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David Oistrakh - Complete EMI Recordings

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical Music
by: David Oistrakh

August 04, 2008

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Mozart: Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Major, K. 448; Schubert: Fantasia for Piano, 4 Hands in F Minor, D 940

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: Sony

September 30, 2003
Nothing Murray Perahia does is ever bad. In this case the performance of the Schubert is magical. I heard it in the car on the way to work and was captivated - a dangerous driver for a while. If you like Schubert and Perahia this is a must-buy recording. The sound is slightly old and the audience noise is not ideal, but when the music grabs you then you no longer notice these slight snags. The Mozart is well worth having too, but not in quite the same, unmissable, class as the Schubert.

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The Very Best Of Michael Nyman: Film Music 1980 - 2001

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: Venture

August 19, 2002
Michael Nyman is best know for his soundtrack to Jane Campion's film The Piano, and for his unique working relationship with British filmmaker Peter Greenaway, from 1980 up until 1993. His work on The Piano remains his most iconic, still being used to this day in bank commercials and on those "new-classical" compilations; whilst his work with Greenaway stands up as some of the most beautiful and intricate pieces of neo-classical "minimalism" ever composed. His work since his last venture with Greenaway, 1992's Prospero's Books has become slightly more melodic, creating memorable and often quite haunting scores for filmmakers as varied as Michael Haneke, Neil Jordan, Andrew Niccol, Patrice Leconte and Michael Winterbottom, and even working ... Read More:

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Once in a Red Moon

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical Music
by: Secret Garden

April 22, 2002
"Once in a red moon" is a symphony for instruments and voice, echoing hebraic and medieval, celtic and spanish musicalities. The elegiac theme in "Awakening" is resumed and varied all along the album, finally ending with dramatic tones of requiem in "Elegie". Two other compositions stand out from the instrumental part: the energetic "Invitation", a record of joyous sonority and beating effect, and "Fairytale", a musical ballad with trobadoric rhythm. The vocal part is dominated by "You raise me up", where Irish voices of Belfast singer Brian Kennedy and Anúna choir are called to illuminate the spirituality of the lyric, and "Gates of dawn", where the powerful, Gaelic melodiosity of Scottish singer Karen Matheson is transposed in a solo performance ... Read More:

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The Music Man - Original Broadway Cast

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: Hmv

April 05, 1993
"Once in a red moon" is a symphony for instruments and voice, echoing hebraic and medieval, celtic and spanish musicalities. The elegiac theme in "Awakening" is resumed and varied all along the album, finally ending with dramatic tones of requiem in "Elegie". Two other compositions stand out from the instrumental part: the energetic "Invitation", a record of joyous sonority and beating effect, and "Fairytale", a musical ballad with trobadoric rhythm. The vocal part is dominated by "You raise me up", where Irish voices of Belfast singer Brian Kennedy and Anúna choir are called to illuminate the spirituality of the lyric, and "Gates of dawn", where the powerful, Gaelic melodiosity of Scottish singer Karen Matheson is transposed in a solo performance ... Read More:

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Regimental Marches, Vol.2

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical Music
by: Regimental Band of the Coldstream Guards

October 01, 1999
This, and the sister CD are the finest recordings of the type I have heard.

Just like playing in the longest playoff ever.

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The World's Greatest Mozart Album

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: Decca

May 08, 2000

Putting a title like `Worlds Greatest' on the front of a CD is obviously a bold claim, and one which many people have become so familiar with that they tend to take it with a pinch of salt. There are so many ways of trying to catch the buyers interest that very few titles like these really jump out at the buyer.

This one did jump out at me, though not so much for the choice of tracks, more for the quality of artists who perform them. Considering this is only a 2CD set, far too short for any Mozart compilation, the list of performers reads like a roll call for the best `Last Night of the Proms' ever staged.

A simple list of some of the orchestras, conductors, singers and soloists sums up this gem of an album:

Orchestras: ... Read More:

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In Venice

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical Music
by: Albrecht Mayer New Seasons Ensemble

August 18, 2008

Putting a title like `Worlds Greatest' on the front of a CD is obviously a bold claim, and one which many people have become so familiar with that they tend to take it with a pinch of salt. There are so many ways of trying to catch the buyers interest that very few titles like these really jump out at the buyer.

This one did jump out at me, though not so much for the choice of tracks, more for the quality of artists who perform them. Considering this is only a 2CD set, far too short for any Mozart compilation, the list of performers reads like a roll call for the best `Last Night of the Proms' ever staged.

A simple list of some of the orchestras, conductors, singers and soloists sums up this gem of an album:

Orchestras: ... Read More:

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Britten - Billy Budd - Mackerras [1966]

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical Music
starring: Benjamin Luxon, Robert Tear, Peter Glossop, Peter Pears, Michael Langdon
directed by: Basil Coleman

June 09, 2008

Putting a title like `Worlds Greatest' on the front of a CD is obviously a bold claim, and one which many people have become so familiar with that they tend to take it with a pinch of salt. There are so many ways of trying to catch the buyers interest that very few titles like these really jump out at the buyer.

This one did jump out at me, though not so much for the choice of tracks, more for the quality of artists who perform them. Considering this is only a 2CD set, far too short for any Mozart compilation, the list of performers reads like a roll call for the best `Last Night of the Proms' ever staged.

A simple list of some of the orchestras, conductors, singers and soloists sums up this gem of an album:

Orchestras: ... Read More:

Average Rating:

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Vaughan Williams: Vocal Works

Childrens Toy Shop > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: Hyperion

July 01, 1994
This is a splendid disc! The Serenade to Music is performed in its original version for soloists which is quite different (better?) than the subsequent choral version. The soloists present a marvellous account and the orchestral textures provide a ravishing counterpoint. Of particular note is the violin solo at the beginning which ably sets the scene for this account.
The Mystical Songs (text by George Herbert) are wonderfully sung by Thomas Allen and yet again are accompanied with great sensitivity and skill. The orchestral texture in Love bade me welcome is particularly fine as is Allen's performance which captures the tentative steps of the narrator into relationship with the Divine with an understated passion.
Nabuko Imai's Viola Solo at the beginning of ... Read More: