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Verdi - Requiem · Quattro pezzi sacri / Orgonasova · von Otter · Canonici . A. Miles · Gardiner
from: Philips
: :This religious masterpiece, composed in memory of the great Italian novelist Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873), has themes even more cosmic than any in Verdi's other operas: life and death, heaven and hell, the Christian vision of humanity's redemption, the end of the world, and the last judgment. Verdi's music rises to the tremendous demands of this subject matter; it is music of grandeur, guilt, terror, and consolation, with a breadth of vision and an intensity of feeling unique in the composer's work and in religious music. John Eliot Gardiner's is the first recording made ...
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Bernstein: The Symphonies; Serenade
from: Polygram Records
: :This religious masterpiece, composed in memory of the great Italian novelist Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873), has themes even more cosmic than any in Verdi's other operas: life and death, heaven and hell, the Christian vision of humanity's redemption, the end of the world, and the last judgment. Verdi's music rises to the tremendous demands of this subject matter; it is music of grandeur, guilt, terror, and consolation, with a breadth of vision and an intensity of feeling unique in the composer's work and in religious music. John Eliot Gardiner's is the first recording made ...
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J.S. Bach: Complete Works for Organ (Box Set)
from: Erato
: :Marie-Claire Alain is not only one of the greatest organists alive today, but she stands directly in a what is undoubtedly the world's greatest tradition of organ playing. It was France that first rediscovered and cultivated Bach's organ music, and which in turn stimulated the great works of Franck, Widor, Vierne, and their school. Alain has recorded Bach's complete organ music no less than three times, here on historical organs of Bach's own time. Each disc is planned as a recital that showcases both the music and the instrument. Her performances are simply ...
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Beethoven: 9 Symphonies; Missa Solemnis (Box Set)
from: RCA
: :Marie-Claire Alain is not only one of the greatest organists alive today, but she stands directly in a what is undoubtedly the world's greatest tradition of organ playing. It was France that first rediscovered and cultivated Bach's organ music, and which in turn stimulated the great works of Franck, Widor, Vierne, and their school. Alain has recorded Bach's complete organ music no less than three times, here on historical organs of Bach's own time. Each disc is planned as a recital that showcases both the music and the instrument. Her performances are simply ...
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Pavarotti: 65th Birthday Special Edition Vol 1-3
from: Bci / Eclipse Music
: :Marie-Claire Alain is not only one of the greatest organists alive today, but she stands directly in a what is undoubtedly the world's greatest tradition of organ playing. It was France that first rediscovered and cultivated Bach's organ music, and which in turn stimulated the great works of Franck, Widor, Vierne, and their school. Alain has recorded Bach's complete organ music no less than three times, here on historical organs of Bach's own time. Each disc is planned as a recital that showcases both the music and the instrument. Her performances are simply ...
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Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
from: Angel Records
: :Among the dozen or so complete recordings of the Nutcracker ballet, this early 1990s version by André Previn holds up better than most, with its sensible tempos and careful attention to clarity and detail. The justly loved 'character dances' are performed with requisite charm but always with the feel of real dances, not just orchestra music. The sound could use a bit more spaciousness, especially noticeable at endings of sections, where the sound dies away too quickly. --David Vernier
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Mozart: Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute)
from: EMI References
: :Among the dozen or so complete recordings of the Nutcracker ballet, this early 1990s version by André Previn holds up better than most, with its sensible tempos and careful attention to clarity and detail. The justly loved 'character dances' are performed with requisite charm but always with the feel of real dances, not just orchestra music. The sound could use a bit more spaciousness, especially noticeable at endings of sections, where the sound dies away too quickly. --David Vernier
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Music Box, Vol. 1
: :Among the dozen or so complete recordings of the Nutcracker ballet, this early 1990s version by André Previn holds up better than most, with its sensible tempos and careful attention to clarity and detail. The justly loved 'character dances' are performed with requisite charm but always with the feel of real dances, not just orchestra music. The sound could use a bit more spaciousness, especially noticeable at endings of sections, where the sound dies away too quickly. --David Vernier
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Mozart: The Piano Concertos
: :Among the dozen or so complete recordings of the Nutcracker ballet, this early 1990s version by André Previn holds up better than most, with its sensible tempos and careful attention to clarity and detail. The justly loved 'character dances' are performed with requisite charm but always with the feel of real dances, not just orchestra music. The sound could use a bit more spaciousness, especially noticeable at endings of sections, where the sound dies away too quickly. --David Vernier
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Alban Berg: Wozzeck (Opera in 3 Acts) - Franz Grundheber / Hildegard Behrens / Wiener Philharmoniker / Claudio Abbado
: essential recording:This 1988 Vienna State Opera production of Wozzeck is, to my ears, vastly superior to the 1979 performance by Christoph von Dohnányi with the same orchestra. The entire emotional and dynamic range of the music is here, projected in striking relief. The anxieties of the tale are unflinchingly portrayed, but so, too, are the many moments of tenderness and rapturous beauty. The cast--Franz Grundheber plays the title role and Hildegard Behrens portrays Marie--are skilled dramatists as well as voices, even on record. The disc commemorates one of the rare instances when ...
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