Editorial Review

Reviews (5)

An All-Around Hit!
Bach's one of the greatest, everyone agrees with me there. This CD of Bach's most beautiful and lively songs are a highly pleasing sound to my ears. I recommend this album to classical music lovers who enjoy elegance in music instead of all today's hip-hop junk. Even though I'm a kid doesn't mean I have to love pop, with Bach I'm totally satisfied.

Good Introduction To Bach
This CD is a good introduction to Johann Sebastian Bach at an extremely attractive price. The bulk of the performances featured are from the Mainz Chamber Orchestra, and the musicianship is generally competent, although there is occasionally a weakness in the horn section, particularly notable during the "Mass in B Minor." Still, the performances are pleasant to listen to, and will definitely accomplish the goal of this CD, which is to expose people to a sampling of Bach's works and make it a positive experience.

Musical selection here is interesting, ranging from pieces that nearly everyone has heard, to pieces that are relatively obscure. The best known piece on the CD is without question the "Toccata And Fugue In D Minor," a work for organ that was popularized in Hollywood ("Fantasia" and "Dracula") and is so embedded in American culture as a "horror" theme that it can still be seen on late night television, especially around Halloween. My favorite works on the CD are the "Brandenburg Concerto" excerpts (especially the magnificent "Brandenburg Concerto Number 3 in G," perhaps the most beautiful composition to emerge from the Baroque period), the delicate "Orchestral Suite Number 2 in B Minor," and the "Violin Concerto Number 2 in E." Also well represented for a sampler of this size are several works for harpsichords, of which Bach was the undisputed master.

In general I like the "25 Favorites" series, as they are inexpensive and let listeners explore different composers and musical styles at an extremely affordable price, although the quality does vary between the individual CDs; the Bach CD is better than the Beethoven offering, which is choppy and inconsistent, but not quite up to the Mozart CD, which seems more well-rounded. In general this is a great CD to expose a new listener to Bach, or to simply have handy for pleasure listening. I gave the disc four stars instead of five because most of the works here are edited for time (25 songs in 77 minutes only gives around three minutes for each track), which, while not generally glaring, does detract from the works as originally written.

If you are curious about Bach, this is a good CD to make the introduction.

Reviews (4)

Wonderful!
I couldn't believe the wonderful, pure sounds that came from this low-priced CD.I absolutely love it and highly recommend it!!

If only the Amazon discography was as good...
The majority of the musical selections is undeniably fine.If only the track listing (s) were accurate or agreed with each other and the actual selections as they are ordered on the CD!

One of the best Vivaldi CDs on the market
I don't know how SPJ Music Inc., based in the world-famous town of Hauppaage, NY, manages to do it, but they have released at least 24 of these "25 XXXX Favorites" CDs, and all those that I have heard are superb collections. OK, many of the performances on this album are by ensembles that few will have heard of in North America, such as the Wurttemburg Chamber Orchestra, Musica di San Marco, and I Musici di Zagreb, and maybe they are a bit old (no recording dates are given), so SPJ probably doesn't have to pay much in the way of royalties. But this collection of works by Vivaldi is truly second to none.

Wait till you hear track 6, "Et in terra Pax from 'Gloria', by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, for instance, or track 14, from Stabat Mater Dolorosa, sung by Margarethe Bence with the Alto Pro Music Orchestra of Stuttgart. We are transported into the heights of the etherial world of sacred music, right up into the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, yet with that unmistakable touch of Vivaldi, who could be both consumately sacred and masterfully secular as he wished -- or even both at the same time. As has been proven again and again in the 20th century, Vivaldi was one of the greatest composers in history, and every classical music lover should have this CD in his or her collection.

I have a lot of Vivaldi recordings by period music ensembles like the virtuosic Il Giardino Armonico (who recorded the two best DVDs of Vivaldi works in existence, one with Cecilia Bartoli) and the somewhat more conservative Europa Gallante, led by Fabio Biondi. Then there are CDs by individual masters like Andrea Marcon (with the Venice Baroque Orchestra) and the immortal Nigel Kennedy (with the English Chamber Orchestra). Older classics re-released on CD include recordings by the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Orchestra of the 18th Century, and the Romero family (Los Romeros). And the list goes on and on. All are superb recordings that have given me hours of pleasure.

Reviews (5)

Verygood quality music
I had purchased an abundance of the "Favorites" collection, and some were better than others.

***This one stood out from many of them.***

Only flaw:
I was kind of perturbed when some same tracks on this CD were on another CD, and visa versa.

Excellent price for this CD.

The best of the classics - timeless
The Cd is "Classical" favorites so the emphasis is not so much on emotions but rather on instrumentation and orchestration. These are all very exceptional and I guarantee satisfaction. Anyways, I am not a classical listener as far as radio stations go but my musical tastes vary dramatically.I found this album to be a phenomenal bang for the buck as I can, on occasion, listen to the classics of which I have heard and thoroughly enjoy listening to.This album has it all.......Mozart, Brahms, Chopin, Bach, Pagony, Tchaikovsky, etc.

I really like listening to this CD........

Musical tastes vary dramatically which, if you think about it, is kind of ironic given that a CD is anywhere from 60-90 minutes and a book may take 3-5 hours to read but, for some reason, people tend to be socially grouped more by music than books.Just something to think about.

Reviews (9)

Don't Bother...Really!
Not what I call classical composers! THis cd is annoying in a way I really can't stand. It lacks the pure elegance of the classical days. Don't buy this cd unless you want a phony all around bad album played by cheap ameteurs.

Could have been better
I think the quality is good, and better on a few tracks, but all these romantic tracks?? Not what I listened to. Actually I was kind of disappointed; I had purchased an abundance of the "Favorites" collection some were better than others.
I was kind of perturbed when some same tracks on this CD were on another CD, and visa versa.

Still, I suppose for the price, one can't go wrong.

Some great tracks, but flawed nonetheless
Whether or not this CD lives up to its promise of "Romantic" music is not truly a concern, being that the entire nature of classical music is that it is open to one's own interpretation. However, I can speak to the quality of the recordings themselves.

A few of the tracks (Reverie, Canon, Sarabande, a few others) are absolutely superb. Well recorded, and played with genius bravado, coupled with great arrangements (it was interesting to hear Reverie outside of its native instrument, the Piano). Most of the tracks, however, are absolutely horrid. Fur Elise for the sheer amateurish quality, Vivaldi's Concerto for oboe and strings sounds like it was copied from an old phonograph record, as does Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty Suite, Mendelssohn's Spring Song, and Puccini's Gianni Schicci, and a few others. A few other tracks still are played horribly, most of them already mentioned.

Reviews (2)

Dissappointing
The recordings are fair at best. The performances poor to better.

I will dispose of this one.

Features

• Box set

Reviews (4)

not too bad
For the price, you can't go wrong.

*I had purchased an abundance of the "Favorites" collection some were better than others. This one was not too bad compared to the others, but not the best one.
I was kind of perturbed when some same tracks on this CD were on another CD, and visa versa.

A well-produced classical variety album
This album could have easily been filled with selections just from Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, and Beethoven, but thankfully the record producers chose some deeper cuts.Though the above mentioned greats are prominently featured (and rightly so), Grieg and Offenbach are welcome additions.

Like all the "25 _____ Favorites" albums I've listened to, the pieces are well-chosen, expertly performed, and excellently produced with sharp, clear sound.The album's variety is welcome as well, giving the listener 70+ minutes of a changing but continuous audio landscape.

There's not much here that will knock the socks off a classical purist, but that's part of its appeal.The pieces are good enough to satisfy the more refined classical music palate but accessible enough for those less-experienced in concertos.25 CONCERTO FAVORITES comes recommended to those seeking a well-produced and pleasant classical variety album.

Reviews (3)

Tchaikovsky's Greatest Pieces of Music
Here are some of Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky's greatest works. His Nutcraker,Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty ballets are the most famous in therepoirtaire. The Symphony No. 5 and 6 are very excellent symphonicorchestrations. However, despite all the good stuff in here from theRussian master, the performers and conductors cannot surpass the beauty andartistry that such Tchaikovsky music masters as Dorati, Markevitch andOrmandy are. So if you want quality Tchaikovsky, get those conductorrenditions. However, for a Tchaikovsky beginner, these pieces will get youhooked. This is a good cd to begin with for a Tchaikovsky listener. I am aTchaikovsky listener ever since a friend recommended his glorious works tome. I am a Mozart fan but Tchaikovsky is undoubtedly the greatest Romanticcomposer of all time. He combines Russian melodies (Russian dances,mazurkas, waltzes) and gives them a definite Western romantic feel. He wasfriends with such noted Romantic composers as Camille Saint Saens, known tocreate such marvelous music of the era- Carnival of the Animals (nowpopular through Dysney) and Danse Macabre, to name only a small portion.Tchaikovsky also adored Mozart and although he is not exactly a Classicalcomposer, he greatly admires the beauty of Mozart's works. Three cheers forTchaikovsky !

great music poorely performed.
T. is my favourite composer but the interpretation on this CD is rather like a good effort in high shool

Reviews (5)

poor sound quality
a great selection of baroque favorites, but the sound quality, especially on the pachelbel canon, not great at all.for that reason, i cannot recommend getting it.what do you expect for five dollars, right !>?i would suggest spending a little more money and getting something that you can't bear to part with, for continued listening enjoyment.

SUPERB
An introduction to the best baroque music by famous composers.
Great sound on this CD. There are over 10 CD's in this Farorites collection, and this by far is one of the best ones.

If you like the classical sounds of music, then you will like this. Check out the samples on this page that they provide, that's the best way to review.

Reviews (5)

Great Price...Not so good itself
This a great priced cd, but the content is why it is so cheap. It's a true-amateur album. Beethoven Lover is over her/his head. This is the real world, not a fantasy-everyone-likes-every-type-of-music world. Deal with it and agree with me. It isn't so great.

Beethoven Lover's Newest Report
Wow! This is really good. I can't believe it's not beethoven himself playing! I really recommend it to anyone who's a Beethoven lover like me! Please, I really need to know if you agree with me...