Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Quintets and Fragments

Raphael Ensemble's Rainbow of Emotions

Advantages: Haunting, passionate music to get lost in.
Disadvantages: It's classical and this puts people off before they even try it.

. Although Schubert left no indication of his inspiration for this piece it is known that he had around the time of composing it played the Viola in Beethoven?s string quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131 (1826) of which Wagner has commented, ?a soul in distress?, followed by pleasant visions, a new yearning for life, beauty, gentleness, yearning, love, whims, humour, hilarity? and then ?transition to resignation and painful renunciation? ? one man?s reaction and sure proof of the music?s ability to evoke both strong emotion and powerful imagery.? This music sent Schubert ?into such transports of delight and enthusiasm that all feared for him?. Beethoven had died the previous year (1827) and Schubert had not only visited him shortly before his death but was also a torchbearer at his funeral. I am no authority on music, I can ...

Freespirit 28.09.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Schubert: String Quintet and Trio

20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth: Bittersweet.

Advantages: Realistic, enjoyable, bittersweet.
Disadvantages: Too short, some undeveloped characters, culture differences.

Written by Xiaolu Guo. 204 pages in paperback. Written in first person. Young Adult + Can be bought new and used for £3+ on ebay.co.uk and new for £4.99 at amazon.co.uk. After finding a copy of A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers in a nearby bookshop and being told it was a good read by others I decided to buy it, and then I discovered I'd left my wallet in my other coat. A few months later after forgetting to come back to that bookshop and buying that book I discovered 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth in my local library, naturally I picked it up so I could finally see how good of an author Xiaolu Guo was and see whether or not I should go look for the other books she has written. I can tell you now that I am planning on looking for a copy of her other works, she's brilliant. Fenfang has left the slow and boring ...

Mistybrook 16.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth - Xiaolu Guo

Franz Meets His Maker

Advantages: Music to take you beyond this world
Disadvantages: Needs a bit of patience

or classical. I would add that my wife, who either likes a piece or doesn?t ? no middle way ? is totally besotted with this Quintet. It is an unusual work in that, as well as a string quartet (two violins, viola and cello) there is a second cello. This allows one cello to hold the bass line while allowing the other one to soar into its higher register to ?sing? with the upper instruments. It is divided into four contrasting movements. If you are new to this type of music I would suggest starting with the second movement. This is immediately accessible yet profound almost beyond understanding. Listen in a quiet room with no other distractions and allow the music just to run through you. Forget labels (?Oh, gosh, this is classical and it?s CHAMBER MUSIC, I think I?m going to be sick??) and just listen. When the movement is over, give it ...

Floon 30.05.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Schubert: String Quintet in C