Classical > Bellini, Vincenzo Classical > Orchestral

A proper journey into emotional Classical Music

Advantages: A decent collection of varied music
Disadvantages: Several 'sections' of music

I am myself a fan of music that particularly illuminates deeper aspects of ourselves; something that makes us 'think', or, as the back of this CD box says, 'uplifting, spine-tingling classical music'. How could I possibly go wrong with this? The answer is; I haven't. This is a lovely CD, the recordings are, if not beautifully clear, crisp and refreshed. The pieces are well played and some interpretations- for instance the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto ...
...beautiful I have heard. This CD obviously lacks the massive buying power of larger compilation producers but through this it has found less well-known, more abstract performers that tend to push a far deeper message through their music. The tracks are well-laid out and sourced; from the opening track of Sunrise from Also Sprach Zarathrustra by R. Strauss to the closing The Lamb by Tavener you feel as though you are not just listening to music, ...

sjmog 04.11.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Euphoric Classics - Classical High

The Ultimate Classical Box

Advantages: Large variety of music
Disadvantages: none

I bought this bos set of 5 CDs from Asda for £5, what a bargain. I'm not usually a classical music fan, but it is great as backbround music for the class of children I teach, plus provides lots of inspiration for Art and Drama. The set contains 5 CDs. The first is classical favourites, most people will know a few from this disk which has 16 tracks. The 2nd disk is Classical Chillout and is all music that is fairly slow, soft and relaxing. This also ...
...16 of them. The 4th has only 11 tracks of Romantic classics, and the 5th has 16 tracks again titled tracks from the movies. I was very surprised to see music such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings on this album! So there are a total of 75 tracks to listen to, which I have done all in a row so I cant say what the total running time is, but there is a track for everyone on this album. I find it particularly useful as most classical ...

naughtyangel69 02.05.2008 · Read full review
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Review of (The) Ultimate Classical Box

Everyones a Fruit and Nut Cake

Advantages: Some great music
Disadvantages: Compilations!

...on? I don't think Classic FMs listeners are quite ready for that yet. The track list for the Opera is: 1. Delibes: Flower Duet (Lakmé) 2. Rossini: Largo al Factotum (Barber of Seville) 3. Puccini: Nessun Dorma (Turandot) 4. Dvorak: Song to the Moon (Rusalka) 5. Bizet: Au Fond du Temple Saint (The Pearl Fishers) 6. Bellini: Casta Diva (Norma) 7. Puccini: Che Gelida Manina (La Boheme) 8. Mascagni: Easter Hymn (Cavalleria Rusticana) 9. Bizet: ...
...(Madame Butterfly) 12. Verdi: Celeste Aidi (Aidi) 13. Mozart: La ci darem la mano (Don Giovanni) 14. Verdi: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (Nabucco) 15. Puccini: O mio Babbino Caro (Gianni Schicchi) The Opera CD is probably my least listened to of the three, not because I dislike Opera, to the contrary I love it, but after all I have said about background music I tend to use the CD's when we have people round and Opera is not everyone's cup of ...

MHam 11.06.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Classic FM - Hall of Fame Gold

Classical (half way to) heaven

Advantages: amazing artists, amazing tracks
Disadvantages: Some really weird other tracks

Imagine bringing all the true classic greats onto one album; Vanessa Mae, Nigel Kennedy, Pavarotti, Leslie Garrett, Paul McCartney (no you didn't misread that last one) It should be the most phenominal album of all time, all these great names on 2 CDs, and in places it is, but there are some really odd, weird choices on this album that completely spoil it for me and in my opinion create an opportunity missed. The album opens with the amazing Ave ...
...truly great tracks here and the highlight for me is Vanessa Mae performing Bachs Toccata and Fugue in D minor (The piece associated with Dracula movies) This piece is usually played accompanied by a full traditional orchestra or there is a great arrangement for the organ. (I played the organ version at my daughters christening - couldn't resist, much to the disgust of the regular congregation) Vanessa is undoubtable incredibly talented and beautiful ...

MHam 03.10.2003 · Read full review
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Review of The Classical Album

Sumptuous works by a little-known composer

Advantages: Good recordings of unfamiliar, but rewarding works
Disadvantages: None

Karlowicz is a relatively unknown composer whose chief claim to fame was his untimely death in a skiing accident just before the First World War. He left a small collection of works, the later of which (figured in this disc) show a talent that was tragically snuffed out before he could achieve greatness. The Symphonic Poems featured here reveal a composer adept at interesting orchestral effects (try the sad theme at the start of the Lithuanian Rhapsody, ...
...writing for the lower-toned instruments of the orchestra. Karlowicz has clearly learnt a lot from Richard Strauss, whose shadow fell across much pre-1914 music, but it often lacks the extrovert quality of the Gernman composer's tone poems; as the inlay notes say, there is a 'brooding' quality to much of this music, particularly evident in the middle sections of these works. Another feature of Karlowicz's writing is his tendency to pick himself up ...

chivhu 15.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Karlowicz: Symphonic Poems Vol 1