CD-Charts Position 181
Average Rating:

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Chopin: Nocturnes and Ballades

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
from: Double Decca

Release Date July 07, 1997
I don't think anyone could argue with Vladimir Ashkenazy's ability to perform Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev or Scriabin with great eloquence and passion. He seems so at home in that repertoire.
However, when placed in the entirely more intimate environment of Chopin he really doesn't seem to know what to do. His waltzes are bland and sound just like encore pieces with little or no real expression, his mazurkas are just too dull.
In Ashkenazy's hands the etudes do sound wonderful, however, and I like his recordings of the polonaises also, and the scherzi and ballades.
This recording of the nocturnes falls somewhere in the middle. However, the Nocturnes really are one of the cornerstones of piano music and there are many much better ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 182
Average Rating:

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Nyman - The Piano

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
from: EMI

Release Date May 01, 2006
I don't think anyone could argue with Vladimir Ashkenazy's ability to perform Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev or Scriabin with great eloquence and passion. He seems so at home in that repertoire.
However, when placed in the entirely more intimate environment of Chopin he really doesn't seem to know what to do. His waltzes are bland and sound just like encore pieces with little or no real expression, his mazurkas are just too dull.
In Ashkenazy's hands the etudes do sound wonderful, however, and I like his recordings of the polonaises also, and the scherzi and ballades.
This recording of the nocturnes falls somewhere in the middle. However, the Nocturnes really are one of the cornerstones of piano music and there are many much better ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 183
Average Rating:

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Officium

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
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 184
Average Rating:

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Opera

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
by: Anna Netrebko

Release Date September 10, 2007

Anna Netrebko's `Opera' album I think successfully builds some bridges to satisfy today's broad range of opera listeners.

There are a growing number of singers who are taking on opera music and including it in their repertory, often to the dismay of those dedicated followers of `real' opera who believe it should be left to those able to perform an entire on-stage theatre performance. Undeniably though there is a public desire to hear short, familiar opera arias and excerpts which provide enjoyment as stand alone pieces, and I am fully in favour of any artist, whether truly qualifying as an opera singer or not, taking on anything providing they do it well - a good singer can sing a three minute aria, an opera singer is required to ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 185
Average Rating:

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Songs my country taught me

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
by: Agnes Baltsa Athens Experimental Orchestra Stavros Xarhakos Kostas Papadopoulos

Release Date June 09, 2008

Anna Netrebko's `Opera' album I think successfully builds some bridges to satisfy today's broad range of opera listeners.

There are a growing number of singers who are taking on opera music and including it in their repertory, often to the dismay of those dedicated followers of `real' opera who believe it should be left to those able to perform an entire on-stage theatre performance. Undeniably though there is a public desire to hear short, familiar opera arias and excerpts which provide enjoyment as stand alone pieces, and I am fully in favour of any artist, whether truly qualifying as an opera singer or not, taking on anything providing they do it well - a good singer can sing a three minute aria, an opera singer is required to ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 186
Average Rating:

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Carnival Of The Animals - Narrated by Johnny Morris

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
by: Johnny Morris

Release Date October 05, 1998
I wish that I had read BNW's review before I bought this (not through Amazon). I though I would be able to skip the narration, but this is impossible because it goes on over the music. It is so bad, I didn't bother to listen to the whole CD. I am not going to give it to my 6 year old neice. I do not want to hinder her growing appreciation of music. I will not give it to a charity shop. It would be unfair to unload my dissapointment onto someone else. The disk is in the bin.

CD-Charts Position 187
Average Rating:

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Beethoven: Favourite Piano Sonatas

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
from: Universal Classics

Release Date January 18, 1994
The original recordings may be over thirty years old,but the combination of first-rate transfer to CD and Alfred Brendel's superb interpretation of Beethoven's piano sonatas,make this collection,in my opinion,the benchmark by which other recordings should be judged. The price is amazing value.For me,the Moonlight especially the challenging Presto was simply wonderful.

CD-Charts Position 188
Average Rating:

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Piazzolla: Tango Zero Hour

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
from: Nonesuch

Release Date April 03, 2000
This as hands down one of the most astonishing recordings I have ever heard. I bought it knowing a bit about tango, and a bit about Piazzolla, but regardless of that, this is incredible music. The music itself is gorgeous - dark, beautiful, ominous, brooding and deeply passionate. The playing is beyond compare - laser precise and yet at the same time gritty and rough. This is very much a band effort, and what a band - they swing, caress and whip up thunder.

Apparently this angered the tango purists in Argentina, as did much of Piazzollas output, and I can see why - this is modern, vital music, with clear influences from jazz, classical music and even the rush of punk. I must emphasise that you do not need to know much about tango to enjoy this, and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 189
Average Rating:

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Fauré: Requiem

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
from: Naxos

Release Date December 31, 1993
This edition is amongst my very favourite choral recordings. The simplicity of Fauré's original score (as opposed to the great orchestral rendering he was made to write by his publisher) shows typical Fauré at work - great harmonic language and melody through the simplest of means - compare this with his D minor Piano Trio Op.120. There is so much more to it than Classic FM would have you think!

The performances are excellent, as one would hope from this great choir from Oxford, and the acoustic of Hertford College Chapel suits perfectly. The supplementals of the Messe Basse, some organ works and also de Severac's now-popular Tantum ergo (no doubt aided by this fine recording) add to what is a very good recording at an astonishing price! A must for every fan ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 190
Average Rating:

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Great Inventors and Their Inventions: Archimedes, Gutenberg, Franklin, Nobel, Bell, Marconi, The Wright Brothers, Edison (Junior Classics)

CD-Charts > Music > Classical
by: David Angus

Release Date October 02, 2006
This audio CD book, alongside with other Naxos educational CDs for children, is absolutely fantastic. It contains loads of information, so adults interest is guaranteed as well as children's fascination. It's a must for curious little minds. Presented in an easy listening format, it educates and enterntains at the same time. Boring car journeys became a highly enjoyable and educational experiences in our family since Naxos CDs were purchased. Being non-fiction, they can be listened to over and over again, offering a chance for the child to remember and/or understand more details each time.