Classical > Chamber Classical > by Orchestra / Ensemble

Advantages: An excellent introduction to Classical Music
Disadvantages: None

This is a companion set to Naxos' "The A~Z of Opera" (previously reviewed.. It follows the same format and is an ideal compilation for people who are new to classical music as well as classical music buffs. It contains a double CD with two and a half hours of classical music (as you would expect) and a 562 page book (not quite as thick as the Opera one) compiled and written again by Keith Anderson. So what's in the pack? ~~ The Book This contains ...
...same size as a CD and fairly thick. The text is concise and clear and informative, with portraits of composers throughout. After the index you get 450 pages of concise histories of composers, with recommendations of recordings from the Naxos catalogue. It is arranged in alphabetical order, and starts with Adolphe Adam and is completed by Bernd Alois Zimmerman. As well as details about the composer there are sections on the different types of music ... Read review

Advantages: Virtuosic operatic vocalism, unusual repertoire, mad scenes...
Disadvantages: Fleming's voice is maybe not best suited for this...

...CD featuring renowned American soprano Renée Fleming? Simply put: Bel canto is the Italian term for "beautiful singing", but it is specifically applied towards a vocal technique which first developed in the 17th century in Italy and continued to develop towards a peak in the 19th century with many bel canto operas by composers such as Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti - all of whom feature on this CD. It is a very technically based way of singing, where ...
...de force. Performers: Renée Fleming is the soprano soloist on this disc. She was born in 1959 in America and has developed a world class career singing at the major world opera houses, enjoying a particularly close relationship with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Her voice is regarded as mainly lyrical, and her biggest successes have been in works from that part of the operatic repertoire, such as "Der Rosenkavalier" by Richard Strauss and ... Read review

Advantages: Impressive performance of interesting opera at an unbeatable price
Disadvantages: You will be left wanting more

Introduction: There simply isn't anything to beat the adrenalin shot of being one of maybe 120 people on stage performing some major musical masterpiece in front of a hopefully packed house. Orchestral playing is totally addictive! So when I was recently asked to play in the 2nd violin section of the orchestra for a weekend opera workshop, I didn't have to hesitate before saying yes. I was told it would involve around 15 hours of rehearsal from ...
...performance of the entire opera. Loads of playing = lots of fun! The opera in question was Alexander Porfir'yevich Borodin's "Prince Igor". Since I didn't know the opera apart from the famous Polovtsian Dances, I thought it might be good to get a CD of it before going to the weekend. Whilst my sight-reading is pretty good, there is nothing more embarrassing as an orchestral player to turn the page, be confronted by an unexpected sight of lots of ... Read review

Advantages: Highly burnished, engaging, musically intelligent and emotionally mature playing; beautiful tone is never saccharine.
Disadvantages: Nil.

It would be one of the most daunting works to take on for any musician, given the history of its recording, yet British cellist Natalie Clein decided to do it. It took her some ten years to get to the point where she felt ready to tackle it again for posterity, and this CD gives her good reason to be proud. ELGAR'S CELLO CONCERTO AND DU PRÉ So what's so intimidating about Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto? Besides its call in the performer for technical ...
...concerto has also been inextricably linked with Jacqueline du Pré (1945 - 1987), cellist extraordinaire, who was tragically struck down at the prime of life by multiple sclerosis. Her landmark 1965 recording, made when she was just twenty (with John Barbirolli conducting the London Symphony Orchestra), is still hallowed by many today, and the shadow it casts upon all future performers is not easily avoided. Well, with this new, all-Elgar CD recording ... Read review

Advantages: Gorgeous music, played with much passion
Disadvantages: None really

Introduction: One of the things I love the most about classical music is that it is impossible to get to know everything that is written in the genre - no matter how much you listen to, study, play or find on the dustiest shelf in some archive in the middle of nowhere - there will always be something new just around the corner... Unfortunately it is often the case that concert promoters, orchestral administrators, record companies and even many ...
...the risk in putting on something which the average listener or audience member is unlikely to have ever come across. Everyone talks about the old arguments of not wanting to take a financial risk - which is understandable, but I do feel strongly that sometimes we do need to insert new musical blood into our concert and listening lives, especially if the potential piece has real quality. How do we know if it is going to capture the audience's imagination ... Read review