Average Rating:

.

Sibelius - Finlandia; Karelia Suite

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > General
from: Naxos

October 01, 1999
It's hard to go wrong with Naxos discs; quality recordings at excellent prices, and wonderful selections. For a middlebrow listener like myself who has never managed to get into the more demanding side of classical music but is a bit jaded by the oft-repeated selections that keep appearing on compilation albums, this disc must be hard to beat for an introduction to Sibelius, covering at it does a variety of moods, from the soaring and powerful Finlandia, through the lilting Karelia Suite intermezzo to the haunting 'Valse Triste' (used to great effect in Bruno Bozetto's animated film 'Allegro non Troppo'). The other longer tracks are a bit ponderous to my undereduacated ear but this is still good value even if you skip those.

Average Rating:

.

Pachelbel's Greatest Hit

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > General
from: Red Seal

October 13, 2003
It goes without saying that if you like Canon, you'll love this CD. It contains fifteen delicious variations of the Canon (and one Gigue). There are one or two versions that are bound to become your favourites. For one of the most repetitive songs around, I'm amazed to say I've never tired of this song. You know where it's going, but it's still relaxing and uplifting, whether as background music or to listen mindfully (try listening through headphones to feel ultra calm and wonderful!). Would probably make great background music at a party or wedding reception, shop etc. This CD is a regular feature on my CD player. It's great value for money too. There should be more like it!

Average Rating:

.

Wild Swans

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > General
from: ABC Classics

July 03, 2006
This album is absolutely fantastic and you actually feel what is happening in the fairy tale.

The problem is that people do not know that Elena Kats-Chernin composed this music for a ballet "The Wild Swans" and every piece of music relates to something in the fairy tale. Eliza Aria (the music on the Lloyds advert is the piece composed about the Princess) who was turned mute after a spell was cast upon her by her wicked Stepmother.

In a faraway kingdom, there lives a King with his twelve children: eleven princes and one princess. One day, he decides to remarry. He marries a wicked Queen who is actually a witch. Out of spite, the queen turns her eleven stepsons into swans and forces them to fly away. They carry their ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Romeo and Juliet (Previn)

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > General
by: Sergey Prokofiev

October 04, 2004
Ballet scores don't come any better than this. Prokofiev's score is an order of magnitude greater than Tchaikovsky's, and this classic version by Previn and the LSO does full justice to superlative music. It is intelligent, sensual and witty and offers outstanding value.

Prokofiev's score manages to match Shakespeare's drama in its intensity, complexity and economy. A notable feature of the play is its time compression. In the world of the play, all the action takes place in three or four days. In stage-time, this is reduced to a mere trice: 'the two-hour's traffic of our stage'. In Prokofiev's version, ideas come equally thick and fast - and enough of them to last most composers a lifetime. What's more, like the play, the ballet score ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Thomas Tallis: Spem in alium

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > General
by: Magnificat

March 08, 2004
This is a remarkable piece of music by any measure and should be in everyone's classical collection even if you are not normally a fan of vocal or religious music. You'll see many people lavish superlatives on this piece of music - and with absolute justification. In my view no superlative would be over-the-top.

For my part, I could say that it is sublime, superb, even peerless. But actually, I think it is other-worldly. It is quite simply staggering, for several reasons...
1) The ambition of Spem in alium is audacious. Composed circa 1570, written for 40 voices arranged in 8 independent choirs of 5 voices, each voice having a separate part, but all adhering to an overarching sense of cohesion. It is amazingly complex, mesmerisingly ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Verdi - La Traviata / Sutherland, Pavarotti, Manuguerra, NPO, Bonynge

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > General
by: Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Matteo Manuguerra, Richard Bonynge, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Della Jones, John Tomlinson, Jonathan Summers, David Wilson-Johnson

March 05, 1991
In many ways, this was Sutherland's return to form, for the much criticised mooning is largely absent. The voice is firm, rich, and she's fully in control of it. And for me that's the first problem: There's just no getting away from the fact that here is a very mature, matronly heroine, who sounds in the pink of health. Violetta is supposed to be young and desperately ill...

Some singers allow little vocal frailties into their singing to bring the character alive (Cotrubas, Gheorghiu, Callas). Sutherland never does, and her attempts at being expressive strike me as...manufactured. She sounds like a not-so-young diva enjoying a big sing. But in a role she's grown out of. The artful drawing on the cover, which attempts to take back the years, says it all really. ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Classics: the Best of Sarah Brightman

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > General
by: Sarah Brightman

October 02, 2006

Fans of Sarah Brightman have expressed mixed opinions on this `Best Of' release.

Being labeled as a `crossover' artist I think can be a burden, for there are times when he/she will perform opera and classical music but get criticized by the `classical buffs' for trying to step on the toes of their treasured elitist professional musicians of the classical world.

Then there is the criticism from fans of `popular music', who see their idol apparently deserting their pop roots and alienating themselves by joining the orchestral high society club.

So when pop meets classical is there always friction?

No, I don't side with either of these views, for I believe everyone is free to sing anything they like. Whether they sing it well ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Julian Bream & John Williams - Together - The Ultimate Collection

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > General
by: Julian Bream and John Williams

May 21, 1994
This album is a compilation of two recordings made in 1971 and 1978, by two of the greatest classical guitarists ever to have lived, and certainly the two greatest living today. These masters have almost never collaborated, and so these recordings are particularly valuable.

The repertoire here is a beautifully chosen and varied one. It includes pieces that will be familiar to all classical guitar enthusiasts, with compositions by Carulli, Albeniz and Granados. Giuliani's "Variazioni Concertanti" is particularly wonderful, and illustrates writing for the guitar at its peak. Some more unusual choices, transcribed from various settings for guitar duet, include Debussy's beautiful "Clair de Lune" and "Reverie" on CD 1. On CD 2, Faure's "Dolly, Op.56" is a beautifully arranged ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Goodall: Choral Works

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > General
from: ASV

June 03, 2008
I have to admit I'd never heard of Howard Goodall before searching on Amazon. I'm a fan of choral music, and for a long time I've had "find Mr. Bean music" on my to-do list.
I was surprised to learn it was by a contemporary composer, and ordered the CD.

It's quite a revelation; each piece is thoughtful, deep, and quietly masterful. I love choral, but I prefer Renaissance to contemporary. In just 24 hours, however, this recording has changed all that; a beautiful collection of pieces - I'd put this album right at the top of my favourites list.

So far my favourite is 'Palm 23' - I've never actually watched 'The Vicar of Dibley', so I don't to have to disassociate the music from a TV show. It's sublime, sheer comfort; a real indulgence, but I've played it about 15 times! ... Read More:

Average Rating:

.

Beethoven - Symphonies 1 - 9

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > General
from: Classics for Pleasure

September 16, 2002
I have given some time to this box set and found the orchestral playing to be foursquare and the conducting not particularly inspired. How on earth anyone can pretend to compare these to Rattle's wonderful (more expensive) VPO set is beyond me. The sound is pretty good in Liverpool and Manchester studios/concert halls.

Like Mackerras' Haydn on Telarc, this does nothing to me, despite its popularity. His Mozart symphonies on Telarc, and Handel etc are wonderful, but this Beethoven is dull and obvious, to my ears. Sorry.

Instead I recommend the following for the budget concious:

Hogwood (nice budget slimline reissue set) - sensible affectionate performances, about the best of authentic, esp for the price

Karajan 1963 Originals slimline box - get the ... Read More: