Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for Keyboard    3. Classical    4. Concerto    5. Dance    6. Electronic/Avant-Garde/Minimalist Music    7. Etude for Keyboard    8. Keyboard    9. Keyboard Music    10. Marimba    11. Miscellaneous    12. Miscellaneous Music    13. Music for Tape/Electronics and Live Performer(s)    14. Orchestral & Symphonic    15. Percussion    16. Percussion Chamber Music   

Editorial Review

For a composer who is (now) recognizably part of the20th-century classical canon, the French émigré Edgard Varèse's output was astoundingly meager. Just 15 compositions from his entire life (he destroyed the compositions from his early years, and was a merciless editor of his own material in general) made it out to the listening world. Varèse was caught in the chasm between the music of yesterday and the music of tomorrow: scoring music for modified theremin, steamboat whistles, or air sirens, all balanced with the force of a large orchestra; writing pieces based on the flows of water and wind because that's what shapes the earth; using the concepts of chemical reactions and specific gravity as a basis for his music. Using extremes of contrast, dissonance, and variety in sound, Varèse's pieces had power in the way he attacked and shaped the sound he imagined. From Read more

Reviews (17)

Go ahead, test your intelligence...
Frank Zappa used to play Varese to test the intelligence of his friends, and most of them used to look at him like he was "out of his f---ing mind" as he put it.As a major Zappa fan, I bought this compliation, and I love every minute of it.This 2 CD set contains all of Varese's work (needless to say, Edgar wasn't very prolific).You really hear Varese's influence in Zappa's work.Some favorite pieces are Deserts, Poem Electronique, and Un Grand Sommeil Noir (Original Version).Varese's music reminds me of universes being created, in all their violence, beauty, and glory.Instruments crashing down upon one another.This music is reminiscent of Zappa's Weasels Ripped My Flesh and his orchestral work especially.Varese is one of the great American composers, like Aaron Copland, John Cage, and Conlon Nancarrow.Superb....
The definitive recordings.
Riccardo Chailly once said Var�se was going to be the Brahms of the XXI Century. I really don't know if he will be right or wrong, specially because of the very conservative auditoriums we have all around the world, but it should be this way, as the french composer has died too many years ago and his music should be understood but most of the public. It's sad to know that composers, like the own Mahler said, use to be years, decades, even centuries in advance to the general public.
Sound Splitting Music
First, let me state that I am a long-time Varese fanatic. I first heard Ionisation live at a contemporary music concert in my town when I was 12, and I was hooked. I immediately bought the old Robert Craft double album on Columbia and played it until there were scratches on the scratches. So I was overjoyed to see a modern "complete" recording with up to date sonics. For the most part, I haven't been too disappointed with the performances either. Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Music for Voice and Keyboard    2. 20th/21st Century Orchestral Music    3. Art Song (General)    4. Chamber    5. Classical    6. Classical Composers    7. Classical Music    8. Electronic/Computer/Tape Music    9. Mixed Chamber Ensemble of Ten or More Players    10. Octet for Mixed Instruments without Keyboard    11. Orchestral    12. Orchestral & Symphonic    13. Percussion Chamber Music    14. Solo Woodwind or Single Woodwind with Keyboard/Continuo    15. Transcription    16. Vocal    17. Vocal Music   

Reviews (1)

Witty and Charming
This CD is fun and action packed as much as you could hope for in a CD. He uses quotes from many famous folk and classical songs and implementsthem into his own compositions with a bit of a twist.For example, inClassical rap, where he raps about being the best rapper in the world withterrific brass interludes between the verses.The orchestra plays a clipfrom Vivaldi's "Spring" and then he twists it into a record"wicky-wicky" to the same tune.He introduces every peice beforeit is played in a hilarious manner in which he talks about the peice andsomething else that was going on in the composers mind as he wrote thepeice. Starting at the begining-Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Music for Voice and Keyboard    2. 20th/21st Century Orchestral Music    3. 20th/21st Century Overture    4. Chamber    5. Choral    6. Classical    7. Classical Music    8. Comedy    9. Keyboard    10. Keyboard Music    11. Miscellaneous    12. Miscellaneous Music    13. Miscellaneous Vocal Music    14. Oratorio    15. Orchestral    16. Percussion Chamber Music    17. Pop    18. Satire    19. Song Parody    20. Spoken / Comedy / Radio Shows   

Reviews (4)

Great Classic Themes
This is an awesome collection of unsettling melodies from the masters, not just some horror movie themes (though it does have some Psyco).You will end up playing a round of "Where have I heard that score before?" because these melodies are very iconic.
Simply Wonderful!
I would like to begin my review of this wonderful CD by stating that I am not a "kid." (unless you consider a 14-year-old to still be a child) I am, however, too lazy too start a new Amazon.com account before typing about this great CD.
Simply Wonderful!
I would like to begin my review of this wonderful CD by stating that I am not a "kid." (unless you consider a 14-year-old to still be a child) I am, however, too lazy too start a new Amazon.com account before typing about this great CD.
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Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Ballet    2. 20th/21st Century Symphony    3. Ballet    4. Chamber    5. Classical    6. Classical Collections-Composer Desc.    7. Concerto    8. Film    9. Film Music    10. German/Austrian Romantic Opera    11. Keyboard    12. Music for Organ    13. Opera    14. Orchestral    15. Orchestral & Symphonic    16. Percussion Chamber Music    17. Romantic Tone Poem/Symphonic Poem for Orchestra    18. Scherzo for Orchestra    19. Suite for Orchestra    20. Symphonic   

Reviews (7)

The consummate Schicekle
This isn't the old PDQ Bach, e.g., Concerto for Horn and Hardart--which was also good. It's "evolved," insofar as PDQ Bach is capable of evolution... Hysterical and not at all Esoterical
P.D.Q. Bach brings a funny irreverance to his subject material that is charming. He is at times on NPR (National Public Radio) and if you've ever heard him, you know what I mean. He obviously is an expert in his field, but he is outrageously funny in his parodies of famous music. Who would have thought one could bring a sense of humour to Wagner? Get this cd - or anything by PDQ - and I guarantee you're in for some laughs. You may even learn something!

Not to be taken seriously...
"P. D. Q. Bach. The last and least of J. S. Bach's twenty-odd children (and by far the oddest), this composer would have passed into the mists of oblivion were it not for the determined efforts of the Music Department at the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople, directed by Professor Peter Schickele.Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music    3. Classical Music    4. Comedy    5. Miscellaneous    6. Miscellaneous Vocal Music    7. Music with Spoken Words    8. Orchestral    9. Orchestral Music    10. Percussion Chamber Music    11. Pop    12. Quartet for Mixed Instruments without Keyboard    13. Satire    14. Song Parody    15. Spoken / Comedy / Radio Shows    16. Vocal   

Reviews (5)

My heart went out of rhythm because of this piece!
This is heavy music. Let me warn you right off the bat. The Percussion Concerto (which I had the opportunity to see spring 1999 with the NSO) is very 'heavy' music. The first movement sets the mood right away with it'sloudness and heavyness on the drums. Tides shift when the second movementcomes on. Glennie is a master at the suspense and weight of this slow butpowerful movement. The third starts out with a variety of percussioninstruments and resembles the climax of any modern day movie. It goes rightinto a marimba 'exercise' and then into some more drumming. The MartinLuther King piece, done in the style of Copland's Lincoln Portrait, is verypowerful. Jordan's daring risk of a stressful monotone voice worked well.This is more of a dramatic opinion opposed to a musical one. Marimbas willbe marimbas on that first piece. It's neat but nothing exciting.

Outstanding, except for Vernon Jordan
First of all, the music on this CD is incredible. Joseph Schwantner is one of the true masters of the 20th century. The first 2 selections on this disc (Velocities for solo marimba and the percussion concerto) are inspiredperformances by Evelyn Glennie with the National Symphony Orchestra &Leonard Slatkin. Unfortunately, someone made an error (in my judgement)when they cast Vernon Jordan in the role of the narrator in "NewMorning for the World." This is a work for Narrator & Orchestrausing the speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. as text which Jordan almostrenders unlistenable. There are many instances where Jordan gracelesslyplods through the undeniably powerful words of MLK as though he werereading stereo instructions or something of comparable banality. I can onlyimagine what the resluting recording would have been like if the narratorhad been Morgan Freeman, James Earl Jones, Denzel Washington, or evenSamuel L. Jackson. I will still highly recommend this CD despite VernonJordan's best efforts to make it unlistenable.

Queen of Percussion
This is a great CD.I saw her perform the Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra in the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.Amazing.She plays with such strength, conviction, and feeling.I had a conversationwith her after the concert and she was very encouraging and kind.EvelynGlennie is in a class of her own. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music    3. Classical    4. Classical Artists    5. Classical Music    6. Concerto    7. Miscellaneous    8. Music with Spoken Words    9. Percussion Concerto   

Reviews (5)

Two fantastic concertos
Unlike certain individuals within the more "sophisticated" crowd, I am not afraid to admit that I like the minimalist music of Philip Glass (b. 1937).Glass' style is very distinct, making use of recurring arpeggios, recurring syncopated patterns and recurring melodic ideas.I used to the word "recurring" three times in the previous sentence to emphasize that repetition is an important element of Glass' music.This would spell trouble for most composers, but Glass pulls this off by continually driving the music forward to achieve greater intensity and incorporating fascinating harmonic shifts that give his music an almost hypnotic quality.
This is my story why I bought and fell in love with this album.
I still remember the incredible sensation I felt one night listening to Philip Glass' "Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra" for the first time on my car radio.
Great!
Excellent service, as always. They seem to have all the stuff you can't find anywhere else. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cello Concerto    2. Classical    3. Classical Composers    4. Concerto    5. Orchestral & Symphonic    6. Percussion Concerto   

Reviews (8)

My most cherished musical find
I am a 20-year-old piano major who was told to listen to this CD by one of my professors when I was trying to decide what to study as a major four-hands work.Since I am on a "student budget," I decided to listen to the college library's copy of this CD before buying, but immediately after I had listened to the Bart�k, I knew that I had to have this CD.
Best Bartok EVER !
This Cd not only has a great selection, but it also contains BOTH versions of Bartok's works for two pianos and percussion.
Great Duo Piano Album
This is a stunning album of duo piano favorites. Marta Argerich is one of the finest pianists currently on the concert circuit. On this complilation CD she teams with two other pianists to perform exciting renditions of some of the classic pieces in the duo piano genre. Standouts include the amazing performance of the Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. This may be my favorite performance of this piece. It is savage and violent in the first movement, deeply mysterious in the second and playful and life-affirming in the final movement. The performance of the Lutoslawski Variations makes a good case for this work as a worthy successor to other variation sets on this marvelous Paganini Capriccio. The performance of La Valse is the first one that I've heard that doesn't make me yearn for the orchestra. And the Rachmaninov is spectacular. Read more

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music & Recitals    3. Classical    4. Classical Collections-Artist Desc.    5. Classical Music    6. Concerto    7. Keyboard    8. Music for Two Keyboards    9. Percussion Chamber Music    10. Piano Concerto    11. Variations for Keyboard    12. Waltz for Keyboard   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (1)

Dorati's MLP Bartok is Back
Those familiar with my reviews on Amazon know of my great love for the Mercury Living Presence series. Equally great is my disgust that so many of these brilliant recordings have been deleted in the last few years! Thankfully, some of these legendary performances are resurfacing as SACD hybrids. However, they are unfortunately now being sold at full-price, despite a competing Living Stereo hybrid series on RCA/BMG being available at midline. In spite of the added expense, I hope this MLP reissue trend will continue, and maybe we'll even see a few items receiving their CD debut in this series.
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Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Ballet    2. 20th/21st Century Occasional Music    3. 20th/21st Century Orchestral Music    4. Ballet    5. Bourrée for Keyboard    6. Box Sets (Audio Only)    7. Chamber    8. Classical    9. Classical Artists    10. Concerto    11. Concerto for Orchestra    12. Hungarian 20th/21st Century Opera    13. Keyboard    14. Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title    15. Opera    16. Orchestral    17. Orchestral & Symphonic    18. Percussion Chamber Music    19. Solo Voice(s) and Orchestra    20. Suite for Orchestra   

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music    3. Chamber Music & Recitals    4. Classical    5. Classical Composers    6. Flute Solo/Sonata    7. Percussion Chamber Music   

Reviews (1)

Beautifully performed and superbly recorded late chamber works
This Naxos disc contains several chamber works by Toru Takemitsu, the self-taught Japanese composer who was one of the most singular composers of the 20th century. They are performed by flautist Robert Aiken and several other Toronto-based musicians with whom Takemitsu formed a close relationship. With the exception of a single piece, all are from the last two decades of his life, after his modernist apogee and when he had entered a "sea of tonality".
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Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music & Recitals    3. Classical    4. Classical Composers    5. Classical Music    6. Flute Solo/Sonata    7. Mixed Chamber Ensemble with Keyboard    8. Percussion Chamber Music    9. Quintet for Mixed Instruments without Keyboard    10. Trio for Mixed Instruments without Keyboard   

Reviews (4)

Move over, Bolero!
I love this whole CD. Rouse's violin concerto is soulful and satisfying, and that's rare. Lin plays it beautifully and I will look for other violinists to add it to their rep in the future. Glennie is always fun, and Rouse has given her a whimsical rollick to work out on in Alberich. Even the wonky rock drum solo. But RAPTURE! Oh dear! It is so incredibly sensual and sexy. The orchestration is stunning, the colors alternately vivid and melting. Yeah, definitely get some champagne and some chocolates and take this one to bed. Oooh!

the Curse of the Ring LIVES
I see Alberich is alive and well, you know evil,the transgressive or "Other" it is required for Wagner's dramturgy at least in the Ring is propelled forward by this as his other operas only different characters as Klingsor,or Amfortas. Of course we all know Wagner was an Anti-Semite, and certainly those in his audiences in his time, the time of Karl Marx knew Alberich was the representation of the Jew,the merchant as his [...} son Hagen,who carried (well he tried) this treachery,deceit, hypocrisy and theif well into the future. I've come to beleive that a centrist reading of Wagner's Ring was that Alberich was simply "capitalist man",more advanced than European aristocracy,hence (in Wagner's naive view more progressive) those with power to transform the world,as Faust,armed with the primordial powers of the earth, (very Romantic) and they have, the early Robber Barons as Rockefellers,Morgans,Carnegies today Murdocks,Berlusconis,Trumps, whomever.
A Paean to Rick Wakeman
And such a thing should not exist! The opening 2 movements of "Alberich", referencing the nasty character in Wagner's RING, are positively superb, with an element of unresolved tension building throughout. It all comes undone in Glennie's solo. And that's what it is: a drum solo in the midst of a classical concerto. I'd have thought that that conceit had died along with the abysmal excesses of charaters like Rick Wakeman. This is right out of his "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and while I don't doubt for a minute that people in LA would stand and applaud (their two cultural contributions to Civilization being the right turn on red and Arnold as Governor), it struck me as completely ridiculous. In fact, I'm surprised Glennie would go for this. Someone must have slipped her a mickey in the haggis. She is a great rock drummer as far as that goes, though she might find more of a challenge working with Bill Bruford instead of this piece.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Orchestral Work with Descriptive Title    2. Classical    3. Classical Composers    4. Concerto    5. Orchestral    6. Orchestral & Symphonic    7. Percussion Concerto    8. Violin Concerto   

Editorial Review

Wildly influential four-piece Sonic Youth have self-released their version of a tribute to the 20th century: two discs of noisy interpretations of modern, experimental classical scores. The group has chosen composers whose works leave a great amount of innovation open to the performer. This chance-embracing approach--typified and in some senses originated by John Cage--is one of the crucial turning points of "new" music. What's great about this CD is that it demonstrates the freewheeling, decidedly unserious spirit behind this music, essentially combining the legacies of punk rock and out-sound. In addition to three late works by the chance-loving Cage, there are pieces by current Merce Cunningham collaborator Takehisa Kosugi, minimalist giant Steve Reich, "deep-listening" drone lover Pauline Oliveros, and Fluxus founder George Maciunas. Longtime collaborator Wharton Tiers, the young everything-ist Jim O'Rourke, and even some of the composers themselves join in on these exercises. The result is messy, fun, and anarchic, with occasional revelations (notably James Tenney's "Having Never Written a Note for Percussion"). It's not a disc to play all the time, but it is a challenging, enthused record that ideally will point listeners toward some of the most vital music of the last half of the last decade of the second millennium. Read more

Features

• Enhanced

Reviews (20)

a tribute with poor feedbacks
The best thing with this product is undoubtly the names to whom it is contributed. One should really sincerely appreciate the good taste of SY to lift up and include such grand modern masteur composers as Wolff, Cardew, Cage and etc. Less successful however is the attempt to translate these 40 or so years old, mainly score, compositions and replace their original instrumentations and to attempt to change their structure to "rock".
"Keep it new"
I came across this CD at my local library while searching for the works of Cornelius Cardew.My only criticism is that liner notes were not included.Liner notes would have been appreciated not only as explanations of this admittedly esoteric music, but as an opportunity for the performers to respond to potential criticism and explain their intentions.They are to be commended for taking the risk of alienating their commercial base with this collection of recent aleatoric compositions and performance art.The other reviews merely prove the point that despite their posturing, many fans of popular music are as conservative and hidebound as their great-grandparents, uncomfortable in their day with any composers after Brahms.A scan of the FM dial reveals little change in popular music over the past 50 years - lots of 3-minute songs in 4/4 time.Witness the proliferation of stations endlessly broadcasting the same 1960s to 1980s standards.
Classical avant-garde experimentalism from.....a rock band?
It's hard to believe, but it's true.
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Subjects:  1. Avant-Garde Music    2. Chamber    3. Choral    4. Choral Music    5. Electronic/Avant-Garde/Minimalist Music    6. Experimental Rock    7. Indie Rock    8. Keyboard    9. Keyboard Music    10. Miscellaneous    11. Percussion Chamber Music    12. Pop    13. Rock    14. Rock/Pop    15. Unknown Genre/Unspecified Instrumentation   

Reviews (10)

It's OK...
I can see that Frank Zappa would have been inspired by this music.As a longtime Zappa fan, I can hear plenty in Zappa's music that was modeled after Varese.Still, Varese's pieces on this CD are hardly monumental or awe-inspiring, and this seems to be the kind of music that very much depends on how it's played and interpreted.You don't get much better than Pierre Boulez; if it was, for example, me conducting an ensemble in performing Varese's work, nobody would listen.So it seems that it's not as much the music as the performance.And that Varese cannot be credited with.

definitely NOT Louie Louie
This album (CD) made it into my collection the same way as a few others who've commented here. One day after listening to Lumpy Gravy I was at the record store holding this CD in my mitts wondering if I really wanted to subject myself to one of Zappa's major musical influences.
Incredible.
This is one of the finest set of recording of the Varese repetoire ever made.The french performances are particularly well done with right degree of ensemble and tone required of this difficult music.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th/21st Century Music for Voice and Keyboard    2. 20th/21st Century Orchestral Music    3. Chamber    4. Classical    5. Classical Composers    6. Classical Music    7. Mixed Chamber Ensemble of Ten or More Players    8. Octet for Mixed Instruments without Keyboard    9. Orchestral    10. Percussion Chamber Music    11. Solo Woodwind or Single Woodwind with Keyboard/Continuo    12. Vocal   

Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music & Recitals    3. Classical    4. Classical Composers    5. Concerto    6. Concerto Grosso    7. Miscellaneous    8. Music for Assorted/Unusual Instrumentation    9. Percussion Chamber Music    10. Quartet for Four String Instruments    11. Viola Concerto   

Reviews (3)

excellent set for ensembles between string quartets & orchestras
There are now many discs documenting Xenakis's orchestral works, and the Arditti Quartet has recorded his few works for string quartet.This unique Mode disc collects 5 works for intermediate sized string ensembles, along with an amazing work for solo bass.The Ensemble Resonanz is superb, conducted by Johannes Kalitzke, and John Eckhardt's solo bass traversal of "Theraps" is superhuman.
Architectures made out of sound.
There's no doubt about Iannis Xenakis (Braila, Romania, 1922 - Paris, France, 2001) is one of the greatest composers in the XXth Century, creator of a large work full of originality and rigor, that make of him one of the references in the last decades for composers all over the world in the last years.
Confronting Xenakis
I have a theory that one of the best ways to introduce your ears to a new composer is to listen to their string music. There is something about this type of music that seems to bring out the more austere and characteristic qualities of a composer.
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Subjects:  1. Chamber    2. Chamber Music & Recitals    3. Classical    4. Classical Composers    5. Electronic/Avant-Garde/Minimalist Music    6. Multiple String Instruments without Keyboard    7. Music For String Orchestra    8. Percussion Chamber Music    9. Quartet for Four String Instruments