Satie: Orchestral Music

Advantages: Smooth, elegant piano music
Disadvantages: None whatsoever

...Satie in Paris in 1888 and was first released accompanied by this verse from The Ancient written by J.P. Contamine de Latour. Slanting and shadow-cutting a flickering eddy Trickled in gusts of gold to the shiny flagstone Where the amber atoms in the fire mirroring themselves Mingled their saraband to the gymnopaedia The almost as famous Gnossiennes follow. Here they are put together in the form of a suite (the first time they have been presented in this format - and it works well). Their mood is in a similar vein to Gymnopédies, these slow seven dance-like pieces are pensive if somewhat sorrowful. The influence of the meaning of the Greek work, gnosis, is evident in the music with Satie's directions to play "from the tip of the thought" and "wonder about yourself" and Thibaudet's solemn performance. Each of the seven pieces has... Read review

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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

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Advantages: Learn about instruments
Disadvantages: Not interesting enough for me

...I love my Nintendo Wii and love playing new and different games on it. I recently played the Wii Music but unfortunately this was one game that I really did not like. Wii music was released in 2008 and allows players to simulate playing with real musical instruments. You use either the Wii remote or the nunchuk to play the instruments. THe disappointment for me was that the instruments were just not realistic enough. For example, I love Wii Sports because I think the tennis, bowling and actually all the games are really realistic and it feels like you are actually there playing the game. With the Wii Instruments it did not feel like you had a real instrument in your hands and also the Mii characters on the screen just did not react well to the movements. It was more of a chore trying to play the instruments and I gave up pretty soon... Read review

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