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The musical chemist

Advantages: Best of Borodin's compositions
Disadvantages: Extracts only

Given the quality of his music, it is surprising to note that Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) was never a professional musician. Musical composition for him was more of a hobby. After graduating in medicine and taking up a profession in chemistry. Borodin’s musical output was understandably small since his work was a product of his spare time only. However, despite being only a part time composer Borodin’s work, as you can hear on this CD, was in no ...
...patriotism and “truth in music”. The group referred to as “The Five” or the 'The Mighty Handful” also included Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev and Cui. This CD, “The World of Borodin” released on the Decca label, provides indisputable evidence of Borodin’s talents. Containing extracts from his best known works, it is a kind of “greatest hits compilation”. Borodin composed only one opera, Prince Igor. Begun in 1869, Borodin spent almost eighteen ...

MAFARRIMOND 16.10.2004 · Read full review
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Review of The World of Borodin

Harold's excitement in Italy

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 ...
...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 is well maintained throughout. I still believe there is room on the market for more Berlioz, in a word, Brilliant. ...

BlueImpromtu 09.08.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Berlioz: Harold in Italy

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

Music for Meditation

Advantages: A good introduction to sacred music
Disadvantages: A rather niche album on which those into the genre will find nothing new

...the same. Requiem is subtitled "music for Reflection and Meditation". It takes various well known settings of the requiem mass, together with a couple of other fitting pieces and puts them together in one place. If one is so minded, one should note that this album is NOT a requiem mass. The pieces don't follow in the right order but, having said that, to the knowledgeable, the whole album stands on its own as a good religious set. One of the other ...
...who are less well-known. When one says "requiem" one might think of Verdi or Mozart but here we also have offerings from Spanish composer Lobo (a motet) and the Italian Pergolesi (an extract from his Sabat Mater). I feel that Naxos have really got it right with this compilation. The perfect balance between the known and the unknown is struck with excerpts from the more well known Requiems by Mozart and Verdi featuring more than once meaning ...

CareBear 15.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Requiem - Classical Music for Reflection & Meditation

Remembering ABBA's Classic Songs

Advantages: Contains super hit tracks
Disadvantages: None

The ABBA Agnetha Falskog vocals Benny Anderson vocals, keyboards, synthesizer Bjorn Ulvaeus vocals, banjo, guitar Anni-Frid Lyngstad vocals Full Tracks Listing 1. Dancing Queen 2. Knowing Me, Knowing You 3. Take A Chance On Me 4. Mamma Mia 5. Lay All Your Love On Me 6. Super Trooper 7. I Have A Dream 8. The Winner Takes It All 9. Money, Money, Money 10. S.O.S. 11. Chiquitita 12. Fernando 13. Voulez Vous ...
...Your Mother Know 16. One Of Us 17. The Name Of The Game 18. Thank You For The Music 19. Waterloo About each track (This contains year of recording and running time of each track. I personally like to read some few lines of each track when I read music reviews to help me familiarized with the song, so I added some lines of each track.) Dancing Queen (1976) 3:51 You are the dancing queen Young and sweet, only seventeen This track has ...

browndoll 25.08.2009 · Read full review
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Review of (The) Greatest Hits of Abba