The Berlin Project

1. Kleine Dreigroschenmusik, suite for wind orchestra (based on "Die Dreigroschenoper")
Composed by Kurt Weill
Performed by Westchester Symphony Orchestra Music Conducted by Siegfried Landau

2. Quodlibet for orchestra (arranged from "Zaubernacht"), Op. 9
Composed by Kurt Weill
Performed by Recklinghausen Westphalian Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Siegfried Landau

3. Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny), opera
Composed by Kurt Weill
Performed by Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Lukas Foss

4. Concerto for violin and wind orchestra, Op. 12
Composed by Kurt Weill
with Detmold Wind Ensemble , Susanne Lautenbacher
Conducted by Jost Michaels

5. Suite for orchestra, Op 31 ("Mona Lisa")
Composed by Max von Schillings
Performed by Recklinghausen Westphalian Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Siegfried Landau

6. The Birthday of the Infanta, pantomime
Composed by Franz Schreker
Performed by Hamburg Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Arthur Gruber

The Berlin Project,Max von Schillings,Franz Schreker,Kurt Weill,Arthur Gruber,Jost Michaels,Lukas Foss,Siegfried Landau,Detmold Wind Ensemble,Hamburg Symphony Orchestra,Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra,Music for Westchester Symphony Orchestra,Recklinghausen Westphalian Symphony Orchestra,Susanne Lautenbacher,Vox (Classical),20th/21st Century Orchestral Music,Classical,Concerto,German/Austrian 20th/21st Century Opera,Miscellaneous Music,Music For Wind Orchestra,Music Theater,Opera,Orchestral,Suite for Orchestra,Violin Concerto

Average customer rating: Some major orchestral "micropolyphonic" works and a fun early piece One of the best CDs of contemporary music. Excellent, but only for a willing ear Very Good Intro To Gyorgy Ligeti Stunningly insightful performances of Ligeti's orchestral works

The Ligeti Project II: Lontano / Atmosphères / Apparitions / San Francisco Polyphony / Concert Românesc - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Jonathan Nott Gyorgy Ligeti , Jonathon Nott , and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Manufacturer: Teldec ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Ligeti, György | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Ligeti Project I: Melodien / Chamber Concerto / Piano Concerto / Mysteries of the Macabre - Schönberg Ensemble / ASKO Ensemble / Reinbert de Leeuw The Ligeti Project IV: Hamburg Concerto (Horn Concerto) / Double Concerto / Ramifications / Requiem The Ligeti Project III: Cello Concerto / Clocks & Clouds / Violin Concerto / Síppal, Dobbal, Nádihegedüvel György Ligeti Edition 3: Works for Piano (Etudes, Musica Ricercata) - Pierre-Laurent Aimard György Ligeti Edition 2: A Cappella Choral Works - London Sinfonietta Voices ASIN: B00005Y34N Release Date: 2002-06-11

Tracks:

1. Lontano
2. Atmospheres
3. Apparitions: I. Lento
4. Apparitions: II. Agitato
5. San Francisco Polyphony
6. Concert Romanesc: I. Andantino
7. Concert Romanesc: II. Allegro Vivace
8. Concert Romanesc: III. Adagio Ma Non Troppo
9. Concert Romanesc: IV. Molto Vivace

Amazon.com

The five extraordinary works on this disc will captivate Ligeti fans and entrance even those who don't know his music. The focus in Lontano on refined tonal colors makes it one of the most elegant pieces in the modernist canon. Atmosphères is more static, holding interest through subtle changes in color and dynamics. Apparitions was Ligeti's first success in the West after his escape from Hungary during the 1956 Soviet invasion. It's a ghostly two-movement work. The first, Lento, is creepy in a dynamically subdued way. The second, Agitato, surprises in its violence, the orchestral crashes fulfilling the fears embodied in the Lento movement.

San Francisco Polyphony, from 1974, is the most recent Ligeti composition on the disc, and it packs more into its 12-plus minutes than many full-evening works. It teems with dense orchestral figures and dynamic contrasts. Under its colorful façade, the work demonstrates how uncompromising modern music can enchant both ear and mind. It should become a concert staple as we move deeper into the 21st century. Finally, an early 1951 work, Concert Românesc, harks back to Bartók's transformations of folk material. Rich in color and vitality, its four movements are full of the dissonances of village bands and melodies rooted in Romanian folk music and in Ligeti's fertile, sympathetic imagination. The playing of the Berlin Philharmonic under conductor Jonathan Nott is outstanding, as is the engineering. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Some major orchestral "micropolyphonic" works and a fun early piece.......2006-06-20

Teldec's THE LIGETI PROJECT II continues the collection, started by Sony's "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition", of Ligeti's complete works in performances overseen by the composer himself. This second disc contains four orchestral works, three of which were written in his "micropolyphony" style of the 1960s and 1970s, and the fourth a recently-rediscovered gem written as a student in 1951. These are performed by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by the young talent Jonathan Nott, and can be considered definitive.

The earliest piece here is "Concerto Romanesc" (1951), a bit of juvenalia inspired by folk melodies the composer heard during musicological expeditions in Romania. Dating from before his use of micropolyphony and overtly modernistic techniques, these pieces may sound like they came from a different composer entirely. Indeed, there is a frank tonalism here, broken only by the occurance of a single F# in the context of F minor, which, as Ligeti painfully recalls in the notes, was reason enough for the Communist government of Hungary to ban it. The opening "Andantino" is among the most emotionally moving of Ligeti's works, and might be compared to his early "Sonata for solo cello." This and the second movement "Allegro vivace" may sound familiar, as portions appeared arranged for two violins as "Balada si joc" on "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duets".

A bit before before leaving Hungary in the aftermath of the suppressed 1956 revolt, Ligeti had already begin experimenting with total chromaticism, which due to political restrictions made for pieces consigned to the desk drawer. Once free in the West, his first orchestral piece was "Apparitions" (1958-59), which in its first movement displays a use of all twelve-tones, and then in the second introduces the new technique of "micropolyphony", interwoven textures of such complexity that one can hardly make out the individual strands. While entertaining, it is clearly an immature work in this new style, and I rarely come back to it. Maybe that is because the next piece here is one of Ligeti's sure masterpieces. "Atmospheres" (1961) is the piece which really brought Ligeti to international recognition, not only through the sensation of its premiere under Hans Rosbaud, but also because of Stanley Kubrick's unauthorized use of it in the film 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Eschewing traditional rhythm and melody for a series of shifting tone colours, one might think "Atmospheres" doesn't even qualify as music, but what music it is! Packed with thousands of individual little cells, the piece offers something new on every listen, for one can, if one wants, go behind the great whoosh of orchestral sound and concentrate on individual lines.

"Lontano" (1967) is closely related to Ligeti's a capella work "Lux Aeterna", and indeed the same melody appears "hidden" in each. The composer skillfully gives the impression of a great object approaching from far-off, seeming to move slowly but ultimately zooming past the listener. The orchestral texture is very dense and generally even, Ligeti reportedly wrote the piece while addicted to painkillers, which explains a lot. One very interesting thing about "Lontano" in Ligeti's overall output is that he abandons total chromaticism here, and however avant-garde his technique of micropolyphony might be, the piece is nonetheless diatonic. "San Francisco Polyphony" (1973-74) was written during Ligeti's stint teaching at Stanford. It's a little-known work in comparison to others in the micropolyphonic style, and I think that's a real shame because Ligeti introduces a major innovation here. Instead of seeming static on the surface like "Atmospheres" et al., there is great activity and rhythmic experimentation, and there are countless overt melodies like in the composer's 1971 piece "Melodien".

This disc makes one of the single best introductions to the music of this great and sorely missed composer, although THE LIGETI PROJECT IV with its performance of the "Requiem" and larger view of the composer's career serves well, too.

One of the best CDs of contemporary music........2006-06-07

There're not many CDs like this available on the stores. It's the clear example of perfect CD in its repertoire. A wonderful composer, perfect performances and excellent recordings, together with a very good booklet and presentation.

Some of the works are among the best of Ligeti, in my opinion. The Concert Romanesc (1951), is in clear debt with Bartók language. We have to remember Ligeti is from Transylvania, from a region where Eötvös, Kurtág and the own Bartók were from. The folk music is very important there, as the Bartók transcriptions show, and Ligeti was concerned about it in his early years, like we listen too in other works, specially the Musica Ricarcata in the multiple transcriptions that music allows. Concert Romanesc is really a good piece in its style, that of popular music based on Romanian tunes, that really were Hungarian in pre-war times, before that zone where transferred to Romania. Some of the concerto themes are present too in early pieces for violins and strings, those we can listen on the Sony Edition Nº1, played by the Arditti Quartet. These kind of pieces, like String Quartet Nº1, are the first Ligeti period; next step will come with some of the pieces you can hear in the rest of the CD.

Apparitions (1958-59), was an scandal in its premiere, and it marks a turning point on Ligeti's aesthetics and way of composing. From a quite weberian style, the piece is brief and extremely concise in the way the instruments play. No more tunes, no more melodies, no more folk motives in this music; just really apparitions of sound in different ways and combinations, from different places in the orchestra. A very calm first movement, full of contrasts between silence and sound irruptions, and a second one much more vivid and fast. Teldec affirms this is the world premiere recording, in fact I don't know any other one, so I have to trust them. It's incredible this decisive piece was not recorded, as a turning point on Ligeti's work and as some of the most extreme and fantastic pieces form the `50s, a really breathtaking composition you will enjoy much more with the successive auditions.

Atmospheres (1961), one of the most important pieces in the orchestral repertoire in the XXth Century, has an enormous performance on this CD, a jewel never heard before in this way on CD. Ligeti has written about Atmospheres that is a piece unique, in the sense its composed in a way that its mathematical combinations reach only to this work. Wonderful use of micro-polyphony and micro-tonality, composed through nets of sound really complex in which every instruments play different parts that construct an outstanding group. Strings, woodwinds, metals play on them limits, going from the highest tones to the deepest, like in the change from woodwinds to the massive entrance of deep strings. Lot of people know this piece from Kubrick's 2001; you should try this one, that is really much more better performance.

Lontano (1968) is very careful about colours and polyphony, in fact we can here a quite medieval canon in the final sections of this piece, because of great interest of Ligeti on that medieval polyphony. The piece really seems to create new states of conscience, as the lines of music seems to go to no-known dimensions. Wonderful work too, taken by Kubrick again for his amazing film The Shinning, in which it's used perfectly, like all the music used in that film (Penderecki, Bartók, etc).

I don't like San Francisco Polyphony (1973-74) so much like the two previous pieces, even the style is very close, but I really prefer some other works from that time. In the late `70s and in the `80s Ligeti will go into a new step I have to confess I don't like so much like the one which has Atmospheres, Lontano, String Quartet Nº2, Requiem, Doppelkonzert, Cello Concert...

The performances are outstanding and simply perfect; they bring new life on these scores and the playing of, probably, the best orchestra in the world, conducted by one of the best young conductors in the world, Jonathan Nott, very trained on contemporary music.

The recording is very, very good, with some pieces live-recorded, like Atmospheres and Lontano and some of them studio recordings, like Apparitions. It's incredible how the Berliners play so perfectly in a live-recording.

Interesting texts by Ligeti on this jewel; one of the best CDs of contemporary music that I know.

Excellent, but only for a willing ear.......2006-06-06

Ligeti has based his style on being entirely different from anyone else. I would say that he has succeeded. His music is quite unlike anything I've heard before, and it took me a little while to warm up to Ligeti's music. The atonal washes of orchestral color can be a bit jarring at first, but can provide deep interest in the music.

The music is well recorded and well performed. I do not know of a better recording of these works.

Very Good Intro To Gyorgy Ligeti.......2006-02-05

You've heard Ligeti's Atmospheres in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick used a lot of Ligeti in that film. Well, if you've ever been interested in checking out this fascinating avant-garde composer, here's the perfect opportunity. Jonathan Nott conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in five works by everyone's favorite composer from Transylvania! The Berlin Philharmonic is not exactly known as the most progressive of orchestras, they are acknowledged as one of the supreme orchestras in the world when it comes to standard, tradional repertoire. Like say Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, R. Strauss and so on. It is a joy to see them expand their horizons via conductor Jonathan Nott.

The Concert Romanesc is an early piece by Ligeti, very much influenced by Bartok but the other works are Ligeti, pure and true with his famous tone clusters. Lontano and Atmospheres make the best impression. The sound is outstanding as it should be.

One disappointment is that the playing time is only 54 and a half minutes, which is short measure for a classical CD. Some more music could surely have been added. Nonetheless this Ligeti Project series is terrific. I also recommend the other CD in this series with the Requiem on it.

Stunningly insightful performances of Ligeti's orchestral works.......2005-10-22

György Ligeti's unique place in 20th Century music, while long admired by the cognoscenti, has yet to become a true part of the standard repertoire of our major orchestras. With the release of this Ligeti Project that situation will hopefully change!

On this CD Jonathan Nott conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in full control of the sound produced and, in fact, introducing nuances within these massive clouds of tonalities that open this music to heighten the most seasoned listener's enjoyment. 'Lontano' shimmers, 'Atmosphères' completely surrounds us with at times inaudible but pulsatile movement. 'Apparitions' is one of Ligeti's more popular works and is the embodiment of things that go bump in the night! 'San Francisco Polyphony' is Ligeti at his zenith, with highly sophisticated rhythms and chordal changes that have as much energy and creativity as anything he has written: Nott keeps the wildy/unwieldly fragments tightly strung. The Concert Românesc seems a strange way to end this CD as it is the more traditional, folk melody inspired work and is so easily accessible that it begins to sound more like Bartok and Kodaly than the giant who changed our aural spectrum.

This is an exciting selection of works conducted with absolute authority and insight by Jonathan Nott. Though Nott is recognized as a champion for contemporary music, it should be mentioned that this young lad conducts the masters as well: he has audiences basking in Korngold and Mahler at his LA Philharmonic debut! Grady Harp, October 05

Average customer rating: Best performances for every piece. Painful to Hear A superb meeting of Ligeti's recent and classic works More good music in Teldec's Ligeti Project a new concerto plus three new recordings

The Ligeti Project IV: Hamburg Concerto (Horn Concerto) / Double Concerto / Ramifications / Requiem Gyorgy Ligeti , Reinbert de Leeuw , Jonathon Nott , Marie-Luise Neunecker , Heinz Holliger , Jacques Zoon , Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra , and ASKO Ensemble / Schönberg Ensemble Manufacturer: Teldec ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Ligeti, György | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Concertinos | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Requiems | Forms & Genres | Early Music | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Ligeti Project II: Lontano / Atmosphères / Apparitions / San Francisco Polyphony / Concert Românesc - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Jonathan Nott The Ligeti Project III: Cello Concerto / Clocks & Clouds / Violin Concerto / Síppal, Dobbal, Nádihegedüvel The Ligeti Project I: Melodien / Chamber Concerto / Piano Concerto / Mysteries of the Macabre - Schönberg Ensemble / ASKO Ensemble / Reinbert de Leeuw The Ligeti Project, Vol. 5 György Ligeti Edition 2: A Cappella Choral Works - London Sinfonietta Voices ASIN: B00008UVCE Release Date: 2003-05-20

Tracks:

1. I. Paraludium
2. II. Singale, Tanz, Choral
3. III. Aria, Aksak, Hoketus
4. IV. Solo, Intermezzo, Mixtur, Kanon
5. V. Spectra
6. VI. Capricco
7. VII. Hymnus
8. I. Calmo, Con Tenerezza - Heniz Holliger
9. II. Allegro Corrente - Heniz Holliger
10. Ramifications For 12 Solo Strings - Heniz Holliger
11. I. Introitus. Sostenuto - Jonathan Nott
12. II. Kyrie. Molto Espressivo - Jonathan Nott
13. III. De Die Judicii Sequentia. Subito: Agitato Molto - Jonathan Nott
14. IV. Lacrimosa. Molto Lento - Jonathan Nott

Amazon.com

Teldec's invaluable Ligeti series continues with fascinating works, and this disc, featuring the 2002 revision of the Hamburg Concerto for Horn and Chamber Orchestra with four obligato natural horns, is no different. Its seven short movements explore different facets of Ligeti's unique sound-world. Harmonically adventurous, it's an accessible work, witty, dramatic, full of startling sonorities. Brilliant playing here by all, especially virtuoso horn soloist Marie Luise Neunecker. The disc's earliest piece is the Requiem (Ligeti set only four movements of the traditional Requiem). Completed in 1965, it's best-known for the use of part of the Kyrie in the film, 2001, A Space Odyssey. The Requiem centers on the large chorus, whose thickly written Kyrie fugue and over-the-top wild Dies Irae place enormous demands on the singers that are brilliantly met here. In between the larger works come the 1972 Double Concerto for Flute and Oboe, and Ramifications, a quarter-tone piece for 12 strings from 1969. For all their advanced tonal and rhythmic gestures, they make for fascinating listening, like everything else on this disc. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Best performances for every piece........2006-06-08

Ligeti Edition in Teldec is offering to us a reference in every piece performed, like the case of this CD, The Ligeti Project IV.

The main work in this CD is the Requiem (1963-65), a piece I knew in Gielen's hands on Wergo, and from which I knew another performance with the Bayerischen Rundfunks we can hear in Kubrick's 2001, even it's not available nowadays. This new one is what we was waiting for, a wonderful performance conducted by a talent conductor joining a marvellous orchestra and a superb choir. Of course, I don't think this is last word on Ligeti's Requiem, but I really think this version is a reference for a long time. From the orchestral point of view, the Berliner Philharmoniker playing is breathtaking, as the superb orchestra they are. They manage all the the complex sound textures Ligeti creates in his complex score. Brasses are really a new dimension in this recording, something really outstanding I didn't hear before. Woodwinds and strings are clearly better than Wergo performance too, but brasses' playing... that's too much. The choir singing in this version is something I was discussing a lot with other people, because I know some other music-lovers who think this performance is not too much emphatic on the sense of a requiem; some of them even prefer Wergo's style on the choir, or the one heard in 2001, which they think is `darker' and much more dramatic. This one by the London Voices is quite crystal clear, you can hear all the lines, the micro-polyphony so marvellous described in this piece, like Ligeti did in some other works before, like Lontano. Having a choir like this guarantee this level of excellence, as they are really specialist on this repertoire. Despite the critics, they are really fantastic, no so dramatic like others, but quite perfect from the technical point of view. Soloists are really very, very good too, and they give them best in a marvellous performance of a crucial work in choral musical literature in the XXth Century.

Double Concerto (1972) is another piece I really love. I knew Wergo's performance, that is quite good and Abbado's one for DG, which was the one I preferred before having this one, that's the performance I find much more modern in style and much more perfect form a technical point of view, trying to explain all the complex systems under the score surface. Soloists are wonderful and the ensemble playing is amazing, like de Leeuw conducting, continuing the high excellence they are showing in every CD on this series. With no doubt, the best performance available for this very good piece, one of the most `easy' to listen in this CD.

Ramification (1968-69) is a little more difficult to listen, as it's really an explorative work for 12 strings, in micro-tone style, a really complex work from the technical point of view and from its structure design. Talking about the performances available, I knew Wergo's one, which I didn't like, and Boulez's one conducting the EIC, a remarkable version. I prefer this new one much more than any other, it's the more clear and the one that works much more in details with the limits of the tonality described on the score, that micro-tones that are not really easy to play if the ensemble is not specialist in this repertoire. Wonderful work too and another reference for the piece.

Hamburg Concerto (1998) represents Ligeti's final period, a time in which he seems to be deeply interested on rhythm and quite a turning back to the style he developed in his Hungarian days. Influenced strongly by the discovering of Nancarrow's studies for piano, the colour is again a central motive in these works, as the melodies, transformed but present in the structures. Like the Violin Concert or the Piano Concert, are pieces I don't like so much like those works from the late `50s, the `60s or the `70s too. Recently I read some words by Helmut Lachenmann about the last works by György Ligeti, in which he was very critic with them; I have to say I agree Lachenmann, and I don't like the last works by a composer I think is between the best in the last century.

Great and clear recordings for every work, perfect to notice every sound and the work's structures, so important in this contemporary music. Very good booklet and nice edition.

A must have for contemporary music lovers.

Painful to Hear.......2005-12-31

I have read the other reviews and really am trying hard to understand how someone could consider this music - unless you like listening to the sound track of a horror movie. This reminds me of an artist nailing a soup can to the wall and calling it a "piece to describe the our human inner struggle." Great. I think nailing an old pair of underwear would have been more apt of such a description, but to each his own. I wrote my own review of this piece and the best constructive criticism I could come up with is that there is no binding melody. There is a theme, for sure, but it is not one that I would liken to music that these players are obviously capable of. The sound (I am holding back from calling it music) is powerful and driving. It is too bad the notes do not match or produce any sense of coherent movement in this reviewers ears (other than to turn off the stereo).

A superb meeting of Ligeti's recent and classic works.......2004-01-08

The fourth disc of Warner Classics' fresh and exciting Ligeti Project contains the composer's recent "Hamburg Concerto" as well as two other works performed by the Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble. If you're new to Ligeti, this is worth getting because it contains his "Requiem", one of his most famous and also most accessible works, in a new performance by the Berliner Philharmonik.

In the "Hamburg Concerto" (1998) Ligeti presents a work which seems superficially simple and common, but which teems with inventiveness underneath. Primarily for horns, it also contains an lovely harp interruption, and the drumming seems inspired by the African music which the composer explored in the 90's. Though he is quite old now and has a 60-year career behind him, Ligeti continues to write interesting music and remains as strong as ever.

The "Double Concerto" (1972) is an exploration of the differences between flute and oboe. It begans as a quite soothing piece, but in its first movement grows to mournfulness through solitary sustained high notes. The second movement is more lively with a great deal of orchestral involvement. "Ramifications" (1968-69) is a minor work in which half of its twelve solo strings are tunes a quarter-tone lower than the other half. Ligeti then explores the surreal interaction among the strings. The performance here seems solid, but I find its recording too "dark", and prefer the Ensemble Intercontemporain/Pierre Boulez performance, recently reissued by Deutsche Grammaphon, which is considerably clearer.

For all that comes before it, "Requiem" (1963-65) is clearly the highest point of the disc. The complexity and power of the piece makes it a real chef d'oeuvre. Beginning with a slow "Introitus", the work moves into a stunning "Kyrie", in which the threatening murmurs of over 100 singers create a complex web of sound occasionally broken by ingenious orchestral interruptions. The following "De die judicii" is dedicated mainly to the idiosyncratic vocal experimentations of solo soprano and mezzo-soprano. The piece ends with ever diminished strength, as if symbolising the one being laid to rest. Though this piece acheived popularity through its use in the final portion of Kubrick's "2001", I find this live version from 2002 to be much better than the first performance of the 60's.

My only complaints about the CD concern the liner notes. The English translation of Ligeti's (German language) comments is not so faithful to the original. There are also a couple of ads in the booklet.

This is a must-have disc for fans of Ligeti, and an ideal starting-place for The Ligeti Project. The glorious new "Requiem" brings me back frequently.

More good music in Teldec's Ligeti Project.......2003-11-21

Teldec's Ligeti Project is rapidly coming to a close--there is one more disc to follow, but it is mainly of minor works--and this recording is inevitably a little arbitrary in its selection. It contains a recent work (1999's Hamburg Concerto for horn, four natural horns and chamber orchestra), two earlier, comparatively minor works (the Double Concerto and Ramifications) and a bona fide 20th century classic (the Requiem).

The Hamburg Concerto continues Ligeti's recent interest in clashing tuning systems within a basically tonal, post-Bartokian musical language. It's ostensibly in seven movements, but as many of these movements are clearly multipartite (for example 'Solo, Intermezzo, Mixtur, Kanon') it is probably fairer to regard it as a fourteen-minute, fourteen-movement collection of miniatures. It's a highly entertaining work, given a tremendous performance here, though I wish Ligeti had developed some of the ideas within it to a greater extent. (For those who heard the original version of this work, a new finale has been appended onto the end of it, and this rounds the work off much more effectively than the original finale did.)

The Double Concerto, for flute, oboe and orchestra, is something of a minor work within Ligeti's ouevre. It explores clashing microtones within the various instrumental parts, in a two movement form where the first movement focuses around slow drift and the second contains much more surface activity. The solo instruments are often submerged within the orchestral writing, and do not play a soloistic role as in the Hamburg Concerto. Despite the outstanding performance here--Heinz Holliger's oboe playing is as stunning as ever--this strikes me as more of a retread of 1960s Ligeti works than a major work in its own right.

Ramifications is a short work for 12 solo strings in two groups, one tuned a quarter-tone above each other. Ligeti's intention in this piece was that the pitches of the two groups would tend to shift towards each other in performance, creating a haze of shimmering harmonies.

The disc ends with the Requiem, one of Ligeti's greatest works. Only setting four parts of the Requiem Mass--Introitus, Kyrie, Dies Irae and Lacrimosa--Ligeti explicitly does without the later, consolatory aspects of the liturgy. The Introitus begins mysteriously, unison bass voices intoning the words against bass instruments, with a gradual crescendo and rise in pitch throughout the movement. The Kyrie is a polyphonic tour de force, multiple canons creating powerful bands of sound that surround the listener with an aural haze, before leading into the apocalyptically violent Dies Irae. The work closes with a slow setting of the Lacrimosa, low and high voices surrounding delicate orchestral touches. This is a very fine recording, with outstanding sound. Even if I find the original Wergo recording by Michael Gielen marginally superior--at least if you can get it on LP: the disappointing CD remastering seriously affects the sound quality--nobody will be disappointed by Nott's version here.

The music here is not as consistently great as in some of the previous issues in this series--only the Requiem is absolutely essential Ligeti--but the performances are good throughout. Recommended without question to Ligeti fans, but those new to the composer would be better off first trying the Sony recording of the Etudes or Volume III in this edition.

a new concerto plus three new recordings.......2003-06-12

The pace of Teldec's Ligeti Project series is speeding up -- LP1 was released in 2001, LP2 in 2002, and now LP3 and LP4 in 2003. This is another excellent production, with recordings from September through November of 2002. The disc opens with the premiere recording of the "Hamburg Concerto," just composed in 1998-9. Featured is the Horn of Marie Luise Neunecker, the dedicatee. The performance is marvelous, but I do not find the composition to be as compelling as other "late Ligeti" pieces such as the Piano and Violin Concertos.

The new recording of the "Double Concerto" (composed in 1972) features Heinz Holliger on oboe, generally acknowledged to be the most accomplished player of his instrument today, along with Jacques Zoon on flute. "Ramifications" was presented in two versions on a Wergo disc, for 12 solo strings, and with orchestra -- LP4 presents only the 12 strings version. Finally, my personal favorite for this recording, a new version of "Requiem" (composed in 1963-5), part of which was used for the soundtrack of Kubrick's "2001." The complete recording was previously available on Wergo, but I had not heard it before -- it resembles "Lux Aeterna," but includes wisps of orchestra in addition to the solo and choral voices. Jonathan Nott conducts the Berlin Philharmonic here, superb again as on the LP2 disc, which presents all orchestral works. LP4 is not the place to start if you're investigating Ligeti, I'd say (I recommend LP2 or perhaps LP1), but it is a fine album, and indispensable for Ligeti collectors.

Average customer rating: great band

Things We Say The Berlin Project Manufacturer: Orange Peal Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Ska Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Ska Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Ska Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music ASIN: B0000DBJ8R Release Date: 2003-09-02

Tracks:

1. In Your Head
2. Running In Circles
3. Walking Papers
4. The Things We Say
5. You're Gone
6. Daydream
7. Not Another Game
8. Celebrity
9. All You Wanted Was A Crowd
10. Pleasure To Burn
11. I Won't Wait For You

Customer Reviews:

great band.......2004-08-30

I love the berlin project i'm actually 17 but this is alot easier. my band, a boring tuesday @ aboringtuesday.com, played with the berlin project and it was a blast. They put on an amazing show and they are great guys. I'm not a big fan of the scene they're in but i really repect what they do, they're relly good at it. i'd recomend you buy this album if you like all that matchbook romance kind of stuff.

Average customer rating:

Running for the Border Manufacturer: Sour Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B0008IW0XY

Product Description

10 song Ska CD

Average customer rating: TBP is the best ska band of all time! all around great cd i love tbp this album rocks

Culture Clash The Berlin Project Manufacturer: The Orchard ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Ska Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B00001QELN Release Date: 2000-04-08

Tracks:

1. Faded Memories
2. Carry Me Away
3. Run Away
4. Individuality
5. Driving School Dropout
6. Those Days
7. Boil
8. Vagarant
9. Woo-Ha
10. Rocktown
11. Taco Bell World
12. Mall Cop
13. Thankyou
14. Fight Song

Customer Reviews:

TBP is the best ska band of all time!.......1999-10-13

TBP is a great band that can only go up! I wish them well, and i hope they come back to my area again sometime soon! If you read this Brad...whats up from the Rootstown crew!!!

all around great cd.......1999-09-19

this cd is a REALLY GOOD CDam gonna see them again soon they are a great band and they are really nice guys

i love tbp.......1999-09-13

The Berlin Project has come a long way and have put together an awesome cd. They are an incredible band, with alot of talent. Buy the cd you won't regret it.

this album rocks.......1999-09-12

I saw them in concert with Spring Heeled Jack and they brought down the house. This is a great ska cd.

Average customer rating: This CD is awesome!

The Transition Radio EP The Berlin Project Manufacturer: The Orchard ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Ska Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Emo | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk-Pop | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B000056IBX Release Date: 2000-12-26

Tracks:

1. Crashing Down
2. Someday Forever
3. Stay Gold
4. Runaway
5. Aberdeen

Customer Reviews:

This CD is awesome!.......2001-03-03

This CD features 5 tracks of some of the best music I have ever heard. Powerful guitars with great drums! The Keys accompany 3 songs on this cd really well. This is the best cd by TBP yet and TBP keeps getting better. The last track is an acoustic track which is just flat out awesome. You'll love this cd. Buy it today!

Average customer rating:

Traveling With Lady Berlin Manufacturer: Clown Milk ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CAE5JK Release Date: 2000-09-26

Tracks:

1. Lady Berlin
2. We Will Love You
3. Uncle
4. I Don't Wanna Be Alone
5. 8-10 Parliament Street
6. Marilyn's Things
7. I'm Not Afraid to Live
8. How I wish I walked U Home
9. She Notices The Sky

Average customer rating:

The Berlin Project Manufacturer: Vox (Classical) ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Weill | Weill, Kurt | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B000001K2T Release Date: 1992-11-04

Tracks:

1. Ouverture - Westchester Symphony Orchestra
2. Die Moritat Van Mackie Messer - Westchester Symphony Orchestra
3. Anstatt-Dass Song - Westchester Symphony Orchestra
4. Die Ballade Vom Angenehmen Leben - Westchester Symphony Orchestra
5. Polly's Lied - Westchester Symphony Orchestra
6. Tang-Ballade - Westchester Symphony Orchestra
7. Kanonensong - Westchester Symphony Orchestra
8. Dreigronschen-Finale - Westchester Symphony Orchestra
9. First movement - Westphalian Symphony Orchestra
10. Second Movement - Westphalian Symphony Orchestra
11. Third Movement - Westphalian Symphony Orchestra
12. Fourth Movement - Westphalian Symphony Orchestra
13. Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogonny - Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra

Tracks:

1. I. Andante con moto - Detmold Wind Ensemble
2. II. Notturno/Cadenza/Serenata - Detmold Wind Ensemble
3. III. Allegro Molto, Un Poco Agitato - Detmold Wind Ensemble
4. Orchestral Suite 'Mona Lisa' Op. 31 - Westphalian Symphony Orchestra
5. The Birthday Of The Infanta - Hamburg Symphony

Average customer rating: Was great two years ago, now it just good. Nothing Special

the / transition / radio / EP The Berlin Project Manufacturer: Orange Peal Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Ska Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Emo | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk-Pop | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Rock | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B00005N97Q Release Date: 2001-06-21

Tracks:

1. Crashing Down
2. Someday Forever
3. Stay Gold
4. Runaway
5. Aberdeen 3:06

Album Description

The Berlin Project is a Pop/Punk influenced rock band from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. The group has three CDs under their belt and has a large fanbase throughout the eastern United States. The group has played with acts like Green Day, New Found Glory, Fenix TX, Cypress Hill, The English Beat, The Toasters, Midtown, Catch 22 and countless others. In March of 2001 The Berlin Project was signed by Orange Peal Records from Northern California. "the / transition / radio / EP" is The Berlin Project's debut CD on their new label. This is a must have CD that includes 5 songs and 1 music video you can play on any computer! Get your copy today!

Customer Reviews:

Was great two years ago, now it just good........2003-11-20

The berlin Project used to be a o.k. ska band and then the ska scene faded back into the underground. So to make a long story short, the Berlin Project changed their sound to a pop-punk, power pop style, and the change was for the better. Mixing pop punk guitars sounds with keys (keyboards.....or keytar) gave The Berlin project a rather unique sound. The vocals and the harmonies of the hooks are done extremely well and the dudes voice is wussy, but that's not a bad thing, it sounds cool.

all in all, Transition radio e.p. is good but it not great. Maybe if it wasn't an e.p. and it had more songs it would be great or maybe if I didn't listen to it so much it would be great, o' well. Recommanded for fans of Reggie and the Full effect, new found glory, and the hippos.

Nothing Special.......2003-02-10

I got this CD for free doing something at the Warped Tour show in Dallas in 2002, and it isn't bad. It also isn't good. It's mostly just forgettable. It sounds ok, but there's nothing that makes me want to keep listening to it.

Average customer rating:

Things We Say Berlin Project Manufacturer: 3d ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B0001BUDMS Release Date: 2004-03-29

Album Description

Sunday People. 2004.

Album Details

Jpanese Release featuring Two Bonus Tracks: "The Things We Say (Live)", and "Look at Me".

Track Listings:

1. The Danish Nightingale
2. The Great Clarinet Quintets
3. Trio Sonata: Music for Flute, Oboe and Guitar
4. Trumpet Concertos: Vivaldi/Telemann/L. Mozart/Hummel
5. Verdi - Messa da Requiem / Varady, Palmer, Olsen, Scandiuzzi, Plasson
6. Alma Anima [Import]
7. American Legends: Enrico Caruso
8. American Portraits: George Gershwin
9. American Portraits: Leonard Bernstein
10. Bach: 4 Orchestral Suites; Concerti for 3 & 4 Harpsichords

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Drum & Bass [Import]

Grieg: The Complete Piano Music, Vol. 5

Jungle Book [Soundtrack]

Music: Sing the Quartet Way

Live in Argentina [Live]

Hoopla

Gospel for the Lord [Import]

germanbooks88.com Music: 125 Years of the Dresden Philharmonic, 1870-1995 (Box Set) [Box set]

I Love Texas [Import]

Hip Hop el Centro del Reggeton

John Fogerty Wrote a Song for Everyone

Rock Music rock-music-47

Greatest Hits: 90's [Import]

Classical Music classical-music-24

Kansas City: A Robert Altman Film - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack