CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

.

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 ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

.

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 3
Average Rating:

.

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue / An American in Paris

from: Sony Classical

Release Date May 24, 2004
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 4
Average Rating:

.

Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition

by: Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra

Release Date March 10, 2003
I bought this cd for one track - Night on Bald Mountian. This one piece of music is so inventive, so impressive, so invigorating, that I would happily pay this amount for a cd with just this one track on it.
But it gets better! Not only does it include this fantastic track, it has two versions of the track, plus the entirety of "Pictures at an Exhibition" another wonderful treat. It also icludes two of his lesser known pieces, that while don't measure up to these other goliaths of classical music, are worth listening to.

Mussorgsky at his best. I recommend you play "night on bald mountain" very loud on a good stereo system - only then can you truly appreciate the brilliance.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

.

Mussorgsky, orch. Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition

from: EMI Classics

Release Date January 14, 2008
Typical Rattle, measured, serene, emotional and well paced. It's a good performance and although on first hearing, seems to lack the thrust and fire of other versions, Rattle and the BPO win on conveying the musical 'sadness' but accompanies so much of Mussursky's music.

Highly recommended.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

.

Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on the Bare Mountain

from: Apex

Release Date August 08, 2005
This is a wonderful CD, consisting of Mussorgsky's two most important composed pieces. Night on the Bare Mountain is by far the one I remembered from my childhood, listening to it in Walt Disney's original Fantasia. Its powerful movements give an oppressive and fire fuelled journey, of something incredibly foreboding and the recording on this CD is no exception. I will state this fully now, the recording quality is superb throughout. Now the other main piece, Pictures at an Exhibition is a much longer journey of music but still has the same excitement but is much longer and has more soft parts for you to calm down as it is. Although all of this music to me is very relaxing and helps me work, but to each their own I guess. Mussorgsky is vital for anyone ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

.

Boris Godunov - Mussorgsky [1992] (NTSC)

starring: Robert Lloyd, Olga Borodina, Alexei Steblianko, Sergei Leiferkus, Alexander Morosov
directed by: Humphrey Burton

Release Date August 05, 2002
Beautifully sung, very well-acted, superbly directed. You can't go wrong with this recording. Robert Lloyd sings brilliantly and the Tarkovsky direction is of a very high standard. If you love Russian opera, if you just love opera and pageantry, this is a marvellous performance and a very enjoyable entertainment.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

.

Paul Robeson: Songs of Free Men

from: Sony

Release Date February 01, 1998
Beautifully sung, very well-acted, superbly directed. You can't go wrong with this recording. Robert Lloyd sings brilliantly and the Tarkovsky direction is of a very high standard. If you love Russian opera, if you just love opera and pageantry, this is a marvellous performance and a very enjoyable entertainment.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

.

Ninna Nanna

from: Alia Vox

Release Date February 03, 2003
Figueras offers the listener a triumphant collection of evocative songs. Let's dispense with a possible concern. This CD is sub-titled "Lullabies". Anyone going to sleep listening to Figueras should see either a hearing or a brain specialist. While they may pacify children, adult listeners will be exhilarated by the sweeping range of her voice and exquisite presentation. Figueras' expressive style simply transcends descriptive praise. From soaring appeals to the heavens to quiet, soothing reassurances, she demonstrates the magnitude of her evocative skills. One can sense constrained passion in each song as she moves from one culture to another through the collection. That one of the pieces was commissioned for this collection is further proof of the extent ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

.

A Window in Time - Rachmaninov Plays Rachmaninov

from: Telarc

Release Date April 04, 2001
Bought this on a recommendation from Stereophile (Records to Die For).
Clever use of technology, although I have to say that, as they had all the time in the world to get it right, the sound quality could have been even better.
As it is, it's just very very good.
The playing speaks for itself.
You can also check out volume two A Window in Time, Vol.2 but the sound is not quite as good and this second volume is filled Rachmaninov's own music/arrangments- not to my taste (too much staccato and drama and not enough melody).