Reviews of Classical »

Ode to Joy

Advantages: Catchy Tune
Disadvantages: None

Ode to joy was written by one of the worlds most renounced composers - Beethoven. This is in my opinion the best of beethoven's symphonies. This song is the easy to play and the tune is very catchy. The music is E E F G G F E D C C D E E D D E E F G G F E D C C D E D C C. The easy tune is very catchy and quite easy to remember. If you are learning to play the piano or keyboard I would suggest that you start by learning this one. I would recommend ...

TerryMan123 06.05.2006 · Read Full Review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Ode to Joy

Originality

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Quality and consistency...

Value for Money

May I have this dance?

Advantages: One of Beethoven's finest symphonies.
Disadvantages: None from me, but some will say "classical music is boring".

THE END OF AN ERA 1812 can be seen as the markerpoint where Beethoven's middle-period came to an end and his late-period was ushered in. Beethoven's middle-period saw the composer at his most creative high with one masterpiece following the other in rapid succession. The beginning of this period can roughly be timed as starting in 1803 with the appearance of the Third Symphony "Eroica" and the "Kreutzer" sonata. These two works signalled Beethoven ...
...behind him and taking on a completely new and individual voice. This individuality became more and more apparent in the works that followed: the "Waldstein" and "Appassionata" piano sonatas, the "Razumovski" quartets, the Violin Concerto, the three last cello sonatas, the "Archduke" piano trio, Fidelio, the Fifth and Sixth symphonies, the Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos, to name the most important. With Napoleon heading up his war campaign all over ...

berlioz 13.08.2005 · Read Full Review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Beethoven: Symphony No 7

Originality

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Value for Money

Quite a versatile album, if not totally so.

Advantages: Good packaging, good performances.
Disadvantages: Not the artist's strongest performance.

Jonas Kaufmann isn't an Italian singer. He owns a large, dark lyrical tenor voice bordering on 'spinto'. Many of the tracks in this album feature Italian operatic arias that could only be termed his 'second best' (his best lies with German composers like Schubert, Strauss, Mahler, Mozart et al). Even so, this album offers considerable joy to the listener since Kaufmann owns not only a sizeable and expressive instrument, but also owns considerable ...
...these recordings. You may find his voice not entirely Verdian or Puccinian, but his interpretation of works of this genre is more than acceptable. The best tracks on this album are those arias from French operas. Kaufmann's French and Italian are both idiomatic, as well as his English, considering that his native tongue is German. Of these foreign languages, he is strongest in French. For lovers of French opera, the arias by Massent, Bizet et al ...

shinabel 26.06.2009 · Read Full Review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Jonas Kaufmann - Romantic Arias

Originality

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Quality and consistency...

Value for Money

What more can be said on such a popular set?

Advantages: One of the few complete sets of Mozart's piano sonatas.
Disadvantages: Not all pieces are uniformly well-performed.

Uchida's Mozart Sonatas set ranks among the most popular among contemproary recordings. Even so, I must frankly admit that I seldom go to this set for individual pieces if an alternative version is available for that particular piece. What's 'wrong' with this set lies in the taut tempi, the some times mannered approach to indivdual pieces, and the overall pursuit of speed at the expense of the music itself. Fine a pianist as Uchida, such weaknesses ...

shinabel 26.06.2009 · Read Full Review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Mozart: Complete Piano Sonatas

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Value for Money

Pollini's early try on Schubert's solo piano works.

Advantages: Sterling pianism and marvellous interpretation.
Disadvantages: Technical constraints for the D760 apparent.

The original release on LPs in the early 1970's (1973/4) had a better sound. As for performance, the D845 is better than D760 owing to the general strike in Rome during which the latter piece was recorded that led to the recording to be done under chilly conditions. For a better remastered sound, get the 'Originals' version, in which both works got coupled with Schumann's other two solo works for piano. The Wanderer Fantasy D760 was forcefully ...
...could not escape the taut and rather shallow sound resultant from performing under adverse temperature condition. The opening movement of the sonata in a minor D845 has a hauntingly beautiful aura that either Kempff or Lupu lacked in their respective versions. As for the syncopated rhythms in the 4th movement, Pollini has a clear edge over Kempff's rather limp attacks, but still could not surpass the limpid agility of Lupu's 4th. ...

shinabel 26.06.2009 · Read Full Review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy, D760; Piano Sonata, D845

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Quality and consistency...

Value for Money


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