CD-Charts Position 1
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The Only Opera Album You'll Ever Need

by: Covent Garden Royal Opera House Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Release Date March 31, 2001
The tracks on this cd are excellent and well worth the money. I get worried about the packaging of this sort of disc though because it reminds me of Tesco's attempt to sell wine to the masses by renaming a mediocre chablis as 'Good with meat' or whatever. If this was called 'Fine Opera' or 'An Opera Sampler' then I'd be a lot happier but the dumb approach of 'The Only Opera Album You'll Ever Need' makes me cringe. Once again though: the music is very good and the performances are excellent on the whole.

CD-Charts Position 2
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The Only Piano Album You'll Ever Need

by: Various Artists

Release Date May 26, 2003
As a professional concert pianist for the last thirty years or so, it was a great relief to find that they have released everything you need on 2 CDs. Sure enough, since I bought it I have been able to discard the 1000 or so CDs that I had collected of performers like Cortot, Horowitz, Rachmaninoff and Schnabel (and I now have enough room for a pool table!). They are simply not necessary when you have these two CDs.

CD-Charts Position 3
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100 Classical Hits

by: Various Artists

Release Date October 13, 2003

This is a great low cost box set which does exactly what it says on the box - it gives you 100 classical music hits, covering all the styles such as baroque, classical, romantic and modern, and includes music from all the popular composers.

Some of the tracks are simply excerpts from the full piece, for example Beethoven's Ninth symphony, originally over 60 minutes long, is reduced to a two and a half minute rousing chorus of the popular `Ode to Joy'. Likewise, Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture is cut from 15 minutes down to the last few minutes of the exciting thunder and fireworks finale.

This editing enables a great range of `hits' to be squeezed onto five discs, and gives the classical music novice a chance to dip their ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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The Best Classical Album in the World...Ever!

from: Virgin TV

Release Date November 08, 2004
I have never been into classical music, however the TV programs Maestro and Last Choir standing (I know trash TV... sorry) made me realise I did like some classical music. So time to test that theory, and of course this CD fitted the bill perfectly, a bit of everything and 99% you will probably know. Good album, maybe I may have discovered culture :-)

CD-Charts Position 5
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The Essential Collection

by: George Gershwin

Release Date September 18, 2006
The most prominent feature of this set is Gershwin's historic recordings of "Rhapsody In Blue" and "An American In Paris", but the remaining 45 tracks draw on a wide range of both American and British performers to produce a wide spectrum of classic interpretations. Whispering Jack Smith, Hutch, Jack Hylton, Roy Fox, Jack Simpson and Carroll Gibbons are all represented, as are Ella, Bing, and Billie, to name but a few. This really is a superb compilation.

CD-Charts Position 6
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The Essential Classics Collection

by: Myung-Whun Chung Géza Anda Rudolf Baumgartner Trevor Pinnock Karl Böhm Eugen Jochum Ferdinand Leitner Ferenc Fricsay Neeme Järvi Claudio Abbado

Release Date July 03, 2000
I bought this as a gift for my niece, since I wanted her to be educated about classical music as she was on her way to college. Ended up buying two copies as I found I loved it so much. Normally I like to pick and choose my orchestras, composers, and conductors, but this collection has jujst about everything. Also, I'd never bought some of the more "popular" items (Strauss and Grieg) as I'd heard them a million times, but now I have them and the performances are all great. This truly has a smattering of it all, and if you're not a classical music lover, it's bound to turn you on to the stuff.

CD-Charts Position 7
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Gershwin

from: Virgin De Virgin

Release Date February 04, 2002
All too often Gershwin is recorded as a safe seller for people who don't really like Classical Music, or people who want Easy Listening Music by a Real Composer. The usual result is lazy pigeonholing by pleasant but lightweight jazzing up (frequently with Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris) or the addition of an impressive but inapproppriate late romantic weight and sheen (a frequent failing with the piano concerto).

Virgin did a real service to this composer when they gave Wayne Marshall total control of these performaces as Soloist and Conductor. He lets Gershwin's interplay of classical and jazz elements speak for itself without forcing a marriage or accentuating the jazz element. Instead he revels in the wonderful instrumental phrasing ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Gershwin: Orchestral Works

from: Great Recordings of the Century

Release Date October 05, 1998
The orchestral playing on this disc is top-notch, but it is unfortunately let down by bland and uninspiring pianism.

It's not that Previn's playing is too subtle for my tastes; he is just poor: neither imaginative nor passionate, yet not sensitive and controlled either, and with a less-than-perfect technique (not that that is necessarily a criticism per se).

CD-Charts Position 9
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Bassoon Concertos

by: Orchestra Of Opera North

Release Date June 02, 2008
Karen Geoghegan has well and truly brought the bassoon out of the shadows of the orchestral ranks to record a fantastic debut album. It has it all - fireworks, beautiful singing tone, fabulous control with great attention to detail.

Karen has been able to give her bassoon-playing a quality that at times sounds with the richness of a trombone, at other times with a tone like a saxaphone or clarinet. With such versatility it is wonder we are not all more familiar with the instrument and its repertoire.

The Opera North Orchestra and Benjamin Wallfisch have worked together to provide a sensitive backdrop to this outstanding performer.

I very much hope Chandos will be encouraged to ask this star performer to share more of the ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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The Essential Yo-Yo Ma

directed by: Ton Koopman, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Release Date August 09, 2004
Karen Geoghegan has well and truly brought the bassoon out of the shadows of the orchestral ranks to record a fantastic debut album. It has it all - fireworks, beautiful singing tone, fabulous control with great attention to detail.

Karen has been able to give her bassoon-playing a quality that at times sounds with the richness of a trombone, at other times with a tone like a saxaphone or clarinet. With such versatility it is wonder we are not all more familiar with the instrument and its repertoire.

The Opera North Orchestra and Benjamin Wallfisch have worked together to provide a sensitive backdrop to this outstanding performer.

I very much hope Chandos will be encouraged to ask this star performer to share more of the ... Read More: