Shine up your boots and get that hair slicked back because Live from Robert's Western Wear is the next best thing to a trip to the honky tonks of lower Broadway. BR5-49 was the prime mover behind the revitalization of Nashville's live country music scene, and this album documents the joyous mess that is their live show, complete with ambient yee-has and the band glad-handing the crowd for tips. Lest numbers like "Me 'n' Opie" have you thinking that the band is all about kitsch, check out their cover of the Louvins' bloodthirsty ballad "Knoxville Girl." Well, actually, it's a traditional number, but the Louvin Brothers made it famous, and the band does a dandy, Louvin-like job with the song's eerie soaring harmonies. Live at Robert's is a rip-roaring three-day bender of an album: sometimes sloppy, never especially original, but always a heck of a lot of fun. --Mary Park
Live from Robert's,BR5-49,Arista,Country,Country & Western,Country-Rock,Neo-Traditionalist Country,Pop
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Live from Across the Pond
The Robert Cray Band Manufacturer: Vanguard Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000GY73IW Release Date: 2006-09-12 |
Tracks:
- Phone Booth
- Poor Johnny
- Our Last Time
- Right Next Door (Because Of Me)
- 12 Year Old Boy
- I Guess I Showed Her
- The Things You Do To Me
Tracks:
- I Was Warned
- Twenty
- Bad Influence
- The One In The Middle
- Back Door Slam
- Time Makes Two
- I'm Walkin'
Amazon.com
Subtlety is both a blessing and curse for Robert Cray. In the studio, his increasingly restrained arrangements have served to frame his growing mastery of classic Memphis soul, allowing his soaring, vibrato-rich voice to carry tunes that directly echo the Stax years. That can work well live, too, and does so here in "Phone Booth" and the funky distillation "Back Door Slam," an ode to sexy down-home belters like Little Johnnie Taylor. But too often Cray downplays his incendiary guitar abilities on stage, which makes long numbers like "The One in the Middle" interminable, and leaves this two-disc live set--recorded during a week of shows opening for Eric Clapton at London's Royal Albert Hall in May 2006--full of cold spots. Things heat up whenever Cray picks up his Stratocaster in earnest, whether he's plucking out fat, singing notes à la Albert Collins in his radio hit "I Guess I Showed Her" or weaving a slow, soulful path through the bridge of the ballad "The Things You Do to Me," using his whammy bar and unpredictable variations on the melody to conjure shades of introspection. Overall, this set will please Cray's die-hard fans, but is unlikely to lure new listeners. --Ted DrozdowskiCustomer Reviews:
Excellent.......2007-04-18
Increasingly dull.......2007-04-04
There are some bright lights on this album: I Was Warned and Time Makes Two are riveting and intense. It is time for Cray to get some new collaborators as he and his longtime band have settled into a deep and somnambulent rut.
There are many better ways to enjoy Cray's music than this. I strongly recommend Strong Persuader and I Was Warned as the best ways into his songbook.
marvelous.......2007-03-23
Amazing.......2007-03-15
Love this album bought two, one for a friend, you must share this man.
Highly recommend it.
Editorial review?.......2007-03-04
Oh, and BTW, Cray doesn't have a "whammy bar." He plays a Strat with a hard-tail bridge (i.e., no tremelo).
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Angel: Live Fast, Die Never - Music from TV Series
Manufacturer: Rounder / Umgd ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0008FPJ7Q Release Date: 2005-05-17 |
Tracks:
- Angel Main Theme The Sanctuary Extended Remix performed by Darling Violetta
- Start The Apocalypse
- The End Of The World
- Massive Assault
- Home
- Hero featuring vocals by Elin Carlson
- Judgment & Jousting
- The Birth of Angelus featuring vocals by Elin Carlson
- Rebellion
- The Trials for Darla
- Dreaming of Darla
- Untouched / Darlas Fire
- Darlas Sacrifice
- Welcome To PYLEA
- Through The Looking Glass
- Castle Attack
- Cordy Meets Fred
- Princess Cordelia
- Farewell Cordelia
- Im Game by Christophe Beck
- Touched performed by Vast
- LA Song performed by Christian Kane
- Lady Marmalade performed by Andy Hallett
- Its Not Easy Being Green performed by Andy Hallett,
- A Place Called Home performed by Kim Richey
Album Description
Fans of Angel have continually hoped to one day hear an album. Their wait is finally over. Live Fast, Die Never: Music from the TV Series features * A newly-recorded, full-length version of the main-title song * 3 songs performed by cast members as were featured in episodes of the show (a karaoke bar was a recurring location) * Score by the show's composer, Robert Kral *key songs to the show performed by Vast and Kim Ritchie *notes from Joss Whedon and extensive cast photos from all 5 seasons Angel is Academy® and Emmy® -nominated writer Joss Whedon's humorous exploration of the twists and turns of adulthood set against a backdrop of supernatural adventure and is seen currently on TNT.Customer Reviews:
Vampire Muzak.......2007-04-01
Exactly what I expected.......2007-03-26
Music to remember.......2007-03-13
Love the show - Love the music.......2007-01-20
more please!.......2006-12-05
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Martha Argerich and Friends: Live from the Lugano Festival, 2006
Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000PFU9OM Release Date: 2007-06-05 |
Tracks:
- I: Sostenuto Assai/Allegro Ma Non Troppo
- II: Scherzo: Molto Vivace
- III: Andante Cantabile
- IV: Finale: Vivace
- I: Allegro Assai Vivace
- II: Allegretto Scherzando
- III: Adagio
- IV: Molto Allegro E Vivace
- I: Zart Und Mit Ausdruck
- II: Lebhaft, Leicht
- III: Rasch Und Mit Feuer
Tracks:
- I: Mit Energie Und Leidenschaft
- II: Lebhaf, Doch Nicht Zu Rasch
- III: Langsam, Mit Inniger Empfindung
- IV: Mit Feuer
- I: Introduzione: Adagio Mest/Allegro
- II: Scherzo
- III: Largo
- IV: Finale: Allegro Vivace
Tracks:
- I: Nauges
- II: Fetes
- I: Andante
- II: Allegretto
- III: Largo
- IV: Allegretto Scherzando
- I: Overture
- II: Idylie
- III: Cadenza
- IV: Menuet
- V: Finale Alla Marcia
Amazon.com
This inexpensively priced 3-CD set of music from the 2006 Lugano Festival with pianist Martha Argerich at its center presents a fascinating cross-section of chamber music, expertly performed. In addition to Argerich, we hear from 15 other instrumentalists - pianists, cellists, violinists, violists, a flugelhorn player (who plays along with Argerich in three of Schumann's Fantasiestücke, to very strange and not very welcome effect), and a wind ensemble made up of members of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana that plays with cellist Gautier Caupcon in Friedrich Gulda's Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra: a jazzy, definitely eclectic, and playful finale to the third CD. The infrequently played but rapturous Schumann Piano Quartet is a particular treat. Ravel's transcriptions of two Debussy Nocturnes for two pianos played by Sergio Tiempo and Karin Lechner are a delight as well. This is an off-the-beaten-track collection that will fascinate true devotees of chamber music. --Robert LevineCustomer Reviews:
Lots of Schumann, not much Argerich, plus some real oddities.......2007-06-08
The dominance of works by Schumann reflects Ms. Argerich's personal fondness for him, and she appears in the Piano Quartet, which has enjoyed a wonderful, highly personal reading by Glenn Gould and the Juilliard Qt. (Sony), among others. This one displays every virtue of live musicmaking, with Argerich's fervent, spontaneous playing leading the way. Compared to earlier sets, the 2006 collection contains more rarities and because of all the sSchumann, less representation by great composers. The flugelhorn arrangement of Schumann's Fantasiestucke for clarinet sounds like a joke. The once unknown Tanayev Piano Quintet gets a committed reading that should help to boost its popularity. The Debbusy Nocturnes actually bring pleasure in the two-piano arrangement. You won't be prepared for Gulda's concerto for Cello and Piano, which sounds like three-beer night at your local German jazz club. But its worth a smile and a listen.
In the end, however, this installment might be best left to connoisseurs while newcomers to Argerich's summer festivities should begin with the earlier, more conventional editions.
Here's the listing of works and personnel since Amazon doesn't supply it:
Martha Argerich / Renaud Capucon / Lida Chen / Gautier Capucon - Piano Quartet in Eb op.47 (Schumann).
Gautier Capucon / Gabriela Montero - Sonata for cello and piano No.2 in D op.58 (Mendelssohn).
Sergei Nakariakov / Martha Argerich - Fantasiestucke op.73 - version for flugelhorn and piano (Schumann).
Nicholas Angelich / Renaud Capucon / Gautier Capucon - Piano Trio in D minor op.63 (Schumann).
Lilya Zilberstein / Dora Schwarzberg / Lucy Hall / Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg / Jorge Bosso - Piano Quintet in G minor op.30 (Taneyev).
Sergio Tiempo / Karin Lechner - Three Nocturnes : Nuages / Fetes (Debussy transcribed for two piano Ravel).
Alissa Margulis / Polina Leschenko - Sonata for violin and piano No.1 (Schnittke).
Gautier Capucon / Alexander Rabinovich-Barakovsky - Concerto for cello and windband (Gulda).
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Live from Austin TX
Jr. Robert Earl Keen Manufacturer: New West Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00064VKYU Release Date: 2004-11-02 |
Tracks:
- Dreadful Selfish Crime
- Blow You Away
- Shades Of Gray
- I'm Goin' To Town
- That Buckin' Song
- I Still Miss Someone
- The Coming Home Of The Son & Brother
- The Road Goes On Forever
- Merry Christmas From The Family
- Snowin' on Raton
- Not A Drop Of Rain
- Wild Wind
- Goin' Nowhere Blues
- Down That Dusty Trail
- Feelin' Good Again
- Walkin' Cane
- Travelin' Light
Amazon.com
Those who have experienced a Robert Earl Keen show in his native Texas know it can be hard to hear the artist amid all the whooping and partying of his rabidly loyal following. This 2001 taping from the Austin City Limits series gives the singer-songwriter's range the attention it deserves. An eight-minute rendition of Keen's signature anthem, "The Road Goes On Forever," shifts that epic into overdrive, as the furious interplay of guitarist Rich Brotherton and steel guitarist Marty Muse finds the band firing on all cylinders. Yet the subtler selections are every bit as impressive, with his reflective rendition of Townes Van Zandt's "Snowin' on Raton" and the brooding melancholy of Johhny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" highlighting the performance. Though Austin City Limits typically condenses an artist's appearance into a half hour for airing, this CD (with the performance also available as a DVD) presents the full studio concert. --Don McLeeseCustomer Reviews:
So What If He Can't Sing.......2006-07-26
My favorite REK album.......2006-06-09
Not the Best of the Best.......2005-11-12
For a man who has a vocal range of about five notes, you'd think he could sing those few notes in tune. The opening track -- a rather odd version of "Dreadful Selfish Crime" sounds like a tone deaf drunk with laryngitis singing really bad karaoke. I could do without it. It hurts my ears. In fact, if I didn't have faith in the artist I would have turned the disc off after this track.
The band on this CD really rocks. That's the saving grace of the disc I think. "The Road Goes on Forever" is superb and REK even manages to do a decent job on the vocals on "Merry Christmas from the Family" and "Not a Drop of Rain." The instrumental music really drives this performance and it's too bad that the lead vocals can't seem to stay remotely in the same key as the rest of the band on most of the songs.
OK, I know that Robert Earl Keen is not known for the quality of his vocals, but for the intense story-telling and imaginative insight into humanity and its foibles. Love that part, for sure. He's kind of a Texas Bob Dylan of the millennium. But, I have to be truthful and say that this album disappoints because of the very tenuous vocals and the way that so many of the really hit-you-where-it-lives lyrics are lost in the mumble.
Outstanding.......2004-11-06
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Horowitz Live and Unedited [includes Bonus DVD]
Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0000CF314 Release Date: 2003-09-30 |
Tracks:
- Organ Toccata, Adagio And Fugue In C Major, BWV 564 I. - J.S. Bach
- Organ Toccata, Adagio And Fugue In C Major, BWV 564 II. - J.S. Bach
- Organ Toccata, Adagio And Fugue In C Major, BWV 564 III. - J.S. Bach
- Fantasy In C Major, Op.17 (I)
- Fantasy In C Major, Op.17 (II)
- Fantasy In C Major, Op.17 (III)
- Piano Sonata No. 9 In F Major, Op. 68 'Black Mass' - Scriabin
- Poeme In F-Sharp Major, Op. 32, No. 1 - Scriabin
Tracks:
- Mazurka In C-Sharp Minor, Op. 30, No.4 - Chopin
- Etude No. 8 In F Major, Op. 10 - Chopin
- Ballade in G Minor, Op. 23, No.1 - Chopin
- Serenade For The Doll No.3 - DeBussy
- Etude In C-Sharp Minor, Op.2, No.1 - Scriabin
- Etude No. 11 In A-Flat Major, Op.72 - Moszkowski
- Traumerei
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (1)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (2)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (3)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (4)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (5)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (6)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (7)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (8)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (9)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (10)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (11)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (12)
- Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (13)
Customer Reviews:
A historical legacy!.......2006-03-28
The special distinction around this album is the fresh inspiration and notable musicality emanated in this Recital, that deserves to be catalogued as a cult recording among the impressive and even excellent live recordings in the Sixties.
A bravura performance and a genuine expression make of this album a very special recommendation.
Masterpieces played by the great Horowitz.......2004-12-12
I am confident in saying that Horowitz's mazurka here is the best recording of op. 30 no. 4. Horowitz takes his time and does not rush the tempo, which is soooo easy to do with this piece. The etude is played awesomely, but the real treat is the Ballade no. 1. Horowitz played this piece all his life and played it very different many times, but this ballade is the best, most musical he ever played, mistakes and all.
The encores are also a treat, and the complete Kinderszenen bonus is another reason to buy this cd. The bonus dvd contains Liszt's Au Bord D'une Source, Chopin's Black key etude, and Moszkowski's etude in f major, op. 72, no.6.
This cd is my favorite, and I have a lot...
Insert Here Any Superlative You Can Think Of.......2004-06-10
Horowitz out-did even himself at this concert. Sure, wow, wrong notes, even in the first couple measures. Who cares. You had better not. I noticed two exposed wrong notes in my first listen of this disc. It is by far the best CD set I own.
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major: Sure, wrong note. Grand. I'm not too large a fan of this piece, but, regardless, if you like Bach, you like Horowitz for this recording.
Fantasy in C Major: True to its title, this performance was indeed fantastic. Horowitz is acclaimed most for his different tones on the piano. Let me tell you, that is for a reason.
Scriaban: I, personally, do not like Scriaban. An acquired taste. If you do like him, however, you will by all means enjoy these two recordings of the Black Mass Sonata and the Poeme in F-sharp Major.
The Chopin: The Mazurka is the greatest mazurka recording I have ever heard, period. The Etude is technically flawless and musically flawless. The Ballade. One of my favorite pieces of all time. This is my favorite recording, simply. It is quite, quite unbelievable. I wept. Every theme Chopin includes, Horowitz includes with care. This piece is one that takes a long long long time to figure out. Musically, it is one of the hardest. Horowitz seems to finally understand it after having played it for almost forty years undoubtedly. I have heard roughly 10 or 12 recordings of this piece, and Horowitz's trumps all.
The encores: Debussy, Scriaban, Moszkowski are all wonderful in their own right, but Traumerei is practically Horowitz's child. People in the audience were weeping when they heard this piece. I went in with the intention of not weeping, and failed miserably. It is the singly most beautiful performance I have ever heard.
Buy this set. You will absolutely not regret it.
WHAT IS GOING ON?.......2003-12-27
ARE WRONG NOTES ALL YOU PEOPLE LISTEN TO?
HOROWITZ WAS BRILLIANT, YES, BUT HE WAS ALSO HUMAN LIKE ALL OF US. I MAKE MY FAIR SHARE OF WRONG NOTES AND WOULD HATE TO THINK THAT THEY WOULD BE THE ONLY THING THAT AN AUDIENCE WOULD REMEMBER AFTER A CONCERT. WRONG NOTES ARE A PART OF LIFE AND SOMETIMES ITS MORE IMPORTANT TO TAKE RISKS, EVEN IF IT RESULTS IN FAILIURE. ITS WHAT BREATHES LIFE INTO A PERSONS PLAYING, KNOWING THAT ONE SPLIT NOTE OR TWO IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. GIVEN THE CHOICE BETWEEN BEING MORE MUSICAL OR MORE TECHNICAL, I WOULD RATHER BE A MUSICIAN AND NOT A ROBOT.
IN HOROWITZ'S PLAYING, THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO LISTEN TO. SO NEXT TIME YOU SWITCH ON ONE OF HIS RECORDINGS, WHY NOT TRY TO FORGET EVERYTHING YOU HAVE HAD BRAINWASHED INTO YOU ABOUT PERFECTION AND JUST LISTEN WITH YOUR HEART INSTEAD OF YOUR HEAD.
HOROWITZ WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST PERSON TO TELL YOU THAT A PERFECT TECHNIQUE IS A COMPLETE MYTH. EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES, WE CANT BE PERFECT FOR YOU ALL THE TIME, SO JUST GIVE US A BREAK.
Just the Facts..........2003-11-29
First, the corrections used on the original version of Horowitz at Carnegie Hall were not made at a "patch session at Carnegie a few days" after the concert. Columbia's engineers had already recorded Horowitz's rehearsals and used that material for the editing.
Second, the editing in the album was neither as extensive as some have suggested, nor as insignificant as the anonymous reviewer from Baltimore states.
Here is a (mostly) complete list of the patches on the original album, which have been removed from this new edition:
Bach-Busoni: Preludio: Measures 2-12 and parts of the coda (Horowitz, by the way, does not play the ossias at bars 8, 10, and 12); Intermezzo: Small patches at bars 7 and 11; Fugue: Several edits between bars 97 and 110, and again in the coda.
Schumann Fantasy: 1st Movement: patches at 7:32 and 10:21; 2nd Movement: small patches at 2:44 and 4:32, and a series of patches in the coda 6:58-7:39; 3rd Movement: No edits.
Scriabin: Sonata No 9: No Edits. Poem in F-sharp: Patch from 2:16-2:26
Chopin: Mazurka: Small edit at 2:02; Etude: Patched sections from 1:27-1:33 and 2:15-2:20; Ballade: Small edits at 2:04 and 4:52, at least four patches in the coda.
None of the encores were edited.
Patched or not, the 1965 return concert contains some stunning piano playing. Can anyone imagine the pressure Horowitz was under on that day? To prove you have not just retained your original greatness, but have deepened and become even greater cannot have been easy. The new, unedited version of the concert is not a revelation, but serves as a reminder of Horowitz's all too human frailty.
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Live from Robert's
BR5-49 Manufacturer: Arista ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000002VI5 Release Date: 1996-04-30 |
Tracks:
- Boot Plug (Dialog)
- Hillbilly Thang
- 18 Wheels And A Crowbar
- Bettie Plug
- Bettie Bettie
- Me 'N' Opie (Down By The Duck Pond)
- Tip Plug (Dialog)
- Knoxville Girl
- Ole Slewfoot
- Bonus Track
Amazon.com
Shine up your boots and get that hair slicked back because Live from Robert's Western Wear is the next best thing to a trip to the honky tonks of lower Broadway. BR5-49 was the prime mover behind the revitalization of Nashville's live country music scene, and this album documents the joyous mess that is their live show, complete with ambient yee-has and the band glad-handing the crowd for tips. Lest numbers like "Me 'n' Opie" have you thinking that the band is all about kitsch, check out their cover of the Louvins' bloodthirsty ballad "Knoxville Girl." Well, actually, it's a traditional number, but the Louvin Brothers made it famous, and the band does a dandy, Louvin-like job with the song's eerie soaring harmonies. Live at Robert's is a rip-roaring three-day bender of an album: sometimes sloppy, never especially original, but always a heck of a lot of fun. --Mary ParkCustomer Reviews:
I HATE country music, but...........2002-03-19
Bettie Page fan turns country.......2001-07-07
It's okay, but..........2001-01-21
Just purchased this CD--Love it.......1999-07-08
Hellacious honky tonk from a new breed.......1998-11-10
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Martha Argerich and Friends: Live from the Lugano Festival
Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0009LNQV0 Release Date: 2005-09-13 |
Tracks:
- I. Allegro
- II. Larghetto
- III. Gavotte: Non Troppo Allegro
- IV. Finale: Molto Vivace
- I. Ouverture Miniature
- II. Danses Caracteristiques:A. Marche: Tempo Di Marcia Viva
- II. Danses Caracteristiques:B. Danse De La Fee Dragee: Andante Non Troppo
- II. Danses Caracteristiques:C. Danse Russe - Trepak: Tempo Di Trepak, Molto Vivace
- II. Danses Caracteristiques:D. Danse Arabe: Allegretto
- II. Danses Caracteristiques:E. Danse Chinoise: Allegro Moderato
- II. Danses Caracteristiques:F. Danse Des Mirlitons: Moderato Assai
- III. Valse Des Fleurs
- I. Andante - Moderato
- II. Allegro Non Troppo
- III. Largo
- IV. Allegretto
Tracks:
- I. Allegro - Lilya Zilberstein
- II. Adagio - Lilya Zilberstein
- III. Un Poco Presto E Con Sentimento - Lilya Zilberstein
- IV. Presto Agitato - Lilya Zilberstein
- I. Allegro Moderato - Renaud Capucon
- II. Andante Un Poco Mosso - Renaud Capucon
- III. Scherzo: Allegro - Renaud Capucon
- IV. Rondo: Allegro Vivace - Renaud Capucon
Tracks:
- I. Allegro Brillante
- II. In Modo D'una Marcia - Un Poco Largamente
- III. Scherzo: Molto Vivace
- IV. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
- I. Mit Leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck
- II. Allegretto
- III. Lebhaft
- I. Allegro Con Fuoco - Renaud Capucon
- II. Lento - Renaud Capucon
- III. Allegro Moderato. Grazioso - Pochettino Piu Mosso - Grazioso - Renaud Capucon
- IV. Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Renaud Capucon
Customer Reviews:
Highly engaging summer music--the real spark is Argerich.......2006-01-06
Argerich loves to play two-piano music, a genre I find too bangy to be interesting much of the time. She zips through a piano transcription of Prokofive's Sym. 1 with Yefim Brongman, and sparkles in a similar arrangement of the Nutcracker Suite with a parnter unknown to me, Mirabela Dina. I'm sure a lot of listeners will have as much fun with fluff as she does.
Her two major contributions come in a riveting Shostakovich Pianto Trio #2, one of his undoubted masterpieces, with Vengerov almost dominatig the ensemble in his mesmerizing account of the violin part. This reading isn't as fiery as Argerich is wont to be, but it has passion enough ot stand beside the best performances (the composer's own and the one with Richter and the Borodin Trio). The second-best thing here is the Schumann Piano Quintet, again finding Argerich in vigorous but not slashing mode (Gott sei dank), easily taking charge and making this a quintet for piano solo with string obligatto. A fine account despite the imbalance.
The half without Argerich is pleasantly done. I had hoped for much more form Vengerov and Bronfman in the Brahms Violin Sonata #3--maybe the warm July breeze off the lake made them a bit drowsy. A Schubert Piano Trio #1 again finds Bronfman in too relaxed mode; the piece lacks spine and attack. The rest of these three CDs is filled out with Argerich accompanying Geza Hosszu-Lagocky (a fine violinist unknown to me) in Schumann's late, rather debilitated Violin Sonata #1, a lovely account without quirks, and a pleasant but hardly memorable Dvorak Piano Quartet #2 led by Walter Delaunt.
All in all, a bargains et of very good performanes that sometimes rises higher than that.
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Barbara Cook Sings Mostly Sondheim (Live at Carnegie Hall 2001)
Manufacturer: Drg ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000059LFF Release Date: 2001-05-08 |
Tracks:
- Everybody Says Don't
- I Wonder What Became of Me?
- The Eagle and Me
- I Had Myself a True Love
- Into the Woods / Giants in the Sky (Malcolm Gets)
- Another Hundred People / So Many People (Malcolm Gets)
- Let's Face the Music and Dance / The Song Is You (duet with Malcolm Gets)
- Happiness
- Loving You
- You Could Drive a Person Crazy
- Not A Day Goes By / Losing My Mind
Tracks:
- Buds Won't Bud
- I Got Lost in His Arms
- West Side Story Segment: Something's Coming / Tonight (Malcolm Gets)
- Move On (duet with Malcolm Gets)
- Medley: Hard Hearted Hannah / Waiting for the Robert E. Lee / San Francisco
- Ice Cream
- Send in the Clowns
- The Trolley Song
- Not While I'm Around (duet with Malcolm Gets)
- Anyone Can Whistle
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Barbara Cook is one of today's most accomplished song stylists, and if you don't believe us, just listen to this live album. It's a master class in the art of singing. It documents an evening at Carnegie Hall during which Cook proved that she can dissect and extract the substance out of the simplest of lyrics. One of the best surprises is "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" (from Company), which is taken at an amiable trot and allows the singer to display its humor. Cook is not a swinging singer and uptempo is not her pace; give her a ballad, though, and she'll wring the last drop of emotion out of it. Her version of "Losing My Mind" (here paired with "Not a Day Goes By") is simply astonishing. The singer also performs songs that Sondheim has said he wished he had written, an awful lot of them by Harold Arlen. No complaints here. Guest Malcolm Gets solos on a few songs and duets with Cook on others, including "Let's Face the Music and Dance." This is classic material done masterfully by a classic singer. --Elisabeth VincentelliCustomer Reviews:
Wow!.......2004-02-20
Everyone Should Whistle.......2003-10-11
An amazing intro to the body of work of a true master.......2003-06-16
Beautiful, moving concert.......2003-04-13
I do have to say that by 2001, when this concert was recorded, Cook seemed to have a lost a little bit of power and intensity in her singing. This is only natural for someone of her age. Her voice is still lovely, but you can sense her keeping it in reserve a bit. She's as expressive as ever, but compare the rendition of "I got lost in his arms" on this album to the one on her previous album recorded in 1999, "The Champion Season", and there's less urgency and vocal depth in her singing here. That said, the high B at the end of "Ice Cream" is sensational.
So, despite that caveat, this is, again, a wonderful album, a must for Cook fans, especially for the gorgeous renditions of songs I'd never thought I'd get to hear her perform: "Not a Day Goes By", "Happiness/Loving You", "San Francisco", etc. Buy it!
... and I love Barbara Cook.......2003-02-11
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Classical Heartbreakers
Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B0000B09Z9 Release Date: 2004-01-13 |
Tracks:
- Piano Concerto No. 1 - Andre Previn
- Intermezzo - Philharmonia Orchestra
- Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini - Sir Simon Rattle
- O Mio Babbino Caro - London Symphony Orchestra
- Viola Da Bamba Sonata In G Minor - Ton Koopman
- Beim Schlafengehen - London Philharmonic Orchestra
- Schindler's List Theme - Tasmin Little
- Clair De Lune - Dame Moura Lympany
- Symphony No. 5 - New Philharmonia Orchestra
- Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana - Philharmonia Orchestra
- Moonlight Sonata - Dame Moura Lympany
- Violin Concerto No. 1 In G Minor - Yehudi Menuhin
- E Lucevan Le Stelle - Georges Pretre
- Nocturne In C Sharp Minor - Maria Tipo
- Adagio For Strings - Philadelphia Orchestra
- Cello Concerto - English Chamber Orchestra
- Piano Concerto No. 2 In F - English Chamber Orchestra
- Va Pensiero - Bernard Haitink
Tracks:
- Adagio In G Minor - Sir Neville Marriner
- The Heart Asks Pleasure First / The Promise - Michael Nyman
- Time To Say Goodbye - Orchestra
- Goldberg Variations - Maria Tipo
- Barcarolle - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
- Piano Concerto No. 2 - Sir Simon Rattle
- Nimrod - London Symphony Orchestra
- Vissi D'art - Maria Callas
- Cavatina - Manuel Barrueco & Steve Morse
- String Quintet In C - Laszlo Varga
- J'ai Perdu Mon Eurydice - John Eliot Gardiner
- Etude In E 'Tristesse' - John Ogdon
- Addio Del Passato - London Symphony Orchestra
- Double Violin Concerto - Bath Festival Orchestra
- Queen Symphony - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Piano Concerto No. 1 - Garrick Ohlsson
- In Paradisum - English Chamber Orchestra
- My Heart Will Go On - Orchestra
- Rhapsody In Blue - Andre Previn
Customer Reviews:
a terrific compilation for beginners.......2006-02-07
"Classical heartbreakers" broke my heart.......2004-06-27
Anybody who is unfamiliar with classical music will appreciate this album. Since it features some of the most moving classical pieces ever written, it is sure to entrance listeners. And by not placing entire 10-minute pieces on the CDs, it will not run on and bore those unaccustomed to the length of most classical music. However, if you are already well-versed in classical music and can listen to entire symphonies with ease, I would advise against buying this album. I now feel a desire to go out again and find the full versions of some of these pieces, since I feel I was cheated by only getting introductions or short movements on most of the album. Guess I should have paid a little more attention to what I was buying.
A Fantastic Compilation.......2004-05-01
The title says it all. It claims to have "the most moving Classical music of all time," and they certainly have a case, as it is chock full of the kind of emotional pieces that can easily bring you to tears. This double CD compilation with 37 passionately beautiful pieces is a steal at $16.99.
If you've ever recorded your favorite songs on to tape, or burned them on to a CD, you'll see that this compilation is exactly what EMI Records has done. It is like a greatest hits, volume 1, of poignant Classical music. Almost all of the musical pieces are classic favorites, though there are a few contemporary ones also.
I found the music on this CD powerful and moving as advertised, and I think that Classical music fans should truly enjoy it. It is well worth the price it's being sold for, and I highly recommend it.
Since there is some missing information as to who the composers and artists are, here they are:
Disk 1
Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor Op.23: I. Allegro Non Troppo E Mol; Andre Previn; Horacio Gutierrez; The London Symphony Orchestra
Mascagni - Intermezzo (Cavalleria Rusticana) {Raging Bull}; Riccardo Muti; The Philharmonia Orchestra
Rachmaninov - Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini - Variation #18 {Somewhere in Time}; Cecile Ousset; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Sir Simon Rattle
Puccini - O Mio Babbino Caro (Gianni Schicchi) {A Room with a View};
Montserrat Caballe; The London Symphony Orchestra; Sir Charles Mackerras
Bach - Viola da Gamba Sonata in G Minor BWV1029 - II. Adagio (Opening) {Truly, Madly, Deeply}; Jordi Savall; Ton Koopman
Richard Strauss - Beim Schlafengehen (Vier Letzte Lieder) {The Hours}; Klaus Tennstedt; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Lucia Popp
Williams - Schindler's List (Theme) {Schlinder's List}; Iain Sutherland; New World Philharmonic; Tasmin Little
Debussy - Clair de Lune {Frankie and Johnnie}; Dame Moura Lympany
Mahler - Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor: IV. Adagietto (Conclusion) {Death in Venice}; New Philharmonia Orchestra; Sir John Barbirolli
Catalani - Ebben? Ne Andrò Lontana (La Wally) {Diva}; Maria Callas; The Philharmonia Orchestra; Tullio Serafin
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor "Moonlight" Op. 27/2 - I. Adagio S; Dame Moura Lympany
Bruch - Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor - II. Adagio (Opening) Sir Yehudi Menuhin; The Philharmonia Orchestra; Walter Susskind
Puccini - E Lucevan le Stelle (Tosca) {The Man Who Cried}; Carlo Bergonzi; Georges Pretre; Orchestre De La Societe` Des Concerts Du Conservatoire
Chopin - Nocturne in C Sharp Minor Op. Posth {The Pianist}; Maria Tipo
Barber - Adagio for Strings {Platoon} Eugene Ormandy; Philadelphia Orchestra
Elgar - Cello Concerto in E Minor Op. 85 - I. Adagio - Moderato (Opening) {Hilary and Jackie}; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Norman Del Mar; Robert Cohen
Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Op.102 - II. Andante Dmitri Alexeev; English Chamber Orchestra; Jerzy Maksymiuk
Verdi - Va, Pensiero (Chorus of Hebrew Slaves) (Nabucco) {The Godfather, Pt. 3}; Bernard Haitink; Covent Garden Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Disk 2
Albinoni - Adagio in G Minor (Realised Giazotto) [Extract] {Gallipoli}; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; Sir Neville Marriner
Nyman - Heart Asks Pleasure First/The Promise {The Piano}; Unknown artist
Quarantotto & Sartori - Time to Say Goodbye; David Abel
J.S. Bach - Goldberg Variations - Aria {The English Patient}; Maria Tipo
Offenbach - Barcarolle (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) {Life Is Beautiful}; Choeurs Rene Ducios; Clu; Elisabeth Schwartskopf; Jeannine Collard; Orchestre De La Societe` Des Concerts Du Conservatoire
Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor - II. Adagio Sostenuto (Opening) {Brief Encounter}; Cecile Ousset; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Sir Simon Rattle
Elgar - Nimrod ("Enigma" Variations) {Elizabeth}; The London Symphony Orchestra; Sir Adrian Boult
Puccini - Vissi d'Arte (Tosca); Georges Pretre; Maria Callas; Orchestre De La Societe` Des Concerts Du Conservatoire
Myers - Cavatina {The Deer Hunter}; Manuel Barrueco; Steve Morse
Schubert - String Quintet in C D956 - II. Adagio (Opening) {Carrington}; Hungarian Quartet; Laszlo Varga
Gluck - J'Ai Perdu Mon Eurydice (Orphée et Eurydice); Anne Sofie Von Otter; John Eliot Gardiner; Orchestre De L'Opera De Lyon
Chopin - Étude in E "Tristesse" Op.10/3; John Ogden
Verdi - Attendo, Attendo...Addio del Passato (La Traviata); Dame Kiri Te Kanawa; Myung-Whun Chung; The London Symphony Orchestra
Bach - Double Violin Concerto in D Minor BWV 1043 - II. Largo Ma Non Tanto {Children of a Lesser God}; Bath Festial Orchestra; Christian Ferras; Sir Yehudi Menuhin
Kashif - Queen Symphony - III. Adagio {Who Wants to Live Forever - Save Me}; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Tolga Kashif
Chopin - Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor - II. Romance (Larghetto) (Opening) {The Truman Show}; Garrick Ohlsson; Jerzy Maksymiuk; Polish National Symphony Orchestra
Faure - In Paradisum (Requiem) {The Thin Red Line}; Cambridge Choir of Kings Choir; English Chamber Orchestra; Stephen Cleobury
Horner - My Heart Will Go On {Titanic}; David Abel
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue (Conclusion) {Manhattan}; Andre Previn; The London Symphony Orchestra
Average customer rating:
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Martha Argerich: Live from the Concertgebouw 1978 & 1979 - Schumann, Ravel / Argerich
Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000055WFF Release Date: 2001-03-13 |
Tracks:
- Des Abends
- Aufschwung
- Warum?
- Grillen
- In Der Nacht
- Fabel
- Traumes Wirren
- Ende Vom Lied
- Modere
- Movt De Menuet
- Anime
- Ondine
- Le Gibet
- Scarbo
Amazon.com
While the keyboardist herself continues to limit her public performances, great reissues featuring Martha Argerich's riveting live displays of solo piano virtuosity just keep coming out. Someone at the record label clearly knows what she's doing. Argerich's two previous recital discs from Amsterdam's Concertgebouw chronicled her performing the unusual (Bach, believe it or not) and the predictable (Mozart and Beethoven). On this disc (recorded in 1978 and 1979 but still boasting superb sonics), Argerich is again in her element with electrifying readings of Schumann's Fantasiestücke and Ravel's Sonatine and Gaspard de la nuit. While Gaspard offers the clearest portrait of her prodigious technical skills, Argerich's Schumann is simply stunning. She throws caution to the wind and probes the work's emotional depths with all the intensity she can muster. Intense and lovely, this is incredible music-making and a must-have for piano lovers. --Jason VerlindeCustomer Reviews:
Argerich radiates spontaneity and freedom--mesmerizing.......2006-07-27
But we shouldn't spill all the superlatives before getting to her Ravel. The Sonatine may be short and slight, but it displays some of Ravel's most exquisite tuoches. ARgerich elevates the score to the heights of a Debussy Prelude with her amazingly sensitive imagination. Gaspard de la Nuit was a showpiece for her teacher, Michelangeli. If his version didn't exist, we would consider ARgerich's matchless for touch and control, yet she is far less cool than Michelangeli, whose tone was glassy where hers is emotionally more yielding. The repeated midnight bell in Le Gibet is almost gentle, while Scarbo is all brilliance and nerves.
In sum, a great recital, even if 51 min. is stingy
An evening with a legend.......2005-11-10
The live recordings of Schmumann and Ravel on this CD capture the electricity of such long-talked about concerts and are a special piece of history for Martha's fans. Of course, much of the tempos will be fast and overdriven, but perhaps the question is to what extent such tempos and rhythms adds to (or detracts from) the resulting music. I think a main thing that attracts people to Miss Argerich's music is her ability to create "a true event" from the music - music filled with a sense of an unfolding drama and an animated life that she breathes into the music - all combining to create an event that is a memorable moment in time that moves you and leaves you even tingling with excitment, awe or musical inspiration. True, with this artist much of this excitement and sheer drama will be from the performer and less perhaps from the composer. But, is that a bad thing? I guess it depends on many things and your perspective at the time.
No piece better represents Argerich's ability to create this unfolding sense of drama better than her electrifying performance of Ravel's rather strange and seethingly-virtuostic work, "le Gaspard de la Nuit." This is the star of the CD and a performance often noted in the music critic world as most fascinating. Right from the cascading opening bars of the mesmerizing "water-effects" of Ondine, Argerich creates an charged atmosphere of expectancy and excitement. Her dramatic rolling build up in the middle and later "outburst" from the so-called water nymph is sheer mastery of pianism for its tingling effects. The middle movement le Gibet (the gallows) like the others is based on a scene from a imaginative literary work. Here, Martha exudes a most convincing stillness of death and desolation (in spite of a brisk pace even) as she continues her (Ravel's) build-up of the drama. Strangely in this movement, an audience member's creaking chair eerily adds to the chilling scene (like the corpse swinging on the wooden gallows). A rather creepy coincidence! In the last movement, she introduces the audience to the menacing figure Scarbo in the first few bars climaxing with a stunning, two-note "flutter" possessing a piercing electricity unlike any other. Its enough to send chills down your spine especially if you know the story behind this work. So, especially in this most frenzied-by-design movement, Argerich's blazing pianism finds its perfect home and definately adds - or even creates its own category of performance - by its uniqueness and ability to powerfully move the listener. The Gaspard is one of her most notable concert performances to be experienced, and she delivers the imagery and effect that Ravel probably intended in this piece of program music.
If there is one movement that Argerich's rushed tempos starts to detract, it is the opening movement of the Sonatine (Modere). Here, Argerich speeds by the more subtle beauty inherent in this work and creates more inner tension and nervousness than ideal for its more subtle intentions. Critics often cite her missing the inner beauty and soul of some music in the quest for virtuosity and this is one example of that I think. Some movements in the Schumann work also fall in this category too in an otherwise passionate performance (Schumann's music takes well to her style for sure). Yet, she turns right around in the second Sonatine movement (menuet) to reveal a work of delicate artisty and nuance with a wonderfully flowing and most natural tempo.
So, while other artists (Angela Hewitt for one) consistently represent more accurately the composer's musical intent and tempo indications, the final measure to many will be the overall effect on the music and listener - does it just seem rushed or does it seem to match the spirit of the music and add to its powers of peruasion? I would say in this CD, the "Gaspard" is the piece that Argerich does best in this manner, the Fantasiestuck also, but less in parts of the Sonatine. Gramophone gave this CD high marks and was not able to resist the allure of her mesmerizing performance of 'le Gaspard.' As far as sound quality, it is bright and full, fairly closely miked. There is some analog "hiss" (heard mostly in headphones) and some audience coughing, but nothing bad enough to detract from its magical moments and sense of being witness to a musical legend and magical moment in time.
A free spirit........2002-10-23
Simply wonderful.......2002-06-22
Amazing and beautiful.......2002-04-19
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