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Displaying records 1 through 10 of 782 |
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Price: $12.98
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Sale: $8.11
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Manufacturer: Rounder / Umgd
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Description: From a pure-pleasure standpoint, the first Beethoven's Wig was nothing to flip over, and the second disc in the series follows suit. However, that is not to say that this is not a valuable and possibly ingenious record. Those unfamiliar with the premise will quickly get the picture: Producer/writer/lead singer/chief clever guy Richard Perlmutter gathers a bundle of important classical works (Paganini's "Violin Concerto #2," Strauss' "Blue Danube Waltz") and makes up silly, catchy lyrics to lay over them, informing the listener about the piece or its composer. Standing out for their offbeat brilliance this time are "Dvorak the Czechoslovak" ("Humoresque #7," Dvorak) and "Wow What a Wedding Cake" (Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mendelssohn). Few stabs at mixing education with entertainment succeed so well. As a bonus, the second half of the CD repeats the symphonies straight up, presenting a neat opportunity to quiz kids 5-12 on what and who they've just heard. --Tammy La Gorce
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Price: $15.98
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Sale: $10.00
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Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
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Description: Manuel Barrueco is one of the best guitarists I've ever heard. Listen to his own arrangement of Albeniz's Suite Española and you'll have trouble believing it's only two hands on one guitar. But Barrueco doesn't use his technique to show off. He's a solid musician, as expressive in Bach as in Villa- Lobos. He also makes transcriptions that respect the origins of the music. This is a wide-ranging guitar collection, but all the music is worth hearing, especially in performances like these. The disc is one of the best bargains among all guitar recordings, and Vox's recordings still sound like a guitar. --Leslie Gerber
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Price: $17.98
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Sale: $9.21
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Manufacturer: Sony
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Description: Bela Fleck is one of the greatest five-string banjo players performing today. Beginning in the 1970s, he honed his lightning-fast chops performing bluegrass, then moved on to contemporary jazz and fusion sounds. With this album, he broadens his horizons once again by performing an entire program of classical music transcriptions. Reminiscent of classical guitar albums by John Williams (who makes a guest appearance here), the disc traverses a wide range of repertoire--from Chopin mazurkas to Bach's Two and Three Part Inventions. Throughout, Fleck displays a feathery touch on his banjo, and his instrument offers a pleasant, brassy tone with very little twang. The technique he displays on Perpetual Motion is astounding and a refreshing change of pace from the smooth grooves found on the banjoist's Flecktones recordings. The arrangements are generally minimalist and understated, but violinist Joshua Bell, bassist Edgar Meyer, mandolinist Chris Thile, and percussionist Evelyn Glennie join in on this groundbreaking disc. Bluegrass purists may be disappointed (this is a far cry from the free-spirited, folksy abandon found on Sony's Short Trip Home and Appalachian Journey CDs), but classical fans will be astounded by how perfectly natural Fleck's banjo sounds on these works. --Jason Verlinde
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Price: $17.98
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Sale: $8.62
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Manufacturer: Sony
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Description: Wynton Marsalis may not have an easily recognizable or even particularly handsome tone, but this erstwhile jazz trumpeter is an amazing virtuoso with a fine sense of classical style. If you've never owned/heard any of his classical CDs, and you love (mostly baroque) trumpet music, this compilation--a sort of "greatest hits"--is for you. From such cruddy, sensationalistic works as Carnival of Venice to the glories of Haydn's E-Flat Concerto, this is grand entertainment. Marsalis is joined by Kathleen Battle in an exciting version of Handel's "Let the bright seraphim," and the treat there is doubled. A fine piece by Hovhaness for trumpet and organ, never before released, is another surprise. Come listen to the endless, seemingly casual roulades that come out of this guy's trumpet--they'll wake you right up. --Robert Levine
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Price: $16.98
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Sale: $9.81
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Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
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Price: $9.98
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Sale: $5.33
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Manufacturer: Sony
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Price: $17.98
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Sale: $9.81
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Manufacturer: Decca
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Price: $17.98
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Sale: $9.66
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Manufacturer: Decca
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Price: $11.98
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Sale: $8.38
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Manufacturer: Denon Records
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Price: $16.98
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Sale: $9.28
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Manufacturer: EMI Classics
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Description: It is only natural that players of instruments with a limited repertoire should resort to transcriptions, citing a long line of arrangers from Bach to Liszt to Heifetz. However, the suitability of the material is as important as the skill of the transcriber, and you don't have to be a "purist" to object to some of Balsom's choices. Some of the transcriptions are her own, some are by Julian Milone, a violinist, who also provided the orchestrations of the non-orchestral accompaniments. Unfortunately they sound unnatural compared to Mozart's, in an aria from his Die Zauberflöte, and Bach's, in a movement of his A minor Violin Concerto. Two numbers are for trumpet alone: Paganini's 24th Caprice for violin, which keeps jumping from the highest to the lowest register, bringing out the worst of both, and Debussy's "Syrinx" for flute, which loses its languid character. The "Turkish Rondo" from Mozart's A major Piano Sonata is least satisfying: played in E-flat minor (instead of A minor), it sounds strident, and its breakneck pace destroys the original's grace and buoyancy. The arrangement often gives the melody to the orchestra and un-Mozartian virtuosic interjections to the trumpet. De Falla's Seven Popular Spanish Songs, orchestrated by Luciano Berio complete with castanets, come off better, and not surprisingly, two pieces by trumpet players are most successful: Jean-Baptiste Arban's Variations on Bellini's "Casta Diva," and the Nocturne from Henri Tomasi's Trumpet Concerto. Slow, dreamy and impressionistic, the Concerto is the only "original" piece on the program, and the listener wishes the disc had included all of it. On this record, the playing's the thing. Alison Balsom is a stunning virtuoso; she commands a huge register, a large range of dynamics and colors, and can achieve hair-raising speeds with ease and clarity. This is her second CD; the first was an all-Bach album. --Edith Eisler
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Displaying records 1 through 10 of 782
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