Pause

Pause

ASIN: B00005OMH5

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Kieran Hebden is, it has to be said, something of a genius. The groundwork for Pause was laid when Dialogue--his debut solo album under the guise of Four Tet--landed in 1999, an album that redrew the parameters of inventive dance music. A peculiar mix of live-sounding instrumental jazz and technologically super-precise laptop dance trickery, it sounded nothing like Hebden's actual group--the post-rockers Fridge--and, as it happened, very little like anything else in existence. Where Dialogue employed jazz sax and flute in its evocation of a 21st-century jazz meltdown, Pause goes even further, coiling whispers of harp and zither over layer-on-layers of fidgeting, rattling percussion. His inspirations? Well, like his friend and protégé:, Canadian tech-wizard Manitoba (whose Start Breaking My Heart is easily the equal of Pause), Hebden collects sounds and melodies from a dizzying array of places--ancient British folk music, the rattle of typewriter keys, the gurgle of running water, even a field recording of a children's playground. Genius? There really is no other word for it. --Louis Pattison

Product Description
On his 2nd CD (Domino) as Four Tet, producer/mixologists/computer kid Kieran Hebden further fucks with the notion that turntablism and electronica are essentially 'nothing more than' computer music. Four Tet's Pause offers more proof that DJ culture still has plenty to offer, and that Keiran Hebden is just getting started in his experimentation with trans-cultural electronica.

Pause

Tracks:

Glue Of The World
Twenty Three
Harmony One
Parks
Leila Came Round And We Watched A Video
Untangle
Everything Is Alright
No More Mosquitoes
Tangle
You Could Ruin My Day
Hilarious Movie Of The 90's

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Kieran Hebden is, it has to be said, something of a genius. The groundwork for Pause was laid when Dialogue--his debut solo album under the guise of Four Tet--landed in 1999, an album that redrew the parameters of inventive dance music. A peculiar mix of live-sounding instrumental jazz and technologically super-precise laptop dance trickery, it sounded nothing like Hebden's actual group--the post-rockers Fridge--and, as it happened, very little like anything else in existence. Where Dialogue employed jazz sax and flute in its evocation of a 21st-century jazz meltdown, Pause goes even further, coiling whispers of harp and zither over layer-on-layers of fidgeting, rattling percussion. His inspirations? Well, like his friend and protégé:, Canadian tech-wizard Manitoba (whose Start Breaking My Heart is easily the equal of Pause), Hebden collects sounds and melodies from a dizzying array of places--ancient British folk music, the rattle of typewriter keys, the gurgle of running water, even a field recording of a children's playground. Genius? There really is no other word for it. --Louis Pattison

Customer Reviews:

*click click*.......2006-05-13

Computer keyboard is the main instrument. Its a great background to my day.

oops! my bad.......2006-02-19

i seem to have made a mistake. my earlier review of this cd was meant for the everything ecstatic cd which i did not care for. pause on the other hand, i liked very much and easily give four stars. seriously.....really.....honestly......

Everyday Pleasures.......2005-09-30

I'm a newcomer to this genre, so I only feel comfortable expressing a rather limited, personal observation on this wonderful music (I'm reviewing Pause here as well). I originally bought this because I was intrigued by the song selection on Four Tet's Late Night Tales. Ever since the early 70s I've loved what used to be called British Folk/Rock (Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Incredible String Band, Steeleye Span, early Strawbs, etc.) and was fascinated by the idea that a young person nowadays would draw on these bands as influences. Hebden manages to capture the "feel" of much of the music of these great artists much more convincingly than I would have thought. But what really blows me away about this music is precisely what some criticize it for: it's pervasive quality of everyday normalcy. The thing is, a sane everyday "normalcy" is anything but normal nowadays. Somehow, this fragile, delicate music--every time I listen to it-- gives me hope that everything will be all right, and that the smallest things can give infinite pleasure when the big things are eluding you at the moment. It IS, somehow, Spring or Autumn music just as "In the Court of the Crimson King" is Winter music. And it reminds me of just sitting around and being totally blissed out by the things that go on around you everyday. As another reviewer observantly noted, a little like Boards of Canada without the occasional vague, sinister undertone. Hebden also uses acoustic instruments and percussion very skillfully (and very beautifully), often to carry the main theme through his calm, electronic wanderings. This seems to be aimed at a younger audience than me, but too bad, I'm a complete fan. When you're in the mood, nothing else will do. BTW, in my opinion Pause is more unified and the musical ideas somewhat more memorable. Both are highly recommended (4.5 stars). I hope for something more monumental, on the order of FSOL's "Lifeforms," in the near future. Given what seems to be Hebden's character, however, I very much doubt if he'll ever get to "Dead Cities."

tries to be, falls short.......2005-08-04

I bought this album purely on the reviews. I had never actually heard the sounds of Four Tet before. After listening to the album about a dozen times, I can hear bits and pieces of Arovane and other IDM labels, but Four Tet fails to develop any of these sounds to any meaningful capacity. I wouldn't buy this album again, now that I've heard it. Of course, YMMV.

Careful... (3.5 stars).......2005-01-26

For everyone who enjoyed "Rounds" and is considering "Pause" in hopes it will deliver on the same level, I urge you to spend your money elsewhere. This CD is good, but disappointing when compared to a great record like "Rounds". The structure and sound of the albums are so similar that "Pause" can't help but sound like an inferior version of "Rounds," which completely expands upon every one of "Pause"'s ideas. This is not to say that "Pause" is not an enjoyable listen, but after giving it a few spins, I have had no desire to keep it in any kind of rotation in my collection. Why not spend the money on something more worthwhile? Some superior albums in the same general genre are: Delarosa and Asora's "Agony Pt. 1", Dntel's "Life Is Full of Possibilities," and Mouse on Mars' "Idiology"...

Schumann: Carnaval; Brahms: "Paganini" Variations; Bach-Busoni: Chaconne

Average customer rating:

One of the one hundred recordings in any age

Schumann: Carnaval; Brahms: "Paganini" Variations; Bach-Busoni: Chaconne

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Vol. 2 [Germany]
Mussorgsky: The Nursery: Sunless; Songs and Dances of Death

ASIN: B0001O3YGC
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Tracks:

Chaconne
Theme
Variations I-VIII
Variations X-XII
Variations I & II
Variations V-VIII
Variations X-XIII
Variations III & IV
Variations XIII & XIV
No.38: Wintertime
No.37: Sailors' Song
1. Preambule
2. Pierrot
3. Ariequin
4. Valse Noble
5. Eusebius
6. Florestan
7. Coquette
8. Replique
9. Papillons
10. A.S.C.H. - S.C.H.A. (Lettres Dansantes)
11. Chiarina
12. Chopin
13. Estrella
14. Reconnaissance
15. Pantalon Et Colombine
16. Valse Allemande
17. Paganini (Intermezzo)
18. Aveu
19. Promenade
20. Pause
21. Marche Des 'Davidsbundler' Contre Les Philistins
No.39: Wintertime

Customer Reviews:

One of the one hundred recordings in any age.......2005-04-26

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli felt an obssesive fascination by these three piano works.
This Chaconne performing maintains the perfect balance between the mistery and the elusiveness, in fact Benedetti gradually increases the tension level to unexpected heights. I got the Busoni version with this piece and Michelangeli gets very very close in idiomatic expresiveness.
The Carnaval was his glorious triumph in the famous London Recital in 1957. He recorded it several times. And recently I got a new perfomance recorded in Lugano where he makes with this work an absolute journey to the purest romatic tradition and far beyond.
Finally the Paganini Variations was another battlehorse for this legendary pianist. Benedetti remarks the dark side of the score with notable wisdom, and accents as anyone else the charming and rapture lyrical mood that Brahms knew to use so well. It's very difficult to play any Brahms variation due you must be inmersed in the real intention of every variation.
This Remastered album is a reference must for any serious collector item of refined taste and sensibility.
An authentic file tresure!

Average customer rating:

I expected good music from one parent to another parent
A truly gifted artist who has an unbelievable voice
It's a beautiful album
Great if you are a new parent...
lovely years, voice, lyrics and music = er, lovely!

The Lovely Years
Fisher
Manufacturer: Iris Records Label
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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One
Uppers & Downers
True North
Angels & Demons
Bleeding Heart Graffiti

ASIN: B0008G2IH4
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Tracks:

Beautiful Life
Biggest Fan
All I Ask
The Lovely Years
Be Here
Now I Know
Sleepy Head
Turn Around
So Much
Surrender
You

Customer Reviews:

I expected good music from one parent to another parent.......2007-05-03

While her vocals are great (and very reminiscent of a blend of Alanis Morissette and Sarah McLachlan) and I did expect a collection of songs from the heart of a parent, I was disappointed to find language that would require a bar of soap in a household of children. I can't play this when my kids are around! What's the point in that?

A truly gifted artist who has an unbelievable voice.......2006-01-30

I discovered Kath Fisher on itunes and fell in love with her album "One". Her voice is truly her instrument, so controlled and multi-layered, soulful and capable of long notes and belts. She has a good range, with shades of Tori, Alanis, but with a deep tone that makes her truly unique. Her lyrics are cool, with an enunciation that makes them understandable. Her tunes are catchy, but not your typical radio pop, though I have heard her on San Diego radio. Standouts include "I will love you" on ONE; I love "Beautiful Life" which you may recognize from the Toyota commerical; and "The Lovely Years" from the new album of the same name. I actually have all of her albums, and all songs are just great. UPPERS AND DOWNERS is an album of 1/2 quick tempo songs and 1/2 slower songs, with lots of covers, including a cool version of "Dream On". If you are looking for a great, but for some reason undiscovered in the mainstream true talent, you can't go wrong with Fisher. Why isn't this girl famous?

It's a beautiful album.......2005-07-20

If you like Sarah, Tori or the Indigo girls you will love this album

Great if you are a new parent..........2005-06-15

I love Fisher's music, and bought this the day it came out. The music is good, but I was a little disappointed that the theme for the album was about how wonderful it is to be parents. Not that babies aren't wonderful, they are, but if you aren't a new parent you may not relate well to this album and True North would be a better pick.

lovely years, voice, lyrics and music = er, lovely!.......2005-05-07

new moms will be particularly attracted to the pretty songs. the lullaby "you" is especially nice -- one of only two Lullaby songs to actually make me weepy-eyed thinking about my wee one (who is now 8) (the other song was "baby mine" by alison krauss)

her voice is as lush and memorable as ever, and the music and arrangements are even better than on previous works.

stand outs other than "you": "all i ask" "beautiful day" "sleepy head" "lovely years" "turn around" and "be here".

good stuff! cd universe has the cd for $3 cheaper. i guess amazon gets their shipping cost one way or another.....

Average customer rating:

See Them Live...
Great Instrumental Record
The Duo Keep On Growin'

Play Pause Stop
Benevento / Russo Duo
Manufacturer: Reincarnate Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Best Reason to Buy the Sun
The Instant Live: Paradise - Boston, MA, 12/2/05
Out Louder
Husky
Zen of Logic

ASIN: B000FVBLES
Release Date: 2006-07-11

Tracks:

Play Pause Stop
Echo Park
Soba
Best Reason to Buy the Sun
Powder
Something for Rockets
Walking, Running, Viking
Hate Frame
Memphis

Customer Reviews:

See Them Live..........2007-07-10

great album, great guys - do urself a favor and see them live. they r even better in person.

Great Instrumental Record.......2006-12-02

Though often thrown in with the jam band crowd, Benevento/Russo Duo are not truly best categorized as such. This new record is firmly steeped in rock motifs and structures yet fully incorporates jazz sensibilities. These are solid songs that capture the head as well as the heart. Will certainly appeal to fans of Silver Ray and other instrumental acts. Highly recommended.

The Duo Keep On Growin'.......2006-07-12

Play Pause Stop is a natural progression for Marco Benevento and Joe Russo. It's of a piece with their previous studio work Best Reason to Buy the Sun(the new one actually contains the song by that title?!), but in contrast, this new one, equally well-recorded in terms of sound quality, flows more than it rocks. But it's as good on headphones as it is filling your living room--or motor vehicle--and constitues a near-irresistible invitation to see The Duo in live performance

Average customer rating:

An Awkward Pause
Nurse with Wound
Manufacturer: Durtro / Jnana
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Drunk with the Old Man of the Mountains
Soliloquy for Lilith

ASIN: B000K7UG5W
Release Date: 2006-12-05

Tracks:

Intravenous
Two Shaves and a Shine (Concerto for Bouzouki and 3 Piece Rock Group in
Penis Fruit Loop
Lunar Cement Sidewalk
Mummer's Little Weeper

Tracks:

Mummer's Little Weeper [Kinky Whim Demo][*]
Intravenous [Unrefined Component No. 1][*]
Disposition One [*]
Intravenous [Unrefined Component No. 2][*]
Disposition Two [*]
Penis Fruit Loop [Bald and Beardless Version][*]
Intravenous [Plump Aerospheric Mix][*]
Disposition Three [*]
Intravenous [Unrefined Component No. 3][*]
Two Shaves and a Shine [Original Archaic Demo][*]
Two Shaves and a Shine (Ingredients) Create Your Own Track! [*]
Two Shaves and a Shine [Bastard Disco Version][*]
Mummer's Little Weeper [Mud Ooze Sloth Mix][*]

Schumann: The Complete Piano Works (Box Set)

Average customer rating:

Good for the rare pieces.....but...
Mystery Solved
Mystery meat

Schumann: The Complete Piano Works (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Nuova Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fugues | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000058THK
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Customer Reviews:

Good for the rare pieces.....but..........2006-11-08

Overall, you will be hard up to find a more thoroughly complete two hand piano survey of Schumann's piano opus. However, for the more "popular" pieces such as the op 17, or the kinderszenen, these are decent to mediocre versions are best. They arent bad, Jorg Demus is a skilled pianist, though has always in my view been more successful in a supporting role, as evidenced by his masterful accompaniment in Dichterliebe and assorted Schubert lieder. If you are familiar with Richter's masterful Schumann interpretations-or Horowitz for many of the works, or Lupu, Argerich, these pale in comparison. If you are out for quantity-I would recommend the Ashkenazy set-though it is incomplete. Again, many of the works by schumann that you can only find here will only be of interest to the absolute Schumannaholic, which I am, but it is kind of a two way street because if you are a schumann madman, then you will know how third tier these performances truly are.

Mystery Solved.......2006-10-07

First off, thanks to WTA for his extremely thoughtful and comprehensive review, which helped me decide to purchase this Nuova Era set (his reasoning about the unlikelihood that Demus would record this huge corpus again was especially insightful).

I own the original 20-LP/6-volume Musical Heritage Society set issued between 1971 and 1973. Having seen the CD set in a store last year, I was puzzled about whether it was a transfer of these invaluable discs, which contain vast tracts of Schumann that you will be hard pressed to find elsewhere (included, for instance, are several posthumously issued works and even a few pieces played from unpublished manuscripts). WTA's review gave me enough clues to suspect that these discs were exactly what I'd been waiting for.

Having just received them, I'm happy to confirm that they are indeed the MHS performances (minus most of the four-hand works, however; see below). I instantly recognized the character of the piano sound and the recording acoustic (both much improved on CD), and a quick check of rhetorical gestures in a sonata movement that I especially value in Demus's hands showed the CD and LP versions to be identical. MHS did not always provide track timings for individual sections of the big piano suites. But where such detail exists, respective CD and LP timings are consistently mere seconds apart -- easily the result of different engineering choices for silent lead-ins and lead-outs to each track.

A further clue comes from a small note on the jewel-box tray inserts, indicating a 1989 digital remastering. I can think of no fully digital (DDD) recording that would be getting remastered so early in CD history. Anything from the '80s would almost certainly be making its first appearance in the new storage medium. Moreover, the sound has none of the hallmarks of DDD recordings (as WTA notes, for instance, Demus's recordings have detectable [but nonintrusive] background hiss).

So for all these reasons, I feel confident in declaring that this set is basically the old MHS offering. There are two sad omissions, however:

(1) The CD set includes all the solo pieces in the LP set, as well as a short, posthumously published F-minor Scherzo on CD 12 that MHS seems to have left out. Nuova Era, alas, omits the vast majority of the often-delightful four-hand works, for which Norman Shetler joined Demus (most of these items appeared in MHS's five-disc finale). The Sketches for Pedal Piano, Opp. 56 & 58, are here (perhaps because they were originally conceived for a now-forgotten solo instrument that had a pedalboard [Alkan was said to have been its greatest master]; on a modern instrument, Schumann's pedal-piano music thus takes two pianists), but -- shame on Nuova Era! -- Shetler gets no credit as the second pianist. If you'd like a fine but inexpensive tour of the four-hand output, try the three-disc VoxBox ("Schumann Complete Works For Piano 4-Hands") featuring Peter Frankl, Andras Schiff, et al.

(2) The CD set lacks the superb MHS album notes by Douglas Townsend. Also missing is Demus's own illuminating statement about recording these works across a span of about three years. These are thoroughly digested interpretations: Demus not only memorized every note but also played every last work in concert. Complete recordings like this one are not necessarily commercial gimmicks, as some so carelessly assert. A serious and sensitive musician who takes on such a task will uncover secrets and interconnections that only exposure to a composer's full output in a given area can progressively disclose. As Demus explains (in Herman Adler's translation from the German), "Only by knowing Schumann's creative output in its totality has it been possible to uncover fresh facets in overfamiliar standard works. [. . .] In the music of no other composer do we find as many cross-relations and associations throughout his work. Schumann likes to quote himself as well as other composers, as did, later, his French brother-in-spirit, Claude Debussy. [. . .] Only knowledge of this entire universe will result in something I would call *Stilsicherheit* (stylistic assurance)."

But let's not dwell on what's *not* here. As WTA observes, this is a deeply rewarding collection that every serious Schumann-lover will want to explore. Are these performances the last word on Schumann's poetic realm? Of course not: no such "last word" exists. The essential thing is that throughout this enormous journey, Demus never falsifies the music, and he plays with an honesty that can be far more illuminating than flashier approaches.

So, Schumann-lovers, get this set as cheaply as you can -- but one way or another, get it while you can!

Mystery meat.......2006-04-10

I don't think I've ever before experienced such frustration in trying to assess a product. Here a well-regarded and fairly well-known pianist sits down and records all (even that's up for grabs) the piano music of a pretty well-known and well-regarded composer and barely a peep out there in Internet land.

What I did encounter after a lot of searching, and according to different reviewers who deigned to barely mention this bulky and hard-to-ignore boxed set, was this dopey basketful of professional opinions:

1) The recording quality was poor according to one guy
2) The piano was out of tune according to some editor who happened to also be a piano tuner
3) The music was criminally recorded using a piano with beat hammers and strings
4) Demus may or may not have recorded the set with a period instrument that also may have had beat hammers and strings
5) Nobody should record Schumann on a period instrument according to another expert (without really letting us know if this was the case here)
6) The interpretations were wooden
7) The interpretations were fabulous despite the crappy sound and beat up old out-of-tune piano
8) Nobody was sure if this was his complete Schumann recorded in the 1970s and released on Musical Heritage or these were new DDD recordings as listed

OK--as the notes with this set absolutely stink and no one out in Internet land seems to have any consistent and coherent thing to say about it, this then is my judgement, based on careful listening and a few intelligent guesses.

1) The interpretations are great, wonderful, really enjoyable, idiomatic--some might consider them slightly wooden because there's next-to-no pedal which leads me to believe it is a period instrument he's recorded on. This isn't Argerich slamming away at these so don't expect that. Yamaha fans will be disappointed. Demus clearly knows his Schumann and plays crisply and accurately.
2) The sound quality, while hardly SACD, is just fine and, again if this is a period instrument and I sure tend to think so, what I'm hearing would be about right. I rather like the engineering as the result is intimate and warm
3) Honestly, did Demus record all these in the 1970s without them getting any attention and then do it all over again in the 1980s just to get ignored again? I hear distinct tape hiss if I listen closely, this doesn't sound like a 1989 DDD recording (which the box claims it to be) which is probably why the recording has some warmth and (audible tape hiss)
4) Who am I to argue with an editor/piano tuner but if this piano is out of tune I'm not noticing it one zot. Also, didn't they tune pianos a little differently way back in 1850 or so?

SO--I'll guess this is the complete piano music of Robert Schumann (perhaps minus one small piece according to yet another miffed commentator, although he keeps talking about a 12 CD set and this has 13 discs!)recorded in the 1970s with Jorg Demus playing a piano built around 1850 or so with everything that implies. I'll also guess that a lot of reviewers out there, left to fend for themselves without some promotional sheet from the label, maybe without even free promo copies, were really reaching a bit. Even if I'm wrong I seem to be doing better than the second-guessing I found elsewhere and anyway the result is really enjoyable. I simply like this set a lot even if someday I may discover it is, in fact, Ernest Borgnine playing a badly tuned pool hall upright in 1953. Less than no stars to Nuovo Era for never seeming to get the presentation of this delightful set right--license it to Brilliant and they'll do it up properly for Pete's sake and maybe you'll actually sell a few. They might even be able to kick down that DDD tape hiss a bit. It's also too danged expensive given even the putative late recording date--it shouldn't be more than $120 under any circumstances. I got mine for less than $40 at a classical cut-outs and deletions place.

Conclusion: This whole situation is sad. Jorg Demus is a great pianist and he obviously loves Schumann. Schumann's piano music is worth the effort. This should be a well-known and highly-regarded set and I'm happier with this than with any other big box of piano I may own, short of a Brahms set.

The Hyperion Schubert Edition 25 - Die schöne Müllerin / Bostridge, Fischer-Dieskau, Johnson

Average customer rating:

Big Surprise in this Schubert Series.
a voice teacher and early music fan
Youthful Voice
All could have been well if not one thing....
Disappointment

The Hyperion Schubert Edition 25 - Die schöne Müllerin / Bostridge, Fischer-Dieskau, Johnson
Franz Schubert , Ian Bostridge , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , and Graham Johnson
Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002ZFJ
Release Date: 1996-04-10

Tracks:

Die schone Mullerin: Der Dichter, als Prolog
Die schone Mullerin: Das Wandern
Die schone Mullerin: Wohin?
Die schone Mullerin: Halt!
Die schone Mullerin: Danksagung an den Bach
Die schone Mullerin: Am Feierabend
Die schone Mullerin: Der Neugierige
Die schone Mullerin: Das Mben
Die schone Mullerin: Ungeduld
Die schone Mullerin: Morgengru
Die schone Mullerin: Des M Blumen
Die schone Mullerin: Trnregen
Die schone Mullerin: Ein ungereimtes Lied
Die schone Mullerin: Mein!
Die schone Mullerin: Pause
Die schone Mullerin: Mit dem gr nen Lautenbande
Die schone Mullerin: Der Jr
Die schone Mullerin: Eifersucht und Stolz
Die schone Mullerin: Erster Schmerz, letzter Scherz
Die schone Mullerin: Die liebe Farbe
Die schone Mullerin: Die bFarbe
Die schone Mullerin: Bn Vergissmein
Die schone Mullerin: Trockne Blumen
Die schone Mullerin: Der Mund der Bach
Die schone Mullerin: Des Baches Wiegenlied
Die schone Mullerin: Der Dichter, als Epilog

Amazon.com

Volume 25 in Hyperion's complete Schubert song edition consists of the famous song cycle Die schöne Müllerin (which sounds just awful when you translate it into "The Pretty Lady Miller"). Tenor Ian Bostridge made quite a splash with his singing of this work, though the recording is not as flattering as others in this series. An interesting gimmick is Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau's reading of the poems that Schubert didn't set. If you don't like this little touch, you can skip those tracks. Johnson's notes are incredible--a veritable tome, no less. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Big Surprise in this Schubert Series........2006-07-06

'The Hyperion Schubert Edition Complete Songs Nr. 25 Die Schone Mullerin' was quite a surprise when it was first released. I still remember that in the Brit music journals such as Grammaphone, there was much speculation as to who would perform this most important series of Lieder. This is especially true since this, 'Winterreise, and 'Schwanengesang' have been done by the foremost interpreter of Lieder, baritone, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

Lo and behold, the series major domo, Graham Johnson has double teamed us with the Lieder being sung by new (at the time of release)tenor Ian Bostridge, with introductory material being read by Fischer-Dieskau himself.

I have heard Fischer-Dieskau's 'Die Schone Mullerin' and the interpretation is impeccable, but I really prefer the tenor range over the baritone for these songs.

I notice that Bostridge has recorded this same series for London, and I have not heard this recording, but I firmly endorse this rendition, especially if, like me, you are in love with big, uniform collections of musical works.

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2006-03-25

The story of the beautiful maid of the mill (its origin unknown)has been used by various composers through the years, In fact, Schubert may have heard it first in a Paisiello Opera entitled: La Belle Molinara. Each song in the cycle is a "gem" portraying all the varied moods of a lover yearning for his desire, but not attainable. As in many Schubert songs "Nature" is much in evidence such as in "Wohin" when the lover talks to the babbling brook. Included on this disc are six other poems by Wilhelm Muller that have not been set to music. They are read by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau who was originally slated to make this recording, but circumstances prevented it and then he retired in his seventieth year; after dominating the world of Lieder for over forty years. He happily agreed to do the reading of the six poems on this disc. The 20 songs are: Das Wandern(wandering)-Wohin? (where to?)- Halt (halt)-Danksagung (Thanksgiving to the brook)-Am Feierabend(after work)-Der Neugierige(the inquisitive one)--Ungeduld(impatience)-Morgengruss(morning greeting)-Des Mullers Blumen(the miller's flowers)-Tranenregen(shower of tears)- -Mein!(mine!)-Pause (pause)-Mit Dem Grunen Lauterbande(to accompany the lute's green ribbon)-Der Jager(the huntsman)-Eifersucht Und Stolz(jealousy and pride)- Die Liebe Farbe(the beloved colour)- Die Bose Farbe(the loathsome colour)-Trockne Blumen(withered flowers)-Der Muller Und Der Bach(the miller and the brook)-Des Baches Wiegenlied(the brook's lullaby).Who but an Ian Bostridge with his clear and sweet-sounding young voice could do justice to this beautiful music! Schubert would be pleased. No need really to comment on the excellent skilled accompaniment of Graham Johnson. This is listening pleasure of the highest quality.

Youthful Voice.......2001-09-21

This is an early Bostridge recording, and his youthful voice is a good match for this light-hearted song cycle. A charming disc, one you'll return to repeatedly.

All could have been well if not one thing...........2000-02-26

This would have been a simply phenomenal recording if Mr. Bostridge continued his collaboration with Mr. Drake. Julius Drake is not simply an "accompanist" (what an awful description of any collaborative artist) - he is a first class pianist and musician and that is why the EMI accounts are so wonderful and this one not. It suffers from a rather insensitive and crude, although very competent piano playing as well as from too "opened" miking of the piano. All that said it is still an emphatic "must have" disc!

Disappointment.......2000-01-12

Don't get me wrong - this is a good record. I love Bostridges voice, and his Schuman and Schubert records on EMI are 5 star records (so is his Britten too) but here he sounds too immature. Not only his voice, but the whole interpretation. Hope he'll make a second attempt on the work rather soon, for now I stick to DF-D.

Average customer rating:

unfortunate

Leopold Godowsky

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Scherzo | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Great Pianists (series) - Ignaz Friedman plays Beethoven, Chopin, Hummel, Mendelssohn, etc.
Benno Moiseiwitsch
Rudolf Serkin
Edwin Fischer 2
Byron Janis 2

ASIN: B00000IX8K
Release Date: 1999-05-11

Tracks:

Nocturnes: No.19 In E Minor, Op.72 No.1
Nocturnes: No.1 In B Flat Monor, Op.9 No.1
Nocturnes: No. 2 In E Flat, Op. 9 No. 2
Nocturnes: No. 4 In F, Op.15 No.1
Nocturnes: No.5 In F Sharp, Op.15 No.2
Nocturnes: No.7 In C Sharp Minor, Op 27 No.1
Nocturnes: No.8 In D Flat, Op.27 No.2
Nocturnes: No.9 In B, Op.32 No.1
Nocturnes: No.11 In G Minor, Op.37 No.1
Nocturnes: No.12 In G, Op.37 No.2
Nocturnes: No.14 In F Sharp Minor, Op.48 No.2
Nocturnes: No.15 In F Minor, Op.55 No.1
Etude In G Flat, Op.10 No.5 'Black Keys'
Etude In G Flat, Op.25 No.9 'Butterfly'
Scherzo No.4 In E, Op.54
'Die Schone Mullerin': Morgengruss
'Winterreise': Gute Nacht
'Rigoletto' Paraphrase

Tracks:

Carnaval: 1. Preambule
Carnaval: 2. Pierrot
Carnaval: 3. Arlequim
Carnaval: 4. Valse noble
Carnaval: 5. Eusebius
Carnaval: 6. Florestan
Carnaval: 7. Coquette
Carnaval: 8. A. Replique - B. Sphinxes
Carnaval: 9. Papillons
Carnaval: 10. A.S.C.H - S.C.H.A (Letters dansantes)
Carnaval: 11. Chiarina
Carnaval: 12. Chopin
Carnaval: 13. Estrella
Carnaval: 14. Reconnaissance
Carnaval: 15. Pantalon e Colombine
Carnaval: 16a. Valse allemande
Carnaval: 16b. Intermezzo: Paganini
Carnaval: 17. Aveu
Carnaval: 18. Promenade
Carnaval: 19. Pause
Carnaval: 20. Marche des 'Davidsbundler' contre les Philistins
Piano Sonata In E Flat, Op.81a 'Les adieux': 1. Dans Lebewohl. Adagio - Allegro
Piano Sonata In E Flat, Op.81a 'Les adieux': 2. Abwesenheit. Andante espressivo-
Piano Sonata In E Flat, Op.81a 'Les adieux': 3. Das Wiedersehn. Vivacissimamente
Ballade In G Minor, Op.24
Piano Sonata No.2 In B Flat Minor, Op.35: 1. Grave. Doppio movimento
Piano Sonata No.2 In B Flat Minor, Op.35: 2. Schervo - Piu lento - Tempo I
Piano Sonata No.2 In B Flat Minor, Op.35: 3. Marche funebre. Lento
Piano Sonata No.2 In B Flat Minor, Op.35: 4. Finale. Presto

Customer Reviews:

unfortunate.......2007-03-29

I came to this recording with high expectations because of Godowsky's reputation as "a Buddha among pianists." The recordings were a terrible let-down for two reasons.

First is that the sound quality is extremely poor, making the music difficult to listen to (and this from an avid collector of historical recordings!). The hiss/buzz is extremely loud and the tone flat and colorless.

The second is that the playing just doesn't live up to Godowsky's reputation. He always did terribly in a recording studio, and never seemed to do justice to what he was capable of in live or private performance. Godowsky himself was aware of this shortcoming; he apparently wrote in a letter shortly before his death, "Do not judge me by my recordings!"

I wouldn't recommend buying this recording unless you have a particular interest in Godowsky or are trying to compile the whole Philip's set.

Average customer rating:

Must Have- second the motion!
A must have!

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

Manufacturer: Reference Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Vivaldi for diverse instruments / PBO · McGegan
Exotic Dances from the Opera

ASIN: B00000156S
Release Date: 1993-12-17

Tracks:

Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14: Reveries-Passions
Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14: A Ball
Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14: Scene In The Country
Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14: March To The Scaffold
Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14: Dream Of A Witches Sabbath (With Orchestral Bells)
Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14: Dream Of A Witches Sabbath (With Church Bells)

Customer Reviews:

Must Have- second the motion!.......2000-09-27

Kojian and the Utah symphony deliver a performance that is second to none. And the sound! Can its recording engineer Keith Johnson, or anyone else exceed this? - Must Have-

A must have!.......2000-09-10

Just a feww words. This is absolute one of the most splendid and colourful recordings that RR had yet made. To tell the Truth, I have four of them, just because I am wondering if someday I lost one, or have one broken, I still have three more, and so on.

Average customer rating:

A Pregnant Pause
Laurie Lindeen
Manufacturer: Redeye Distribution
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story

ASIN: B00000G2C3
Release Date: 1998-08-25

Tracks:

Lies
Don't Go Out Into The Rain (You're Going To Melt)
Today
Cool Me Down
Run To Me
Poor Halley

Album Review:

Album Review

Album Review