CD-Charts Position 171
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Britten: War Requiem

CD-Charts > Music > Opera and Vocal
by: Galina Vishnevskaya Peter Pears Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau The Bach Choir London Symphony Chorus The Melos Ensemble Of London London Symphony Orchestra Benjamin Britten

Release Date May 15, 2006
This was the piece of music that first really turned me on to classical music, listening to the very first performance from Coventry Cathedral on a small tranny radio. What I failed to realise then was that this massive impact was achieved by brilliant structural simplicity.

The whole work is effectively a study on the tritone, the 'diabolus in musica', that most disturbing and unstable of intervals. From the bells at the start to the harmonically ambiguous endings of the first and second movements and of the entire work; from the alternating tonics of the boys' Te Decet Hymnus to the alternating tintinnabulations of the soprano's Sanctus; from the fanfares of the Dies Irae to the two halves of the tenor's ineffable Dona Nobis Pacem ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 172
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Rachmaninov: Symphony No.2

CD-Charts > Music > Opera and Vocal
from: Emi Classics

Release Date September 06, 1999
This performance of Rachmaninov's second symphony made quite a stir when it was released on vinyl back in 1973 and although that may seem like a generation ago (because it is, sadly!), this newly (1999) re-mastered version succeeds in recapturing the excitement which its original release created. Prior to this recording, Previn and the LSO had toured with the symphony to Russia, where the unexpurgated version had not been heard for years, and it caused a sensation. Listening to this recording, it is not hard to understand why. This is unashamedly beautiful and lyrical music, played by an orchestra and conductor who had no misgivings about whether the music was fashionable or not, and given its full measure of feeling, with great drama and passion. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 173
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Gladiator: Music from the Motion Picture

CD-Charts > Music > Opera and Vocal
from: Decca

Release Date March 11, 2002
Despite the plagiarism of Wagner (Siegfried's Funeral March) and Holst (Mars) this is an astonishing soundtrack.

Dr BeeClarke.

CD-Charts Position 174
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The World's Greatest Mozart Album

CD-Charts > Music > Opera and Vocal
from: Decca

Release Date May 08, 2000

Putting a title like `Worlds Greatest' on the front of a CD is obviously a bold claim, and one which many people have become so familiar with that they tend to take it with a pinch of salt. There are so many ways of trying to catch the buyers interest that very few titles like these really jump out at the buyer.

This one did jump out at me, though not so much for the choice of tracks, more for the quality of artists who perform them. Considering this is only a 2CD set, far too short for any Mozart compilation, the list of performers reads like a roll call for the best `Last Night of the Proms' ever staged.

A simple list of some of the orchestras, conductors, singers and soloists sums up this gem of an album:

Read More:

CD-Charts Position 175
Average Rating:

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Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore [Wiener Staatsoper 2006]

CD-Charts > Music > Opera and Vocal
by: Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Alfred Eschwe
starring: Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Leo Nucci
directed by: Otto Schenk

Release Date November 06, 2006
This is a great performance with lots of fun. Anna Netrebko is a stunning Adina. Rolando Villazón is a clumsy but charming Nemorio. Ildebrando D'Arcangelo is a credible fraud and a great actor. L'Elisir d'Amore is a funny story with a happy end. You will enjoy it.

CD-Charts Position 176
Average Rating:

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Haydn: Complete Piano Trios

CD-Charts > Music > Opera and Vocal
from: Universal Classics

Release Date November 11, 1996
These works for piano, violin and cello have been greatly neglected for various reasons. Starting with Robert Schumann's negative comments of Haydn, these works along with many other masterpieces of Haydn have suffered all through the 19th and 20th century from scholarly and performer's neglect. They include more than a dozen masterpieces, neglected basically because they were considerd to be simply accompanied piano sonatas or written in what was considered to have been an old-fashioned style, where the cello part reproduces the piano part( a carry-over of the basso-ostinato) or simply accompanies the piano part.Historically this is because in the time of Haydn the pianoforte was weak in the bass and needed reinforcing. And they have been neglected also ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 177
Average Rating:

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Mozart for Your Mind

CD-Charts > Music > Opera and Vocal
from: Philips

Release Date July 08, 1996
This is a great introduction to Mozart and some nice musical masterpieces that will just help you unwind! However, this CD will not do any better or worse job than anything by Mozart - and I would recommend a collection compiled by Teresa Berganza, Sony. It is affordable and quite extensive.

CD-Charts Position 178
Average Rating:

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Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Fleming, Hvorostovsky, Vargas, Gergiev, Carsen [Metropolitan Opera 2007]

CD-Charts > Music > Opera and Vocal
starring: Renee Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ramon Vargas, Valery Gergiev, Elena Zaremba
directed by: Robert Carsen

Release Date February 04, 2008
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Fleming, Hvorostovsky, Vargas, Gergiev, Carsen [Metropolitan Opera 2007]

For me the great qualities of this performance conducted by Valery Gergiev are completely undermined by the staging.

As an opera lover that welcomes modern interpretations (I appreciate the majority of the Zagrosek "Ring") this is just plain misguided.

The costumes are traditional and the sumptuous ball gowns are so enormous the dresses appear to be wearing the singers, nevertheless a joy to behold.

The stage set is an unchanging bare cube made up of three panels and augmented by the odd piece of essential furniture for each scene, and in the first act with a thick layer of (plastic?) autumn leaves on ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 179
Average Rating:

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Baby Einstein: Baby Vivaldi

CD-Charts > Music > Opera and Vocal
by: The Baby Einstein Music Box Orchestra

Release Date February 06, 2006
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Fleming, Hvorostovsky, Vargas, Gergiev, Carsen [Metropolitan Opera 2007]

For me the great qualities of this performance conducted by Valery Gergiev are completely undermined by the staging.

As an opera lover that welcomes modern interpretations (I appreciate the majority of the Zagrosek "Ring") this is just plain misguided.

The costumes are traditional and the sumptuous ball gowns are so enormous the dresses appear to be wearing the singers, nevertheless a joy to behold.

The stage set is an unchanging bare cube made up of three panels and augmented by the odd piece of essential furniture for each scene, and in the first act with a thick layer of (plastic?) autumn leaves on ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 180
Average Rating:

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Twilight of the Gods: The Essential Wagner Collection

CD-Charts > Music > Opera and Vocal
by: Various Artists, Richard Wagner

Release Date May 25, 1998
This is a two-CD collection of some of the finest orchestral moments in Wagner's operatic repertoire. It is in many respects the perfect introduction to the power of his music.

The first CD focuses on "music of power, conflict and death" (as the blurb states), whilst the second concentrates on "music of love, ecstasy and redemption". We can all take this with a pinch of salt, of course, but that is not to deny the power of the music.

The extracts are from the Deutsche Grammophon and Decca catalogues, featuring top orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and the Philharmonia, conducted by the likes of Karajan, Bohm and Sinopoli.

It's not a perfect collection. For example, many of the tracks are extracts from larger ... Read More: