly much of the vein of Chopin and Liszt, whose music he often performed and recorded.

In 1939-40, when Eugene Ormandy was gradually assuming responsibility for the Philadelphia Orchestra as Stokowski cut back his involvement, Rachmaninoff recorded the first, third, and fourth piano concertos. All of these performances benefited from even greater advances in recording; the quality was generally exceptional, too. Yes, some have said that Vladimir Horowitz's 1930 recording of the third concerto was better (and was even admired by the composer), but there is still something to be said for hearing Rachmaninoff play his own music.

Rachmaninoff in the 1930s and early 1940s was often criticized for being old-fashioned, while older listeners said he was becoming too modern. With the passage of time, we can appreciate his music for its genius and beauty. In these recordings we have a clear glimpse of one of the last great Romantic composers and pianists.

Average customer rating: Expand your Spirit Collection My brother Randy California I heard a majority, but not all, so this may change the best? Classic late 1968...

The Family That Plays Together Spirit Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music 4-for-3 Classic Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Spirit Clear Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus Sailor Jo Jo Gunne ASIN: B000002AF0 Release Date: 1996-10-22

Tracks:

1. I Got A Line On You
2. It Shall Be
3. Poor Richard
4. Silky Sam
5. Drunkard
6. Darlin' If
7. It's All The Same
8. Jewish
9. Dream Within A Dream
10. She Smiles
11. Aren't You Glad
12. Fog
13. So Little To Say
14. Mellow Fellow
15. Now Or Anywhere
16. Space Chile

Amazon.com

One of the most adventurous bands of the late 1960s, Spirit never really found as wide an audience as they deserved for their eclectic blend of rock, jazz, blues, and pop. The closest the group came to mainstream acceptance was this, their 1968-released second album. Propelled by guitarist Randy California's catchy riffing, his stepfather-drummer Ed Cassidy's rock-solid beat, and Jay Ferguson's bluesy vocal, "I Got a Line on You" became a Top 40 hit single, and listeners who were interested enough to buy the LP were rewarded with such broad-horizoned fare as keyboardist John Locke's jazz-flecked "Space Chile," Ferguson's string-aided "Silky Sam," and California and Cassidy's frisky "It's All the Same." --Billy Altman

Customer Reviews:

Expand your Spirit Collection.......2007-07-16

If you are already a "SPIRIT" fan, this is a nice addition to your collection. New to "SPIRIT"? I suggest you buy a greatest hits and work backward. A band that had an age range from 15-40 sumptin' and spun off into later bands, is well worth every track.

My brother Randy California.......2007-02-28

I would like to correct some misinformation in the amazon review of this album.............Randy at the age of 17 yrs old wrote and SANG "I Got A Line On You'.......................you printed that Jay furgeson sang on it .....just wanted to keep it straight.............Janet Wolfe

I heard a majority, but not all, so this may change.......2006-08-03

This is a good album, but has a rather melancholy tinge to it. It starts off rather ambitious with their biggest hit ever with "I Got A Line On You" at number 25, but then it goes some rather interesting, but sometimes sad directions. With track number 3 "Silky Sam" It got depressing, and another track "Aren't You Glad?" it was just as upsetting. There were some tracks that I haven't heard, but it's a hodgepodge, but it misses the mark somehow.

the best?.......2006-08-02

I have a very difficult time saying which Spirit album is the best but for me they were just as important to me back then as the Beatles, the Stones, the Blues Project, the Kinks, etc.

Now I have the CD, Spirit: Time Circle (1968-1972.)

Let me just talk about their first 2 CDs here and then I will talk about Clear and the Dreams at the Dreams.

Some of the first CD's songs sound a little weird now but I still like most of them. "Taurus" and "Mechanical World" are classics which should be included with the best by the Beatles and Stones.

Moving on to The Family, the quality of each song is amazing. Really this is an album which should be heard in its entirety just as you should listen to many by the Beatles, In Her Majesty's Service by the Stones, albums by King Crimson, the Grateful Dead, etc.

It is wonderful when an album is a whole not a bunch of tracks like now.

Listen to how I got a line on you syncs perfectly into It shall be which syncs perfectly into the wonderful Poor Richard and so on.

One reason that Spirit never caught on is that people, especially in Puerto Rico where I live, want happy music for parties and for quiet listening, and Spirit is dark in mood but how poetic! They really inspire me as a poet and singer.

I should add that I love to sing songs by Spirit although no one will probably ever hear me singing them unless they overhear me in the shower. SO IT goes.

Classic late 1968..........2006-04-14

Underrated and increasingly forgotten Spirit's second album is a near perfect encapsulation of where high quality "progressive" rock music was in late 1968. Meticulously produced and featuring absolutely top-notch playing & singing it draws on the huge diversity of styles floating round the music scene at the time - from hard rock, through West Coast harmonies & country-folk to the emerging jazz/rock scene - and pulls them into a satisfying whole held together by a series of high quality songs.

Five stars then?... well not quite. The problem is that, like their first album "Sprit", it's almost too perfect and, at times, all a little too contrived, but it's close as the driving "I Got A Line On You", the beautifully reflective "It Shall Be" and the wonderful, Band-like "Darlin' If" amply show. And, on those that don't quite hit the highs of these three outstanding tracks, you get a great deal of clever production, a series of excellent instrumental breaks and some unforgettable tunes.

And that's late 1968 for you... a long way from the sheer enthusiasm and barrier-bending innovation of the previous two years but with a much broader pallet of styles to work off. While most of their peers were imploding, losing the plot or just waiting for something to happen Spirit captured this odd, transitional period of rock music and in "The Family That Plays Together" moulded it into something that reflected the best of it all.

Average customer rating: From someone who despises American musical theater A Mans Show Who knew Mr. Data had it in him? I Love It! SURPRISINGLY TERRIFIC

1776: The New Broadway Cast Recording (1997) Manufacturer: Tvt ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Broadway & Vocalists | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | Soundtracks | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: 1776 (Restored Director's Cut) 1776 (1969 Original Broadway Cast) 1776: A Musical Play (Penguin Plays) 1776: P/V/G Vocal Selections Shenandoah (1975 Original Broadway Cast) ASIN: B000000GU0 Release Date: 1997-12-16

Tracks:

1. ACT I: Sit Down, John - Brent Spiner/Michael X. Martin/Richard Poe/Tom Aldredge/John Herrera/Tom Riis Farrell...
2. ACT I: Piddle, Twidle and Resolve - Brent Spiner/Orch/Mark Mitchell
3. ACT I: Till Then - Brent Spiner & Linda Emond/Orch/Mark Mitchell
4. ACT I: The Lees of Old Virginia - Merwin Foard/Pat Hingle & Brent Spiner/Orch/Mark Mitchell
5. ACT I: But Mr. Adams - Brent Spiner/Pat Hingle/Paul Micheal Valley/John Herrara & Daniel Marcus/Orch/Mark Mitchell
6. ACT I: Yours, Yours, Yours - Brent Spiner & Linda Emond/Orch/Mark Mitchell
7. ACT I: He Plays The Violin - Lauren Ward/Pat Hingle & Brent Spiner/Orch/Mark Mitchell
8. ACT I: Cool, Cool, Considerate Man - Michael Cumptsy/Orch/Mark Mitchell
9. ACT I: Momma Look Sharp - Erik J. McCormack/Macintyre Dixon & Joseph Cassidy/Orch/Mark Mitchell
10. ACT II: The Egg - Pat Hingle/Brent Spiner & Paul Michael Valley/Orch/Mark Mitchell
11. ACT II: Molasses to Rum - Gregg Edelman/Orch/Mark Mitchell
12. ACT II: Compliments - Linda Emond/Orch/Mark Mitchell
13. ACT II: Is Anybody There? - Brent Spiner/Orch/Mark Mitchell

Customer Reviews:

From someone who despises American musical theater.......2007-06-04

Okay... wow.

In the Brent Spiner Fangirl Legal Contract, it specifies that said fangirl must purchase any and all vocal recordings containing said Brent Spiner (and that she will not, in any way or at any time, mention how much he sounds like Judy Garland on steroids). Which is why I purchased this CD.

He... ripped... into... this... part. That's the only way I can put it. I was floored from start to finish.

The work, as a whole, is something of a consuming thing. Be prepared to sit in silence for a few minutes after you're done with this one, because after hearing the whole thing, silence will be the only followup that does it justice.

A Mans Show.......2006-07-24

For anyone looking for male songs, or a male show to put on, this is the soundtrack for you. It has great ballads as well as big chorus numbers for the male sex. However the subject matter just didnt grab me by the throat and make me love it. History isnt my thing. That being said, the music and lyrics are great, and worth the money. This is a good one to get if your interested in broadway, but not the Rodgers and Hamerstein style. My favorite songs are "Molasses to Rum" and "Momma Look Sharp."

Who knew Mr. Data had it in him?.......2006-07-05

I saw this musical in NYC and have never been so moved by a Broadway show before. Brent Spiner has a lovely yet commanding voice that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck in parts - you so believe in the rightness of his convictions as Adams. All the performances are first rate, but Spiner really shines.

The argument can be made that this musical was "of its time" meaning the 1960's, but I think the songs still hold up as they entertain as well as educate us. Much of the lyrics and dialogue are authentic.

Highly recommended.

I Love It!.......2006-02-27

The soundtrack will make you laugh, cry and sing along. You'll have goosebumps as you hear the songs of the men and women involved in the creation of our country.

SURPRISINGLY TERRIFIC.......2006-02-23

As a PURIST fan of ORIGINAL musicals, and not one who enjoys all the revivals (which indicates a lack of current writers...no surprise), I was AMAZED at how GOOD this revival is on recording. I am sorry I missed the show in New York.

Track Listings:

1. Purcell: Dido and Aeneas
2. R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
3. Reger: Complete String Quartets [Box set]
4. Russian Gourmet
5. Schubert: Symphonies No. 5 & 6
6. Season Remembered
7. Seasons Opus 67 / Valses
8. Singer, Soldier, Lover, Priest: Renaissance Songs of Juan del Encina
9. Sonatas for Flute & Pianoforte
10. Songs Of Hector Berlioz

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Life Beyond L.A. [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

Rock the Night [Live]

J.R. Monterose [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Roll Over Beethoven

The Essentials [Original recording remastered]

Really Big Musical Tribute to Clifford the Big Red Dog

Sculthorpe: Chamber Music from Australia

The Bluegrass Sessions]

Red

Story of the Clash, Vol. 1 [Original recording remastered]

Skeleton Key Ep [Import]

Space Age 2.0 [Import]

Praise from Two Strings

(What's The Story) Morning Glory?