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Perpetual Motion
(more) »rank: 3269by: Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Evelyn Glennie, Joshua Bell, Gary Hoffman, John [guitar] Williams, Domenico Scarlatti, Johann Sebastian Bach, Claude Debussy, Fryderyk Chopin, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms, Niccolo Paganini, Ludwig van Beethoven
: :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 ...
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King's Singers Christmas
(more) »rank: 5882from: Signum UK
: :Five centuries, seven languages, and six singers with 35 years of remarkable experience inform this rare collection of choral music. In the world-renowned King's Singers resplendent voices, ancient and modern choral music comes to life with all the blazing immediacy and timeliness of the gospel of the nativity. With 25 pieces of music--ranging from familiar works such as 'Coventry Carol' to the obscure Tchaikovsky piece 'The Crown of Roses'--the King's Singers move through this hallowed and festive set with the vocal mastery that only three-and-a-half decades of accomplished work together is capable of creating. A number of contemporary carols written in the last ...
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Elgar: Pomp & Circumstance Marches; Enigma Variations; Cockaigne Overture
(more) »rank: 5802from: EMI / Seraphim
: : Sir Adrian Boult's recording of the Enigma Variations with the London Symphony was made when both he and the orchestra were at their peak. It reflects an extraordinary blend of spontaneity and the grand manner, and shows great insight into the score. Smooth, flowing, and majestic yet animated, it is a finely molded account in which every variation counts toward the whole. Boult's approach is direct and eloquent rather than rhetorical, but very expressive. The sound is closely miked and remastered at a very high level, and a little on the bright side. --Ted Libbey
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Vaughan Williams: Fantasies; The Lark Ascending; Five Variants
(more) »rank: 6416from: Decca
: :Marriner's evergreen 1972 recording of favorite shorter works by Vaughan Williams has yet to be surpassed for warmth of conception and smoothness of execution. The soloists in these accounts (among them William Bennett in the Greensleeves Fantasia and Iona Brown in the Lark Ascending) are all first-rate, and the Academy's strings play with polish and great beauty of sound. The analog recording is excellent, and Marriner's remarkable empathy for the music comes across effortlessly. Some listeners may prefer the richer sonority and arrestingly mystical manner of Marriner's 1993 digital remake of the Tallis Fantasia for Philips, but this disc offers the most desirable ...
![Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem [A German Requiem]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KXKPNYWQL._SL160_.jpg)
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Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem [A German Requiem]
(more) »rank: 10781from: EMI Classics
: essential recording:This account of the German Requiem really is one of the great recordings of the century. Even today, Otto Klemperer's monumental interpretation with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, recorded in 1961, remains unmatched among readings that emphasize the spirituality of the score. Sober and sustained, but not unduly slow, it places Brahms on the continuum of German sacred music going back through Beethoven to Handel, Bach, and Schütz. Drawing committed playing and singing from his forces, Klemperer opens the door to the beauties of the music without fuss or fanfare. Both soloists are exemplary: Schwarzkopf's expressive portamento now sounds a bit ...
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Glorious Pipes: Organ Music Through the Ages
(more) »rank: 5301from: Deutsche Grammophon
: essential recording:This account of the German Requiem really is one of the great recordings of the century. Even today, Otto Klemperer's monumental interpretation with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, recorded in 1961, remains unmatched among readings that emphasize the spirituality of the score. Sober and sustained, but not unduly slow, it places Brahms on the continuum of German sacred music going back through Beethoven to Handel, Bach, and Schütz. Drawing committed playing and singing from his forces, Klemperer opens the door to the beauties of the music without fuss or fanfare. Both soloists are exemplary: Schwarzkopf's expressive portamento now sounds a bit ...
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Grieg, Chopin & Saint Saens Piano Concertos / Previn, Rubinstein, London Symphony Orchestra
(more) »rank: 9562starring: Artur Rubinstein, London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn
: essential recording:This account of the German Requiem really is one of the great recordings of the century. Even today, Otto Klemperer's monumental interpretation with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, recorded in 1961, remains unmatched among readings that emphasize the spirituality of the score. Sober and sustained, but not unduly slow, it places Brahms on the continuum of German sacred music going back through Beethoven to Handel, Bach, and Schütz. Drawing committed playing and singing from his forces, Klemperer opens the door to the beauties of the music without fuss or fanfare. Both soloists are exemplary: Schwarzkopf's expressive portamento now sounds a bit ...
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Classics for Kids
(more) »rank: 10362from: RCA
: essential recording:This account of the German Requiem really is one of the great recordings of the century. Even today, Otto Klemperer's monumental interpretation with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, recorded in 1961, remains unmatched among readings that emphasize the spirituality of the score. Sober and sustained, but not unduly slow, it places Brahms on the continuum of German sacred music going back through Beethoven to Handel, Bach, and Schütz. Drawing committed playing and singing from his forces, Klemperer opens the door to the beauties of the music without fuss or fanfare. Both soloists are exemplary: Schwarzkopf's expressive portamento now sounds a bit ...
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Bernstein: Candide; West Side Story; On the Waterfront; Fancy Free
(more) »rank: 27143from: Sony
: :This release comes from Sony's immense backlog of famous recordings of Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. In fact, these works trace the evolution of the New York Philharmonic into a world-class orchestra in the late 1950s under Bernstein's hand. At this remove in time, we can almost hear New York in these works. Bernstein deftly captures the shimmering glamour of his music, particularly in Overture to Candide and the astonishing Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. If you don't own this music--and these performances--you should. --Paul Cook Amazon.com:Fancy Free provided Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolf Green with the inspiration for ...
![Beethoven: The Piano Concertos [DVD Video]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BBWTOjODL._SL160_.jpg)
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Beethoven: The Piano Concertos [DVD Video]
(more) »rank: 11892from: Deutsche Grammophon
: :This release comes from Sony's immense backlog of famous recordings of Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. In fact, these works trace the evolution of the New York Philharmonic into a world-class orchestra in the late 1950s under Bernstein's hand. At this remove in time, we can almost hear New York in these works. Bernstein deftly captures the shimmering glamour of his music, particularly in Overture to Candide and the astonishing Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. If you don't own this music--and these performances--you should. --Paul Cook Amazon.com:Fancy Free provided Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolf Green with the inspiration for ...
