Features

• SACD

Reviews (4)

Lacking Information
I couldn't rate this CD because it is recorded in SuperCD format.Something that I wasn't aware of when I ordered it.
Still a Fun Recording after all these years!
The first time I heard this recording is when my older brother most impressive SACD recording and music
This the best multi-channel SACD I have heard to date. Contrary to many other SACD discs, the volume on the surround channels is quite loud and localizable, on purpose because of the 4 organs.Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber Music & Recitals    2. Classical    3. Classical Artists    4. Keyboard    5. Music for Organ   

Reviews (14)

Most Chosen Selections
As a wedding officiant, my wife and I are often asked to assist the couple with other services for their ceremony, such as music. For this, we have a very large selection in our music library to choose from. We have put together a catalog of cd's that we loan out to the couple for their review, and most often, their selections come from BRIDE'S GUIDE TO WEDDING MUSIC.
Another Great Reference CD
This is a great compilation, CD, along with Bride's Guide to Wedding Music Volume 2, to use as a reference for some of the more popular wedding songs; just about everything on here is standard fare for weddings. All of the musicians are generally superb, and the sound quality is very good. However, this is most useful if you are playing the CD at your wedding, or using it as a reference CD to talk over potential music selections with an organist, a string quartet, etc. Like my review for Volume 2, I only gave it four stars based on practicality, not on quality. If it were just quality, I would give it five stars. I purchased this CD since I am in the process of making my own wedding CD (I am a professional, freelance violinist), and this was nice to listen to, even just as background music for dinner. BTW: beware of reviewers who don't use their names, especially "A music fan." This is most likely the producer of the "Wedding Traditions" CD and he slanders other CDs so his will look better. You'd think that in the wedding music business people would have better ethics, but unfortunately, that's not always the case. The best advice I can give, as a classical musician myself, if to take time to listen to the sound clips, and if possible, try to find them on iTunes where they might sound higher quality. This is the only real way of knowing whether the CD is right for you.

A Nice CD
This is a very nice CD.
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Subjects:  1. 90's    2. Baroque Suite/Partita for Orchestra    3. Cantata    4. Chamber    5. Chamber Music    6. Choral    7. Classical    8. Classical Collections-Composer Desc.    9. Classical Music    10. Concerto    11. Concerto Grosso    12. German/Austrian Romantic Opera    13. Keyboard    14. Keyboard Music    15. Miscellaneous    16. Miscellaneous Music    17. Opera    18. Oratorio    19. Orchestral    20. Quartet for Four String Instruments   

Editorial Review

If it is possible to play the piano charismatically, then that is what Lang Lang does. His total identification with each piece gives his playing a warmth, a personal touch, that is unique. His performance of Mozart's K. 330 is ideally classical. The opening movement seems played with the fingers just touching the keys. The big Chopin sonata is given an imposing, dignified reading, and Lang Lang plays the frisky scherzo--the most perky one Chopin ever wrote--with obvious glee. The performance of Schumann's "Kinderszenen" is filled with characterization: dreamy, filled with wonderment ("Curious Story"), wackiness ("Catch me if you can"), and stillness ("Child falling asleep"); Lang Lang manages to avoid affectation throughout. A bonus CD offers Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 in Vladimir Horowitz's arrangement and is dizzying in its virtuosity. This is a must-have; Lang Lang is not being over-hyped. Read more

Reviews (10)

Long Long
Chopin' Sonata slow movement is played sooooo slow, I thought there was something wrong with my player. My opinion? Great composers' music should be played more and interpreted less.
Gentle, evocative
Pianist Lang Lang "evokes memories of his childhood pianistic explorations", to quote the CD jacket. It's a recital album with all solo piano music, beautifully played. Very nice.

Dancing with odd temp
Lang Lang's powerful and fast fingers just do not work for Chopin.Chopin's music is as dedicated as "dancing with soul" for every note.Lang Lang's fingers are just too rude to interpret these subtle notes.For Mazart Concerto, if you have listened to Horowitz, you will be disappointed with Lang Lang's recording too.I don't even want to mention the rest recordings.As I know Lang Lang performs over 120 shows a year.He is talented and successful at his age. Yet he should spend more time on music itself and understand the virtue of difference. Beyond technical fast fingers, expression is all counts at last. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classical    2. Classical Artists    3. Classical Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard    4. Keyboard    5. Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title    6. Orchestral & Symphonic    7. Rhapsody for Keyboard    8. Romantic Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard   

Editorial Review

This recital, taped live in London, consists of songs about Venice by Rossini dating from the 1850s, by the British composer Michael Head which were debuted in England in 1977, by Fauré from the early 1890s, and by the Venezuelan Reynaldo Hahn when he was in Venice in 1901. The Rossini selections are light pieces that charm, the Head cycle is easy-going and simple, the Fauré songs contain ruminations on love, and those by Hahn, in Venetian dialect, are very tactile, depicting nights under starry skies, flirtations, and happy times. Encores are one of Sesto's arias from Handel's Read more

Reviews (1)

She is the next big mezzo superstar!
A friend of mine in the U.K. sent me a copy of this CD and I was blown away. Joyce DiDonato sings with terrific style and interpretation. I believe that this CD will be the one that puts her over the top! Her voice reminds me a little of von Stade's at that point in her career and her repertoire choices were brilliant. This is a record I sincerely recommend to anyone interested in good singing and beautiful music. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber Music & Recitals    2. Classical    3. Classical Artists    4. Italian Baroque Opera    5. Italian Romantic Opera    6. Opera    7. Song Cycle for Solo Voice and Piano    8. Vocal    9. Vocal Music   

Editorial Review

Hélène Grimaud's releases on DG have each been built around a "concept." Here, it's death and transcendence. The philosophically bent can get Grimaud's explanation in the booklet notes, while the musical among us can just listen to a stimulating program of standard repertory freshened by one of today's outstanding younger pianists. In the Chopin Sonata, Grimaud's volatile first movement and delicately colorful finale provide the tone and resolution required by both composer and her own philosophical outlook. The latter, though, means a dry-eyed Funeral March shorn of any trace of sentimentality yet not lacking power, more a contemplation of mourning rather than the thing itself. The Rachmaninov Sonata is his 1931 revision with Grimaud's restoration of sections of the 1913 original. As in the Chopin, Grimaud's gorgeous tone and the clarity of her articulation help make this an outstanding performance. The program closes with a pair of Chopin's most affecting works, the Berceuse and the Barcarolle, both beautifully played. Read more

Reviews (5)

Wonderfully Played.Imaginative, with Feeling
I'm no critic here, I won't even attempt it.But I love Chopin, and Helene Grimaud's playing is masterful. I have read the knowledgeable reviews from other's who rate this poorly.It's surprising that their ears are so narrow and their minds so tight, full of their own genius.
Is this the new Argerich or just heavy weather?
DG rarely signs on new pianists, and their faith in Helene Grimaud must be based on a gamble that she will tke off like their discovery forty years ago, Martha Argerich. Like Argerich, Grimaud has a powerhouse technique. She eschews lady-liike sensitivity, and often pounds heavily like Claudio Arrua, as if this equates with profundity. I'm not sure I'm a fan yet. I admire the fact that Grimaud wants to say something new in each work. She phrases the thrice-familiar Chopin Second her way, and yet is her way really original and inspiring? To me it's not, although I'd rather hear her, heavy weather and all, than a run-of-the-mill account from a pianist with no ideas.Grimaud occasionally lapses into routine phrasing, as in the middle of the Funeral March, which detracts from any sense of personal involvement.
Deep understanding
Helene Grimaud plays the structure of the piece.In this she is very unusual.In our music lessons, we learned about phrases--how that arc over some notes means to begin anew, to rise in strength, then fall back again.And maybe even how larger phrases contain smaller ones.And we remember how difficult it was to play the phrases, especially when they contained other ones.Grimaud's phrasing is incomparable.At every moment there are several phrases going: the immediate one, and all the levels above it.She tells us not only what is now, but what is ending and what is to come.Her playing has the extremely rare quality of anticipation, so that even in pieces new to us, we feel them developing, and in familiar pieces we revel in the hints and beginnings of the next idea.Sometimes the phrases are borne by different voices, and it can seem that more than one person is playing, so clear is Grimaud's articulation.She has said that she practices mainly by studying the score.This must be the secret of her music's almost incredible three-dimensionality.
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Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard    2. Barcarollefor Keyboard    3. Berceuse for Keyboard    4. Chamber Music & Recitals    5. Classical    6. Classical Artists    7. Keyboard    8. Romantic Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard   

Reviews (15)

Don't...!!!
To combine a voice as beautiful as Pavarotti's with some of the world's greatest music and outstanding orchestras, and end up with this...`thing'...is unforgivable. After buying and listening to it, it brought to mind those painful words "A fool, a fool. I saw a fool today. I saw him in the mirror."
Great Tenor - Poor CD Quality
I have never been a huge fan of Maestro Pavarotti but I must admit that this compilation is a masterful collection of his operatic highlights.
Great Music......Horrible Mastering
Pavarotti has a voice that can take hold of you and change your entire mood...even if you don't know Italian. The problem with this set is the mastering (mastering evens out the volumes and signal to noise ratio on an album). The first CD in this collection is so quiet that you literally have to crank your player to get any kind of volume. For a professional CD this is absolutely unacceptable.
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Subjects:  1. Art Song (General)    2. Classical    3. Classical Artists    4. Classical Music    5. Classical Period Music for Voice and Keyboard    6. French Romantic Opera    7. German/Austrian Operetta    8. German/Austrian Romantic Opera    9. Italian Romantic Opera    10. Italy    11. Miscellaneous    12. Miscellaneous Music    13. Opera    14. Opera / Operetta / Oratorio    15. Romantic Music for Voice and Keyboard    16. Solo Voice(s) and Orchestra    17. Solo Voice(s) and Small Ensemble    18. Vocal    19. Vocal Music   

Features

• Soundtrack

Reviews (15)

A wonderful tribute to the artist
This CD is perfect in my opinion. The recording is perfect, the pitch is perfect, the tempo is perfect, and the track selections are perfect. I think the album samples Beethoven's most remarkable pieces of work from his early years to his death. I have heard many recordings of the Ninth symphony that was just executed poorly; which is a shame because it is such a powerful piece. However, this album does it superbly. Sir Georg Solti and Murray Perahia did an amazing job with this album.
Very emotional and moving!!
I am a big fan of classical music. Beethoven, in my opinion, was one of thebest composers, Mozart 1st, Beethoven 2nd, etc. This album is very moving and filled with emotion. I am currently listening to Adagio Cantabile-from Piano Sonata No. 8-from the film album. This piece is so moving and emotional. Another piece was Moonlight Sonata which I especially liked. Beethoven loads this piece with love and emotion for his one true love. In my opinion, Beethoven was the best at writing emotional and moving music. Whenever I listen to his music, I am immersed in a world of emotion and feeling. His music is truly beautiful. Back to the album, Sir Georg Solti really captured Beethoven's genius and devotion to his music in this album. This album really accents the film. You cannot have one, you must have both the film and the soundtrack. This is a must have for classical music/Beethoven fanatics and people who want to get a great summary of Beethoven's genius. BUY THIS!!!!

good listen, but needs work
This is good background music, but can't be held up to the higher standards set by the Backstreet Boys or maybe New Kids On the Block. I really think this Beethoven guy has potential, but I'll wait for his next album release before holding my breath. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bagatelle for Keyboard    2. Chamber    3. Choral    4. Classical    5. Classical Soundtrack/Score    6. Concerto    7. Keyboard    8. Mass    9. Piano Concerto    10. Romantic Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard    11. Romantic Symphony    12. Soundtrack    13. Soundtracks    14. Soundtracks & Film Scores    15. Symphonic    16. Trio for Keyboard and Two String Instruments    17. Violin Concerto    18. Violin with Keyboard   

Editorial Review

Resplendent in voice and manner, José Carreras, Placido Domingo,and Luciano Pavarotti deliver 21 songs of traditional sacred music and secularnumbers in a remarkable 1999 live recording from the opulent Viennese concerthall (Konzerthaus), with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and a renowned choir. The Three Tenors are practically as famous as the faces of Mount Rushmore and inspire perhaps even more awe and adulation around the world than the four presidents. The performances--whether alone, in tandem, or simply as the threesome that has made them collectively famous--are generally impeccable for their passion, nuance, and sheer tour de force vocal artistry. Reaching often into the classical realm for such works as the traditional German carol "Susani," Strauss's and Brahms's "Wiegenlied," plus traditional Polish and Spanish pieces, the trio also visits Pavarotti's "Ave Maria, dolce Maria" (cowritten with Vittoriano Benvenuti), and "Un nuevo siglo," written by Domingo's son. Only John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Happy Christmas/War Is Over" doesn't quite work in this grand setting. Read more

Reviews (21)

Wonderfully Different & Addicting! And All Your Friends Will Be Calling HOO-HOO!
First, let me state I don't listen to opera singers that much; thus, don't expect a hypercritical review here. (Really, is there ANY field of music that has more hypercritics than opera?) I got this CD simply because Columbia House had it on sale for $2.99, and I wanted some new Christmas CDs.
Wonderful and funny compilation
The Three Tenors are, of course, wonderful to listen to.This is also a funny CD.When they sing the more modern songs (Happy Christmas by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, for example) they have trouble keeping up with the pace of the song.They almost sound like they're tripping over the syllables, because as opera singers they are more accustomed to long, drawn out vowels, not fast ones.This doesn't hurt the song at all, it makes it more interesting to listen to.It's a great CD.I would recommend this as an addition to any collection of Christmas music.

A historical meeting...
Although several labels already had Christmas albums of the three tenors in their catalogue, the three maestros never actually trioed on these releases. When Pl�cido Domingo and the "Christmas in Vienna" team started preparing the eighth concert in the series (six predecessors were captured by Sony, and one, titled "Celebration of Christmas" issued by Erato-Warner), they made a monumental decision: Re-uniting three of the greatest voices of the current music business.
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Subjects:  1. Christmas    2. Christmas / Chanukkah    3. Christmas Music    4. Classical    5. Classical Crossover    6. Miscellaneous    7. Miscellaneous Music    8. Miscellaneous Vocal Music    9. Opera    10. Romantic Music for Voice and Keyboard    11. Solo Voice(s) and Orchestra    12. Solo Voice(s) and Small Ensemble    13. Vocal    14. Vocal Music    15. Xmas Classical Vocal   

Editorial Review

Everything about Bryn Terfel is over-life-size: his physique, his personality, his breath-control, and of course his extraordinarily beautiful voice. This recording displays his stunning vocalism and versatility to full advantage, but its title belies its content. Alhough it does include some simple pieces, the execution is fussy, overdone, and calculated for maximum external effect. The program ranges from Mozart, Pergolesi and pseudo-Bach to Sondheim in arrangements that are pure Hollywood, complete with throbbing strings and rolling drums, often destroying the spirit as well as the letter of the original compositions. It begins with Mozart's heavenly "Ave verum" arranged for baritone solo and chorus, frustratingly cut off after a few phrases (another setting of the same text by Karl Jenkins, written for Terfel, is more satisfying, being complete and original). The splendid baritone Simon Keenlyside joins him here as well as in the opening number of Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater;" originally for soprano and alto, this must be the baritones' revenge on female singers who usurp songs written for men, like Schubert's and Schumann's cycles. Franck's "Panis angelicus" also inexplicably becomes a duet; unfortunately, Terfel's and tenor Aled Jones' voices do not match. Bach-Gounod's popular "Ave Maria" is all swells and exaggerations. The rest of the program consists of folksongs, hymns, show and film tunes, inflated to operatic proportions and generally ending in a fade-out or a flourish. Even the title song is anything but simple. This record is not for purists who like their music performed the way the composer wrote it, but aficionados of great singing will love it. Read more

Reviews (6)

Bryn Terfel's Simple Gifts
Simply superb.I don't know what our local (Wash DC) paper was talking about when they said Deep River was the weakest link.I was enthralled from beginning to end.I have had the pleasure of hearing Bryn Terfel live in recital at the Kennedy Center.I can assure you that his voice has only improved with age.He was wonderful then and is spectacular now!

A Heartfelt Offering Reminiscent of An Earlier Era
Bryn Terfel harkens back to earlier American operatic stars such as Richard Tucker and Robert Merrill who crossed grenres to satisfy their unquenchable need to sing any and all songs that moved them to an appreciative public. These great singers all had their origins singing sacred music from their respective religions and learned to lay their considerable talents before the altar of the simple inspirational song.
So close to Heaven!
This album is a ticket to Heaven.The sheer beauty of the music and voice full with affirmation and faith, makes one bow humbly to the almighty.
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Subjects:  1. Choral    2. Choral Music    3. Classical    4. Classical Artists    5. Classical Vocals    6. Film    7. Film Music    8. Miscellaneous    9. Miscellaneous Music    10. Miscellaneous Vocal Music    11. Motet    12. Romantic Music for Voice and Keyboard    13. Solo Voice(s) and Orchestra    14. Solo Voice(s) and Small Ensemble    15. Vocal    16. Vocal Music   

Reviews (13)

Oscar Wilde plays Barber?
Apparently, Thomas R. Brown is the only reviewer who has actually listened to this disc.
A Must Buy CD!
If you've seen 'Platoon', and 'Lorenzel's Oil', repeatedly hearing the same traumatic music, and want to own it to your music library, this would be the definite CD to buy. A tiny bit slower than what's heard on the screen, but with more emotive sounds on the strings, the New York Phil under Bernstein's baton would surely put you to tears for sure. I claim this is one of the best recording of Barber's Adagio for Strings (lined with Lenny's performance with the LA Phil on DG).
Bernstein + Barber "Adagio" = Best
I love Barber's "Adagio for Strings" -- the mood, the emotion, the pace. However, it is trounced by most beginning conductors. I like the slower paced (around 10 minutes) renditions. This performance is my favorite, but the transfer to CD is not the very best (the LP seemed better on my high-end system). I also like Bernstein with Los Angeles (the recording is better, but the performance is not quite as good). I wish this recording would be remastered with 20-bit or HDCD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Orchestral Music    2. Chamber    3. Classical    4. Classical Composers    5. Classical Music    6. Music For String Orchestra    7. Orchestral    8. Orchestral & Symphonic    9. Quartet for Four String Instruments    10. Transcription for Orchestra   

Editorial Review

I think this music is intended for adults, though the photo on the cover is of a sleepingbaby. In any event, Schumann's work, Read more

Reviews (8)

I would give it more than 5 stars....
I had this CD when my daughter was born 5 years ago, and it gave us such a soothing environment in which to bond during quiet times.We also put it on shortly before we'd put her down to sleep, and by 6 weeks she was sleeping through the night in her own crib.I think it was her sanctuary, and the music helped her feel comforted.We've since then completely worn out the CD (she listened to it through her 3rd year), and will have to buy a new one for our next little addition (coming soon!). I found it on this site and just listened to the samples from each track.Aahhh... very soothing for Mommy, too!
Great CD: soothing music by best performers. Worth every penny.
I listened to this CD countless times ever since I first bought it from BMG music service back in 1997.Compositions of this CD are popular classical hits.That is, you will likely recognize at least some of them if you listen to the sampler.
Fantastic sleep time music
Not only does our baby love this music, but it is beautiful for us adults to listen to as well. There are 24 tunes, all strictly instumental except the last one. It runs over an hour and does not have any major "loud spots" despite a very nice variety of music. Read more

Subjects:  1. Albumblatt for Keyboard    2. Baroque Incidental Music for Orchestra and Voices (or Sem    3. Chamber    4. Chamber Music    5. Childrens    6. Classical    7. Classical Collections-Composer Desc.    8. Classical Music    9. Coll. of Character/Single-Movement/Misc. Works for Keyb.    10. Concerto    11. French Romantic Opera    12. Guitar Solo    13. Keyboard    14. Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title    15. Miscellaneous    16. Miscellaneous Music    17. Opera    18. Orchestral    19. Piano Concerto    20. Prelude and Fugue for Keyboard   

Reviews (5)

Not for the serious flautist
Most of the tracks on this CD consist of saccharine fluff, such as Disney, show-tunes, etc.If I buy a flute recording, I want to hear some serious music, not this ghastly schmaltz.And I hate to say it, I'm not a huge fan of Galway's playing style.It's too light and airy, just on the edge of going into overtones.He overuses his vibrato, especially on the higher notes.When you want them to just smoothly soar with rich tone,they just sort of flutter about. He does have impeccable technique and speed, but his tone leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion.Seek out another artist!

The Very Best of James Galway
Really is one of the best of James Galway, if not the very best.Easy listening, soothing, relaxing - easy to enjoy

Lightweight
Admirers of James Galway as a superb classical flutist, of whom I am one, should be forewarned that this 2002 release has been packaged by the mass merchandisers for the "crossover" crowd and the mass market:there's slim pickin's here for serious music lovers.The first CD contains brief, lightweight classical "hits" in "arranged" versions, basically encore bonbons, while almost the entire second CD is devoted to ephemeral, forgettable pop fluff.There's not much of substance here; given Galway's vast (over 50 recordings) discography, the classical music lover would be well advised to look elsewhere. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber Music & Recitals    2. Classical    3. Classical Music    4. Easy Listening   

Reviews (2)

A wonderful CD for your nursery!
As a first time parent I want to give my child every advantage I can.Studies have shown that playing music to your child helps to enhance their learning ability. Thrilling
An amazing CD for an amazing Musical!'MOZART!' contains fantastic music and great protagonists (Yngve Gasoy Romdal, Uwe Kroeger, Ruth Brauer, Thomas Borchert, Caroline Vasicek, Eva Maria Marold & Lenneke Willemsen) in fantastic quality. See Mozart in a different light. A newmusical of the 'Elisabeth'-Team Sylvester Levay and Michael Kunze inVienna. Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Collections    2. Childrens    3. Classical    4. Classical Period Serenade/Cassation/Divertimento    5. Classical Period Symphony    6. Classical Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard    7. Concerto    8. Keyboard    9. Miscellaneous    10. Miscellaneous Music    11. Orchestral    12. Piano Concerto    13. Rondo for Keyboard    14. Symphonic   

Reviews (1)

Best of the best
There's something for every Tchaikovsky lover on this disc. From Swan Lake to Onegin, many of Tchaikovsky's most-known melodies are on this disc. I'd have preferred more than an excerpt of the first movement of Piano Concerto No. 1, but this disc is a great introduction to Tchaikovsky's works. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ballet    2. Chamber    3. Choral    4. Classical    5. Classical Composers    6. Classical Music    7. Coll. of Character/Single-Movement/Misc. Works for Keyb.    8. Concerto    9. Keyboard    10. March for Orchestra    11. Mass    12. Opera    13. Orchestral    14. Orchestral & Symphonic    15. Piano Concerto    16. Quartet for Four String Instruments    17. Romantic Ballet    18. Romantic Music for Voice and Keyboard    19. Romantic Orchestral Music    20. Romantic Overture for Orchestra   

Reviews (2)

Bravo!
I heard this album for the first time at a restuarant in Florenceduringmy trip to Italy. I was surprised it was from the US beacause it hascaptured the very soul of Italy. After 7 years it has remained my favoriteof all Puccini cds I own. I especially like the fact that it is instumentaland can be played for many occassions. It never fails to stir thewanderlust for a trip back to Italy! A must for every romantic!

Outstanding compilation of the Italian classics,
I have been a music lover for years. This CD introduced some Italian music to me that I was not familiar with.I listen to this music very often...it is almost theraputic in effect. I have never heard more beautiful musictogether on one CD. You won't regret getting this one! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Ballet    2. Ballet    3. Chamber    4. Classical    5. Classical Collections-Artist Desc.    6. Classical Music    7. Concerto    8. Concerto for Two String Instruments    9. Duo for Mixed Instruments without Keyboard    10. Duo for Two String Instruments    11. Guitar Concerto    12. Italian 20th/21st Century Opera    13. Italian Romantic Opera    14. Opera    15. Polychoral Music For Brass    16. Quintet for Five String Instruments    17. Romantic    18. Violin Concerto    19. Violin with Keyboard   

Editorial Review

The likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, Joshua Bell, and Mark O'Connor can be heard on Read more

Reviews (14)

A piece of heaven
Heartland is a haven and a piece of heaven.I was transported.

Great CD
Great violin, appalachian music, brings out your country roots, beautiful song by Allison Krauss, good mix of slow and up beat songs, excellent cd!

A bit of a yawn-er
If you are planning to open up a high-end gift shop specializing in handcrafted wind chimes and micro-bakery scone mixes and the like, then you must have this CD playing for your customers.It might have a certain appeal there that it did not find in my living room.Not to say that the musicianship is not utterly outstanding, which it is most certainly.Aside from Short Trip Home, which is why I purchased this CD in the first place, I found the rest of the pieces somewhat vapid considering the caliber of the artists.Again, it has its appeal in an easy listening realm, but this was not what I was looking for. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Appalachia    2. Chamber    3. Chamber Music    4. Chamber Music & Recitals    5. Classical    6. Classical Crossover    7. Classical Music    8. Contemporary Bluegrass    9. Contemporary Folk    10. Instrumental Country    11. Miscellaneous    12. Miscellaneous Music    13. Progressive Bluegrass    14. Progressive Country    15. Romantic Music for Voice and Keyboard    16. Traditional Bluegrass    17. Traditional Folk    18. Vocal    19. Vocal Music   

Editorial Review

This all-star chamber ensemble was specifically formed to play Messiaen's masterpiece. Two decades after this recording was made, it still shows the effects of their intense identification with the music. Some listeners find Messiaen's music longwinded and difficult, and my own opinion varies depending on the work and my mood. But this piece, written in a German concentration camp during the early years of World War II, is truly one of the greatest works of music of the 20th century. Although it lasts nearly an hour, its variety of color and its powerful expressiveness will engross any responsive listener, especially in this performance. Read more

Reviews (11)

Unique and Interesting
Oliver Messiaen's music takes some getting used to.It's not unlike some of Stravinsky's works, but doesn't quite fit into any particular category.This particular work was written in a German prison camp and first performed there in 1941.Some people might want to buy it just for the historical significance, but I encourage you to buy it because it is downright interesting and enjoyable music.This might not be the best first album to buy as an introduction to Messiaen, as it's not his best work.It is somewhat subdued music; not particularly upbeat or awesome.It's not meant to be.Still well worthy of 5-stars.

An unmissable tribute to a composer calling on mysticism in a time of anguish
Peter Serkin championed Messiaen long before most American musicians did, and this 1976 tribute marked a definite break in public image from his father, Rudolf Serkin, who I am sure never recorded a piece of French music, from any era, in his life. I don't know how the reviewer below manages to get 98 people to approve of his reviews in a matter of weeks (!); however, Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time wasn't written in a ocncentration camp but a POW camp (the former being a death camp), and there is nothing political about this work. In fact, all of Messiaen's mystical Catholic refernces are generally impossible to match to the kind of music he writes.
Restoration: A Work of Art for the Soul as a TroubledYear Ends
On the last day of a year that has been fraught with calamity, war, disease, natural disasters, disillusionment with government, and countless personal tragedies, this wholly successful work offers a sense of balance just as it did at its premiere in January of 1941 in the presence of a Nazi concentration camp.
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Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music & Recitals    3. Classical    4. Classical Composers    5. Classical Music    6. Mixed Chamber Ensemble with Keyboard   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (37)

Very different. Hauntingly beautiful
I bought VISION, THE MUSIC OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN without even hearing it first. I couldn't resist the album's cover art and the premise of recording the chants of a 12th century nun with modern original scores. I was delightfully surprised at how well the experiment works. The tracks are absolutely beautiful and haunting. In listening to one of the chants accompanied by an almost jarring drum beat, I felt as if I were dropped deep into a dense African jungle where a safari of large powerful natives are escorting small white hooded nuns to some mysterious lost city. A very different, very intriguing, very fine work.
"Every Element Has A Sound"~Heavenly Visions Of A Medieval Mystic
Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179), 12th century Benedictine nun, abbess and mystic wrote some of the most heavenly spiritual chants, psalms and canticles in the history of the Catholic Church. Compositions that are so unique and universal in appeal that they were embraced by the 'New Age Movement' more enthusiastically then they were originally by her own Church.
SUPERB MODERN CLASSIC
SOARING, ETHEREAL voices are followed by haunting, vaguely Middle Eastern new age sound.HILDEGARD meets ENIGMA.It works.The purists make no room for this kind of interpretation of Hildegard but I remind you that the Louvre built a separate museum to house the Impressionist art not because they were so valued but because they did not consider it serious art and would not put it under the same roof with the classics.Time made buffoons of them.Listen to the sound clips and judge for yourself. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Music for Voice and Keyboard    2. Classical    3. Classical Artists    4. Early Music / Chant    5. Medieval    6. Sacred Choral    7. Vocal