Classical > English Chamber Orchestra Classical > Stage works

Best Classical Album in the world

Advantages: Good variety or composers and styles
Disadvantages: no specific interest to one composer

Welcome to the world of Classical Music. If you are a fanatical performer, conductor or an avid listener then this is the product for you. 'The best classical album in the world . . . ever' is exactly what it says it is. This product is best suited to the general listener, rather than the listener with a specific interest in a particular composer. But all will enjoy the variety and class that this Cd offers. Music ranging from all periods of music ...
...for everyone. The selection of moods chosen are hugely varied, from schindlers list with its moving lyrical violin solo to the hallelujah chorus with its triumphant melodies. So whether you want to chill out or to be inspired, this is the collection for you. A bargain at under £10 ...

pdillon91 05.08.2008 · Read full review
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Review of The Best Classical Album in the World ... Ever!

A Classical Review

Advantages: A great diversity of famous works
Disadvantages: Not everything is perfect

I am a huge fan of classical music, with a collection soon breaking the 700 marker. But where did it all begin? Well right here. When I got my first CD player, I played my parents CDs until making my first CD purchase. I stumbled along a 2-CD collection called "Simply the Best classical Anthems." Honestly, I had not the slightest clue about what music al the names on the back contained. But there were so many interesting pieces there so that I immediately ...
...buy. Unlike many other collections, this one features many top flight recordings of some of the most popular classical music. Some of them are still holding their own in the mass of my collection. It was also extremely useful for me in expanding my collection. TRACK LISTING AS FOLLOWS: CD 1 VERDI: Dies Irae from Requiem ORFF: O Fortuna from Carmina Burana HOLST: Mars from The Planets, Op.32 WAGNER: The Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre ...

berlioz 08.08.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Simply the Best Classical Anthems

sleazy landlord vs. scheming servants

Advantages: Great singing and lively performances
Disadvantages: Live recording noises! Quite expensive

If anyone had told me 4 years ago that I would become a huge opera buff I probably would have laughed in their face! But here I am, spending my money on buying operatic recordings, going to see operas, and singing opera. If you’re looking for an introduction to the world of opera, you won’t find a more perfect introduction than Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro - filled with wonderfully drawn characters and ‘hummable’ ...
...my interest and is still my favourite. ---Synopsis--- The opera is set in Spain (but is sung in Italian!) and the action takes place over the course of one day - the wedding day of Figaro and Susanna, both servants to the Count and Countess Almaviva. Unfortunately for the couple, the Count fancies Susanna and, as well as stalling the wedding plans, is planning on reviving the ‘droit de signor’ which allows him the right to deflower ...

bubblegum_princess 30.11.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro

Pavarotti at his very best

Advantages: Young/Prime Pavarotti in core repertoire in brilliant stereo sound
Disadvantages: Very little

...(not a big figure in Pavarotti's career but beautifully sung) and Puccini with Nessun Dorma taking pride of place. The inclusion of Italian songs is good fun and very well sung, listen to the high notes in the mattinata, but there are not any of pavarotti's collaborations with celebrities like Sinatra etc which for me is a major plus but to others may be a bit of a let down depending how much you enjoy his 'pop' music output. His major early success ...
...regiment and Rodolfo in La Boheme the role he debuted in in very early 1960s. The roles are lyrical (Nemorino in Elisir d'amore) , middle weight (Boheme, Tosca) and quite heavy roles (Radames in Aida) so there is a good variety of work, probably the lyrical is more succesful but that is really just my preference (probably relates to the fact I like bel canto music which he sang so well in the 60s and 70s - A te o cara by the way is probably the finest ...

operalover2000 01.01.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Pavarotti's Greatest Hits

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