Berlioz: Great Orchestral Works

Advantages: Good sound quality, strong and compelling interpretation
Disadvantages: really not applicable

...Now, we all hear of Berlioz for his wonderful and original Symphonie fantastique of 1830 and yet how many classical music fans can say they know this work as well as that? However, I would encourage you to get to know it. Berlioz originally wrote it as a viola concerto for the great virtuoso Paganini, who claimed it was not virtuosic enough. What a great joy to hear more from the viola! At times taking a solo, at others, shimmering in the background of the scenes. Pictorial and romantic, exciting and dynamic are just some words I would use to describe this CD. The LSO must be praised for their sensitive playing. Davis takes the reins to create a most compelling and vivid interpretation of Harold's journey. The balance of the solo viola line especially in the third movement here is well judged. The tempi are flexible and the pace... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Great performances of popular favourites and some rare gems
Disadvantages: Barely none, with perhaps slight issues with sound.

...Compilation albums of classical music are often a somewhat hit and miss affair. Great for the beginner, not so much for a seasoned collector. Therefore finding compilations that step outside of the norm in offering something else from the evergreens like Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, or Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and include some rarer gems is a thing that is ever so more interesting. Such was the sensation when I chanced upon this album, entitled "Colours of the Orchestra", a collection of orchestral treats that in various ways showcase the versatility and richness of a symphony orchestra. There is a number of composers included, all sequenced alphabetically, this set containing people from A to G. This album was then followed by a second collection that continued from where the first one ended, but personally I haven... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Colourful and always exciting
Disadvantages: absolutely none

...movement, a kind of predecessor for Wagner's leitmotiv. And the fact that it was Berlioz's first symphony (he was only 26 years old), written just three years after the death of Beethoven (who was literally unknown in Paris at that time), the boldness of the work is incredible. So a work like this has to be considered as a major event in the history of music. The Symphonie would later greatly influence other contemporary composers like Franz Liszt, who was one of the major fore-runners of the early Romantic era. The work would also establish Berlioz's reputation around the world and would remain his most famous and popular work, keeping his memory alive through the 20th century. Even though much has been made of the Smithson influence in this work, I think Thomas DeQuincey's book "Confessions of an English Opium Eater" was perhaps more... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful