CD-Charts Position 1
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Fauré; Debussy; Ravel - String Quartets

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Ébène Quartet

Release Date October 06, 2008
This has been eagerly awaited after hearing the Ebene perform the Debussy and the Ravel live at this summer's Salzburg Festival. They are a young group of musicians who also appear on the European jazz scene. This brings to their playing a buzz which may be linked to their ability to improvise freely. However, when playing these pieces there is a discipline evident in their interpretation as well. Hear also their interpretation of the first three Barok Quartets and subline live recordings of Haydn.

CD-Charts Position 2
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Divenire (Special Edition, BONUS DISC: 3 Brand New Remixes)

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Ludovico Einaudi

Release Date November 05, 2007
just beautiful, some melodies are so simple but so moving, they make you cry, others just clear your mind and refresh your soul, I even use it for stress management and relaxation classes

CD-Charts Position 3
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Haydn: Trumpet Concerto & Hummel: Trumpet Concerto

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Alison Balsom, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

Release Date September 01, 2008
just beautiful, some melodies are so simple but so moving, they make you cry, others just clear your mind and refresh your soul, I even use it for stress management and relaxation classes

CD-Charts Position 4
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Jacqueline Du Pré - Complete EMI Recordings

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Jacqueline Du Pre

Release Date October 22, 2007

Most, if not all, of these recordings have been released previously by EMI, while some of them - notably the 1965 Elgar Cello Concerto - have proved so popular that they have been continuously available since their initial release.

Despite the inevitable duplication - du Pre fans will almost certainly already have the Elgar and Haydn concertos - this is undoubtedly the definitive Jacqueline du Pre collection, providing 17 CDs of cello works by a huge array of composers from baroque (Bach and Handel) to Beethoven and the romantics and modernists such as Chopin & Bruch. There are no fewer than 25 different composers represented.

The set really does demonstrate the versatility of the cellist, with so many works ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Book of Longing

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Philip Glass, Leonard Cohen

Release Date November 26, 2007
I wholeheartedly disagree with some of the reviewers who claim that Glass has provided the perfect setting for Cohen's later poetry. For one, Cohen on paper is not as great a poet as he is in song. In fact, his later poetry harks back a good deal to the poetry of the beats (Kerouac, Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, etc) and is comparable to a great degree to the late, great Charles Bukowski, but not as good, in my opinion. The difference being that Bukowski had no choice but to immerse himself in a squalid existence, and write, as it were, inside the belly of the whale. Cohen, on the other hand, has always exuded real class, and he has a much higher-minded side to his character, so that i.e. in 'The Energy Of Slaves' when he writes of Valentina, that "I ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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The Essential Einaudi

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: Jeremy Limb

Release Date September 29, 2008
I think this is a very welcome release.
Einaudi is a composer, so therefore he should be flattered and expect his works to be recorded. Jeremy Limb is a very talented pianist who has also recorded for Naxos.

CD-Charts Position 7
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Jenkins - Quirk

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: London Symphony Orchestra, John Alley

Release Date October 06, 2008
I should start my review by saying that as a Welshman living just a stone's throw from Karl Jenkins' home, I may be slightly biased but I'll try to give as balanced a view as possible.

There's certainly less of an ethnic feel to this latest release, and despite the ravings of a fellow reviewer here, the orchestrations sound fine to me (and before the one star reviewer asks, yes I am a classically trained musician).

Those of you who have enjoyed the recent Stabat Mater, the Armed Man etc will thoroughly enjoy Quirk. I'm fairly sure the decision to include Palladio was made by the marketing dept of the record company, and though I feel it's been done to death it's nice to have the 'definitive' version here.

Quirk loses ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Officium

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
from: ECM New Series

Release Date September 05, 1994
I can see how sax fans find this album a revelation but it is a stain on the track record of the Hilliard Ensemble. I can see (kinda) what the involved parties tried to do but it still is painful to listing to it and even with a lot of good will this is simply a waste of money and time. To all those admirers of the Hilliard Ensemble: Don't do it to yourself!

CD-Charts Position 9
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Sibelius - Complete Symphonies

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
by: London Symphony Orchestra

Release Date March 15, 2004
I only really came to appreciate Sibelius in the last couple of years, travelling through time from Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms; I'm glad to have taken the trouble.

Although I find something a little sterile about some aspects of the performances of some parts of this bargain box, I guess that Sir Colin Davis is allowed to relax a little on this umpteenth traversal of Sibelius's orchestral music.

The RCA sound quality is just fine and I agree with the other reviewers that this set would make a great choice for Sibelius beginners; it certainly proved to be so for me!

CD-Charts Position 10
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Murray Perahia: Beethoven Piano Sonatas Op.14 Nos 1 & 2; Op.26; Op.28

CD-Charts > Music > General AAS
from: Sony Classical

Release Date November 03, 2008
I only really came to appreciate Sibelius in the last couple of years, travelling through time from Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms; I'm glad to have taken the trouble.

Although I find something a little sterile about some aspects of the performances of some parts of this bargain box, I guess that Sir Colin Davis is allowed to relax a little on this umpteenth traversal of Sibelius's orchestral music.

The RCA sound quality is just fine and I agree with the other reviewers that this set would make a great choice for Sibelius beginners; it certainly proved to be so for me!