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Masters of Classical Music (Box Set)
from: Delta
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The Ultimate Aria Collection ~ A Passion for Opera
: :Put together in evident haste, this collection is nevertheless a surefire, appetite-whetting starter kit both for the budding operaphile and for the simply intimidated. The samplings include some of the greatest voices from EMI's vaults: here you'll find the polar opposites Callas and Caballe, the golden wonder of Wunderlich and early Carreras, and a host of other singers who've made their stamp on this century. Emphasis is on the soprano and tenor range, while the lower voices are given short shrift, and the selections cleave predictably to standard Italian and French repertory (with ...
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L.A. Guitar Quartet: Dances from Renaissance to Nutcracker
:Album Description:All of the arrangements on this album were made by LAGQ members. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite was arranged by Andrew York, who explains in the booklet notes that he first arranged part of the suite for two guitars, which worked musically but was hard to play. So, as he explains: 'The ideal solution was to redo the work for guitar quartet, allowing a more complete translation of the complexities of the orchestral score, which could be balanced among four guitars. Two dances remain as duets -- the 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,' ...
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Barber's Adagio
from: Sony
:Album Description:All of the arrangements on this album were made by LAGQ members. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite was arranged by Andrew York, who explains in the booklet notes that he first arranged part of the suite for two guitars, which worked musically but was hard to play. So, as he explains: 'The ideal solution was to redo the work for guitar quartet, allowing a more complete translation of the complexities of the orchestral score, which could be balanced among four guitars. Two dances remain as duets -- the 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,' ...
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Symphonie Fantastique
from: EMI Classics
: essential recording:Muti's perfectionism is everywhere clear in his stirring, crisp leadership of this many-layered, flavorful work. Some have argued that it's a bit over-the-top; we call that exciting. This is not to say that in the more elegant moments, we don't get some beautifully sculpted, feathery sounds. And clearly, each section of the orchestra was ideally rehearsed: the strings are lush, the winds reedy and spicy, and the brass wonderfully aggressive. Wow! --Robert Levine
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Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, A Night on Bald Mountain, and Other Russian Showpieces [Hybrid SACD]
: essential recording:Muti's perfectionism is everywhere clear in his stirring, crisp leadership of this many-layered, flavorful work. Some have argued that it's a bit over-the-top; we call that exciting. This is not to say that in the more elegant moments, we don't get some beautifully sculpted, feathery sounds. And clearly, each section of the orchestra was ideally rehearsed: the strings are lush, the winds reedy and spicy, and the brass wonderfully aggressive. Wow! --Robert Levine
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Beethoven - Triple Concerto ~ Choral Fantasy / Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Berliner Phil., Barenboim
: essential recording:Muti's perfectionism is everywhere clear in his stirring, crisp leadership of this many-layered, flavorful work. Some have argued that it's a bit over-the-top; we call that exciting. This is not to say that in the more elegant moments, we don't get some beautifully sculpted, feathery sounds. And clearly, each section of the orchestra was ideally rehearsed: the strings are lush, the winds reedy and spicy, and the brass wonderfully aggressive. Wow! --Robert Levine
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Beethoven: Les 9 Symphonies
from: EMI Classics France
: essential recording:Muti's perfectionism is everywhere clear in his stirring, crisp leadership of this many-layered, flavorful work. Some have argued that it's a bit over-the-top; we call that exciting. This is not to say that in the more elegant moments, we don't get some beautifully sculpted, feathery sounds. And clearly, each section of the orchestra was ideally rehearsed: the strings are lush, the winds reedy and spicy, and the brass wonderfully aggressive. Wow! --Robert Levine
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40 Most Beautiful Christmas Classics
from: Rhino / Wea
: essential recording:Muti's perfectionism is everywhere clear in his stirring, crisp leadership of this many-layered, flavorful work. Some have argued that it's a bit over-the-top; we call that exciting. This is not to say that in the more elegant moments, we don't get some beautifully sculpted, feathery sounds. And clearly, each section of the orchestra was ideally rehearsed: the strings are lush, the winds reedy and spicy, and the brass wonderfully aggressive. Wow! --Robert Levine
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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas , vol. 2
: : Paul Lewis's traversal of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas may just become one of the indispensable recorded versions of these unique works. He tackles the Hammerklavier without attacking it; his interest is textual clarity, and he never fails in that approach. If you listen to the last movement of No. 25, 'Alla tedesco,' you'll be amazed by the formality and forward propulsion which underpins the seeming merriment in the piece, the abrupt ending suddenly quite a puzzle. Similarly, the first movement of the Waldstein is imbued with a darkness that makes you think ...
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