Khachaturian: Piano Concerto; Gayaneh Ballet Suite; Masquerade Suite
Khachaturian: Piano Concerto; Gayaneh Ballet Suite; Masquerade Suite
Customer Review: Strong Khachaturian Performances
Jarvi conducts a masterful performance that is faithful to the spirit of the music. Too often, artists such as Kapell take the first movement, and the third to a lesser extent, too quickly, making it sound rather chaotic. Jarvi and Orbelian’s approach, as with de Larrocha and de Burgos before them, take the preferable, slower tempi throughout.
Excellent support from the RSNO in the concerto and in the Masquerade and Gayaneh supplements make this disc worthy of four stars. The Sabre Dance is particularly well played and I find that Jarvi’s direction is even stronger and more characterful than under Khachaturian’s own baton in the 1960s.
My only criticism is in the recording, which is surprising, as I have often been impressed by Chandos’ high standards. The recording is excessively reverberant to the point of echoing in the Piano Concerto. This would be fine if it was Chopin or Liszt, but this is Khachaturian, so the echoing muddles the music in the forte/fortissimo sections. The documentation is also slight. Otherwise, a strong presentation with typically excellent conducting from Jarvi.
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classical music reviews
DCist: Classical Music Agenda
Opera ~ Anna Netrebko
Track Listings
1. O mio babbino caro
2. Libiamo ne’lieti calici (Brindisi)
3. Mesicku na nebi hlubok?m
4. Suis-je gentille ainsi? / Ob?issons, quand leur voix appelle
5. Quando me’n v? (Musette’s Waltz)
6. Ah, non credea mirarti
7. Ah! non giunge uman pensiero
8. Parigi, o cara, noi lasceremo
9. Chanson du roi de Thule - Air des Bijoux
10. E strano! - Ah, fors’? lui
11. Sempre libera
12. Crudele! - Ah no, mio bene! - Non mi dir, bell’idol (Donna Anna)
13. Un d? felice, eterea
14. Elvino! E me tu lasci… Son geloso del zefiro errante
15. Ave Maria, piena di grazia
Description
Collection of opera classics sung by the inimitable Russiansoprano Amma Netrebko. A selection of recordings that will appeal to the casual fan as well as the hardened opera fans,’Opera’ highlights the timeless beauty of the songs selected, which are sung beautifully by Netrebko. Includes the tracks ‘Song To The Moon’, ‘Jewel Song’ and ‘Sempre Libera’.
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The Most Relaxing Classical Album in the World…Ever!
Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Edvard Grieg (Composer), Johann Pachelbel (Composer), Erik Satie (Composer), Sir Neville Marriner (Conductor),
Excellent Classical Compilation Album, 11 Feb 2007
By John R. Murdoch (Scotland)
2 CDs with good recordings of 36 gentle classical tracks of varying styles which come nicely packaged with background information about all the music. A lot of the music can be found on similar compilations, however the tracks on this album are often slightly shortened versions which do not compromise the music and have the advantage of using less hard disk space if converting to MP3. With Windows Media Player 11 a lot of detail is added under track title which is helpful but frustratingly composer is placed under contributing artist instead of the performer.
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..the original and still the best, 12 Feb 2006
Reviewer: A music fan
much ‘relaxing’ classical music is depressing, overly centimental or dominated by one style eg. Mozart - However this collection is a stunning exception - I am a classical music buff but if you left me on a dessert island with only one cd - this would be it - really really really handpicked choones from composers at different times, from different places. I had to buy a 2nd copy because my 1st cd seemed to delaminate - the fact that I must have listened to it several hundered times probably wore it out. Try to look for the 4 CD limited edition and dont be tempted by lookalikes - go for the real thing.
A superb collection, but shop around, 24 Jan 2003
Reviewer: A music fan
There are lots of these “relaxing classics” albums around at the moment and they can all seem identical.
Already owning most of Classic FM’s back catalogue in the “relax with…” series as well as several others, it might seem strange to buy yet another compilation album, but there are some absolute “must have” tracks on this collection that are hard to find elsewhere (Delibes’ Flower Duet, Gorecki’s 3rd Symphony, Pook, Massenet, and so on)
So, if you just want to own one collection of relaxing tracks - keep looking around, get the mix of tracks that suits you best. BUT, if you want to round off a collection with some truly lovely and hard-to-find tracks or just want a slightly more “off the beaten track” selection, then it’s time to reach for that credit card!
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Bart?k - The Miraculous Mandarin (Complete Ballet); Dance Suite; Hungarian Pictures
Bart?k - The Miraculous Mandarin (Complete Ballet); Dance Suite; Hungarian Pictures
Customer Review: A little underwhelming
This is note perfect and beautifully recorded, but simply not nasty enough. It doesn’t have the edge it needs to crank up the emotions and send shivers down the spine.
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