Berg, Alban

Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet

Average customer rating:

A wonderful Beethoven cycle
A LONG TIME COMING AT THIS PRICE
What more can be said?
With the Best of the Best
What sound problems????

Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven , Alban Berg Quartet , and Gerhard Schulz, Hatto Beyerle, Thomas Kakuska, Valentin Erben Günther Pichler
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas / Daniel Barenboim
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Complete String Quartets

ASIN: B000026D4J
Release Date: 1999-11-16

Tracks:

Op. 18 No. 1 In F Major: I: Allegro Con Brio - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 18 No. 1 In F Major: II: Adagio Affettuoso Ed Appassionato - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 18 No. 1 In F Major: III: Scherzo (Allegro Molto) & Trio - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 18 No. 1 In F Major: IV: Allegro - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 59 No. 1 In F Major 'Rasumovsky': I: Allegro - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 59 No. 1 In F Major 'Rasumovsky': II: Allegretto Vivace E Sempre Scherzando - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 59 No. 1 In F Major 'Rasumovsky': III: Adagio molto e mesto : IV: Allegro (Th russe) - Alban Berg Quartett

Tracks:

Op. 18 No.2 In G Major: I: Allegro - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 18 No.2 In G Major: II: Adagio cantabile - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 18 No.2 In G Major: III: Scherzo (Allegro) & Trio - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 18 No.2 In G Major: IV: Allegro molto, quasi presto - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 18 No. 6 In B Flat Major: I: Allegro con brio - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 18 No. 6 In B Flat Major: II: Adagio, ma non troppo - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 18 No. 6 In B Flat Major: III: Scherzo (Allegro) & Trio - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 18 No. 6 In B Flat Major: IV: Adagio (La Malinconia) - Allegretto quasi Allegro - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 135 In F Major: I: Allegretto - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 135 In F Major: II: Vivace - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 135 In F Major: III: Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo - Alban Berg Quartett
Op. 135 In F Major: IV: Grave, ma non troppo tratto - Allegro - Alban Berg Quartett

Tracks:

Op. 18 No. 3 In D Major: I. Allegro
Op. 18 No. 3 In D Major: II. Andante con moto
III. Allegro
Op. 18 No. 3 In D Major: IV. Presto
Op. 18 No. 5 in A Major: I. Allegro
Op. 18 No. 5 in A Major: II. Menuetto & Trio
Op. 18 No. 5 in A Major: III. Andante cantabile
Op. 18 No. 5 in A Major: IV. Allegro
Op. 95 In F Minor: I. Allegro con brio
Op. 95 In F Minor: II. Allegretto ma non troppo
Op. 95 In F Minor: III: Allegro assai vivace, ma serioso

Tracks:

Op. 18 No. 4 In C Minor: I. Allegro ma non tanto
Op. 18 No. 4 In C Minor: II. Scherzo (Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto)
Op. 18 No. 4 In C Minor: III. Menuetto (Allegretto) & Trio
Op. 18 No. 4 In C Minor: IV. Allegro
Op. 130 in B flat Major: I. Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro
Op. 130 in B flat Major: II. Presto
Op. 130 in B flat Major: III. Andante con moto, ma non troppo
Op. 130 in B flat Major: IV. Alla danza tedesca (Allegro assai)
Op. 130 in B flat Major: V Cavatina (Adagio molto espressivo)
Grosse Fuge In B Flat Major, Op. 133
Op. 130 in B flat Major: VI. Finale (Allegro)

Tracks:

Op. 59 No. 2 In E Minor 'Rasumovsky': I: Allegro
Op. 59 No. 2 In E Minor 'Rasumovsky': II: Molto Allegro
Op. 59 No. 2 In E Minor 'Rasumovsky': III: Allegretto
Op. 59 No. 2 In E Minor 'Rasumovsky': IV: Finale (Presto)
Op. 127 In E Flat Major: I: Maaestoso - Allegro
Op. 127 In E Flat Major: II: Adagio ma non troppo, molto cantabile
Op. 127 In E Flat Major: III: Scherzando vivace
Op. 127 In E Flat Major: IV: Finale

Tracks:

Op. 59 No. 3 In C Major 'Rasumovsky': I: Introduzione (Andante con moto) - Allegro vivace
Op. 59 No. 3 In C Major 'Rasumovsky': II: Andante con moto quasi allegretto
Op. 59 No. 3 In C Major 'Rasumovsky': III: Menuetto (Grazioso) & Trio
Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: I: Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo
Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: II: Allegro molto vivace
Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: III: Allegro moderato
Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: IV: Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile
Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: V: Presto
Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: VI: Adagio quasi un poco andante
Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: VI: Adagio quasi un poco andante

Tracks:

Op. 74 In E Flat Major 'Harp': I Poco adagio - Allegro - Beethoven
Op. 74 In E Flat Major 'Harp': II. Adagio ma non troppo - Beethoven
Op. 74 In E Flat Major 'Harp': III. Presto - Beethoven
Op. 74 In E Flat Major 'Harp': IV: Allegretto con Variazioni - Beethoven
Op.132 In A Minor: I: Allegro sostenuto - Allegro - Beethoven
Op.132 In A Minor: II: Allegro ma non tanto - Beethoven
Op.132 In A Minor: III: Molto adagio - Beethoven
Op.132 In A Minor: IV: Alla marcia, assai vivace - Beethoven

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful Beethoven cycle.......2007-06-18

This is a fine recording, remastered for the reissue. Intelligent, driving, finely played. Excellent musicianship. Buy it. You won't be sorry you did.

A LONG TIME COMING AT THIS PRICE .......2007-06-02

On LP I own any number of complete Beethoven String Quartets by the great masters of that genre. I bought them all as a teenager and in college. When I started buying CDs a complete Beethoven set for over $100 by a great quartet became out of my price range at the time. To find the Berg Quartet, (a favorite group of mine), surveying these great works at this price from Amazon is one of the best bargains going.

I went immediately to Op. 135 and found it marvelous in concept, execution and recording. I've now listened to almost all the quartets, and the consistency is wonderful. Because I'm in the business I'm using only high end professional equipment for playback and the sound is truly "You Are There". The recordings capture the upper overtones of all the instruments without the least harhsness, no mean feat. The blend of the group and the hall is articulated in a way that happens on only a very few recordings. Ocassionally one can hear a minor difference in what might be placement of microphones, even from movement to movement. This could, in fact, be the result of a temperature or humidity change in the recording venue. You have to pay very close attention to notice this and it does nothing to diminish these sonic wonders) Worth thrice the price.

What more can be said?.......2007-02-03

There are many wonderful performances of these remarkable pieces. Which is the finest? Only God, in his wisdom, will ever be able to answer such a question, but I'm sure with his celestial headphones on he'll be listening to the Alban Berg Quartet. For me this quartet is able to "read" each individual quartet with such clarity, from the light hearted humor of the Op.18 to the intense and darkly passionate Op.95 through to the strangely happy yet unearthly Op.135, with many other wonderful moments, that I can hardly imagine any better. You won't go wrong buying this.

With the Best of the Best.......2006-12-14

I know it's saying a great deal with the excellent full sets of these quartets to choose from, but these overall are my favorites. The playing is excellent, balanced and perfectly toned. There are unquestionably the deep emotional commitment of the Vegh Quartet, the intelligence of the Juilliard, the parlor intimacy of the Talisch and the muscular intensity of the Italiano. And the serious collector needs to listen to these sets, or selections of, for a rounded understanding of these works. But for a consistency of quality and feeling throughout a traversal of all the quartets I believe the Berg set wins an arguably close contest--at least for me.

What sound problems????.......2006-11-14

I am only writing this review in dispute of RB Townsend remarks below.
I have been listening to this mostly Live set for a few years now on high end Audiophile equipment and notice NO problems with sound at all.
It is clear, clean, crisp, transparent and rich with no "glare" at all.
if it is "well lit", this would suit Beethoven's strings perfectly.
An absolutely stunning performance with a Superb sound stage and sound.
All the other reviewers and the buyers who agree with their assessments (a hundred of them) can't be wrong.
With all due respect, Perhaps Mr. Townsend is listening to this on an Aiwa bookshelf System. Perhaps.

Average customer rating:

A sparkling remaster
Great music and a great package
An American Classic
Best of Barber
Is there anything to add...?

Samuel Barber / Thomas Schippers

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000029V2
Release Date: 1997-01-14

Tracks:

Medea's Dance Of Vengeance, Op. 23a
String Quartet In B Minor, Op. 11: Adagio For Strings
Second Essay For Orchestra, Op. 17
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Amazon.com

This classic disc has been the prime recommendation for Barber's short orchestral pieces since the early 1960s. Remastered onto CD for the first time, and with the addition of some other items conducted by Thomas Schippers, it sounds better than ever. All of Barber's music is blessed with the virtues of impeccable craftsmanship, tunefulness, and, above all, brevity. Although a Romantic by temperament, Barber had the gift of being able to fit a lot of emotional impact into a very small space. The famous Adagio for Strings and the Second Essay actually sound much bigger than they are, but they don't go on a second too long--which means you can play them again right away! You'll want to. --David Hurwitz

Amazon.com

The most beautiful recording ever made of the Adagio for Strings is at last on CD, thoughtfully coupled with some of the other recordings the young Thomas Schippers made for Columbia Masterworks--of the music of Barber and others--between 1960 and 1965, at the start of his all-too-brief career. Although he was never on personal terms with Barber, Schippers had the ability to put Barber's music across in just the right way, with the perfect blend of energy and lyricism, toughness and warmth, and, above all, the feeling that its sentiment was real, yet ineffably contained. The performance of the New York Philharmonic (in the Adagio, as well as in the Second Essay for Orchestra, the Overture to the School for Scandal, Andromache's Farewell, and Medea's Dance of Vengeance) is aglow with inspiration, and the sound is exceptionally vivid, with a palpable sense of presence and space. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

A sparkling remaster.......2006-12-29

This disc showcases a spectrum of talent from the young Schippers before his tragic death. However, contrary to the other reviews, this is not the best version of the "Adagio" that I have ever heard. The other tracks on the disc are a nice complement and some are hard to find on CD. All in all, a decent buy.

Great music and a great package.......2006-11-10

This reissue of material conducted by Thomas Schippers shows the great style he had conducting Barber's (and Menotti's) work. This CD has been reissued again with a more mundane package as part of the RCA red seal releases. This disc presents background information and pictures that are a delight to the collector and will interest the listener new to this music. Its sound is good for its age and packages material together very well.

An American Classic.......2005-12-03

Like many of the other reviewers, I owned this recording as an LP. Listening to it again in the CD format was a wonderful experience. Barber's lyrical gift was extraordinary. "Romantic" is an inadequate word to describe his music. And it sounds peculiarly American, like Copland's. You can't imagine that a European could have written it. It has too much freedom and sparkle, too much yearning and openess. My only criticism is that this disc omits "Knoxville: Summer of 1915", which I recall was on the old LP, with Leontyne Price as the soloist. Thomas Schippers seems to have been the ideal interpreter of this composer. What a pity that he died young.

Best of Barber.......2004-09-30

The cover and Barber performances come from one of my favorite LPs - an old Odyssey release from the 70s. (Having worn one down, I was lucky to find a new one at a second-hand store - and soon after the CD was, finally, released.) Needless to say, I've listened to these performances frequently but never tire of them. Schippers, who was a close protege of Barber's (his lover?), infuses all of the Barber orchestral pieces with enormous vitality and emotion. The Adagio is one of the two or three best (if not THE best) on record, and the Medea Meditation and Dance of Vengeance is a knockout, more forceful even than Barber's own recording of the music in the Medea Suite for Mercury in the 50s. The School for Scandal Overture is a rollicking and tuneful delight, and the Second Essay is superbly done. My only objection is the CD is a rather scatter-shot collection, a massing culled from the handful of recordings Schippers made for Columbia in the early '60s. The sound is fine, but I'd sure love to hear an SACD version of this recording.

Is there anything to add...?.......2003-09-26

Is there anything to add to the string of glowing reviews of this CD? Perhaps not but I feel an obligation as it has been part of my life since I first bought it in 1967--and wore out several LP versions of it. The combination of composition, interpretation, playing, and engineering of the Barber pieces is unparalleled in my experience; each must be considered as definitive. I particularly favor the Second Essay which comes across as a major work of it era and should appear in concert more often. The contibution by Martina Arroyo is just an extra added attraction in this extended compilation. Legendary!

Average customer rating:

Doesn't get any better than this.
A bargain - and perfectg ensemble
Penguin Guide "Recommended Recording"
Highest quality for the lowest price.

Mozart: String Quartets Nos. 14 - 23
Alban Berg Quartet , and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Manufacturer: Wea International
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000024MCP
Release Date: 2002-08-12

Tracks:

String Quartet No.14 In G Major, K.387 (Allegro Vivace Assai)
String Quartet No.14 In G Major, K.387 (Menuetto: Allegretto Trio)
String Quartet No.14 In G Major, K.387 (Andante Cantabile)
String Quartet No.14 In G Major, K.387 (Molto Allegro)
String Quartet No.17 In B Flat Major, K.458 (Allegro Vivacee Assai)
String Quartet No.17 In B Flat Major, K.458 (Menuetto: Moderato Trio)
String Quartet No.17 In B Flat Major, K.458 (Adagio)
String Quartet No.17 In B Flat Major, K.458 (Allegro Assai)
String Quarter No.15 In D Minor, K.421 (Allegro)
String Quarter No.15 In D Minor, K.421 (Andante)
String Quarter No.15 In D Minor, K.421 (Menuetto: (Allegretto) Trio)
String Quarter No.15 In D Minor, K.421 (Allegretto Ma Non Troppo)
String Quartet No.16 In E Flat Major, K.428 (Allegro Ma Non Troppo)
String Quartet No.16 In E Flat Major, K.428 (Andante Con Moto)
String Quartet No.16 In E Flat Major, K.428 (Menuetto: Allegretto Trio)
String Quartet No.16 In E Flat Major, K.428 (Allegro Vivace)
String Quartet No.20 In D Major, K.499 (Allegretto)
String Quartet No.20 In D Major, K.499 (Menuetto: Allegretto Trio)
String Quartet No.20 In D Major, K.499 (Adagio)
String Quartet No.20 In D Major, K.499 (Allegro)
String Quartet No.18 In A Major, K.464 (Allegro)
String Quartet No.18 In A Major, K.464 (Menuetto Trio)
String Quartet No.18 In A Major, K.464 (Andante)
String Quartet No.18 In A Major, K.464 (Allegro)
String Quartet No.19 In C Major, K.465 (Adagio Allegro)
String Quartet No.19 In C Major, K.465 (Andante Cantabile)
String Quartet No.19 In C Major, K.465 (Menuetto: Allegro Trio)
String Quartet No.19 In C Major, K.465 (Allegro)
String Quartet No.21 In D Major, K.575 (Allegretto)
String Quartet No.21 In D Major, K.575 (Andante)
String Quartet No.21 In D Major, K.575 (Menuetto: Allegretto Trio)
String Quartet No.21 In D Major, K.575 (Allegretto)
String Quartet No.22 In B Flat Major, K.589 (Allegro)
String Quartet No.22 In B Flat Major, K.589 (Larghetto)
String Quartet No.22 In B Flat Major, K.589 (Menuetto: Moderato Trio)
String Quartet No.22 In B Flat Major, K.589 (Allegro Assai)
String Quartet No.23 In F Major, K.590 (Allegro Moderato)
String Quartet No.23 In F Major, K.590 (Andante)
String Quartet No.23 In F Major, K.590 (Menuetto: Allegretto Trio)
String Quartet No.23 In F Major, K.590 (Allegro)

Album Details

Before Signing with EMI and Recording all of Mozart String Quartets at Least Once and Often Twice, the Alban Berg Quartet Recorded Nearly Half of them First for Teldec and Many Regard them Still as their Freshest and Most Vital Performances. This Four CD Budget Box is an Outstanding Bargain and all Unfamiliar with their Earlier Performances and who Simply Treasure These Quartets Are Strongly Encouraged to Give this Set a Listen.

Customer Reviews:

Doesn't get any better than this........2006-09-30

I am assuming if you are reading this, I don't really have to say anything technical about Mozart or these GREAT late string quartets.
I am only writing this review to let you know...
For anyone who is disappointed with the performance and sound quality of The Berg Quartet's EMI Mozart collection of these same quartets, this is a horse of a different color.
Recorded in the early 90s for Teldec before the Berg's signed with EMI, These performances are sublime.
You would not belive this is the same group that made those horrid EMI records.
This is THE Bergs we all know and love and nobody before or since has made Mozart's string quartets sound this good.
Perfect intonation, TONE, blend, dynamics and yes, PASSION.
I've had many collections of these works and this leads the field. BY FAR.
THIS ONE HAS IT ALL....
And the Teldec sound stage is the cleanest and crystal clear you'll ever hear.
With wonderful front to back depth and air around every note.
Demonstration sound with great imaging and transparency.
You can "literally" step inside this recording. Well you know what I mean.
It really doesn't get any better than this.

A bargain - and perfectg ensemble.......2005-10-18

The Alban Berg Quartet are legendary and these CD's contain some of their best work. They seem like one instrument and it is difficult to imagine a closer ensemble.

Particularly affecting are the slower movements, where Mozart's sublime music is allowed time to breathe and expand as it should.

BUY THESE DISCS AND YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

Penguin Guide "Recommended Recording".......2005-05-08

This 4-CD set contains Mozart's most monumental (and last) quartets, including the six quartets dedicated to his dear friend and colleage Joseph Haydn, the lone "Hoffmeister quartet" and the last "Prussian" quartets. All are masterpieces of the genre, especially the "Haydn's" which Mozart (uncharacteristically) toiled long and carefully to compose out of respect and admiration for his elder friend. Upon hearing these performed, Haydn pronounced to Mozart's father the now-famous quote about young Mozart being the greatest composer he knew in person or by reputation. As the pioneer of the modern quartet, Haydn knew great quartet writing when he heard it and he was right - these turned out to be among Mozart's greatest chamber works. (the quintets perhaps being the only greater works).

The Austrian Alban Berg Quartet executes these quartets with their characteristic and supreme suppleness, precision and elegance. "Polished" is a common description I see concerning their style. The music here sounds really, really great - for the perfectly honed compositions of Mozart to the impeccable performances of the Berg to the clear, vibrant sound quality. I normally favor the Quatuor Mosaiques for quartets, but here for Mozart's quartets, I think The Alban Berg Quartet is hard to beat. Indeed, this is what Penguin Guide concluded who awarded this set with a "Recommended Recording" and described it as "one of the most distinguised sets of the late quartets that has not been surpassed." What also makes this set so valuable is that it contains the last three quartets in addition to the Haydn Quartets - an obvious but not so common coupling. So, all the above factors make this set highly desirable and a fabulous value. (I think Teldec "left some money on the table" here ...). PS: Their complete cycle of Beethoven's string quartets also get rave reviews for similar reasons.

Highest quality for the lowest price........2004-01-10

I hesitate to express my wonder at the price of this set, should some company executive realize his mistake.

Here are 4 discs featuring ALL of Mozart's mature quartets performed by one of the world's finest quartets (in my opinion, the finest). The recordings were made in the 1970s, but the sound quality is excellent - not too "close" or "dead", nor too much reverb. Just right for chamber music for strings alone.

The performances are wonderful. If you're looking for a performance that is passionate or that idiosyncratically interprets the music, look elsewhere. The Berg Quartet is much better than that in that they allow Mozart to speak for himself. The A major and C major quartets from the "Haydn" set are particularly good. The overall quality of this entire set is so excellent that I would recommend this recording over all others for an example of what quartet playing should and ought to be.

Tracks:

Andante - Allegretto - Henryk Szeryng
Allegro, Ma Sempre Rubato, Frei Wie Eine Kadenz - Adagio - Henryk Szeryng
Andante - Alfred Brendel
Molto Allegro - Alfred Brendel
Adagio - Alfred Brendel
Giocoso - Alfred Brendel
Poco Allegro - Zvi Zeitlin
Andante Grazioso - Zvi Zeitlin
Finale. Allegro - Zvi Zeitlin

Customer Reviews:

A must have for the classical music fan..........2007-01-07

...especially given the price...the recordings are well done and the performances are excellent...Schoenberg's a bit hard to swallow but he's probably analagous to spinach -- a little bit now and then is good for you.

A historic CD.......2006-09-11

This CD is containing the three most important concertos of the "Second Vienna School" founded by Schoenberg in the first half of the 20th Century.
The Violin Concerto by Alban Berg (1936) is certainly the best-known and the most often heard of the three. It is a remarkable synthesis of the classical harmonic style and the new twelve-tone style. It effortlessly merges quotations from Bach and Austrian tunes with the basically atonal structure into a beautiful and moving piece (a noble swan song indeed).
The Schoenberg concertos are more difficult. Let us start with the Violin Concerto (1936) which is very seldom played and has a reputation of being abstract and inaccessible. If you do not yet know it, just listen to it a few times. The first time it may appear to be not much more than interesting noise. The second time you may catch one or two striking phrases or even melodies. The third and forth time the interesting phrases become more and more numerous and you start thinking that the piece may not be so bad at all. The fifth time you catch the structure, the melodies and harmonies, and the noise is gone. Wonderful music has remained.
The same procedure applies to the Piano Concerto (1942), only that it is easier. Don't worry about twelve-tone music and atonality, just try listen to it as a normal piece of classical music.
You will find that all three concertos are very fine pieces, basically in the romantic tradition, not much more difficult than, say, Mahler. The problem with "modern" music (the concertos have been written more than 60 years ago!) is that they are rarely played and (as all music) can be appreciated only after repeated listening. This is why this CD is so important.
In fact, I already have the early vinyl recordings of the Piano Concerto by Glenn Gould, and of the Berg and Schoenberg Violin Concerto by Louis Krasner, who was the first to overcome the tremendous difficulties of the latter (Jascha Heifetz had returned the piece as unplayable!).
The violinists of the present record (Henryk Szeryng and Zvi Zeitlin) are very fine musicians. The pianist, Alfred Brendel, lives up to his reputation as a poetic performer of romantic music, from Schubert to Liszt. Listening to their play, you will forget about virtuosity and hear only music of exquisite beauty.
The orchestral colours are essential to this music. Rafael Kubelik is an inspiring conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
This record is unique.

Helmut Moritz, Graz (Austria)

Best buy.......2005-10-21

Not much to add here. It is very good that Universal keeps this one in stock, even if the commercial potential is not the greatest. You get immense value for money here:
Szeryng under Kubelik plays the Berg concerto just as nicely as Perlman under Ozawa.
I have never heard another recording of the piano concerto (Schnberg), so here I have no idea if there are better recordings out there.
The symphonic style of the Schoenberg violin concerto is very well served by Kubelik's baton. If this action-filled, but highly organized, music gives you trouble - so it did for me about ten years ago - don't give up, because it becomes very exciting and will never let you down when you finally arrives to appreciate it.

A Great Reissue at a Great Price!.......2005-01-31

This is a very nice disc--a reissue from the '70s--and as a bonus, it's at a great price.

The Berg Concerto is great, and almost too popular: it's available in several performances.

The Schoenberg Piano Concerto is also available in serveral realizations (e.g., Uchida; Brendel; Gould--Gould is the best!). It's one of the unpopular Schoenberg's most "popular" works because, though 12-tone in form, the row used is ambigously tonal, so it's not too scary to weak ears and minds.

But the real star of this disc is the Schoenberg Violin Concerto. This is one of Schoenberg's most virtuosic pieces: it's stunningly well orchestrated, and the violin cadenzas are spectacular. It's a 12-tone piece, but makes no consessions to older tonalities. This is such a great piece that I often wonder why some of the great violinists of our time don't play it: Perlman, for example; or Mutter--who plays the heck out of the Berg Concerto. I don't know why they don't play it: too difficult perhaps, for Schoenberg aptly remarked that the soloist should have a sixth finger on his/her left hand to realize the piece!

Perfect Pieces For The Twelve-Tone Beginner.......2004-04-09

While I have not yet decided how I feel about twelve-tone music in general (some of it I like, and some (i.e. Webern and Boulez) I don't know if I'll ever understand), I LOVE the music on this CD. Berg's Violin Concerto is relatively "easy" to listen to (for a twelve-tone piece, that is) and is absolutely beautiful. It hovers on the edges of conventional tonality and features music of incredible intensity and loveliness. For this reason, it is, I think, a good place for the "twelve-tone beginner" to start listening to music of the twentieth century. Schoenberg's pieces on this CD are less accessible, but are also masterpieces. The piano concerto, in particular, is a remarkable work, and is well worth the repeated listening necessary to understand and appreciate it. Again, this is not easy music, but is music that will reward careful and concentrated listening.

Glenn Gould Edition: Berg, Krenek, Webern, Debussy & Ravel

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Endless revelation
SING ALONG WITH WEBERN
Who knew?
Don't Expect Bach

Glenn Gould Edition: Berg, Krenek, Webern, Debussy & Ravel

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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Schoenberg: Piano Works
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ASIN: B0000028O5
Release Date: 1995-06-27

Tracks:

Piano Sonata, Op. 1: MaBig bewegt
Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 92 No. 4: Allegretto piacevole, animato e flessibile
Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 92 No. 4: Theme, Canons And Variations. Andantino - Agitato - Allegretto
Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 92 No. 4: Scherzo. Vivace ma non troppo
Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 92 No. 4: Adagio
Variations For Piano, Op. 27: Sehr maBig
Variations For Piano, Op. 27: Sehr Schnell
Variations For Piano, Op. 27: Ruhig FlieBend
Concerto For Nine Instruments, Op. 24: Etwas lebhaft
Concerto For Nine Instruments, Op. 24: Sehr langsam
Concerto For Nine Instruments, Op. 24: Sehr rasch
Rhapsody No. 1
La Valse

Customer Reviews:

Endless revelation.......2007-03-14

As an artist who sometimes chooses music while in the studio working I can't find another CD which I enjoy so much. There is such artistry coming from Glenn Gould the music is like being on another plane. Most enjoyable to me are the silences he acheives while holding the entire work together as a totality. The pieces are not typical western music, even the Ravel and Debussy are played like you have never heard them before except small glimpses of melodic line. Great interpretation.Then there is YouTube where you can actually watch him play, what a hoot.

SING ALONG WITH WEBERN.......2004-08-22

The idea of Gould as a chamber-music performer had always seemed to me as unlikely as the idea of Michelangeli in that role, yet here he is in a Debussy rhapsody with clarinet and in the Webern concerto for 9 instruments. It is a serious mistake to type-cast Gould, I am finding increasingly. As a player of Debussy he won me over right from his first couple of bars, the style somewhat reminiscent of Gieseking, not at all like Michelangeli and far more sympathetic than Ashkenazy. In the Webern he is the absolute model of an ensemble-player too, perfectly in balance with his collaborators.

I hope that the names of the composers represented here do not frighten off too many nervous music-lovers. In fact the three biggest names of the second Viennese school, Schoenberg Berg and Webern, are three very distinct musical personalities. Webern is the biggest problem for me, and I believe for many. There are various ways one might approach him. Gould himself heard him as some kind of successor to Mahler, and I think I can just about follow that, at least in the variations. There is a pretty obvious jazz element too, heard here in the last movement of the concerto. This may indeed be cerebral music, more intended for reading than for hearing, as Gould also suggests. I suppose that particular concept makes at least a little more sense than painting intended to be listened to, but in fact Webern works best for me as background music, taken in impressionistically rather than in any kind of intellectual way. One saving grace is that he is at least brief - the variations take not quite 5 minutes and the concerto not quite 6. As a bonus we are given a certain amount of Gould's famous vocal obbligato in a context where a little extra melody does not come amiss. Berg's sonata is another matter entirely, the friendly face of atonalism like most of its composer's work. I had already owned Gould's performance via the Great Pianists of the 20th Century series, and by now it is something of an old friend, with a nostalgic end-of-era feel to it more than any sense of the vanguard of some revolution, and played with real affection and sensitivity. The third sonata by Krenek (1900-1991) is new to me. It does not put me off in the least despite a more vigorous and aggressive idiom than Berg's. It is not, to my ears at least, all that revolutionary or uncompromising, and ought to have something to say to anyone who can even cope with Stravinsky or Prokofiev, hardly avant-garde these days. The last movement in particular, an adagio, is played with real spirituality, the short scherzo is given with bracing clarity and bite, and it hardly needs saying that the entire work benefits from such superlative piano-playing.

I would like to have been told more, indeed told anything, about the other performers. The clarinettist is an accomplished virtuoso if somewhat unseductive tone-wise. There is no clue at all either as to who the other 8 performers were in this 1977 broadcast of the Webern concerto. In fact these are all broadcast performances except for the Berg and Krenek sonatas, both of which were studio-recorded in New York over the same two days in 1958. The last item on this disc is Gould's piano transcription of La Valse - it appears he was not too thrilled by Ravel's own attempt at that. This is simply celestial. For the one and only time in my life, I think, I would have mistaken the player for Michelangeli if this had been played to me without attribution. Superlatives fail me - the melody properly masked amid the swirling, whirling accompaniment, the combination of spontaneity with cunning in the rhythm, above all the sublime, sumptuous tone-quality, so rich that - incredibly - I did not miss Ravel's wonderful scoring.

The recorded quality is perfectly good without being exactly amazing. Look rather to the piano-playing for amazement here. The total playing-time of the disc is only just over an hour, but at least it includes the total oeuvre of Webern for the instrument.

Who knew?.......2003-07-08

Gould's distaste for what I loosely call "smooth" music is not apparent in his transcription of "La Valse." It is an astounding tour de force that after the Berg and Webern pieces, seems like a scoop of ice cream on a simmering day in August. Who knew that Gould could infuse this work with such passion? The Ravel alone is worth five stars. For those somewhat atypical listeners who actually like Berg and Webern, those poets of dissonance, this disc rivals his interpretations of Schoenberg, another discordant chap.

Don't Expect Bach.......2000-08-21

For those of you who know Glenn Gould's music by his Bach recordings, you are in for a shock on this CD. This music, by 20th Century composers, has more in common with avant-garde jazz pianists like Cecil Taylor and Marilyn Crispell than old J.S. The music is very complex, often discordant and abrasive, and even atonal. That is not to say it does not have its own moments of splendor. Passages, in the Krenek and Webern particularly, are beautiful, but beautiful in the way that a sunbeam breaks through storm clouds, not beautiful as in a field of daisies. However, all of the music here is not so harsh, and in fact the Debussy and Ravel are pretty straightforward. After the first three pieces, they may even sound as refreshing as Bach to some listeners. In all, a very good recording as long as you know what to expect.

Alban Berg: Violin Concerto "To the Memory of an Angel" (1935) / Wolfgang Rihm: "Time Chant" Music for Violin & Orchestra (1991-92) - Anne-Sophie Mutter

Average customer rating:

One of the greatest CDs Deutsche Grammophon has put out
Anne-Sophie Mutter Plays Berg
Absolutely, completely sublime!
A Breath of Fresh Air
Outstanding Berg with an unusual coupling

Alban Berg: Violin Concerto "To the Memory of an Angel" (1935) / Wolfgang Rihm: "Time Chant" Music for Violin & Orchestra (1991-92) - Anne-Sophie Mutter
Alban Berg , Wolfgang Rihm , James Levine , Anne-Sophie Mutter , and Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Krzysztof Penderecki: Concerto for Violin & Orchestra No. 2 "Metamorphosen" (1992-95) / Béla Bartók: Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 2, Sz 76 (1922) - Anne-Sophie Mutter / London Symphony Orchestra / Krzysztof Penderecki / Lambert Orkis
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ASIN: B000001GH9
Release Date: 1993-03-16

Tracks:

Violin Concerto 'To The Memory Of An Angel': I. Andante - Allegretto
Violin Concerto 'To The Memory Of An Angel': II. Allegro - Adagio
'Time Chant' Music For Violin And Orchestra: Beginning
'Time Chant' - Music For Violin And Orchestra: Bar 179

Amazon.com essential recording

Berg's Violin Concerto (1935) is considered by many the most accessible and emotionally engaging piece of music in the atonal idiom. His last completed work, the concerto was written as a memorial "to an angel" upon the premature death of Alma Mahler's daughter Manon Gropius. But as with all of Berg's oeuvre, an autobiography of the composer's inner life is also thoroughly woven into the score. From the deeply reflective nuances of its quiet opening, Anne-Sophie Mutter takes the listener into the heart of Berg's ambiguous lyricism. There's a keen grasp, both by soloist and conductor James Levine, of the work's intricate structure and progression, but never at the price of a coldly disengaged intellectualism. Mutter summons a marvelous array of shadings and colors, effecting a truly haunting impression as tonality makes its ghostlike apparition, first in the guise of a folk song and, in the final part--following a violent cataclysm rendered with fiery power--in the variations on a quote from a chorale by Bach. Throughout, Mutter's intuitive realization of the psychic journey traced by Berg reveals the work's significance as closer in spirit to a requiem of farewell than a traditional concerto.

Mutter's command of an animated tone that pulsates with expressive purpose inspired the contemporary German composer Wolfgang Rihm to write the other work on this disc, Gesungene Zeit ("Time Chant"). It's a mesmerizing neoexpressionist poem of shimmering, elongated string lines--later punctuated with dire eruptions from full orchestra--that seem to form an ether over which the soloist floats. Any sense of time measured in bars becomes negated as Mutter intones Siren-like threads of sound in the highest register. As with the Penderecki Violin Concerto No. 2 and other contemporary works she champions, Mutter plays with a gripping immediacy that indeed makes Rihm's imaginative novelty seem tailor-made for her. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

One of the greatest CDs Deutsche Grammophon has put out.......2007-01-30

I've held off on reviewing this Deutsche Grammophon disc for a long time, since I didn't think I could add anything to the praise already lavished on it by the press and my fellow reviewers. Yet, it is the fate of reviewers to ultimately throw in their two cents in spite of all that has come before, so here follow my thoughts on these performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by James Levine, with Anne-Sophie Mutter on solo violin.

Alban Berg's "Violin Concerto" (1935), with the dedication "to the memory of an angel", seems to have finally entered the standard repertoire. Written after the death of the young Manon Gropius, daughter of Alma Mahler-Werfel and Walter Gropius, it is a work of constant elegy sometimes tempered with praise of a beautiful young soul, but at other times giving in to the darkest feelings of mourning and catastrophe. Like in all his work, Berg uses the twelve-tone system inherited from his teacher Arnold Schoenberg, but with strong echoes of traditional harmony. Romanticism is abundant in this work too often considered undesirably "modernist"; it opens with the lushest sounds of clarinet and harp, moves towards the softest touches of strings, and ultimately roars thundering crescendos pregnant with meaning. While the violin is sometimes a sort of protagonist, representing the bloom of youth held down by Fate, often the work is intensely directing us to higher themes outside of the ensemble itself.

Since Berg left the door open to traditional harmony, he brings in two objets trouvees that link the work to a long tradition before it. The most readily noticeable is Bach's chorale "Es ist genug", variations on which provide the basis of the second movement. Another is a Carinthian folk song Berg knew in his youth, when he had an illegitimate child with a family maid, giving the concerto a "secret programme". This being 2007, when film music has gone to much greater extremes of "dissonance" than Berg ever approached, the harmonies of the concerto will seem pleasing and elegant to all but the most conservative of classical listeners.

There are, of course, many other performances of Berg's concerto out there. But several things set this apart. For one, the digital sound quality is superb, bringing a clarity to a piece too often heard in primitive recordings. And it was recorded after examination of the original sketches in the 1980s revealed that a key part of the work was muddled in the published score. Finally, there is Mutter's technique itself. While she has now grown rather stale and trite, at this time the violinist was at the height of her powers, and this performance is simple flawless.

The second piece on the disc is Wolfgang Rihm's "Time Chant" (1991-92). Here the violin is meant to exhibit nearly vocal characteristics, and when the small orchestra contributes, it is only in the role of filling out a line that is, as Rihm, claims, "in essence monophonic". The writing for the violin hovers in the heights of its range, playing crystalline sounds in the longest durations. This is actually something unusual for Rihm, as his music is often concerned with movement and energy--see JAGDEN UND FORMEN in DG's "20/21" series for an excellent work in this vein. Here Rihm amost approaches Alexander Knaifel in the light purity of the writing. I enjoy it immensely, especially played on a top-of-the-line stereo where its fragile beauty shines through, but I'd certainly recommend that people look elsewhere for an introduction to Rihm.

This disc is one of the greatest achievements on the CD. It commands so much respect and demand that 15 years after its release, it still has not been lowered to mid-price. It deserves a place in your collection, and the music will undoubtedly find itself a place in your heart as well.

Anne-Sophie Mutter Plays Berg.......2005-11-02

Alban Berg (1885 -- 1935) composed his violin concerto as a requiem for a young woman, Manon Gropius, but the work effectively became Berg's own requiem as well. It is Berg's last completed score, written in 1935. This is passionate, emotive music which staddles the bounds between atonality and musical romanticism. The performance by Anne-Sophie Mutter and James Levine conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, recorded in 1992,is justly celebrated. This is an ideal introduction to Berg and to his masterful violin concerto. This is difficult music, make no mistake. The new listerner should stay with it, as the violin concerto will reward many hearings.

I used the discussion of this work in Michael Steinberg's book, "The Concerto," (1998) as a guide to my listening. Steinberg writes with great enthusiasm for Berg's concerto and gives the reader a good, brief introduction to Berg and his work. The violin concerto is a hermetic work. That is, the concerto is filled with allusions to Berg's love life, to affairs both late in his life and to an affair he had as a young man. The work also shows Berg's fascination with secrecy and with numerology. He followed certain pseudo-science of his day in thinking that the number 23 had some mystical significance for the life-rhythm while the number 28 had significance for women. This thinking, and other beliefs in lucky numbers and the like are built into Berg's score.

But of the music were only a code to be deciphered, it would not be of much interest. The emotion and force of the violin concerto drew me in and will make the work live for other listeners as well. The work is in two movements, each of which has two parts. The first movement opens slowly and elegaically with a quiet figure in the harp, followed shortly by an ascending 12-tone figure for the violin. The second part of the music is more rapid in tempo and develops nostagically an old folk-song -- in Berg's case, perhaps, to remind him of a love affair he had when young, the memory of which remained with him through life.

The second movement opens with a violently dissonant passage that speaks of calamity and loss. The second part of the movement, though, is a response and an answer to deep sorrow. It develops a chorale theme from a Bach cantata, "Es ist Genug" through a combination of Bach's harmonies and Berg's own. The chorale goes through a number of variations and moods ranging from a rememberance of love and passion to quiet acceptance and resignation. The work fades away with only the solo violin remaining at the end. The solo and the orchestral writing are deeply intertwined in this concerto.

It may be a shame that Wolfgang Rihm's "Time Chant: Music for Violin and Orchestra" is the companion piece on this CD. It seemed to me a thoughtful work, but it pales in comparison with the Berg. Rihm is a prolific contemporary German composer, and he wrote this work for Anne-Sophie Mutter. This was my first exposure to his music. The "Time Chant" is in two movements, both of which feature the violin playing declamatory passages at the top of its register punctuated on occasion by orchestral outbursts. The work shimmers and has the quality of a chant but functions mostly as a showpiece for Ms. Mutter's formidable technique. There are some striking passages for the violin but they are surrounded by musical moments in which not much happens.

The Mutter-Levine reading of Berg's concerto is more than enough reason to hear this CD with Rihm's work an intriguing addition. This disk offers an outstanding opportunity to get to know one of the great masterpieces of Twentieth Century music.

Robin Friedman

Absolutely, completely sublime!.......2004-02-16

I have long put off writing this review because I was afraid my puny words could not match this recording, which is one of the very finest in my collection of 3,000+ classical CDs. I have about a dozen recordings of this work, as it's my favorite violin concerto (sorry, Beethoven), but this reading is in a league of its own: the only comparable recording is the famous Krasner/Webern, which was only the second performance of the work ever. (The work was written for Krasner...see post script.)

Mutter and Levine are both on a very, very high level here, and the consistency is astonishing as well. Levine never holds back--the fortissimo climaxes in the second movement that represent the physical agony of 18-year-old Manon Gropius are truly hair-raising. (Some conductors perform this with more head than heart, but this is very emotional music and the emotional content should not be downplayed.) As someone else pointed out, Mutter give less vibrato than most in the Corinthian folksong, but the result is haunting, and here she was not abusing this technique, as I feel she now often does. Mutter was far more emotional and connected more with her audience, to my ears, in 1992 than she does today. I would not be interested in hearing what she does with this work now, sad to say, because I think she would turn it more into a vehicle for her technique than an exploration of the work.

But in 1992 Mutter was not yet "Anne Sophie Mutter," and instead she uses her magnificent control over the colors of her violin to imply the evolution of Manon's life, consciousness and illness. Although the grief is already present when we begin, there are also many light and airy moments in the first movement that make the grief feel more like freshadowing. In the second movement the illness is already fully present, and we hear what can only be the wracking pain of the illness. Her violin thus sounds, if not weak, at least subdued and drained when the Bach Chorale enters. But the most astonishing effect is saved for last: as the final bars play, the Corinthian theme is heard again, seemingly as Manon's last statement, and Mutter somehow gives her tone here an eerie "disembodied" quality, as though Manon is departing from this earth. It's not the colorless vibratoless approach that she overuses nowadays, but something very special. I must go back and check my Krasner recording to see if he did it. Then Levine brings the orchestra in for the fattest, warmest chords of all as we feel Manon has ended her suffering.

I am aware that we now know this masterpiece has multiple interpretations, and Berg apparently had more than one woman in mind when he wrote the work (the concerto is filled with various numerical mysticisms), but at the same time, we don't know who those other women were or what the rest of the "program" was, so I have a feeling Mutter and Levine took the Gropius story as their reference point, as one has to pick something as a focus. Agreed the trombones can't do that glissando from Bb to Eb in the second movement properly, but I am so wrapped up in the music that I just don't care!

Through all this there is an effortless quality that I have never heard in any other recording of this concerto, save possibly the Krasner. (It's hard to tell--the sound is very poor in spots.) Not a gesture is wasted; there is no loss of momentum, not even for a second. Mutter and Levine know exactly where they are going, and the result is one of the greatest orchestral recordings in the catalog, both a sonic tour-de-force and a tender elegy, a modernist work and a deeply Romantic piece filled with the echoes of 19th century Europe. The breadth they achieve is surpassed only by how they manage to unify it all. The Berg is so overwhelming a work that each time I put it on, I am in no mood to play the Rihm that comes after it, as it would have to be anticlimactic, and so I have to confess I have never listened it. Someday I must evaluate that work separately.

(Post script: I've recently found out that Louis Krasner, a couple of years ago in the New York Times, praised this recording as one of the very best. So if you don't believe me, take *his* word for it!)

A Breath of Fresh Air.......2003-05-18

Sometimes it takes going to a live performance of a work that is familiar to you on recording to make you revisit an old friend with renewed passion. So it was after hearing the astonishingly fine young violinist Jennifer Frautschi collaborate with Pierre Boulez and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the Berg Viloin Concerto that I returned to this brilliant recording of the Berg with Anne-Sophie Mutter, James Levine, and the Chicago Symphony to revive those moments. And once again this recording seems definitive. Berg's Requiem work is knowingly and lovingly performed with a richness of tone and technique that erases all of the seeming hurdles of atonal writing and delivers a wrenchingly passionate farewell work. The other joy of this particular recording is the coupling of Wolfgang Rihm's "Time Chant" which he wrote for violinist Mutter. This lyrically transcendent piece is evocative of the best of Messian and more than any other violin work to my knowledge succeeds in creating the illusion that the violin is a human voice, singing over a murmuring, pensive orchestral obbligato. Mutter masters this and the result is hair-raisingly beautiful. This is a very solid and very beautiful recording - and one that even the most harsh critic of atonal and contemporary music will succomb to in time.

Outstanding Berg with an unusual coupling.......2002-11-08

Anne-Sophie Mutter is one of the world's leading violinists, and this transcendent performance of the haunting Berg Violin Concerto shows why. With a gorgeous tone, she is in total command of the score's many expressive details, while keeping an eye on the larger structure. The overall impression is of quiet intimacy, even when the piece erupts into more blazing outbursts. The Rihm "Time Chant," written for Mutter, creates a vivid sound world and is also a fascinating complement to the Berg. Rihm is one of the most interesting composers around, and this piece, also on the quiet side, is an excellent introduction to his work.

James Levine is outstanding with Berg, as his glowing performances of "Wozzeck" and "Lulu" have shown. In his hands, this basically atonal score sounds more related to Richard Strauss or even Brahms. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra plays with its typically high level of virtuosity (such pianissimos!) and the recording is clear and natural-sounding.

Tracks:

I: Praludium, Langsam - Bamberger Symphoniker
II: Reigen. Anfangs Etwas Zogernd-Leicht Beschwingt - Bamberger Symphoniker
III: Marsch. Massiges Marschtempo - Bamberger Symphoniker
I: Andante-Allegretto - Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart
II: Allegro-Adagio - Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart
I: Rondo: Andante Und Hymne - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
II: Ostinato: Allegro - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
III: Lied Der Lulu: Comodo - Arleen Auger
IV: Variationen: Moderato - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
V: Adagio - Arleen Auger

Tracks:

I: Nacht - Matthias Pintscher
II: Schilflied - Matthias Pintscher
III: Die Nachtigall - Matthias Pintscher
IV: Traumgekront - Matthias Pintscher
V: Im Zimmer - Matthias Pintscher
VI: Liebesode - Matthias Pintscher
VII: Sommertage - Matthias Pintscher
Piano Sonata Op.1 - Peter Donohoe
I: Massig - Sabine Meyer
II: Sehr Langsam - Sabine Meyer
III: Sehr Rasch - Sabine Meyer
IV: Langsam - Sabine Meyer
Interlude - Ingo Metzmacher
I: Allegretto Gioviale - Alban Berg Quartett
II: Andante Amoroso - Alban Berg Quartett
III: Allegro Misterioso - Alban Berg Quartett
IV: Adagio Appassionato - Alban Berg Quartett
V: Presto Delirando - Alban Berg Quartett
VI: Largo Desolato - Alban Berg Quartett

Album Description

Specially priced 2-CD set in space-saving brilliant box with accompanying three-language booklet. Digitally remastered to the highest standards at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios.

Average customer rating:

excellent overview of contemporaneous classic music
For the price you can't lose

Discover Music of the 20th Century

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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A History of Musical Style

ASIN: B000B6N6B8
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Tracks:

Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'un Faune - Alexander Rahbari
Walzer - Peter Hill
I. Andante-Scherzo - Rebecca Hirsch
Sehr Ruhig Und Zart - Ulster Orchestra
Lebhaft Und Zart Bewegt - Ulster Orchestra
Sehr Langsam Und Ausserst Zart - Ulster Orchestra
Fliessend, Ausserst Zart - Ulster Orchestra
Sehr Fliessend - Ulster Orchestra
Forlane: Allegretto - Klara Kormendi
First Tableau: The Shrove-Tide Fair - Philharmonia Orchestra
The Mountebank - Philharmonia Orchestra
Vivo - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
III. Moderato Pesante - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Hymn To St. Cecilia - Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge
IV. Allegretto - Ondrej Lenard
Introduzione: Andante Non Troppo-Allegro Vivace - Alexander Rahbari

Tracks:

Romance - Czecho-Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra (Kosice)
II. Allegro - Ladislav Slovak
III. Allegro Agitato - Stephen Gunzenhauser
Main Theme From Schindler's List - Paul Bateman
The Unanswered Question - Northern Sinfonia
Second Electonic Interpolation (Conclusion) - Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Third Electronic Interpolation (Beginning) - Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
I. Liturgie De Cristal - Amici Ensemble
IV. Commentaire - Idil Biret
Warming Up, Leading To Model 1, Bass - Gregory Rose
'Gott Nochmal' Sun God - Gregory Rose
'Vishnu' God Of Storms - Gregory Rose
God Of The Earth - Gregory Rose
First Interlude - Boris Berman
I. - Roger Heaton
Short Ride In A Fast Machine - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The Lord's Prayer - Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge
II. Lento E Largo-Tranquillissimo - Zofia Kilanowicz
Lullaby - Philharmonia Orchestra
Vision Of The Hunt I - Philharmonia Orchestra
Voice For Solo Flute - Robert Aitken

Customer Reviews:

excellent overview of contemporaneous classic music.......2007-03-22

excellent overview of contemporaneous classic music.

Should be continued, plenty more 20th-century composers to be discovered.

For the price you can't lose.......2007-02-21

This 2 cd set consists of, as the title indicates, various 20c pieces or movements from the Naxos catalog. Sound quality is uniformly high, although for some such as Stockhausen's it's not clear if that's good or bad. What is excellent is the variety of the collection--some familiar (Debussy), others not, some pretty, others intentionally weird. Few will find every piece to his or her taste, but many listeners who do not spend much time on 20c music will find something to like. Overall, a great introduction to a period of much off-putting, yes, but also much compelling music.

Steinway Legends: Grand Edition/Various (Box)

Average customer rating:

What results do you get when you mix Decca, Philips, Deutsche Grammophone, and Steinway????.....I'd call them GRAND!!
Steinway Ledgends

Steinway Legends: Grand Edition/Various (Box)

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Polkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Polonaises | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Rondos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Toccatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

Lullabies & Berceuse | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Barcarolles | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Complete Works (170 CD Box Set)

ASIN: B000ICLSWO
Release Date: 2006-10-24

Tracks:

Sonata for Piano no 17 in D minor, Op. 31 no 2 "Tempest" by Ludwig van Beethoven. Performer: Hélène Grimaud (Piano)
Andante spianato et Grand polonaise brillante in E flat major, Op. 22 by Frédéric Chopin. Performer: Yundi Li (Piano)
Hungarian Rhapsodies (19) for Piano, S 244: no 2 in C sharp minor by Franz Liszt. Performer: Lang Lang (Piano)
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Valses oubliées (4) for Piano, S 215: no 1 in F sharp major by Franz Liszt. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Sonata for Piano no 13 in B flat major, K 333 (315c) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Moments musicaux (6) for Piano, D 780/Op. 94: no 3 in F minor by Franz Schubert. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Consolations (6) for Piano, S 172: no 3 in D flat major, Lento placido by Franz Liszt. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Polonaise for Piano in A flat major, B 147/Op. 53 "Heroic" by Frédéric Chopin. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Mazurkas (4) for Piano, B 77/Op. 17: no 4 in A minor by Frédéric Chopin. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Scherzo for Piano no 1 in B minor, B 65/Op. 20 by Frédéric Chopin. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Schwanengesang (Schubert), S 560: no 7, Ständchen "Leise flehen" by Franz Liszt. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Impromptu for Piano in F sharp major, S 191 "Nocturne" by Franz Liszt. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Etudes (15) de virtuosité, Op. 72 "Per aspera ad astra": no 6 in F major by Moritz Moszkowski. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Characteristic Pieces (8), Op. 36: no 6, Etincelles by Moritz Moszkowski. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Military Marches (3) for Piano 4 hands, D 733/Op. 51: no 1 in D major by Franz Schubert. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Rondo for Piano no 1 in D major, K 485 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Impromptus (4) for Piano, D 935/Op. 142: no 3 in B flat major by Franz Schubert. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Impromptus (4) for Piano, D 899/Op. 90: no 4 in A flat major by Franz Schubert. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Kreisleriana, Op. 16 by Robert Schumann. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Pieces (3) for Piano, Op. 2: no 1, Etude in C sharp minor by Alexander Scriabin. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Etudes (12) for Piano, Op. 8: no 12 in D sharp minor by Alexander Scriabin. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Preludes (13) for Piano, Op. 32: no 5 in G major, Moderato by Sergei Rachmaninov. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Preludes (13) for Piano, Op. 32: no 12 in G sharp minor, Allegro by Sergei Rachmaninov. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Lachtäubchen (Behr) "Polka de W.R." by Sergei Rachmaninov. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Sonata for Harpsichord in E major, K 380/L 23 by Domenico Scarlatti. Performer: Vladimir Horowitz (Piano)
Sonata for Piano no 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 no 2 "Moonlight" by Ludwig van Beethoven. Performer: Claudio Arrau (Piano)
Rondo for Piano no 3 in A minor, K 511 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Performer: Claudio Arrau (Piano)
Allegretto for Piano in C minor, D 915 by Franz Schube