CD-Charts Position 21

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Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Stephen Kovacevich, Vol.2

CD-Charts > Music > Davis- Sir Colin
from: Great Pianists of the 20th Century

Release Date June 01, 1999

CD-Charts Position 22
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Elgar: Symphony No. 2 (LSO Davis)

CD-Charts > Music > Davis- Sir Colin
by: London Symphony Orchestra

Release Date April 15, 2002
Rich, warm playing from the LSO does full justice to this (relatively) unloved symphony. The recording is tactile, detailed and has a wonderfully extended soundstage - most enjoyable. My only gripe is Davis (presumably) mumbling and humming his way through the quieter episodes (as he did, although to a less noticeable degree, thourgh the sympony 1 in the same series).

CD-Charts Position 23
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Berlioz: Les Troyens

CD-Charts > Music > Davis- Sir Colin
from: LSO Live

Release Date July 09, 2001
This recording ought to have been five stars. The singers are superb, most of the conducting sensitive.

But it just doesn't pay attention to the staging, and this ruins a lot of the big dramatic moments.

Take the end of Act I. Berlioz has set up a brilliant tragedy of a doomed people, about to find out what's in the Trojan Horse. A triumphal march plays - a repeat from before - subtly makde more ombinous, with Cassandra pleading for something to be done. Abruptly the triumphal march breaks off...

And there's the problem. It doesn't break off abruptly. The staging - and this is said as much in the libretto published with the CD - calls for a clear, sudden break off of the march to indicate the Greeks flooding ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 24
Average Rating:

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Yehudi Menuhin - Classic Archive [1967]

CD-Charts > Music > Davis- Sir Colin
starring: Yehudi Menuhin

Release Date November 04, 2002
This is an interesting DVD which is well worth viewing. The performances are all watchable and, you could say, typical Menuhin, filled alike with insight and poetry on the one hand and occasional but persistent clumsy bow management and ragged attack on the other. They are never sleek or comfortable, but there is plenty of music in them. For me the most interesting are the Bruch G Minor, with the Berlin RIAS Orchestra and the excellent Ferenc Fricsay and, oddly, the little fill-up, the F Major Beethoven Romance with Boult (I think this is from Menuhin's 60th. birthday concert). The Mozart G Major lacks polish and poise, and in Mozart these are important, and the Beethoven (with Colin Davis), while good enough, never really catches fire. However, when ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 25
Average Rating:

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Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ

CD-Charts > Music > Davis- Sir Colin
from: Double Decca

Release Date October 12, 1994
This is an interesting DVD which is well worth viewing. The performances are all watchable and, you could say, typical Menuhin, filled alike with insight and poetry on the one hand and occasional but persistent clumsy bow management and ragged attack on the other. They are never sleek or comfortable, but there is plenty of music in them. For me the most interesting are the Bruch G Minor, with the Berlin RIAS Orchestra and the excellent Ferenc Fricsay and, oddly, the little fill-up, the F Major Beethoven Romance with Boult (I think this is from Menuhin's 60th. birthday concert). The Mozart G Major lacks polish and poise, and in Mozart these are important, and the Beethoven (with Colin Davis), while good enough, never really catches fire. However, when ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 26
Average Rating:

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Tippett: The Knot Garden/A Child of Our Time

CD-Charts > Music > Davis- Sir Colin
from: Philips

Release Date July 01, 1995
This is an interesting DVD which is well worth viewing. The performances are all watchable and, you could say, typical Menuhin, filled alike with insight and poetry on the one hand and occasional but persistent clumsy bow management and ragged attack on the other. They are never sleek or comfortable, but there is plenty of music in them. For me the most interesting are the Bruch G Minor, with the Berlin RIAS Orchestra and the excellent Ferenc Fricsay and, oddly, the little fill-up, the F Major Beethoven Romance with Boult (I think this is from Menuhin's 60th. birthday concert). The Mozart G Major lacks polish and poise, and in Mozart these are important, and the Beethoven (with Colin Davis), while good enough, never really catches fire. However, when ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 27
Average Rating:

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Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique

CD-Charts > Music > Davis- Sir Colin
by: London Symphony Orchestra

Release Date March 01, 1996
this recording of symphony fantastique outshines all rivals (including Sir Colin's own later recording). The balance is superb, the recording full and atmospheric but what makes this one of the classic CDs is the performance which tightens like a spring coil towards a dramatic and memorable climax. This is one of the MUST LISTEN TOs in my collection.

CD-Charts Position 28
Average Rating:

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Mahler: Symphony No.8

CD-Charts > Music > Davis- Sir Colin
from: Red Seal

Release Date June 01, 1997
this recording of symphony fantastique outshines all rivals (including Sir Colin's own later recording). The balance is superb, the recording full and atmospheric but what makes this one of the classic CDs is the performance which tightens like a spring coil towards a dramatic and memorable climax. This is one of the MUST LISTEN TOs in my collection.

CD-Charts Position 29
Average Rating:

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Sibelius - Tone Poems

CD-Charts > Music > Davis- Sir Colin
by: London Symphony Orchestra

Release Date March 06, 1999
This disc features an eclectic group of works: on one hand, three well-known, instantly likeable compositions which serve as a nice introduction to the music of Jean Sibelius (Karelia suite, Finlandia, Valse triste); on the other, three elaborate and multi-layered pieces that, although not too hard to appreciate at first, reveal most of their secrets after several listens (Oceanides, Tapiola, Nightride and Sunrise). Davis obtains beautiful sonic textures from the LSO: this is one of those discs that beg to be listened to with headphones. The recording ends with the musical adventure that is Nightride and Sunrise - a piece which, even if you've listened to it many times, remains unpredictable. From the first minute to the last, this is an excellent disc.

CD-Charts Position 30
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Tippett: The Midsummer Marriage

CD-Charts > Music > Davis- Sir Colin
from: Lyrita

Release Date July 17, 2006
Oh how wonderful to hear this again. What a masterpiece and what a performance! The two leads - Alberto Remedios and Joan Carlyle - sing this rapturous music beautifully. And the rest of the cast are marvelous, too.