Editorial Review

This series of Saint-Saëns' piano music, recorded in 1974, will be of interest to the composer's admirers, but it's not likely to win any awards. Most of the music consists of glittering generalities, with few memorable moments and a lot of padding. Saint-Saëns had inspirations, but he didn't waste many of them on his solo piano music. In the few cases when a piece has become familiar, we can tell that Dosse's performances are mostly just adequate, seldom exciting or insightful. She gets around the keys well enough, and the last of the Six Etudes (based on the composer's own Fifth Piano Concerto) is pretty dazzling, but elsewhere she seems to be just going through the motions. The solo piano music, recorded by the wonderful Elite team of Nickrenz & Aubort, has splendid sound quality. But the duets, recorded in Stuttgart, sound boxy and flat--except for "Carnival of the Animals," with the sparkling chamber orchestra. This certainly isn't a bad set, but it's only a compelling purchase for lovers of this composer who can't get enough of his piano music. Well, now they can. Read more

Reviews (2)

Proto-Modern Music
Saint-Saens didn't believe that music must express deep emotion to be worthwhile.He was more interested in beautiful surfaces than in profundity. The composer's aesthetic, which might be described as "decorative," justifies certain limitations and is not all that different from Milhaud's or Poulenc's, although the musical idiom is more 19th century than 20th century. COMPLEMENTS STEPHEN HOUGHT SAINT SAENS CONCERTOS
I AM LISTENING TO THE FOURTH OF FIVE CDS PLAYED ON THE PIANO BY FRENCH WOMEN MARYLENE DOSSE AND ANNIE PETIT. THEY ARE EXCELLENT ESCAPISMS.I DON'T KNOW ONE FROM THE OTHER, BUT JUST LAY BACK ON A SULTRY DAY AND ENJOY.Read more

Subjects:  1. Albumblatt for Keyboard    2. Allegro for Keyboard    3. Bagatelle for Keyboard    4. Capriccio/Caprice for Keyboard    5. Chamber    6. Chamber Music & Recitals    7. Classical    8. Classical Artists    9. Classical Music    10. Collection of Dance-Based Music for Keyboard    11. Collection of Etudes, Studies, or Exercises for Keyboard    12. Concerto    13. Gavotte for Keyboard    14. Keyboard    15. Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title    16. Mazurka for Keyboard    17. Minuet for Keyboard    18. Music for Four Hands at One Keyboard    19. Music for Two Keyboards    20. Orchestral   

Reviews (4)

Excellent
Pure enjoymemt.This hard to find CD is worth the wait.Bob James classical is unlike anything you have ever heard.One of my all time favorites.Bravo.
A "Switched-On" gem!
There was a time when I first saw this CD in a store.While I looked on back for the listing of the pieces, I read the print on the bottom that mentioned what kinds of instruments did Bob James played.One of them was the Mini-Moog.It also mentioned "Oberheim," "Roland," and "Yamaha."These names made me think they're synthesizers.I suspected this must be inspired by Wendy Carlos' interpretation of Bach.However, I didn't want to waste my money on a full priced CD.I wanted to get it on sale. Tres Grand!
Bob James' first classical release is a true gem in every sense!It started as a Christmas present for family and friends, but soon expanded into its present form.The charming "Fanfarinette" starts us off.Rameau's most popular keyboard work, "Gavotte with 6 Doubles", is given an intense treatment here.Two contrasting Minuets follow."La Livri" is given a slightly faster rendering than usual. "L'Arlequinade" is elegant and graceful. "La Timide" are two rondos pieced as one."L'indescreet, another rondo with it's theme in thirds, ends the first half.The harmonically challenging "La Chasse" starts the second half."La Nais de Solongne" feature Bob at the acoustic piano along with the synths. "La Soupirs" is as a gentle breeze."Air Pour L'Esclaves Africans" is a broody piece."Les Triolets" is soft and quiet.We close with two contrasting tambourins, the first given rubatos and accelerandos throughout.Bob uses synth percussion to great effect here. I would also recommend that the listener find Bob's 1988 recording, THE SCARLATTI DIALOGUES. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Keyboard    3. Classical    4. Classical Artists    5. Classical Music    6. Coll. of Character/Single-Movement/Misc. Works for Keyb.    7. Crossover Jazz    8. French Baroque Opera    9. Gavotte for Keyboard    10. Jazz-Pop    11. Keyboard    12. Minuet for Keyboard    13. Miscellaneous    14. Miscellaneous Music    15. Opera    16. Smooth Jazz    17. Suite/Partita for Keyboard    18. Transcription for Keyboard    19. Trio for Keyboard and Two String Instruments   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (1)

Clear Recording
I recieved this Deutcshe Grammaphon CD for Christmas, and let me say I was impressed as much by Segovia still in his prime as I was the quality of the recording.Most of the pieces were recorded in the 1950's, however the quality of the recording would lead you to beleive it was recorded twenty years later.Though I would not place the quality of the recording as high as a currently recorded digital CD, it is incredible.This holds true for both discs, though the German recordings are better than the New York recordings.This CD shows a side of Segovia quite different from the recordings and performances years later.Segovia's interpretations are much less embellished and considerably more nimble.Honestly, I feel this is the recording that backs up the reviews of those who listened to Segovia years ago and do not feel the later recordings capture just how great he was.This recording towers over other similarly dated Segovia compilations.I strongly suggest it.
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Subjects:  1. Baroque Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard    2. Chamber    3. Chamber Music    4. Chamber Music & Recitals    5. Classical    6. Classical Artists    7. Gavotte for Keyboard    8. Guitar Solo    9. Keyboard    10. Minuet for Keyboard    11. Miscellaneous    12. Miscellaneous Music    13. Music for String Quartet with Other Instrument(s)    14. Music with Spoken Words    15. Orchestral    16. Renaissance Dance Music    17. Suite/Partita for Keyboard   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (1)

Worthwhile, especially if you like Brahms
Johannes Brahms was one of the key figures in Romantic Piano Music. His output for the instrument was varied and large, and this four-disc set is ample testament to that output. As it was with their complete BeethovenSonatas set (by Bernard Roberts), so it it here: Nimbus have enlisted afine artist with a good command of the piano to record all of Brahms' solopiano music, and whilst I am not a Brahms addict myself, I am sure it willgive great pleasure to collectors and serious Brahms fans. Read more

Subjects:  1. Balladefor Keyboard    2. Box Sets (Audio Only)    3. Canon for Keyboard    4. Chamber Music & Recitals    5. Classical    6. Classical Composers    7. Classical Music    8. Etude for Keyboard    9. Fantasy/Fantasia for Keyboard    10. Gavotte for Keyboard    11. Gigue for Keyboard    12. Intermezzo for Keyboard    13. Keyboard    14. Keyboard Work Entitled "Piece" or "Stück"    15. Keyboard Work for One Hand    16. Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title    17. Miscellaneous    18. Miscellaneous Music    19. Music for Four Hands at One Keyboard    20. Rhapsody for Keyboard   

Reviews (1)

Live Klemperer Treasure from 1968
This extraordinary set of live Klemperer performances should be in the collection of everyone who cares about Klemperer and his marvelous style of music making. Massive and often slow but always vital and alive, they will not appeal to everyone. But it is astonishing how these CDs bring into sharp focus Klemperer's real magnetism on the podium.As good as his EMI recordings are, they are so very much the product of the recording studio one can be forgiven for wondering whether they represent what Klemperer was in fact capable of achieving in live performance, particularly near the end of his career when his various physical disabilities became almost overwhelming impediments to performance.Somehow, almost miraculously, Klemperer put it all together for a few weeks in the late Spring of 1968 in Vienna to produce truly incandescent performances.Not note perfect by any means, this is music making nevertheless for the ages. I suppose the Mahler 9th comes closest to failure as it offers some of the most ragged playing in the set. (According to the excellent liner notes, some of that can be attributed to Klemperer but more to the orchestra's unfamiliarity with Mahler's last great symphony and even downright hostility to Mahler's music in general.) But in the end that raggedness doesn't matter at all. Klemperer's trademark qualities as conductor are very much present in the Mahler as in all these performances: clarity of polyphonic texture; structural integrity; overall rhythmic coherence (even if ensembles are a bit 'shaky' at times). I was particularly moved by the performances of Bach and Mozart -- the 'Jupiter" symphony is positively incandescent -- as well as by the Bruckner Fifth which is, hands down, the greatest performance of that symphony I have ever heard, live or on record.But all these performances are well worth hearing again and again in spite of their foibles. All performances from the 1968 series are in good quality stereo sound; the single mono recording, a very decent-sounding performance of the Brahms German Requiem, is taken from a Klemperer concert in Vienna about ten years earlier.I don't recommend this set to the 'note perfect' crowd or to anyone who has a fixed idea about what is the "best" recording of the Beethoven Fifth or Mahler Ninth. But if you are prepared to hear the 'thoughts' of an old man who has struggled with this music all his life, for whom this music meant more than anything else on earth and for which he was willing to push himself past pain and infirmity for one last encounter, then I think you will be moved and enriched by this priceless set. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Choral    3. Classical    4. Classical Artists    5. Classical Period Serenade/Cassation/Divertimento    6. Classical Period Symphony    7. Concerto    8. Concerto Grosso    9. Gavotte for Keyboard    10. Keyboard    11. Miscellaneous    12. Miscellaneous Music    13. Opera    14. Orchestral    15. Orchestral & Symphonic    16. Orchestral Music    17. Requiem/Requiem Section    18. Romantic Orchestral Music    19. Romantic Overture for Orchestra    20. Romantic Symphony   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (1)

brilliant performances, but not quite perfect
There is a wealth of great music on this disc, and all at an unbelievable price.The set does not start brilliantly, with a sonata set that sounds as though it has been recorded in his front room.Some of the playing is a bit woolly, but you can tell that his heart is there, especially in the 6th sonata, where the sparks positively fly.For my taste, the 8th starts off way too slow, and the exciting close of the first movement is too fast with way too much pedal, losing all detail.His antipathy towards the 1st sonata is obvious from the sleeve notes, and he plays it rather aggressively.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard    2. Box Sets (Audio Only)    3. Chamber    4. Chamber Music & Recitals    5. Classical    6. Classical Composers    7. Classical Music    8. Etude for Keyboard    9. Film    10. Film Music    11. Gavotte for Keyboard    12. Keyboard    13. Keyboard Music    14. Keyboard Work Entitled "Piece" or "Stück"    15. Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title    16. Orchestral    17. Prelude and Fugue for Keyboard    18. Suite for Orchestra    19. Toccata for Keyboard    20. Transcription for Keyboard   

Subjects:  1. "Immensely sophisticated and enormously sexy performances by the brilliant young American pianist John Novacek" - Jim Svejda, KUSC Radio    2. Bagatelle for Keyboard    3. Balladefor Keyboard    4. Chamber Music & Recitals    5. Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Keyboard    6. Classical    7. Classical Artists    8. Classical Music    9. Collection of Dance-Based Music for Keyboard    10. Gavotte for Keyboard    11. Impromptu for Keyboard    12. Keyboard    13. Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title    14. Nocturne for Keyboard    15. Prelude for Keyboard    16. Song Without Words for Keyboard    17. Transcription for Keyboard    18. Waltz for Keyboard   

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Classical    3. Classical Music    4. Concerto    5. French Horn Concerto    6. Fugue for Keyboard    7. Gavotte for Keyboard    8. Horn Sonata    9. Keyboard    10. Keyboard Music    11. Music For Wind Orchestra    12. Orchestral   

Subjects:  1. Allegro for Keyboard    2. Bagatelle for Keyboard    3. Capriccio/Caprice for Keyboard    4. Classical    5. Classical Music    6. Collection of Etudes, Studies, or Exercises for Keyboard    7. Concerto    8. Gavotte for Keyboard    9. Keyboard    10. Mazurka for Keyboard    11. Miscellaneous    12. Miscellaneous Music    13. Piano Concerto   

Reviews (2)

OH, MY!
There are not enough stars in Amazon's system to do justice to these miraculous performances.The Schumann, though abreviated, is sublime.(The same forces recorded the complete work a few years later.)It is truly a legendary performance.But, for me, the thing here is the Arensky performed with his friend Harold Bauer.Some great performances announce themselves within the first few seconds & you relax & sit back knowing it's going to be a perfect ride.Other great performances don't leave you time.They grab you by the shoulders.You lean forward into the performance wanting to get as close to it as possible.Time stops.Afterwords, you collect your thoughts & exclaim, 'Oh, my'.There's not another recorded performance like this of anything by anyone anywhere.

Treasures From The "Poet of The Piano"
Before he became conductor of the Detroit Symphony, Ossip Gabrilowitsch was known as one of the great Russian-born piano soloists. His technique was legendary, earning him acclaim as the "poet of the piano" byno less a personage than Bruno Walter, Even after taking up the Detroitpost (indeed, Orchestra Hall was built as a condition of his accepting theposition) he continued to concertize as a soloist. Read more

Subjects:  1. Capriccio/Caprice for Keyboard    2. Chamber    3. Chamber Music & Recitals    4. Classical    5. Classical Artists    6. Classical Music    7. Gavotte for Keyboard    8. Keyboard    9. Keyboard Music    10. Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title    11. Miscellaneous    12. Miscellaneous Music    13. Orchestral    14. Quintet for Keyboard and Four String Instruments    15. Romantic Incidental Music for Orchestra    16. Suite/Partita for Keyboard    17. Violin Solo   

Reviews (3)

Puyana y la edad de oro
Thanks to this record, I started to love de harpsichord and to know the music of the golden age of this instrument. I remember the little piece My lady's carey dump or something like that. I should be a pleasure to have it again.

Puyana Plays to Perfection
Mr Puyana has a sink-your-teeth-into style of playing upon the harpsichord which I find immensely satisfying.He doesn't pussy-foot upon the keys, he attacks them with a flair and a finesse, appearing to thoroughly enjoy himself in the process.I can readily imagine him performing many of these pieces with a smile creasing his face.And why not?These are some delightful compositions, packed with trills and runs and cadenzas and what have you.A harpsichordist's dream, I'll imagine, and a splendid introduction to this instrument for those who might be unfamiliar.The tone of the instrument is wonderful, clear and ringing.A rousing pick-me-up variety here, perfect to play for a gathering of friends, or while pottering about the house.And whilst doing so, you might discover yourself tapping your toes and smiling along!Also recommended is his disc of Fandangos and Tangos, for another bit of whirlwind musical fun.

Top-Drawer Performance, Sound Quality, Music, and Value
This is a reissue of a set of Mercury Living Presence LPs recorded in 1962.Mercury's Living Presence series was renowned for its sound quality; even though this is an ADD CD, the sound quality leaves nothing to be desired.Read more

Subjects:  1. Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Keyboard    2. Choral    3. Choral Music    4. Classical    5. Classical Artists    6. Classical Music    7. Classical Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard    8. Coll. of Character/Single-Movement/Misc. Works for Keyb.    9. Contrapuntal/Improvisatory Keyboard Music    10. Gavotte for Keyboard    11. Keyboard    12. Keyboard Music    13. Medieval/Renaissance Virgnal Music    14. Miscellaneous    15. Miscellaneous Music    16. Pavane for Keyboard   

Reviews (1)

Legendary performances from Caracas!

Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber Music & Recitals    2. Classical    3. Classical Composers    4. Concerto    5. Ecosse/Ecossaise for Keyboard    6. Gavotte for Keyboard    7. Impromptu for Keyboard    8. Keyboard    9. Piano Concerto   

Subjects:  1. Allemand for Keyboard    2. Chamber    3. Chamber Music & Recitals    4. Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Keyboard    5. Classical    6. Classical Composers    7. Gavotte for Keyboard    8. Individual Dance for Keyboard    9. Keyboard    10. Minuet for Keyboard    11. Miscellaneous    12. Miscellaneous Music    13. Rondeau for Keyboard    14. Trio for Keyboard and Two String Instruments   

Reviews (1)

Delightful music for harp duo...
This is an irresistible collection of beautiful melodies arranged (or composed) for harp duo.Nancy Lendrum & Jody Guinn are masters of their instruments, and lend an energy and flourish to this delightful assortment of music by Carlos Salzedo and other assorted classical composers.The arrangements are crisp and the playing is brilliant!There isn't a dull moment or 'lackluster' piece on this cd.This music would be ideal accompaniment to any activity from a "dinner party for 8" to a Sunday afternoon relaxing with a good book...highly recommended!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music & Recitals    3. Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Keyboard    4. Classical    5. Classical Artists    6. Collection of Dance-Based Music for Keyboard    7. Duo for Two String Instruments    8. Gavotte for Keyboard    9. Harp Solo    10. Keyboard    11. Miscellaneous    12. Miscellaneous Music    13. Romantic Music for Voice and Keyboard    14. Rondeau for Keyboard    15. Song Without Words for Keyboard    16. Suite/Partita for Keyboard    17. Vocal   

Features

• Box set

Subjects:  1. Balladefor Keyboard    2. Canon for Keyboard    3. Classical Collections-Composer Desc.    4. Classical Music    5. Concerto    6. Etude for Keyboard    7. Fantasy/Fantasia for Keyboard    8. Gavotte for Keyboard    9. Gigue for Keyboard    10. Intermezzo for Keyboard    11. Keyboard    12. Keyboard Music    13. Keyboard Work Entitled "Piece" or "Stück"    14. Keyboard Work for One Hand    15. Miscellaneous    16. Miscellaneous Music    17. Music for Four Hands at One Keyboard    18. Music for Two Keyboards    19. Piano Concerto    20. Rhapsody for Keyboard   

Subjects:  1. Adagio for Keyboard    2. Baroque Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard    3. Classical    4. Classical Music    5. Coll. of Character/Single-Movement/Misc. Works for Keyb.    6. Gavotte for Keyboard    7. Keyboard    8. Keyboard Music    9. Passacaglia/Passacaglia and Fugue for Keyboard    10. Rondeau for Keyboard    11. Suite/Partita for Keyboard   

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music & Recitals    3. Classical    4. Classical Composers    5. Classical Music    6. Gavotte for Keyboard    7. Keyboard    8. Keyboard Music    9. Minuet for Keyboard    10. Quintet for Keyboard and Four String Instruments    11. Serenade for Keyboard   

Reviews (4)

Which Hofmann?
Hofmann - particularly late Hofmann - may be an acquired taste.
Supplement to my earlier review of Hofmann's Brunswick recor
Since my last review, I went to see my piano teacher once again (on April 14, 2000).She was amazed at the further dramatic improvement in my technique. Hofmann: The Greatest Pianist.
I am an amateur pianist who, as of 50 years ago, had the greatest technique of any amateur pianist that my cousin, who then played trumpet under Toscanini, had ever heard.On the other hand, I should like to sayupfront that Hofmann's technique is the only technique of all the greatsthat I cannot begin to touch.I say this even as of today when mytechnique is far better than 50 years ago -- attributable to a new methodof piano practicing that I have discovered, aided by listening to Hofmann'sBrunswick and Casimir recordings combined with learning and practicing TaiChi under a Chinese master, who once took second prize in an all-Chinacontest.Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music & Recitals    3. Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Keyboard    4. Classical    5. Etude for Keyboard    6. Gavotte for Keyboard    7. Keyboard    8. Keyboard Music    9. March for Keyboard    10. Nocturne for Keyboard    11. Nonet for Mixed Instruments without Keyboard    12. Polonaise for Keyboard    13. Prelude for Keyboard    14. Rhapsody for Keyboard    15. Scherzo for Keyboard    16. Transcription for Keyboard    17. Waltz for Keyboard   

Reviews (2)

A shinning beacon in the middle of a dark night!
Nowadays many pianists think -mistakenly- that to fill a big hall, demands to produce an enormous sound amount of sound, hammering the instrument with all their mighty. That conception prevailed during the second half of the XIX Century with that advertised announce: "an authentic keyboard lion". Casadesus was so reliable about the sheerness of the sound that literally astonished the whole world with his apparent simplicity, facing such dissimilar composers as Beethoven and Ravel, and being so famous performer in both at the same time.
The Refined Elegance of Casadesus
Dear Readers, I'm sure that this compilation of Mr Casadesus' art is a valuable treasure.Unlike some of the selections from the output of various artists in this collection, these two cd's are the epitome of Mr Casadesus' oeuvre.Every work is wonderfully realized and his masculine approach never borders on being earth bound.Especially wonderful is the Ravel Concerto which has to be heard to be believed.It is dazzling and very riveting.Suspending time is every pianist's ideal.And beautiful playing such as this does.. Strongly recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Barcarollefor Keyboard    2. Baroque Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard    3. Chamber Music & Recitals    4. Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Keyboard    5. Classical    6. Classical Artists    7. Classical Music    8. Concerto    9. Concerto for Piano One Hand    10. Gavotte for Keyboard    11. Impromptu for Keyboard    12. Keyboard    13. Music for Four Hands at One Keyboard    14. Music for Two Keyboards    15. Nocturne for Keyboard    16. Prelude for Keyboard    17. Romantic Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard    18. Suite/Partita for Keyboard   

Editorial Review

The suites date from the waning days of monophonic sound. It's big-band Bach, far removed from today's speculative recreations of period style, but also distant from the bloated Bach of the past. Klemperer, fairly lean and objective, still digs deeply into the music. The uncredited flutist in Suite No. 2 is touching. Overture movements here are appropriately grand and, while tempos are moderate (no break-dancing to these dance movements), Klemperer's rhythmic mastery keeps the music flowing. The Philharmonia, at its peak, plays superbly. Handel's Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 4, is beefily affecting and the rest, in stereo, is very attractive, especially the robust Read more

Reviews (1)

This set is so worth it!
This Klemp set is so rare and so good.Read more

Subjects:  1. Baroque Suite/Partita for Orchestra    2. Classical    3. Classical Music    4. Concerto    5. Concerto Grosso    6. French Classical Period Opera    7. Gavotte for Keyboard    8. German/Austrian Classical Period Opera    9. Keyboard    10. Opera    11. Orchestral    12. Orchestral & Symphonic