The #1 Opera Album
The labels that are now gathered under the Universal Classics umbrella have a pretty impressive scorecard in the area of classical compilations. We've seen The Greatest Opera Show on Earth, The Yellow Guide: Classical Music, Best of the Millennium, and now there's The No. 1 Opera Album. But that's no surprise, since Universal has some of the finest interpreters in its catalogue to draw from. This two-CD set (at the price of one), for ... Regular Price : $17.98
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The Pianist: Original Recordings by Wladyslaw Szpilman
Could not wait to get my hands on this one. Sorry, but did have to buy it elsewhere. Could not wait. After seing the movie I wanted to know more about this man and what he played. It includes his version of Chopin's Nocturne as performed on the end credits. Great ! Only sorry that I did not get such a good deal as from Amazon. This is a keeper !
Classic Yo-Yo
Except for one 'previously unreleased' recording and two new ones, this is a compilation of segments taken from older Yo-Yo Ma CDs, perhaps to whet listeners' appetite to hear the entire records. The disc represents a triumph of performance over material. The program consists of short pieces and single movements of long ones and serves to display Yo-Yo Ma's extraordinary versatility, his spectacular instrumental and musical gifts, and his remarkable ability to invest everything he ... Regular Price : $18.98
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Mozart for Relaxation
This is a terrific collection of many of Mozart's best known and most beloved pieces. You will probably recognize many of the melodies - and with this CD, of course, you'll learn their names. This CD is really aptly named - it is a very 'relaxing' collection of beautiful music. One reviewer said that its great for the car - but also after that long, grinding day at work - you know, the ... Regular Price : $9.98
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Under the Stars
In these days of the crossover, it is hardly surprising to find two great opera singers making a foray into numbers from Broadway musicals by such composers as Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. What's remarkable is that they seem completely at home in this music. Both say they grew up listening to it, and indeed they approach these songs with no less care and seriousness than they'd give the most demanding operatic ... Regular Price : $16.98
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Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3; Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"
This live recording finds Perlman the violinist at the top of his form. Playing with consummate technical ease, a warm, radiant, glorious tone, elegant phrasing, captivating charm, and great expressiveness, he makes the Concerto sparkle and glitter, speak and sing, plead and laugh. Mood, tone, and character change in an instant; the music is suffused with golden sunshine and carefree joy. The slow movement is delicate and inward, the final Rondo robust and humorous. Not content with ... Regular Price : $16.98
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The Most Famous Opera Duets
This is a misnomer--not all of these duets are all that famous--but it's a fine compilation nonetheless. You'll hear selections from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (Nicolai Gedda and Ernest Blanc at their most elegant French), Madama Butterfly (Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto--an impassioned pair), Lucia di Lammermoor (a classy Alfredo Kraus and Edita Gruberova), the lovely Lakme duet, The Presentation of the Silver Rose from Der Rosenkavalier (with the earnest Christa Ludwig and the other-worldly Teresa Stich-Randall), and a fine ... Regular Price : $3.98
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Ninna Nanna: Lullabies (1450-2002)
This is a formidable collection of lullabies, spanning 500 years, 18 of them (from almost as many countries) in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Catalan, English, and more, each one lovely, each one in its own idiom. Some are anonymous; others are by composers as different as Byrd, Mussorgsky, Milhaud, and Arvo Pärt. The disc shouldn't be listened to in one setting--no matter how interesting they are, they're still lullabies and can mellow the listener into torpor--but in three-or-so chunks, the ... Regular Price : $19.98
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Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony
This beautifully recorded, no-nonsense, not overly sentimental, quick-tempo account of Vaughan Williams's lush choral symphony is most welcome. It's a work that matches the mystical--Walt Whitman's poetry--with some folklike sea rhythms Vaughan Williams tosses into the mix. Though it's perhaps not as warm as some versions, conductor Robert Spano opts for lots of excitement in the grand moments ('Sail forth' in the last movement, for instance). The warmth is written into the music ... Regular Price : $17.98
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Happy Birthday
To celebrate its sixth anniversary as an ensemble, Kremerata Baltica presents a light, loving, and musically interesting confection. After an opening polka by Schnittke (who knew he could be so frothy?), we get 11 variations on the song 'Happy Birthday' by Peter Heidrich, à la Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms, and some dance movements. Delightful. Elsewhere, Franz Waxman's Variations on 'Auld lang syne' are as clever as they are unexpected and charming. More variations--this time ... Regular Price : $16.98
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