Extase

1. Tango Torero
Composed by Georges Boulanger
with Prima Carezza

2. Kinderparade
Composed by Georges Boulanger
with Prima Carezza

3. Max und Mortiz
Composed by Georges Boulanger
with Prima Carezza

4. Spanischer Zigeunertanz
Composed by Pascual Marquina
with Prima Carezza

5. Florentiner-Marsch for orchestra, Op 214
Composed by Julius Fucik
with Prima Carezza

6. Illusion, film score Excerpt
Composed by Franz Grothe
with Prima Carezza

7. Tokay
Composed by Georges Boulanger
with Prima Carezza

8. Blauer Himmel
Composed by Rixner
with Prima Carezza

9. Radiomarsch
Composed by Georges Boulanger
with Prima Carezza

10. Extase
Composed by Louis Ganne
with Prima Carezza

11. La Trioletta
Composed by Georges Boulanger
with Prima Carezza

12. Liebling der Frauen
Composed by Georges Boulanger
with Prima Carezza

13. Pizzicato Walzer
Composed by Georges Boulanger
with Prima Carezza

14. Majarska
Composed by A. Schulenburg
with Prima Carezza

15. Rote Rosen
Composed by Hans Ritter
with Prima Carezza

16. Amerikanische Vision
Composed by Georges Boulanger
with Prima Carezza

17. Alte Kameraden, march
Composed by Carl Teike
with Prima Carezza

18. Neapolitanisches Ständchen
Composed by Gus Winkler
with Prima Carezza

Extase,Prima Carezza,Tudor,Classical

Average customer rating: Sublime and "mystical" music

Scriabin: Symphonies (Complete); Le Poème de l'extase; Prométhée Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Scriabin, Alexander | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Scriabin, Alexander | Composers | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Philadelphia Orchestra | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Korngold: Symphony in F sharp; Einfache Lieder; Mariettas Lied Schubert: Symphonies (Complete) [Box Set] Ives: The Symphonies / Orchestral Sets 1 & 2 Schoenberg: Piano Works Beethoven: Piano Sonatas [Germany] ASIN: B000CEWWBO Release Date: 2005-12-20

Customer Reviews:

Sublime and "mystical" music.......2006-11-26

I had the opportunity to sing in the "Prométhée, le poème du feu" a few years ago and that was an awesome experience for me! The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra played all the Scriabin symphonies and orchestral works at a festival a few years ago. I was lucky enough to be in the choir for the Prométhée performance.

Scriabin's music has been described as "atonal impressionism". I guess that is as good a term as any. Just know that his music is strange, sublime, unrestrained, shamelessly weird at times, passionate, spooky, ecstatic and profoundly beautiful, too.

I guess that many will find that Scriabin's music reminds them a little of the big orchestral works of Olivier Messiaen, such as the "Turangalîla Symphonie", or, indeed, sci-fi film music! No, I'm not joking!

Riccardo Muti and The Philadelphia Orchestra do wonderful things with all these symphonies and "pseudo-symphonies" {the Prométhée is a little like a symphony, a little like a piano concerto and a little like a "revival meeting"!).

If you're after a very complete set of the orchestral works of Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, look no further!

Average customer rating: Classic Art Songs Sung with Brilliance and Artistry Pretty, but not memorable Returning to the Recital Hall: A Soiree Pretty sound spoiled by a bad vocal habit Excellent!

Forgotten Songs: Dawn Upshaw Sings Debussy Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Debussy | Debussy, Claude | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Debussy, Claude | C to G | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Upshaw, Dawn | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | 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 Similar Items: Angels Hide Their Faces: Dawn Upshaw Sings Bach and Purcell Knoxville Summer of 1915 Voices of Light I Wish It So Dawn Upshaw Sings Rodgers & Hart ASIN: B000002B6P Release Date: 1997-03-18

Tracks:

1. Vasnier Songbook: I. Pantomime
2. Vasnier Songbook: II. Calmes dans le demi-jour (En sourdine)
3. Vasnier Songbook: III. Mandoline
4. Vasnier Songbook: IV. Clair de lune
5. Vasnier Songbook: Fantoches
6. Vasnier Songbook: VI. Coquetterie posthume
7. Vasnier Songbook: VII. Romance - Silence ineffable
8. Vasnier Songbook: VIII. Musique
9. Vasnier Songbook: X. Paysage sentimental
10. Vasnier Songbook: X. Romance - Voici que le printemps
11. Vasnier Songbook: XI. La Romance d'Ariel
12. Vasnier Songbook: XII. Regret
13. Forgotten Melodies: I. C'est l'extase langoureuse
14. Forgotten Melodies: II. Il pleure dans mon coeur
15. Forgotten Melodies: III. L'ombre des arbres
16. Forgotten Melodies: IV. Chevaux de bois
17. Forgotten Melodies: V. Green (Aquarelle)
18. Forgotten Melodies: VI. Spleen (Aquarelle)
19. Five Poems Of Charles Baudelaire: I. Le Balcon
20. Five Poems Of Charles Baudelaire: II. Harmonie du soir
21. Five Poems Of Charles Baudelaire: III. Le Jet d'eau
22. Five Poems Of Charles Baudelaire: IV. Recueillement
23. Five Poems Of Charles Baudelaire: V. La Mort des amants

Customer Reviews:

Classic Art Songs Sung with Brilliance and Artistry.......2006-11-10

Dawn Upshaw possesses a voice with beautiful bell canto tonal quality and uses the glissando technique, only when effective, rendering this collection of uncommon art songs superbly sung. The entire album is a joy to listen to...

Pretty, but not memorable.......2006-04-29

'Forgotton Songs, Dawn Upshaw sings Debussy' with James Levine at the piano is, to my layman's ear, very pretty to listen to, but not a whole lot to get excited about. If you are especially fond of Upshaw, you must have this recording. If you are especially fond of Debussy, other vocalists may have just a little more to offer. Everything about this recording is 'nice', just not a whole lot to get excited about.

Returning to the Recital Hall: A Soiree.......2005-04-09

Dawn Upshaw is one of the most intelligent and creative and adventuresome singers on the concert stage today. Just reviewing the list of her recordings available and it is obvious that she has paid attention to both contemporary and established composers in a way that is truly refreshing.

Here the program is devoted to the works of Claude Debussy, a composer for whom Upshaw has a particular penchant. Her voice is crystal clear, perfectly focused and yet not afraid to animate when the lyrics demand. She covers three cycles here: 'Ariettes oubliees' (for this listener the most successful on the album), 'Racueil Vasnier', and 'Cinq Poemes de Charles Baudelaire' (contrast these with the recently released Susan Graham version and see what interpretation is all about!).

The collaboration between Upshaw and James Levine is sensitive (if not always the pianism of others..). But the entire recital is uplifting and satisfying for the variation in the songs, recorded sound, the generosity of the disc, and most of all for the musical intelligence in which these songs are performed! Grady Harp, April 05

Pretty sound spoiled by a bad vocal habit.......2004-05-07

Every voice teacher I have ever had, and I have had many, were unanimous in their advice that sliding into notes is something that must be done with great moderation. Dawn Upshaw does it all the time and to the ears of a trained singer it becomes extremely annoying extremely quickly. Constant sliding into notes is less objectionable if one actually reaches the right pitch in the process. Miss Upshaw frequently does NOT, resulting in numerous instances where she is simply not in tune at all on some notes. Her sliding also creates constant dissonances with the piano which are entirely undebussyesque. If it were Webern or Berg she were singing she might get away with it. Here she does not. NOT RECOMMENDED.

P.S. Since writing this review (quite some time ago), I was fortunate to hear a recording of Ms. Upshaw in a production at the Metropolitan Opera where she didn't do any of her annoying sliding at all - not once - (probably because it was music from a much earlier time) The difference was astounding. It was a glorious performance. It was hard to believe it was the same person. This, more than ever, confirms my opinion that she ruined this recording with a bad singing habit.

Excellent!.......2003-11-26

This recording of Debussy's Melodies are really excellent. Dawn Upshaw's voice is exactly right for this kind of music - light, charming, and lyrical, with real sensitivity to the text. The Ariettes Oubliees are the best I've heard, with the exception of Frederica von Stade. In addition, her interpretation of Mandoline from the Vasnier Songbook is perfect - the tempo, piano, voice, and interpretation are exactly right. My only criticism is that the diction, while perfectly clear, has an "American" accent that is sometimes distracting.

Average customer rating: a feast of violin virtuosity

The Devil's Trill: Showpieces for violin & piano Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Falla | Falla, Manuel de | ( F ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Kodály, Zoltán | ( K ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tartini | Tartini, Giuseppe | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tchaikovsky | Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wieniawski | Wieniawski, Henri | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Debussy | Debussy, Claude | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Oistrakh, David | ( O ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music $7.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Debussy, Claude | ( D ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Falla, Manuel de | ( F ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Kodály, Zoltán | ( K ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Tartini, Giuseppe | ( T ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich | ( T ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Wieniawski, Henri | ( W ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Oistrakh, David | ( O ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Violin Sonata No. 2 Brahms: Violin Concerto; Violin Sonata No. 3 Glazunov, Khachaturian, Kabalevsky: Violin Concertos David Oistrakh Poulenc: Concerto champêtre; Concerto for two pianos; Organ Concerto ASIN: B0002VEPR6 Release Date: 2004-09-07

Tracks:

1. I. Larghetto Affettuoso
2. II. Allegro (Tempo Giusto Della Scuola Tartinista)
3. III. Andante - Allegro Assai - Andante - Allegro Assai - Andante - Allegro Assai
4. Cadenza - Adagio
5. III. Clair De Lune
6. IV. Jota
7. Extase Op.21
8. Valse-Scherzo Op.34
9. I. Love-Song
10. Three Hungarian Folk-Dances
11. Legende Op.17
12. Mazurka Op.26

Customer Reviews:

a feast of violin virtuosity.......2006-03-02

What a tone! David Oistrakh was a virtuoso, of that there is no doubt. What makes his playing stand apart, though, is his rich, full, round tone. Oistrakh does not draw attention to his technical skill, he draws attention to the music.

These duets, with Vladimir Yampolsky on piano, were recorded at Abbey Road in London in early 1956, and first released by EMI in 1957. It's a fine set of "showpieces," beginning with Tartini's sonata in G minor, "The Devil's Trill." Slow lyrical numbers like Debussy's "Clair de lune" and Ysaye's "Extase" are interspersed with livelier numbers such as de Falla's "Siete canciones populares espanolas" and Koday's "Three Hungarian Folk-dances."

This is an easy recommendation for anyone who loves great violin music, another truly "Great Recording of the Century" from the EMI vaults.

Average customer rating:

Extase ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music World Dance | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music International | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Amor Amor C'est Si Bon Amor Amor Liberta Live a L'olympia ASIN: B00006GEWK Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

1. En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor
2. Pie Jesu
3. LAnge Amoreux
4. Senti Lo Battere
5. Pavane Pour Un Amour Divin
6. Sanctus
7. Prayerr
8. Giovane Amore
9. Ave Maria
10. Lakme
11. In Paradisum

Album Description

The fourth album for the French vocalist/film star. Sony. 2002.

Average customer rating: A star among modern Werthers, but there are others Another Smash Hit From The French Opera Specialists ¿El mejor Werther despues de Kraus? Best Werther recording since the 1930s thoughts on "Werther"

Massenet - Werther / Alagna · Gheorghiu · Hampson · Petibon · Courtis · Fouchécourt · Frémeau · LSO · Pappano Jules Massenet , Antonio Pappano , Roberto Alagna , Angela Gheorghiu , London Symphony Orchestra , Tiffin Children's Choir , Thomas Hampson , Patricia Petibon , Jean-Philippe Courtis , Jean-Paul Fouchécourt , Jean-Marie Frémeau , James Savage-Hanford , Pierre Dupont , and Sophie Boulanger Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Massenet | Massenet, Jules | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Massenet - Manon / Gheorghiu, Alagna, Patriarco, van Dam, Ragon, Rivenq, Panzarella, Koch, Schimmack, Pappano Puccini - La Rondine / Gheorghiu · Alagna · Matteuzzi · Mula · Rinaldi · Ciofi · Bacelli · LSO · Pappano Puccini - Il Trittico / Alagna, Gheorghiu, Guelfi, Guleghina, Gallardo-Domás, Manca di Nissa, Palmer, Shicoff, van Dam, Pappano Massenet: Le Jongleur de Notre Dame Verdi - Simon Boccanegra / Freni, Cappuccilli, Carreras, Ghiaurov, van Dam, Foiani, Teatro alla Scala, Abbado ASIN: B00001ZSVU Release Date: 1999-10-19

Tracks:

1. Werther: Prelude (Orchestra)
2. Werther: Act One: Assez! Assez! M'ecouterat-on cette fois? (Le Bailli, Les Enfants)
3. Werther: Act One: Bravo pour les enfants! (Johann, Schmidt, Les Enfants, Le Bailli, Sophie)
4. Werther: Act One: Alors, c'est bien ici la maison du Bailli?
5. Werther: Act One: Je ne sais si je veille (Werther)
6. Werther: Act One: Jesus vient de naitre!...Chers enfants! (Les Enfants, Werther)
7. Werther: Act One: Ah! comme ils sont meilleurs que moi! (Werther, Les enfants, Le Bailli)
8. Werther: Act One: Arrivez donc, Bruhlmann! (Le Bailli, Charlotte, Werther, Sophie)
9. Werther: Act One: O spectacle ideal d'amour et d'innocence (Werther)
10. Werther: Act One: Monsieur Werther!...Vivat Bacchus, semper vivat! (Le Bailli, Charlotte, Sophie)
11. Werther: Act One: Sophie!...Albert! Toi de retour! (Albert, Sophie)
12. Werther: Act One: Elle m'aime!...Quelle priere de reconnaissance et d'amour (Albert)
13. Werther: Act One: Interlude (Orchestre)
14. Werther: Act One: Interlude (continued) ...Il Faut nous separer
15. Werther: Act One: Mais vous ne savez rien de moi
16. Werther: Act One: Reve! Extase! Bonheur! (Charlotte, Werther)
17. Werther: Act One: Charlotte! Charlotte! Albert est de retour! (Le Bailli, Charlotte, Werther)
18. Werther: Act Two: Prelude (Orchestre) ....Vivat Bacchus! Semper vivat!
19. Werther: Act Two: Allez, chantez l'office (Johann, Schmidt)
20. Werther: Act Two: Trois mois! Voici trois mois que nous sommes unis! (Albert, Charlotte)
21. Werther: Act Two: Un autre est son epoux!
22. Werther: Act Two: J'aurais sur ma poitrine (Werther)
23. Werther: Act Two: Si! Katchen reviendra, je vous dis! (Schmidt, Johann)
24. Werther: Act Two: Au bonheur dont mon ame est pleine...Vous l'avez dit: mon ame est loyale et sincere (Albert, Werther)
25. Werther: Act Two: Frere, voyez! Voyez le beau bouquet!...Heureux! Pourais-je l'etre encore? (Sophie, Werther, Albert)
26. Werther: Act Two: Ai-je dit vrai? L'amour que j'ai pour elle Ah! qu'il est loin, ce jour plein d'intime douceur
27. Werther: Act Two: N'est-il donc pas d'autre femme
28. Werther: Act Two: Oui, ce qu'elle m'ordonne
29. Werther: Act Two: Lorsque l'enfant revient d'un voyage avant l'heure
30. Werther: Act Two: Mais venez donc! le cortege s'approche (Sophie, Werther, Charlotte, Albert)

Tracks:

1. Werther: Act Three: Prelude (Orchestra)
2. Werther: Act Three: Werther! Werther!...Qui m'aurait dit la place
3. Werther: Act Three: Des cris joyeux d'enfants montent sous ma fenetre (Charlotte)
4. Werther: Act Three: Bonjour, grand soeur! (Sophie, Charlotte)
5. Werther: Act Three: Va! Laisse couler mes larmes (Charlotte)
6. Werther: Act Three: Tiens, Charlotte, crois-moi, ne reste pas ici (Sophie, Charlotte)
7. Werther: Act Three: Ah! mon courage m'abandonne! (Charlotte)
8. Werther: Act Three: Qui, c'est moi! Je reviens! (Werner, Charlotte)
9. Werther: Act Three: Ha! bien souvent...Toute mon ame est la!...Pourquoi me reveiller, o souffle du printemps? (Werner)
10. Werther: Act Three: N'achevez pas! Helas!
11. Werther: Act Three: Ah! Moi! Moi, dans ses bras! (Charlotte, Werther)
12. Werther: Act Three: Werther, est de retour...on la vu revenir (Albert, Charlotte)
13. Werther: Act Four: Entr'acte: La Nuit de Noel (Orchestra)
14. Werther: Act Four: Werther! Werther! Rien! (Charlotte)
15. Werther: Act Four: Qui parle? Charlotte, ah! c'est toi!
16. Werther: Act Four: A cette heure supreme, je suis heureux (Charlotte, Werther)
17. Werther: Act Four: Noel! Noel! Noel!...Dieu! Ces cris joyeux (Les Enfants, Charlotte, Werther, Sophie)
18. Werther: Act Four: Ah! ses yeux se ferment!...Non...Charlotte!...je meurs (Charlotte, Werther)

Amazon.com

The modern discography of Massenet's Werther has long been dominated by the (currently out of print) Philips recording starring José Carreras and Frederica von Stade as well as the earlier EMI version with Alfredo Kraus and Tatiana Troyanos. But this EMI newcomer is within shouting distance of greatness, mainly due to conductor Antonio Pappano. Although any Werther succeeds or fails on the strength of its singers, the conductor is a crucial catalyst (on the Philips set, it's Colin Davis, while on EMI it's Michel Plasson) for maintaining the poetic intensity in a drama that can too easily seem like a naive case study in stalking. The Byronic title character essentially practices emotional blackmail on the married woman he loves by never hiding his suicidal tendencies, though one never thinks such mundane thoughts with tenor Roberto Alagna. Although his voice lacks the tenor bloom one might want, he's so at home with the role and the French language that he delivers a characterization full of imagination and immediacy, sometimes bordering on vocal genius. Soprano Angela Gheoghiu's vocal center is too high for this mezzo role, but she makes a vivid impression through the sheer force of her personality. Thomas Hampson gives vocal glamour but surprising dramatic restraint to the role of her husband, Albert. Although the sound quality is somewhat studio bound, Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra play as if it's a live performance. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews:

A star among modern Werthers, but there are others.......2006-05-28

The reviewers below have praised this EMI Werther so thoroughly that there's little to add. Gheorghiu is the only soprano besides Victoria de los Angeles (1868, also on EMI) to record this classic mezzo role, and at times one hears the strain as she reaches for the bottom notes. She lacks de los angeles's many emotional shadings, giving us instead a fairly consistent, verismo-tinged passion, but her vocalism as such is thrilling.

Roberto alagna, a native French speaker despite his name, is the only prominent Werther who can claim that distinciton. I've always felt he was much better suited to French opera than the heavier Verdi-Puccini roles that he now sings, and which (shadoes of Carreras) have led to a coarsening of his voice, along with a pronounced wobble and intonation problems. but he is a star, no doubt, and here he brings charisma and style to Wether. He takes care to find many musical shadings throughout, and since the date for this recording is 1998-99, he is nearly in best voice.

Everyone has praised Pappano (are they following the lead of The Gramophone reviewer, who thought he was the best thing here?), but Colin Davis, Georges Pretre, and Kent Nagano had done as well. Pappano;s distinciton is that he is a bit slower, more dleiberate, and self-consciously refined. I'm not sure that's always a great advantage in Massanet, whose music is given to sighs and longueurs--it can use help form an energetic conductor. EMI's recording form London is a bit distant but otherwise quite good.

IN all, this is a gripping peformance that deserves all the praise it has gotten, but it doesn't erase memories of other fine Werthers, an opera that has been amazingly successful on records. The Davis features a remarkable Charlotte in Frederica von stade and a passionate, verismo Carreras in top form (Philips), the Nagano has gorgeous if not quite idiomatic singing from von Otter and Hadley in a more low-key, melliflous style (Erato), and of course there's the classic Pretre version with de los Angeles and Gedda. This only skims the surface, for there is an oustanding live 1977 performance with Domingo and Fassbaender under Lopez-Corbos from Munich (Orfeo). Indeed, when the Amazon reviewer claims that the Plasson set with Troyanos and Kraus on EMI "dominated" the stereo era, he is far from accurate.

Another Smash Hit From The French Opera Specialists .......2006-02-25

Husband and wife singing sensatio Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu, in another stunning EMI recording, dramatically commit themselves to the passionate characters in this now forgotten opera Werther, which quite possibly is Massenet's best work. Although Alagna and Gheorghiu can sing the Italian opera repertoire with aplomb (Tosca, Trovatore, Boheme, Pagliacci, La Rondine) they have proven time and again that their strongest reperotoire is French opera. As soon as their Romeo Et Juliette hit record stores and stage houses, they were immediately hailed as today's finest French opera singers, a rarity. Not only do they possess beautiful voices but they are intensely dramatic and character-driven. Never more so than in Massenet's Werther, a Gothic romantic drama about the tormented love of the titular hero who kills himself. It's drawn from a popular Romantic-Era 19th century novel - The Sorrows of Young Werther. Both Alagna and Gheorghiu are in great vocal shape. They understand the significance of the text and they are blessed with the talents of their champion conductor, Antonio Pappano, who draws out the power in the musical score with the London Symphony Orchestra. All true fans of Alagna and Gheorghiu will want to own this one, as it is indeed their best work yet.

Roberto Alagna has been criticized for his flawed technique- he sings with self-conscious grandeur and often imitates the lyric tones of predecessors Giuseppe Di Stefano and Franco Corelli. He has a nearly "pop" style voice - all razzzle-dazzle, great volume, beautiful tone, but often fails in the more difficult music. He is however, very gifted and intelligent and attempts to sing with as much passion and drama as possible. I for one love what I hear from him, especially in this recording, where he has never sang better. Angela Gheorghiou sings with her usual dramatic diva flair - thrilling high notes, tessitura, chest voice, musicality and all the good things she has used for other great hits like Juliette and Manon. But in this performance, while it is still good, she is not really in her element. This is a mezzo-soprano role. Charlotte, Werther's unattainable love, must sing with mezzo soprano voice in order to seduce Werther a la Bizet's Carmen. While it is definately a role for a high mezzo, it is not for the purely soprano voice of Angela Gheorghiu. You have to be a fan of these two in order to appreciate Gheorghiu's treatment of a mezzzo soprano role. It is basically the same thing as her Carmen, another mezzo soprano role. If you want to hear outstanding mezzo sopranos in Werther check out the dramatic mezzo style of Brigitte Fassbaender who is by far the best intepretor or check out Federica Von Stade who sings a cooler and less intense Charlotte opposite the supercharged Jose Carreras. Pappano does a great job with the music - bloom, brilliance, darkness and this is by far the best modern recording of the opera.

¿El mejor Werther despues de Kraus?.......2004-10-23

Sorprendente acierto de la EMI (la casa para la que grababa Alfredo Kraus, uno de los interpretes de referencia del papel de 'Werther') al confiar a una de las parejas mas activas discograficamente del momento, Roberto Alagna y Angela Gheorghiu, la grabacion de 'Werther' en 1999 (justo el año de la muerte del mitico Kraus)
Y digo sorprendente porque quizas ROBERTO ALAGNA sea el mejor interprete de Werther desde el mitico Kraus. Sus interpretaciones son muy diferentes entre si, ya que Alagna muestra un timbre mas baritonal que el liviano de Kraus y un canto mas afrancesado: Un canto elegante y entregado capaz de llegar a los agudos sin grandes problemas, que hacen de Alagna seguramente el mejor Werther de su generacion (y por tanto el mejor despues de Kraus).
Como Charlotte encontramos a la soprano ANGELA GHEORGHIU, en un papel que aunque habitualmente es cantado por mezzos, le queda francamente bien: la voz doliente y expresiva de Gheorghiu se presta perfectamente a la psicologia de Charlotte, y la quimica con Alagna en los duos de amor (sobra decir que es su esposo en la vida real) es total.
Completando el reparto nos encontramos con los lujos de PATRICIA PETIBON (una Sophie cuyo timbre recuerda mucho al de Natalie Dessay) y el Albert de un THOMAS HAMPSON que es todo sutilidad. El resto del reparto rinde tambien a buen nivel.
ANTONIO PAPPANO dirige a la LONDON SIMPHONY (que suena igual de bien que siempre) y el coro infantil canta con mucha correccion. Si a esto le sumamos un sonido magnifico (podemos oir en algunos momentos incluso los susurros de Pappano a la orquesta), esto nos lleva a pensar que este 'Werther' sea la mas adecuada segunda opcion, despues de tener la obviamente obligada de Alfredo Kraus. Muy buen trabajo.

Best Werther recording since the 1930s.......2000-03-17

I will admit that I am "imprinted" on the Georges Thill/Ninon Vallin recording from the 1930s and no recording since then has even come close. But this recording does. Alagna (who is a native French speaker, in spite of the Italian name) has the diction and, more important, the style to sing poor Werther perfectly. Gheorghiu sings beautifully as well, and there is no problem with the tessitura, in spite of Charlotte generally being more comfortable for mezzos. Pappano is an up-and-coming conductor who does himself proud with this recording. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this one.

thoughts on "Werther".......2000-01-07

Perfect casting for the title role... Alagna feels *good* and sorry for himself...no problems there! Just listen to him belt and bleat through "Pourquoi"...it's no wonder Charlotte changes her mind. "Stop whining!"

This CD is worth your money, provided you already like the opera. Personally, Werther's selfishness drives me up a wall.

There's only one major problem: why is Gheorghiu singing a mezzo role? The middle register of her voice is *not* her best of show.

Average customer rating: ORDER AND BEAUTY Breathtaking

The Songs of Henri Duparc Manufacturer: Hyperion UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Allen, Thomas | ( A ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Songs of Chausson / Lott · Murray · McGreevy · Trakas · Chilingirian Quartet · G. Johnson Gabriel Fauré: The Complete Songs, Vol. 3 Fauré: The Complete Songs, Vol. 2: Un paysage choisi Fauré - The Complete Songs, Vol. 4 ~ Dans un parfum de roses Songs by Bizet ASIN: B000002ZLE Release Date: 1993-06-21

Tracks:

1. L'Invitation au voyage
2. Serenade florentine
3. Testament
4. Phidyle
5. Extase
6. La vague et la cloche
7. Chanson triste
8. Le Galop
9. Romance de Mignon
10. Serenade
11. La Fuite
12. Lamento
13. Elegie
14. Le manoir de Rosemonde
15. Au pays ou se fait la guerre
16. Soupir
17. La vie anterieure

Customer Reviews:

ORDER AND BEAUTY.......2006-08-30

Duparc composed little and published less. The 17 songs with piano (including one duet) that we have on this disc - just over one hour of music - constitute virtually all he chose to leave us as a musical legacy after more than 80 years of life. Some of the poets he set are familiar names - Baudelaire, Gautier, Sully-Prudhomme, Leconte de Lisle, one translation from Goethe - but three of the 17 are by one Jean Lahor. What they have as a common theme is a sense of incapacity to deal with mundane life, this manifested in the earlier poems as an escape into fantasy and dreams, lapsing into lonely sadness in the later. Whether the poetry of Lahor is of `middling quality', in the supercilious phrase of the liner-note writer, I wouldn't be knowing. My own French has no difficulty with understanding the literal meaning of anything here, and it is probably up to recognising the stature of Baudelaire, but whether it is good enough to pass such judgments on the plain and innocent-seeming verses of Lahor I am not so sure. It seems to me that a native speaker of French might miss the magic behind the simple diction of Housman, and what I seem to find in Lahor is at least a patent and fragile sincerity.

This poetry is set to a music of exquisite refinement and poise. There is clear influence from Wagner in one or two ways, particularly in some of the more vigorous accompaniments and probably also in the almost total avoidance of word-repetition, but the very French sense of atmosphere is as strong as it is in Debussy, and the vocal lines combine a Wagnerian flexibility with a delicate lyricism that recalls Berlioz. Duparc was also an outright perfectionist, and perfectionism is catching. It infects even such a slattern as I am myself when I listen to these fine-spun little masterpieces, and it seems to me that nothing less than total perfection in their performance can do them full justice.

What I find in this recital is total perfection from Thomas Allen, but only excellence from Sarah Walker and Roger Vignoles. They all show thorough understanding of this music, and they convey their understanding with both power when required and discretion, which is always required. I could probably ask for nothing more by way of insight into the soul of the works. Where I find something slightly lacking is at a more mundane level. Apart from a couple of slightly uneasy high notes, Sarah Walker's technical command is assured, and I feel more than a little ungallant in saying crudely that her voice is not quite what is needed for Duparc - it is just slightly ordinary, and her French is not as good as Allen's either. As the recital progressed I longed more and more for Veronique Gens, whose memorable Berlioz Nuits d'Ete came back forcefully into my mind. As for the accompaniment, it calls for the highest praise in its mastery of the idiom and style (which are more varied than you might expect). Vignoles catches the special and elusive atmosphere of this special and elusive composer with genuine and deep insight, and there is real and impressive power in the later sequences of the last song of all. However the shortcomings - slight but in this context very telling - are once again at a more humdrum level. The touch needs to be the last word in the `order, beauty, comfort, peace and pleasure' that Baudelaire himself yearns for in `L'Invitation au Voyage'. In particular the frequent tremolando sequences call for superhuman evenness, and when I ask myself `Who do I want to be doing this?' the answer that comes to me is as much a fantasy as anything in the poems - I want Michelangeli.

For some reason credits are given in the liner to the translators of only three of the poems. I can think of no reason for this discrimination, and all the translations are in my own opinion excellent. I spotted no misprints in either English or French, unless Baudelaire's `ciels', which Lahor and I thought was `cieux', is one of those and not his divine afflatus as I am assuming. The liner-note itself is businesslike and informative, and the recorded quality gives me no grounds for criticism. This is a fine production, and whether or not I have laboured my reservations unduly I recommend it cordially. Perfection was what I had wanted. It is not quite what I have got, but I have got a great deal nonetheless, and it may be a long time before I am given as much again.

Breathtaking.......2002-08-23

The music of Duparc is as intense, layered, complex, and as emotional as the man who wrote it - who in fact, drove himself mad in the process. To convey this music effectively, a journey must be taken by the vocalist and the pianist into rich text and engulfing harmonies, without drowning in over analysis & self indulgence. There is a foreboding sense of secret, or the opening of a private self, and a great vulnerability and tenderness in this music. Here, the vocalists Allen & Walker, present immaculate readings of these 17 works, along with the supreme artisty of Vignoles. These recorded pieces are such exquisite duets between voice and piano that they leave you in rapture. Walker's mellifluous "Extase" with it's Wagnerian, lush accompaniment is impeccable and haunting. Allen opens his soul, along with those of the poet and composer, in "Soupir" - laden with all the angst of unrequited love. Both he and Vignoles transport their listener heavenward on soft stardust in their intimate "Serenade Florentine". This is divinely inspired music. Honest. Unpretentious. Transcendental.

Average customer rating:

Master of French Song Charles Panzera Manufacturer: Dutton Labs UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Fauré Songs ASIN: B0000666AZ Release Date: 2002-10-08

Average customer rating:

The Voice of France Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Berlioz | Berlioz, Hector | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Canteloube, Joseph | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Delibes, Léo | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Debussy | Debussy, Claude | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Fauré, Gabriel | ( F ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gounod | Gounod, Charles | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Lalo, Edouard | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Massenet | Massenet, Jules | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Offenbach | Offenbach, Jacques | ( O ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Poulenc | Poulenc, Francis | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Ravel, Maurice | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Saint-Saëns, Camille | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Thomas | Thomas, Ambroise | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Requiems | Forms & Genres | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Paris Symphony Orchestra | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Rogi, Pascal | ( R ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra | ( V ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Anthems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music ASIN: B000075A80 Release Date: 2002-11-12

Tracks:

1. La Marseillaise (French National Anthem) - Placido Domingo
2. Dome Epais Le Jasmin (Flower Duet) - Joan Sutherland
3. L'amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle - Regina Resnik
4. C'est Toi...Au Fond Du Temple Saint - Gregory Cross
5. Belle Noit, O Nuit D'amour - Joan Sutherland
6. Apres Un Reve - Renee Fleming
7. L'invitation Au Voyage - Gerard Souzay
8. Cantique De Jean Racine, Op.11 - Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge
9. Rachel, Quand De Seigneur - Leopold Simoneau
10. O Vin, Dissipe La Tristesse - Sherrill Milnes
11. Je Suis Titania - Beverly Sills
12. Ah, Ou Va La Jeune Indoue - Joan Sutherland
13. Les Filles De Cadix - Angela Gheorghiu
14. Mon Coeur S'ouvre A Ta Voix - Marilyn Home
15. Alerte! Alerte!...Anges Pur - Nuccia Focile

Tracks:

1. Frere Jacques - Rita Streich
2. Air De Letter: Mon Chet Amant - Regine Crespin
3. Marthe Dieu Soit Loue...Deposons Les Armes (Soldiers' Chorus) - Robert Massard
4. In Paradisum - L Union Chorale de La Tour De Peliz
5. Villanelle - Regine Crespin
6. Je Veux Vivre - Joan Sutherland
7. Chanson A Boire - Gerard Souzay
8. L'Enigme Eternelle - Suzanne Danco
9. Sur Le Pont D'Avignon - Hilde Guden
10. Phidyle - Gerard Souzay
11. Les Gars Qui Vont A La Fete - Gerard Souzay
12. Notre Amour - Sylvia McNair
13. Beau Soir - Elly Ameling
14. C'est L'extase Langoureuse - Sylvia McNair
15. Puisqu'on Ne Peut Flechir Ces jalouses Gardiennes-Vainement Ma Bien-Aimee - Alfredo Kraus
16. Il Est Doux, Il Est Bon - Angela Gheorghiu
17. Hotel - Gilles Cachemaille
18. Petite Dinde, Ah! Quel Outrage - Maggie Teyte
19. Bailero - Kiri Te Kanawa
20. Brezairola - Kiri Te Kanawa
21. Malurous Qu'o Uno Fenno - Kiri Te Kanawa

Average customer rating:

Rêveries Manufacturer: Polygram Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Fauré, Gabriel | ( F ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Messiaen | Messiaen, Olivier | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Poulenc | Poulenc, Francis | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Debussy | Debussy, Claude | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music McNair, Sylvia | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Sylvia McNair - The Echoing Air ~ The Music of Henry Purcell / AAM, Hogwood Exsultate Jubilate and other Works by Handel and Mozart Ravel: Shéhérazade - Debussy: La damoiselle elue - Britten: Les illuminations / McNair, Graham, Ozawa ASIN: B0000041KJ Release Date: 1997-03-25

Tracks:

1. Ariettes Oubliees: C'est l'extase langoureuse
2. Ariettes Oubliees: Il pleure dans mon coeur
3. Ariettes Oubliees: L'ombre des arbres dans la riviere embrumee
4. Ariettes Oubliees: Paysages belges: Chevaux de bois
5. Ariettes Oubliees: Aquarelles: I. Green
6. Ariettes Oubliees: Aquarelles: II. Spleen
7. La coccinelle
8. Adieux de l'hotesse arabe
9. Pastel
10. Vous ne priez pas
11. Trois Melodies: 1. Pourquoi
12. Trois Melodies: 2. Le sourire
13. Trois Melodies: 3. La fiancee perdue
14. Reve d'amour
15. Au bord de l'eau
16. Notre amour
17. Bleuet Banalites
18. BANALITES: 2. Hotel
19. BANALITES: 4. Voyage a Paris
20. METAMORPHOSES: 1. Reine des mouettes
21. METAMORPHOSES: 2. C'est ainsi que tu es
22. METAMORPHOSES: 3. Paganini

Average customer rating: Fantastic Symphony No. 3 PARTIAL REDEMPTION Great overall

Scriabin: Complete Symphonies Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Scriabin, Alexander | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Scriabin, Alexander | Composers | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | 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 Ashkenazy, Vladimir | ( A ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Complete Piano Works of Scriabin Horowitz Plays Scriabin Saint-Saëns: Les 5 Symphonies Scriabin: Complete Sonatas Prokofiev: 7 Symphonies; Lieutenant Kijé ASIN: B00009OOJT Release Date: 2003-08-12

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Symphony No. 3.......2006-01-07

I have all Scriabin's symphonies, but his third is by far my favorite. It is a work of such grandeur and power. The brass section of the orchestra is truly put to the test and pushed to the limits in this work. The reoccuring theme that is heard at the very beginning of the work is heard all throughout the whole symphony and remains a very prominant force in the work.

I have to say that this symphony is one of my absolute favorities and one of the finest ever written. The final movement is especially amazing, with the final bars culminating in one of the most fantastic codas to anything I have ever experienced in symphonic music.

I highly recommend this recording. If you are unfamiliar to Scriabin, do yourself a favor and get acquainted. You'll find his music and this symphony some of the most moving music you'll ever have the pleasure of hearing.

PARTIAL REDEMPTION.......2005-12-05

If Scriabin is an acquired taste, it's a taste that I acquired very easily. Like certain composers (e.g. Schoenberg) and unlike certain others (e.g. Rachmaninov) whose careers cover the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his idiom changed fairly drastically in the process. In Scriabin's case this change did not amount to a complete abjuration of the late romantic idiom, but well before his untimely death he had ceased to ascribe 'keys' to his works and had also stopped dividing them into separate movements in the traditional way, something Schoenberg always clung to. He took himself quite unbelievably seriously, developing a mission to redeem mankind through art. That sort of thing, like the similar aspirations of Shelley and Coleridge, seems hokum to me, but hokum whose results I happen to enjoy. I also sympathise entirely with his yearning, expressed in connexion with the 3rd symphony, for '...the evolution of the human spirit...torn from an entire past of beliefs and mysteries which it surmounts and overcomes...' Progress in this respect still seems deplorably slow and prone to relapse, and I sense that creative artists have lowered their sights to some extent in terms of what they think they can achieve along these lines.

The title of this set 'Complete Symphonies' seems to me a good one. Of the five main works here the first three bear the name of 'symphony', and the Poeme de l'Extase was conceived under the same title and intended at first to be in four movements, but by now Scriabin's imagination was taking leave of terra firma. When the work appeared in 1907 it was heralded by a 'philosophical programme' in verse, and its title is of course 'Poem'. If it is a symphony in some sense, then so is the final Prometheus - the Poem of Fire. This not only abandons the standard symphonic division into movements but envisages a wordless chorus, an obbligato piano part and even some kind of magic lantern that he wanted to project specified colours into the audience. The first performance of the work, in Moscow in 1911, lacked this colourful feature, a lack rectified at a performance in New York in 1915, the year of Scriabin's death. As for the harmony, it is roughly as radical as that of Delius.

In addition to the symphonies this set provides two earlier works, the piano concerto and a short Reverie. These, and the first symphony, are very traditional in idiom, and none the worse for that I'd say. The second symphony is a little bolder, but the real adult Scriabin first appears in the third symphony which is on the third disc of the set. The recording dates from several years earlier than the other two discs, but it seems to me much more satisfactory. The earlier discs are not badly recorded to be sure, but the sound lacks presence and vividness. The volume level is on the low side, but while turning it up improves matters a little it doesn't solve the basic problem - after a point it is just too loud and the sound is still not what Scriabin quite needs. I compared my vinyl set of the two Poems from Ormandy, and the difference in sound-quality in the Poeme du Feu on disc 1 is startling. There is still a difference when it comes to the Poeme de l'Extase on disc 3, but it is not so great, and it is less attributable to the recording. It points up, I think, some characteristics of the conductor.

As well as the two Poems, my collection of Scriabin contains quite a fair selection of his solo piano works, played by Horowitz, Richter, Ogdon, Gould - and Ashkenazy. Of these performances I like Ashkenazy's the least by quite a long way, because I have always found too much of his playing to be just a bit ordinary. When it came to listening to him in his latter-day incarnation as a conductor, I admit I underwent the process with some suspicions. These were founded on my previous experience of him as an interpreter even in his prime, but also caused by some scepticism regarding retired soloists finding a new career as conductors. Beecham, Toscanini and Karajan had a mission from the outset to be conductors. They went into the business when young, and they knew not to underestimate what it required. Elderly gentlemen taking the baton up as a sunset career will be treated doubtless with the respect due to their erstwhile eminence, but I wouldn't expect great things from them, nor do I find great things here. The difference from Ormandy shows markedly even in the Poeme de l'Extase. There is simply far more refinement, subtlety and sheer quality in Ormandy's account, and the recording, from sometime in the 70's, is actually better too, even on vinyl. The gap is even greater in Prometheus, affecting in particular the piano part from Peter Jablonski, given a recorded sound that is too discreet by half or more than half. This young player gets a fairer opportunity in the concerto, an attractive early work which he performs with aplomb and distinction. The first two symphonies and the Reverie are attractive too, and having nothing to compare them with I was consequently less critical.

In fact you will get very fair performances of Scriabin in general here, just not 5-star ones. The production is admirable in many ways, with the pieces sequenced with some imagination rather than in strict order of composition. The liner-note takes them in that order, and sensibly so, and it is a very sound and helpful production from Andrew Huth. I have no regrets at all about purchasing this interesting set, and I have given honesty and balance my best shot in the foregoing opinions.

Great overall.......2005-08-29

The Sym #3 in this set is awesome. The sound quality is excellent and the performance brings out so many details in this huge over-the-top work.

The other syms are well done too, but #3 is Scriabin's masterpiece so what really matters, in my view...

Track Listings:

1. Favorite Baroque Classics / Varioius
2. Favourite Baroque
3. Favourite Classics 2
4. Favourite Collection
5. Favourite Debussy
6. Favourite Elgar
7. Favourite Gershwin
8. Favourite Tchaikovsky
9. Favourite Tenors
10. Flowers in Music

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Collection [Import]

Ich Liebe Dich Nicht: Anita Ammersfeld Singt Kurt Weill

...Finest Ingredients

Charles Lloyd in Europe [Limited Edition] [Import] [Live]

In Strum Mental

Logg [Import]

Final Fantasy VIII: Eyes on Me (CD3) [CD-single] [Import]

Lentz: Caeli enarrant...

In Concert 1964 [Live]

Jam Band

I Am As Pure As Oranj [Import]

John Webster Johns

Fuse: Ten Years Technomusic

Magic of the Guitar

Los Lonely Boys