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
Amazon.com Price : $7.75
(59
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
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
Amazon.com Price : $7.98
(20
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
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
Amazon.com Price : $13.83
(19
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
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
Amazon.com Price : $14.05
(17
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
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
Amazon.com Price : $14.99
(25
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
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
Amazon.com Price : $14.80
(18
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
Chopin: Études, Opp. 10 & 25
Through channeling his intelligent virtuosity toward musical ends, Murray Perahia reveals the distinctive voice of each Chopin Étude, rather than imposing a 'one style fits all' aesthetic upon the music. His easy mastery of the right-hand double-note challenges of Op. 10 No. 7 and Op. 25 Nos. 6 & 8 and the taxing rotary patterns of the famous 'Black Key' and 'Winter Wind' études enable him to clarify their significant left-hand component. Note, too, the 'Octave' étude's long-lined ebb ... Regular Price : $17.98
Amazon.com Price : $14.48
(19
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
David Russell Plays Bach
David Russell is a great guitarist, and this CD handsomely showcases his affinity for Bach. Without leaning toward Romanticism, Russell gets to the emotional content of the pieces, lingering nicely, for example, on the warmth of the lengthy Chaconne from the Partita No. 2. It would be easy to get bored with the sound of a solo guitar after an hour, but Russell won't permit it--sometimes his tone glistens, sometimes it caresses, always ... Regular Price : $17.98
Amazon.com Price : $14.85
(17
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
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
Amazon.com Price : $13.48
(21
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
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
Amazon.com Price : $3.58
(10
%) VISIT AMAZON.COM'S PAGE
