Hommage

Hommage

Hommage

ASIN: B0007VZ8V8

Track Listings
 
1. East 9th Street
2. Naked Spirit
3. Insanity Riff
4. Sophisticated Lady
5. Clayton Gone
6. Vision
7. Rambling

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
HOMMAGE (sic) was the first and reportedly only solo piano effort in the artist's long and understated career. Recorded at the Vanguard Studio in New York City on May 19 & 20 and July 31, 1975, six of the seven tracks are Hill's original compositions. Playing his own cerebral melodies that are rhythmically and harmonically complex, it is said that "Naked Spirit" was recorded in complete darkness to let his fingers be guided by his spirit and heart.

Hommage,Andrew Hill,Test of Time Records,Jazz,Modern Creative,Pop,Post-Bop
Hommage
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A Celebration of Bill Holman's Creativity
Hommage
Bill Holman
Manufacturer: Jazzed Media
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
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  2. Up and Running
  3. Plays Well With Others
  4. Fast Track
  5. Turn up the Heath

ASIN: B000OZ2CKM
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Tracks:

  1. Raincheck
  2. Sunshinola
  3. Zamboni
  4. Bemsha Swing
  5. If You Could See Me Now
  6. Woodchopper's Ball
  7. Hommage a Woody, Pt. 1: A Man Of Few Herds
  8. Hommage a Woody, Pt. 2: Milwaukee Nights
  9. Hommage a Woody, Pt. 3: The Chopper

Album Description

"Because Bill Holman's music has layers of complexity and depth, and an unlimited shelf life, it will further reward each of us each time we hear it." -- Doug Ramsey

Follows the 2006 Grammy-nominated CD The Bill Holman Band Live, also released on Jazzed Media. Bill Holman has received over fourteen Grammy nominations during the course of his long and illustrious career in jazz!

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Celebration of Bill Holman's Creativity.......2007-05-21

Bill Holman celebrates his 80th birthday in 2007 with the release of this superb 2006 concert recording by the super-talented Bill Holman Band. (One track was recorded at the same L.A. venue in 2005). Bill Holman has been a major force in jazz arranging and composing for fifty-five years and "Hommage" is wonderful celebration of Bill Holman's creativity and jazz spirit. Holman has long mastered the balance of keeping his writing forward-looking yet firmly grounded in the swinging big band tradition. This trait is strongly in evidence on this recording. Every chart keeps the listener fully engaged. There are hard-driving standards such as Billy Strayhorn's "Raincheck", Monk's "Bemsha Swing" (which the band really digs into), a surprising remake of "Woodchopper's Ball", and a moving ballad reading of "If You Could See Me Know" (featuring an outstanding solo by trumpeter Ron Stout). Holman stretches but never loses the listener with advanced original charts such as "Sunshinola" (based on "You Are My Sunshine") and the memorable "Zamboni" which will bring a smile to the face of anyone who is familiar with the ice-rink surfacing machine. The title chart "Hommage a Woody" is a twenty-minute three-part suite in honor of Woody Herman written nearly twenty years ago for the German WDR Big Band. Originally featuring Buddy DeFranco on clarinet, this version features the virtuoso clarinet of Bob Efford throughout. While this intriguing suite evokes something of the Herman sound in places, it is certainly no copy of the Herd's styles, but rather reflects Holman's own creativity as inspired by the Herman Herds. Holman leads the Band and Efford in a breathtaking performance.

Other outstanding soloists in the band include trumpeters Jonathan Dane (a particularly interesting new voice) and Larry Lunetta, saxophonists Pete Christlieb, Lanny Morgan and Bruce Babad, pianist Christian Jacob, and trombonist Dave Ryan. The rhythm section of Jacob, Joel Hamilton on bass and Kevin Kanner on drums swings hard and brings great vitality to Holman's challenging charts.

Very well recorded, Bill Holman's 68 minute "Hommage" is highly recommended to fans of modern big band jazz. This fine Jazzed Media release will undoubtedly be one of the top big band jazz releases of 2007.
György Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duets - Arditti String Quartet
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Important, but not as interesting as the vocal works.
  • Not really my style...
  • String works, includes his must-have glorious Second Quartet
  • Great Recordings of Modern String Quartets
  • you must listen to Ligeti.
György Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duets - Arditti String Quartet
Gyorgy Ligeti , David Alberman , Irvine Arditti , Garth Knox , Rohan deSaram , and Arditti String Quartet
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  1. György Ligeti Edition 3: Works for Piano (Etudes, Musica Ricercata) - Pierre-Laurent Aimard
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  3. Ligeti: Mechanical Music
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  5. György Ligeti Edition 6: Keyboard Works (Piano, Harpsichord, Organ) - Irina Kataeva / Pierre-Laurent Aimard / Elisabeth Chojnacka / Zsigmond Szathmáry

ASIN: B0000029OY
Release Date: 1997-01-21

Tracks:

  1. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Allegro Grazioso
  2. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Vivace, Capriccioso
  3. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Adagio, Mesto
  4. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Presto
  5. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Andante Tranquillo
  6. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Tempo Di Valse, Moderato, Con Eleganza, Un Poco Capriccioso
  7. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Allegretto, Un Poco Gioviale
  8. String Quartet No. 1 'Metamorphoses Nocturnes': Prestissimo
  9. String Quartet No. 2: Allegro Nervoso
  10. String Quartet No. 2: Sostenuto, Molto Calmo
  11. String Quartet No. 2: Come Un Meccanismo Di Precisione
  12. String Quartet No. 2: Presto Furioso, Brutale, Tumultuoso
  13. String Quartet No. 2: Allegro Con Delicatezza
  14. Hommage A Hilding Rosenberg
  15. Balada Si Joc: Balada Andante
  16. Balada Si Joc: Allegro Vivace
  17. Andante And Allegretto: Andante Cantabile
  18. Andante And Allegretto: Allegretto Poco Capriccioso

Amazon.com essential recording

This is a fine collection of moving, muscular performances by this seminal postwar composer. Surely the best known of the works on this disc is the Second String Quartet, one of the masterpieces of 20th-century music--although you might not know it's a masterpiece until the heartbreaking last movement. But the First String Quartet, written before Ligeti emigrated from Hungary to the West, is fascinating: it shows Ligeti working through the influence of Bartók, particularly Bartók's Third and Fourth Quartets--music Ligeti knew only silently, from the score, since performances of Bartók's music were banned by the Hungarian communist regime. This excellent recording provides a complete overview of Ligeti's compositional career through the medium of string chamber music, from homages to Bartók to the achievement of Ligeti's own groundbreaking style. --Joshua Cody

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Important, but not as interesting as the vocal works........2006-08-30

Sony's "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duos" is the first in this series of, I believe, complete works by Ligeti, but it is always the third or fourth disk I go to whenever I get around to listening to Ligeti once again, about once every year.

To me, the average amateur 'classical music' consumer, it is interesting, imaginative, and certainly 'new' when compared to 19th and early 20th century music, but it just doesn't seem to have the same cachet as the vocal works. While I would sooner listen to Ligeti's vocal works than most other modern music, I actually prefer Bartok, Berg, and Schoenberg for their instrumental works.

I agree with the top reviewer that the String Quartet No. 2 is the hit of the disk, but it doesn't blow me away in the same way that 'Lux Aeterna' does. That may be just the '2001' factor at work, but there you have it.

Still excellent and still evocative of other modernists, not the least of whom is Frank Zappa.

3 out of 5 stars Not really my style..........2006-08-23

This is a little too avant garde for me. I like my classical music to be just that: classical.

I bought the CD but I am returning it. Ligeti is very talented but his music (to me) is only tolerable in short bursts. I couldn't see myself listening to the whole CD time and again.

5 out of 5 stars String works, includes his must-have glorious Second Quartet.......2004-12-07

Sony's "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 1: String Quartets and Duos" is the first disc of the 13-volume series--continued after the 8th installment by Teldec's "The Ligeti Project"---of Gyorgy Ligeti's collected works in performances overseen by the composer itself. It collects his impressive two strings quartets, a brief birthday greeting to another composer, a work inspired by an ethnomusical stint in Romania, and another early work. The works are performed by the Arditti Quartet, who have done so much to provide satisfying and lasting performances of modern string repetoire.

String Quartet No. 1 ("Metamorphoses nocturnes") was written between 1953 and 1954, as the composer was struggling to express himself creatively in Stalinist Hungary. The work shows clear inspiration from Bartok's third and fourth quartets, which Ligeti knew only from their score as they had been suppressed. Similarly, Ligeti had no hope his own work would be performed, and it was written essentially "for his desk drawer". Ironically, when Ligeti submitted the piece to a Western competition, it was deemed too traditional for recognition. This first string quartet is a study in the juxtaposition of unlike sections; under a thin verneer of normality, the music is heterogenous. I think this is a fine work, and it is one of the composer's few pre-emigration pieces that do not sound like juvenalia in comparison with his later works.

String Quartet No. 2 (1968) was composed long after Ligeti's move to the West and so is entirely avant-garde, linked with the techniques of his other works of the 1960's. Ligeti was quite proud of this piece, claiming it as his favourite of his works of the time, and feeling that he had made a permanent contribution to the string quartet tradition. The work is indeed a part of his micropolyphonic style of the 1960's, but there is a great deal more here. It is a twitching, paranoid, nervous, neurotic piece with a grimy, constantly shifting texture, like the soundtrack to a Kafka story. It really must be heard to be believed, and this second quartet is the high point of this disc.

"Hommage a Hilding Rosenburg" for violin and cello (1982) is a short birthday greeting to that Swedish composer. It is the least important work on the disc and is really nothing more than something of a fanfare.

"Balada si joc" for two violins (Romanian "Ballad and dance", 1950) is a short string duet inspired by Ligeti's time spent in Romania collecting folk music during his music studies. The result uses no actual folk material, but is an authentic imitation of the music Ligeti encountered both in his boyhood and in his return to Transylvania at this later time. When it was later expanded to use an orchestra, it became the first two movements of his "Concert Romanesc" (found on "The Ligeti Project II"). The string duet, however, manages to create with but two instruments nearly the same moving passion as the later orchestration. The following "Andante and Allegretto" for string quartet (1950) is another early work, again inspired by folk music. It is not as successful as "Balada si joc", indeed even forgettable.

While there are other recordings of these works available, such as the recent recordings reissued in Deutsche Grammaphon's "Echo 20/21" series, this performance by the Arditti Quartet can certainly be seen as definitive. It takes a lot of talent to please Ligeti, one of the most demanding composers, especially in a crushingly difficult work like the second string quartet.

While I think "Gyorgy Ligeti Edition 3: Piano Works" or "The Ligeti Project IV" are better places to begin on this series of Ligeti's collected works, this set of string works should be one of the first Ligeti works you buy, especially for the String Quartet No. 2.

5 out of 5 stars Great Recordings of Modern String Quartets.......2004-08-07

For those of you who haven't experienced Ligeti, this is the CD to purchase, especially if you like string quartets. If you're not accustomed to 20th century music, keep an opened mind and I promise you'll really enjoy his music.

The recording of the 2nd quartet is, as usual with the Arditti Quartet, phenomenal, but what makes this recording is their production of his 1st quartet. The performance is very clean and precise, yet still very musical. Most impressive of all, Arditti stays true to Ligeti's tempi, including the blistering tempo of the end!

As an added bonus, there are two very delightful duets for violins, which are very tonal and based on Hungarian folk tunes (these were written as part of graduation from the Budapest Academy of Music).

5 out of 5 stars you must listen to Ligeti........2004-03-06

Listening to Ligeti has been invaluable, for his music has brought me to a higher level of musical understanding. Just listen to these string quartets, for example. The aggressive, chromatic Bartokian first string quartet is incredible by itself. But then the ever-transforming second quartet is ever better, musically enlightening and original and yet still a work of passion. Ligeti describes the piece's nature as something where "there is no longer any motivic writing in this music, no contours, only sound textures, which are sometimes frayed and almost fluid (as in the first and last movements) and at other times grainy and machine-like (as in the middle pizzicato movement)." The performances and recording are mind-blowing. "Add to cart."
Lamentate
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • While the music is not flawless, I'm thrilled Part is going somewhere new and strange
  • BUY NOW!!!
  • Incredibly Moving
  • a somber lament for a world of suffering
  • Arvo Part is a singular force in modern symphonic music
Lamentate
Arvo Part , Andrey Boreyko , Hilliard Ensemble , SWR Radio-sinfonieorchester Stuttgart , and Aleksei Lubimov
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000A69QCW
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Tracks:

  1. Da Pacem Domine
  2. Minacciando
  3. Spietato
  4. Fragile
  5. Pregando
  6. Solitudine-Stato D'Animo
  7. Consolante
  8. Stridendo
  9. Lamentabile
  10. Risolutamente
  11. Fragile E Conciliante

Amazon.com

The brief opening piece for chorus on this new release, "Da Pacem Domine," is based on a 9th century Gregorian work and has the usual, familiar--and very beautiful--Pärt-ian characteristics: a soft, endless stream of easy tritones and harmonies that make this plea for peace immensely moving. The major work, Lamentate, is scored for large orchestra and solo piano--a very unusual combination for Pärt. Even his fans will be surprised. In ten brief sections, it begins with a quiet drum roll, immediately followed by horn calls. There are forte explosions for full orchestra and piano, with heavy percussion. At times the only thing we hear is a hushed piano part with strings supporting very quietly. The effect is dark yet alluring. It ends peacefully. This is another stunning CD of Pärt's music for his fans--old and new. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars While the music is not flawless, I'm thrilled Part is going somewhere new and strange.......2007-06-02

This 2005 ECM disc is the latest in the label's long survey of Arvo Part and pairs two pieces from the Estonian composer. Like the earlier Orient & Occident disc, this one shows Part trying to set off in a bold new direction while at the same time preserving those elements of his personal musical language that have gained him such a wide following.

Part wrote "Lamentate" for piano and orchestra (2003) after encountering Anish Kapoor's installation "Marsyas" in the Tate Gallery in London. "Marsyas" is a remarkable work, and I urge the reader to search for photographs of it. When viewing it, Part felt acutely reminded of his own mortality and confronted with the problem of how to make something of his life in the face of death. The title of the resulting concerto of sorts refers to this, Part calls the piece a "lamentation for the living".

"Lamentate" is written for a massive orchestra, but these great forces make an appearance only in the first two movements. Appropriately titled "Minacciando" and "Spietato", these roll out thundering percussion and unusually "dissonant" harmonies for a Part work. Once the piano enters, the ensemble drops to strings and spare percussion, and the language returns to the crystalline tones and minor feeling of Part's typically writing. Programmatically the work is intriguing. Fans of contemporary music already know plenty of concertos where the soloist represents the noble individual against the oppression of the mob--Carter's for piano, Lutoslawski's for cello, and a number by Schnittke are typically examples. Part himself has written such a concerto before in "Credo" for piano and orchestra of 1968. Here, however, I get the feeling that the piano is not alone in his struggle--Part simply choose to concentrate on its line--and the strings represent myriad other souls hoeing their own hard rows, their line's not coming into contact with the piano's but just as poignant.

The piece features much elegant orchestration and a fine sense of drama, but my sole reservation is the length. Some of the material in the second half could have been trimmed with no loss of effect. Nonetheless, I enjoyed "Lamentate", and think that the SWR Stuttgart Orchestra conducted by Andrei Boreyko and pianist Alexi Lubimov give a commendable performance.

The disc is rounded out by the 6-minute "Da pacem Domine" for choir a capella (2004). I've generally found Part's brief choral works unexciting, and this is no exception. However, the work does feature some subtly troubled undercurrents that confirm that conflict is back in Part's music and that the stormy lines of the concerto are no fluke. The Hilliard Ensemble are, of course, Part's hand-picked vocal ensemble, so I dare not critique their performance.

As the pieces here show the beginnings of some yet-unperfected new period, I'm not sure that this disc would be a good introduction to Part. The old Tabula Rasa disc also on ECM is the typical recommendation. Nonetheless, fans of Part should pick up LAMENTATE somewhere along the way, and it will doubtlessly leave you in suspense of where the composer is going next.

5 out of 5 stars BUY NOW!!!.......2007-04-18

This music is far too spiritually moving to pass up. From the unaccompanied choir to the chromatic climax of the orchestra, this album is a shining example of why Mr. Part is at the top of my list of modern composers.

5 out of 5 stars Incredibly Moving.......2006-11-11

Arvo Part's Lamentate is an incredibly moving work. I sat and listened to it in complete and utter awe. Arvo Part's use of color and texture throughout the orchestra is absolutely superb. The piece ranges from the somber to the highest expression of despair. There is so much emotion behind this work that I cannot even comprehend. Part's idea of a lament for the living, not the dead is a very interesting statement. Part mourns for the world that is full of suffering. This piece is absolutely amazing and the performance on this recording is phenominal. I cannot even describe in words the effect this piece had on me. I was incredibly moved.

The choral work that starts the disc is also a great example of Part's colorful harmonies. While the soprano voice is not incredibly desirable to listen to, the piece is just so pretty that it doesn't even really matter. This recording is so good. Great music by a great composer. I would recommend grabbing a few of Part's other works while you're at it.

5 out of 5 stars a somber lament for a world of suffering.......2006-02-05

"Lamentate" reminds us that Arvo Part, the Estonian composer known as a "holy minimalist," was a modernist before he was a postmodernist. The 37-minute work opens with a bang, a great rumble from percussion and a minor-key fanfare from the horns, before subsiding into more typical Partian meditations. Dissonant menace periodically returns, however, marking this as Part's most Shostakovich-like composition. Alexie Lubimov plays the ethereal, searching piano part in a piano concerto that is not a piano concerto. The SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra is directed by Andrey Boreyko, and sounds superb across the dynamic spectrum.

I had the opportunity to visit the Tate Modern on the Thames in June of 2004. The Engine Room of the former power generating station is an awesome space, and that is where Part saw the sculpture that inspired "Lamentate" in 2002 (thus the Tate in Lamentate). The premiere performance was in that space, at the foot of the sculpture "Marsyas" in February 2003 -- there is a photo of the event in the booklet. To me, this is a fascinating juxtaposition. Part's music since the mid-1970s represents a conscious rejection of the modernist avant-garde and an assertion of Orthodox religious content along with a pre/postmodern fusion of chant and other early forms with a stripped-down (minimalist) tonality. So here is Part at one of the temples of artistic modernity, drawing inspiration for his work. Adding to the fascination is my own trajectory from a heroic to a more tragic view of life, and a recognition of the primacy of the spiritual dimension.

With that I leave you to your own reflections. This is a major work from one of the major composers of our time. Thanks to ECM for championing Arvo Part and to its art department for another fine package for the sublime.

5 out of 5 stars Arvo Part is a singular force in modern symphonic music.......2006-01-30

Ever Since the Arvo Part ECM recording Tabula Rasa in 1984, the composer's profound philosophy of composition has been felt throughout the world of symphonic music.
Hommage A Piazzolla
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Wonderfully captivating music by the tango master
  • When styles mix
  • Explains It All To Those Wounded in Love
  • Great sex music! Comes from the heart!
  • Piazzolla's Unofficial Interpreter
Hommage A Piazzolla

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000005J48
Release Date: 1996-09-24

Tracks:

  1. Milonga En Re
  2. Vardarito
  3. Oblivion
  4. Escualo
  5. Histoire Du Tango: Cafe 1930
  6. Concierto Para Quinteto
  7. Soledad
  8. Buenos Aires Hora Cero
  9. Celos
  10. El Sol Sueno (Hommage A Astor Piazzolla)
  11. Le Grand Tango

Amazon.com essential recording

Gidon Kremer, who plays the standard violin repertoire so well, has remained a restless explorer of music. Here is his first album of Piazzolla arrangements, introduced by a moving and perceptive assessment of Piazzolla by composer John Adams. Kremer has completely steeped himself in the spirit of the tango, and of Piazzolla's transformation of this music into concert works. The selection (mostly larger-scale Piazzolla works), the varied arrangements, and the compelling quality of the playing make this one of the best albums of this music not involving the composer's own performances. And if you love it, you'll be glad to know that Kremer's second Piazzolla album is also available. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Wonderfully captivating music by the tango master.......2005-10-25

I was introduced to the music of Astor Piazzolla by the more than great violinist Gidon Kremer when he played a virtuosic tango as an encore. Whenever a rich new vein of wonderful music is opened to me, well, it makes for a bright and happy day. Not long after I picked up this CD and I can recommend it to you highly. This is more than just tango dance music, these are serious and contemplative compositions that use the Tango as the vehicle just as the classical and especially Baroque composers used their dance music for instrumental compositions. The music is full of mood, sensuality, rhythm, lush harmonies, dissonance, love, and pain. It is a music of contrasts and never gets too fussy or complicated. It wears its heart on its sleeve and draws us in because it is so charming.

Each piece has its own varied ensemble and the musicians in that ensemble also arrange the music for that track. Kremer leads from the violin in all of them, after all it is his album and his hommage to Piazzolla. However, the instruments used depend on the musical materials and mood of the piece. The piano is used quite a bit, and at times there are wind instruments. The bandoneón is required in tango, as well. It is a kind of concertina that was developed and made in Germany, but adopted in Argentina for the Tango. It has a wonderfully reedy sound and is played with buttons on each side of the bellows. Depending on the model, the note can change or stay the same whether you are pulling the bellows out or pushing them in, but in all of them there are two voices always at the octave and gives the bandoneón its characteristic sound.

The only composition not by Piazzolla is a very interesting tango included as a tribute to the master entitled "El sol sueño" by Jerzy Peterbushsky.

This is good music and a very enjoyable change of pace.

4 out of 5 stars When styles mix.......2005-09-07

I bought this record following a live performance by Gidon Kremer et al. at the Verbier Festival. The mixture of classical music with a dose of jazz on a Latin base produces an interesting result that is quite surprising at first. However, the more one hears, the more the result grows on the listener, just as at the live show where the audience, somewhat stunned at the outset, gave a standing ovation at the end.

Overall, the mélange is pleasant, chill listening to be appreciated by fans of any of the three styles of music.

4 out of 5 stars Explains It All To Those Wounded in Love.......2005-01-16

Ever have a moment where you loved someone so much you hated him?

Ever have a relationship you could not get out of your mouth, your mind, your heart, your system, but that you knew was over and done with forever and ever, and you'd never even see the other again?

Ever feel so happy you wanted to cry? No, sob? Wrenching, wracking sobs? From happiness, now.

Yes?

Have I got a CD for you: Hommage a Piazzolla, featuring Gidon Kremer.

Like many, I suspect, I have a mixed relationship to tango. When I put on a tango CD, I fear I'll be hearing something that sets my teeth to jangling and makes me want to slap someone in the face.

This isn't that. You could listen to most of this while sitting perfectly still, on a window sill, in fact, with the lights down low in your apartment, as you stare out at the rain-slicked city at night. A drink sits on a nearby table, unfinished...you have no will to finish it.

(It's hard not to imagine these things while listening to this music; really, it's all so poetic, cinematic, irresistable.)

At some point, though, you're probably not going to be able to sit still any more, and you'll have to put that rose in your teeth and cut a few moves.

Tango often sounds, to we non-Argentinians, like a parody of itself.

This CD does not.

Rather, when I put it on, not at all sure what to expect, I had one of those epiphanies that art can give you.

I had been brooding over a vexed relationship, one I did not understand, but knew was hurting me, not with any immediacy, but like a sore tooth that could stand to go a few more months before you get over your fear of the dentist to get it fixed.

What bugged me most of all was that I did not understand what was hurting. Rationally, I had no reason to feel troubled.

I put on this CD, with the relationship way in the back of my mind, and I just, immediately thought, "That's it. This music is explaining it all; this music is articulating everything."

Not bad.

This kind of music, music that allows in the true bittersweet of life, the unsolvable, the passion, is all too rare. If music that addresses those qualities is what you crave, this CD might be just what you need.

5 out of 5 stars Great sex music! Comes from the heart!.......2004-07-21

The music and perforamance are so sensually played and achingly beautiful, the hairs on my neck and arms stand up on end. Listen to the opening track and tell me this is not great sex music. Yes, tango is a very sensual art form and this CD is great for those very intimate moments. Of course, sex aside, the music is nothing short of a miracle unto itself. That I was to discover this CD just last year meant I was without it for 7 years since it was released. My life is richer for this and other Piazzolla works done by Kremer.
This CD has become one of those "island" CDs that you would take if you wer so to become deserted on one. You should be so lucky!

5 out of 5 stars Piazzolla's Unofficial Interpreter.......2001-04-12

I first became aware of this CD several years ago as its melancholy strains wafted through the air of a bookstore through which I was browsing. My ears perked up...Piazzolla!!! Upon inquiry, I was shown the CD and I immediately purchased a copy. I couldn't wait to get home and listen to it at elevated volume. What a recording!! Kremer has captured and distilled the essence of Piazzolla's music. Every song is a masterpiece and nearly all of my favorite mid-period Piazzolla compositions are contained within. A special treat is the magnum opus which closes the set, a 12-minute rendering of Le Grand Tango with just Kremer's violin and the restrained passion of Vadim Sakharov's piano to lead your mind into another musical dimension. Gidon Kremer has since recorded a number of Piazzolla-related CDs and in so doing has set himself up as the unofficial interpreter of El Maestro's music. If you like Piazzolla, you are sure to enjoy this CD. I give it my highest recommendation.
Stories Of Schumann And Grieg
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Stories Of Schumann And Grieg

    Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    Similar Items:
    1. Story Of Chopin In Words And Music
    2. The Story Of Brahms
    3. The Story of Schubert
    4. Mendelssohn In Words And Music
    5. The Story of Tchaikovsky

    ASIN: B000001KCV
    Release Date: 1995-04-16

    Tracks:

    1. Symphony No. 3 In E-flat Major, Op. 97: 'Rhenish' - Lebhaft
    2. Andante And Variations In B-Flat Major
    3. Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13
    4. Toccata In C Major, Op. 7
    5. Kreisleriana, Op. 16
    6. Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op. 54: Allegro Vivace
    7. Carnaval, Op. 9
    8. 'Dedication', Op. 25/1
    9. Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120: Introduction - Vivace
    10. Papilons, Op. 2
    11. Op. 25-3: 'The Nut Tree'
    12. Symphony No. 3 In E-flat Major, Op. 97: 'Rhenish' - Lebhaft-Schneller
    13. Piano Quintet In E-flat Major, Op. 44: Allegro ma non troppo
    14. Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op. 54: Allegro affettuoso
    15. Carnaval, Op. 9: Waltz
    16. Album For The Young, Op. 68: The Merry Farmer
    17. Scenes From Childhood, Op. 15: Dreams
    18. Cello Concerto In A Minor, Op. 129: Nicht au schnell
    19. Symphony No. 3 In E-flat Major, Op. 97: 'Rhenish' - Feierlich
    20. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, No 1
    21. Lyric Suite, Op. 54-2: Norwegian Rustic Dance
    22. Op. 12 No. 4: Elf Dance
    23. Op. 35, No. 1: Norwegian Dances
    24. Elegiac Melodies
    25. Op. 64, No. 4: Symphonic Dances
    26. Op. 35, No. 2: Norwegian Dances
    27. Op. 5-3: 'I Love Thee'
    28. Op. 43, No. 1: Butterfly
    29. Op. 65, No. 6: Wedding Day At Troldhaugen
    30. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, No. 3: Anitra's Dance
    31. Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55, No. 4: Solveig's Song
    32. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, No. 4: In The Hall Of The Mountain King
    33. Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op. 16: Allegro moderato; Allegro marcato
    34. Holberg Suite, Op. 40: Prelude: Allegro vivace
    35. Lyric Suite, Op. 54, No. 3: Dance Of The Dwarfs
    36. Homage To Chopin
    37. Sigurd Jorsalfar Suite, Op. 56, No. 3: Homage March
    38. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: Morning Mood
    39. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: The Death Of Aase
    40. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: Anitra's Dance
    41. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: In The Hall Of The Mountain King
    42. Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55: III The Return Of Peer Gynt
    43. Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55: IV Solveig's Song
    Debussy: The Complete Piano Music
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • Debussy with a difference!
    • One Star for Charity's Sake
    • Beautifully interpreted
    • Complete Debussy
    Debussy: The Complete Piano Music

    Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    DancesDances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music
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    Similar Items:
    1. Brahms: Works for Solo Piano
    2. Debussy: Piano Works
    3. Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87
    4. Ravel: Piano Works
    5. Schubert: The Piano Sonatas

    ASIN: B0001Z2RSM
    Release Date: 2004-08-24

    Tracks:

    1. Reverie
    2. Prelude
    3. Menuet
    4. Clair De Lune
    5. Passepied
    6. Lent (Melancolique Et Doux)
    7. Tres Vite
    8. Prelude
    9. Sarabande
    10. Toccata
    11. Reflets Dans L'eau
    12. Hommage A Rameau
    13. Mouvement
    14. Cloches A Travers Les Feuilles
    15. Et La Lune Descend Sur Le Temple Qui Fut
    16. Poissons D'or

    Tracks:

    1. Arabesque No.1
    2. Arabesque No.2
    3. Danse Bohemienne
    4. Ballade Slave
    5. Tarantelle Styrienne
    6. Valse Romantique
    7. Mazurka
    8. Nocturne
    9. Danseuses De Delphes
    10. Voiles
    11. Le Vent Dans La Plaine
    12. Les Sons Et Les Parfums
    13. Les Collines D'Anacapri
    14. Des Pas Sur La Neige
    15. Ce Qu'a Vu Le Vent D'Ouest
    16. La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin
    17. La Serenade Interrompue
    18. La Cathedrale Engloutie
    19. La Danse De Puck
    20. Minstrels

    Tracks:

    1. L'isle Joyeuse
    2. Pagodes
    3. La Soiree Dans Grenade
    4. Jardins Sous La Pluie
    5. D'un Cahier D'esquisses
    6. Morceau De Concours
    7. Masques
    8. Brouillards
    9. Feuilles Mortes
    10. La Puerta Del Vino
    11. Les Fees Sont D'exquises Danseuses
    12. Bruyeres
    13. General Lavine - Eccentric
    14. Les Terraces Des Audiences
    15. Ondine
    16. Hommage A S. Pickwick Esq. PPMPC
    17. Canope
    18. Les Tierces Alternees
    19. Feux D'artifice

    Tracks:

    1. Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum
    2. Jimbo's Lullaby
    3. Serenade For The Doll
    4. The Snow Is Dancing
    5. The Little Shepherd
    6. Golliwog's Cake-Walk
    7. Hommage A Haydn
    8. Le Petit Negre
    9. La Plus Que Lente
    10. Berceuse Heroique
    11. Elegie
    12. Page D'album (Piece Pour Le Vetement Du Blesse)
    13. Pour Les Cinq Doigts
    14. Pour Les Tierces
    15. Pour Les Quartes
    16. Pour Les Sixtes
    17. Pour Les Octaves
    18. Pour Les Huit Doigts
    19. Pour Les Degres Chromatiques
    20. Pour Les Agrements
    21. Pour Les Notes Repetees
    22. Pour Les Sonoritees Opposees
    23. Pour Les Arpeges Composes
    24. Pour Les Accords

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Debussy with a difference!.......2007-03-10


    Do not let the dismissive review below make you dismiss this amazing and breath taking complete set. Like his Scriabin recordings, Gordon Fergus-Thompson works wonder with the well known piece like Clair de Lune, Arabesque and Reverie, and breathes new life into the music by his keen sense of tonal colours and delicacy. When it comes to impressionist music, no pianists can match Richter, who played Clair de Lune, Pavane or miroirs like a miracle, but Fergus-Thompson creats his own unique soundscape.

    He is one of very few pianists alive who pay careful attention to how a note produced on the instrument decays and merges with other notes, while most of pianist nowadays focus mostly on starting point of the sound. That's a secret of the richness of colours and expression in his pianism.

    He is often criticised for lack of technical prowess, compared to past masters like Gieseking or Michelangeli, but I can not detect even a hint of technical weakness or instability in this set. This is simply a different and highly personal interpretation, and it is a shame to miss out this magical music making simply because it is different from the mainstream interpretation.

    1 out of 5 stars One Star for Charity's Sake.......2007-03-01

    Avoid this set!!! The man is a gifted pianist but has no understanding on how to interpret the music. This is the nadir of all the Debussy piano sets. With Walter Gieseking's superlative set available why would you want dog food when you can eat supreme cuisine!!!

    5 out of 5 stars Beautifully interpreted.......2007-02-13

    Gordon Fergus-Thompson does an amazing job of playing and interpreting Debussy's music. I have been playing piano for years--especially Debussy--and this CD really captures the essence of the music. I'd recommend this to anyone.

    5 out of 5 stars Complete Debussy.......2006-12-13

    These recordings are some of the highest quality Debussy you'll find. There is a freedom that comes across in Fergus-Thompson's playing that you won't find in other so-called great recordings. Instead of trying to sound "Debussy-like", the music is played naturally while maintaining accuracy and original intent of the composer. Recording quality is up to date. Box set is 4 discs, with the body nicely separated into larger works with dates included.
    American Classics: Barber: COMPLETE PUBLISHED SOLO PIANO MUSIC
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Barber: genius; Pollack: great, but not as great as John Browning
    • A variety of emotions
    • Samuel Barber's Piano Music
    • What's the rush?
    • Barber at a bargain
    American Classics: Barber: COMPLETE PUBLISHED SOLO PIANO MUSIC

    Manufacturer: Naxos
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    All Works by BarberAll Works by Barber | Barber, Samuel | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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    Barber, SamuelBarber, Samuel | ( B ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
    InstrumentalInstrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
    Similar Items:
    1. Samuel Barber: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2
    2. Barber: School for Scandal/Symphonies 1 & 2
    3. Barber: Knoxville, Summer of 1915
    4. Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14; Souvenirs (Ballet Suite), Op. 28; Serenade for Strings, Op. 1; Music for a Scene from Shelley, Op. 7
    5. Barber: Violin Concerto; Cello Concerto; Piano Concerto

    ASIN: B00000GV5P
    Release Date: 1998-12-15

    Tracks:

    1. Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Allegro energico
    2. Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Allegro vivace e leggiero
    3. Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Adagio mesto
    4. Sonata for Piano, Op 26: Fuga: Allegro con spirito
    5. Excursions, Op 20: Un poco allegro
    6. Excursions, Op 20: In Slow Blues Tempo
    7. Excursions, Op 20: Allegretto
    8. Excursions, Op 20: Allegro molto
    9. Nocturne, Op 33: Moderato
    10. Three Sketches: Lovesong: Tempo di valse: Allegretto
    11. Three Sketches: To My Steinway (To No.220601): Adagio
    12. Three Sketches: Minuet: Tempo di minuetto
    13. Interlude I ('For Jeanne'): Adagio, ma non troppo
    14. Ballade, Op 46: Restless
    15. Souvenirs, Op 28: Waltz: tempo di valse, Allegro con brio
    16. Souvenirs, Op 28: Schottische: tempo si Schottische, Allegro ma non troppo
    17. Souvenirs, Op 28: Pas de deux: Adagio
    18. Souvenirs, Op 28: Two-Step: Allegro molto
    19. Souvenirs, Op 28: Hesitation Tango: Con moto
    20. Souvenirs, Op 28: Galop: Allegro molto

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Barber: genius; Pollack: great, but not as great as John Browning.......2007-05-29

    This CD includes a mini biography of the composer and a short description of each piece, which is always a plus. I am still amazed he wrote those 3 sketches at such a young age! Barber's music is always lyrical, even when it sounds a-tonal. While John Browning is the most popular interpreter of Barber's music, Pollack also does a wonderful job. The only problem I have is his playing of the Nocturne, op. 33, because he plays it very heavily and too fast, much unlike a nocturne should be.

    5 out of 5 stars A variety of emotions.......2006-11-16

    This CD collects all the published piano music of Samuel Barber, including the highly regarded masterwork SONATA, OP.26. The SONATA, in four movements, goes from the severe in the first movement to the openly joyous in the second; the third movement builds slowly to a mighty grumbling before just as slowly resigning itself to a quiet resolve. The final movement is all energy, requiring great technical prowess, which pianist Daniel Pollack has. It's an excellent performance.

    Some of the other pieces, though less demanding, are most enjoyable. The four EXCURSIONS explore "regional idioms," including boogie-woogie, the blues, and country roots (this last is delightful). The four SOUVENIRS show Barber at his most humorous: the Waltz is laugh-out-loud charming, and the Hesitation Tango is just that - and very compelling. This is an excellent CD all around, from the varied and intelligent music of Barber to the assured, lyrical interpretations by Pollack. Highly recommended.

    5 out of 5 stars Samuel Barber's Piano Music.......2003-11-26

    Samuel Barber's(1910 --1981) music is lyrical, romantic, and accessible. But his music still manages to be challenging. As is the case with many American composers, Barber tried to develop an American voice by combining art music with American themes derived from jazz and American popular culture. Again, Barber wrote in an accessible way using sophisticated 20th century compositional techniques.

    Although he did not compose a great deal of music for solo piano, much of what Barber did write is outstanding. This disc on the budget-priced Naxos label includes all of Barber's published solo piano music performed by Daniel Pollack. Pollack knows and plays this music well indeed. He performed Barber's piano sonata at the First International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in 1958. The CD includes detailed, insightful liner notes by Victor and Marina Ledin.

    Barber's piano sonata op 26 (1946) is the highlight of this disc and is a work that has become an important part of the piano repertory. The work is in four movements, and in it Barber uses an expansive musical vocabulary which includes serial composition. The work is romantic and virtuosic and immediately appealing. Vladimir Horowitz championed this music and it has been recorded many times.

    The sonata opens with a two-note falling figure with the second note heavily accented that becomes the basis for the opening allegro movement. Throughout the first movement, loud, virtuosic passages alternate with quieter sections, with feathery piano writing in the instrument's high register. The two-note figure is prominent at the end of the movement with a shift in accent to the first note of the pair. The second movement is a short, light scherzo which picks up on the quieter portions of the first movement. The third movement, an adagio, is spare and minimalist. It rises to a large climax before the music falls away pensively over a walking bass. The last movement is a fugue which begins rapidly and quickly develops to a frenzied, cataclysmic conclusion.

    The other extended works on this CD are two piano suites. The first suite, "Excursions" Op. 20 (1942-1944) was also championed by Horowitz. It consists of four movements based upon American jazz and popular song. The first movement features a syncopated theme with repeated notes over a boogie-woogie theme in the bass. The second movemement develops as a blues, with a slow-drag theme that becomes more prominent as the movement progresses. It reminded me of a Gershwin piano prelude. The third movement consists of a lyrical, rippling theme in a moderate tempo which undergoes brief variations. The final movement is a foot-stomping barn dance. The movement reminded me of a conservative Charles Ives.

    The other suite in this collection is titled "Souvenirs", op 28 (1951-1952) It consists of six short dance movements. (Barber used it for a ballet.) I loved this piece. It is deliberately anachronistic in character and is a throw-back to a hotel-style elegance just before WW I. In listening to this suite, I tried to think of the tone it intended to convey. Some people find this music light and frivolus while others find it ironic. I heard it as loving, but detached and a bit distant. Barber is trying deliberately to recreate a musical experience in an idiom that is no longer his. I think the tone is affectionate, with the music played straight (rather than satirically), but with a distinct feeling of looking back. Thus the title, "Souvenirs".

    There are a number of short pieces on this CD including three sketches dating from Barber's 13th year. I enjoyed the Nocturne which is highly chromatic (op. 33) and the late Ballade, Op. 46 among these short works.

    This disc is part of the Naxos "American Classics" series. It will allow the listener to get to know some great works of 20th century American piano music.

    2 out of 5 stars What's the rush?.......2003-10-22

    I can't tell if the overly fast tempi on much of this recording is so all the works could be jammed onto one CD, or if Mr. Pollack was dared to see how fast he could go. To be fair, he starts the Sonata at the metronome marking in the score (which some performers do not) but he doesn't keep it there. He pulls back tremendously in the second theme, then rushes through much of the closing theme so quickly as if to suggest that hearing the notes is not the important part. I'm impressed at how fast he can play certain parts (and the scherzo), but what honestly is the point? Passages in the development and coda are reduced to a blurry mash. Along with this he punches many notes (first and third movements), especially in the base, that have no need for added emphasis. Barber provided enough angularity to this piece that just playing it gets the message - and the music - across. The fourth movement, I will concede, is as admirable as any other performance.
    The rest of the works on the CD fare better - in areas where a change in tempo might be tasteful, Mr. Pollack seems invariably to push ahead but it doesn't sabotage anything as badly as the Sonata.
    Despite the tempting price, a newcomer to Barber's piano output would do better to buy John Browning's recording and come back to this one later for a different viewpoint.

    4 out of 5 stars Barber at a bargain.......2001-09-10

    Daniel Pollack has a special relationship to this music. He premiered Samuel Barber's Piano Sonata in the Soviet Union, and played it to wildly enthusiastic acclaim during the 1958 Tschaikovsky competition. That was the year Cliburn took the Gold medal, but Pollack was also a winner, and was very well received.

    I am very familiar with the Sonata. I performed it at my senior piano recital in college. I also had the pleasure of playing most of the Sonata for Daniel Pollack when I competed in a college-based piano competition. It was a special pleasure for me to learn how intimately he knows this piece. Pollack plays the Sonata with tremendous energy, brilliance and passion. The recorded sound of this Naxos CD is bright and a little too resonant for my taste. Still, the performance is thoroughly exciting, sometimes to the point of being overwhelmingly powerful (for example, at the end of the fugue).

    I own eleven recordings of the Barber Piano Sonata on CD or LP. Although Pollack's is not my first choice, his playing is so exciting and powerful that I regard his performance as special and worth having. My favorites are Cliburn and Horowitz. My other recordings include Garrick Ohlsson, Willis Deloney, two by John Browning, Leo McCawley, Earl Wild, Peter Lawson and Ruth Laredo. It would be difficult to rank these performances, as they all have something special to commend them. Pollack's passion and abandon stand out in this group.

    The other Barber works are less familiar to me, and so I am less able to comment on them. They seem beautifully played and, again, only hampered a little by the overly resonant sound.

    If one is looking for a single disc of Barber's piano music, this one would be hard to beat, especially at its budget price.
    More of the Most Relaxing Guitar Music in the Universe
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • I rate this a perfect 10 **********
    More of the Most Relaxing Guitar Music in the Universe

    Manufacturer: Savoy Jazz
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    GeneralGeneral | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music
    PianoPiano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music
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    1. Most Relaxing Guitar Music in the Universe
    2. The Most Relaxing Piano Album in the World...Ever!
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    5. The Most Relaxing Jazz Standards in the Universe

    ASIN: B000AQ69OU
    Release Date: 2005-09-13

    Tracks:

    1. Introduction Et Variation Sur L'Air 'Que Ne Suis-Je FougereI' Op.26 - Sor
    2. Cinq Preludes Pour Guitare No.4 - Villa-Lobos
    3. Variations Sur Un Theme De Django Reinhardt - Brouwer
    4. Die Post - Schubert
    5. Cinq Preludes Pour Guitare No.2 - Villa-Lobos
    6. Cancion Del Emperador - Narvaez
    7. Pavanas - Sanz
    8. Quartet No.7 III. Adagio Cantabile Sostenuto For Violin, Viola, Cello & Gutar - Paganini
    9. Studio In A Major, Op.6 No.12 Andante - Sor
    10. Lagrima - Tarrega
    11. Granada, Op.47 No.1 - Albeniz
    12. Danza - Moreno-Torroba
    13. Baden Jazz Suite 'Hommage A Baden Powell' III. Berceuse - Jirmal
    14. When The Fire Burns Low - Towner
    15. A Song Of Early Spring - Arr. Takemitsu

    Tracks:

    1. Danza Espanola - Granados
    2. Douze Etudes Pour Guitare No.8 Modere - Villa-Lobos
    3. Reverie, Op.53 No.1 Andante Sostenuto - Coste
    4. Lecon In E Major, Op.31 No.23 Mouvment De Priere Religieuse - Sor
    5. Cinq PreludesPour Guitare No.1 - Villa-Lobos
    6. Andante Extrait De La Fantasie Symphonique De L'Auteur, Op.38 - Coste
    7. Nocturno - Moreno-Torroba
    8. 7 Diferenias Sobre 'Guardame Las Vacas' - Narvaez
    9. Cinq Preludes Pour Guitare No.5 - Villa-Lobos
    10. Quartet No.1 In A Minor II. Andantino For Violin, Cello & Guitar - Paganini
    11. El Testmento D' Amelia - Folksong Of Catalan/Arr. Lobet
    12. Terzetto In D Major 1. Allegro For Violin, Cell & Guitar - Paganini
    13. Valse In E Major - Sor
    14. Cinq Preludes Pour Guitare Ne.3 - Villa-Lobos
    15. Londonderry Air - Arr. Takemitsu

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars I rate this a perfect 10 **********.......2006-02-25

    A Classical guitarist and collector of the genre, I can only rave about this cd. I purchased several of these cd's for my close friends and family. The two Paganini pieces are awsome.
    Hopefully, Denon will produce more of the same. This time they supply the names of their artists. Well Done! Bravo!
    Copland: The Young Pioneers (The Complete Music for Solo Piano)
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • American Piano Music
    • Copland's Growing Musical Style
    • great music
    Copland: The Young Pioneers (The Complete Music for Solo Piano)
    Aaron Copland , and Leo Smit (piano)
    Manufacturer: Sony
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    DancesDances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music
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    ASIN: B000002AR2
    Release Date: 1994-08-23

    Tracks:

    1. Scherzo Humoristique: The Cat and the Mouse (1920)
    2. Piano Variations (1930)
    3. In Evening Air (1966)
    4. Passacaglia (1922)
    5. Piano Sonata (1939-1941): I. Molto moderato
    6. Piano Sonata (1939-1941): II. Vivace
    7. Piano Sonata (1939-1941): III. Andante sostenuto
    8. Midday Thoughts (1944-1982)]
    9. Proclamation (1973-1982)
    10. Three Moods (1920-21): 1. embittered (November 14, 1920)
    11. Three Moods (1920-21): 2. wistful (January 8, 1921)
    12. Three Moods (1920-21): 3. jazzy (July 1921)

    Tracks:

    1. Petit Portrait (1921)
    2. Sentimental Melody (1926)
    3. Piano Fantasy (1926)
    4. Four Piano Blues (1955-57): 1. Freely Poetic
    5. Four Piano Blues (1955-57): 2. Soft and Languid
    6. Four Piano Blues (1955-57): 3. Muted and Sensuous
    7. Four Piano Blues (1955-57): 4. With Bounce
    8. Midsummer Nocturne (1947)
    9. The Young Pioneers (1935)]
    10. Sunday Afternoon Music (1935)
    11. Down a Country Lane (1962)
    12. Night Thoughts (Hommage to Ives) (1972)

    Amazon.com

    Most of this set was recorded for LP in 1978, but Leo Smit returned to the studios in 1993 to add some recently discovered short pieces. Smit, a friend of Copland and a composer himself, plays all of Copland's piano music with great comprehension. He sustains the flow throughout the difficult half-hour Piano Fantasy, though he doesn't create as much excitement in the Piano Variations as the composer did in 1935 on 78s (now on Pearl GEMM CD 9279). Much of Copland's piano music is occasional works or pieces for students, but the major works in the set make it well worth hearing. --Leslie Gerber

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars American Piano Music.......2007-02-12

    It was a pleasure to hear the complete piano music of Copland. Pianist Leo Smit brings pleasure and enlightment to the listeners ear. Who better than an American pianist to interpret the music of Copland.

    Ellis L. Marsalis, Jr

    4 out of 5 stars Copland's Growing Musical Style.......2001-11-06

    Leo Smit has done more than just give us a complete collection of the piano music of Aaron Copland. In doing so, he has also given us a sizeable record of Copland's growth as a composer stretching from the angry tones of the Passacaglia and the Piano Variations, to the majestic and sometimes poetic Piano Fantasy, and beyond. The two CD's also showcase Copland in his many moods, sometimes light hearted and fun as in the Scherzo Humoristique and the second movement of the Piano Sonata, or sometimes nostalgic as in Down a Country Lane or the third movement of the Piano Sonata. This is a must-have for all Copland fans.

    5 out of 5 stars great music.......2000-06-03

    A great buy for anyone who loves Copland or American contemporary music. Absolutely beautiful.
    Debussy & Ravel: Piano Works - Samson Francois (6 CD's)
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • great pianist!!!!
    • Yesterday Francois would be celebrating his eighty-two anniversary
    Debussy & Ravel: Piano Works - Samson Francois (6 CD's)
    Samson Francois , Claude Debussy , and Maurice Ravel
    Manufacturer: EMI Classics
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B0002RUAEM
    Release Date: 2004-11-02

    Tracks:

    1. 1. Danseuses De Delphes
    2. 2. Voiles
    3. 3. Le Vent Dans La Plaine
    4. 4. Les Sons Et Les Parfums Tournent Dans L'Air Du Soir
    5. 5. Les Collines D'Anacapri
    6. 6. Des Pas Sur La Neige
    7. 7. Ce Qu'a Vu Le Vent D'Ouest
    8. 8. La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin
    9. 9. La Serenade Interrompue
    10. 10. La Cathedrale Engloutie
    11. 11. Danse De Puck
    12. 12. Minstrels
    13. 1. Brouillards
    14. 2. Feuilles Mortes
    15. 3. La Puerta Del Vino
    16. 4. Les Fees Sont D'Exquises Danseuses
    17. 5. Bruyeres
    18. 6. General Lavine (Eccentric)
    19. 7. La Terrasse Des Audiences Au Clair De Lune
    20. 8. Ondine
    21. 9. Hommage A S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C.
    22. 10. Canope
    23. 12. Feux D'Artifice

    Tracks:

    1. 1. Reflets Dans L'eau
    2. 2. Hommage A Rameau
    3. 3. Mouvement
    4. 1. Cloches A Travers Les Feuilles
    5. 2. Et La Lune Descend Sur Le Temple Qui Fut
    6. 3. Poissons D'or
    7. Reverie
    8. 1. Andantino
    9. 2. Allegretto Scherzando
    10. La Plus Que Lente, Valse
    11. 1. Pour Les Degres Chromatiques
    12. 2. Pour Les Agrements
    13. 4. Pour Les Sonorites Opposees
    14. 5. Pour Les Arpeges Composes
    15. 6. Pour Les Accords
    16. Masques
    17. L'Isle Joyeuse
    18. Berceuse Heroique

    Tracks:

    1. 1. Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum
    2. 2. Jimbo's Lullaby
    3. 3. Serenade For The Doll
    4. 4. The Snow Is Dancing
    5. 5. The Little Shepherd
    6. 6. Golliwogg's Cake-Walk
    7. 1. Pagodes
    8. 2. La Soiree Dans Grenade
    9. 3. Jardins Sous La Pluie
    10. 1. Prelude
    11. 2. Menuet
    12. 3. Clair De Lune
    13. 4. Passepied
    14. 1. Prelude
    15. 2. Sarabande
    16. 3. Toccata

    Tracks:

    1. 1. Allegramente
    2. 2. Adagio Assai
    3. 3. Presto
    4. Lento/Allegro
    5. 1. Pavane De La Belle Au Bois Dormant - Pierre Barbizet
    6. 2. Petit Poucet - Pierre Barbizet
    7. 3. Laideronnette, Imperatrice Des Pagodes - Pierre Barbizet
    8. 4. Les Entretiens De La Belle Et De La Bete - Pierre Barbizet
    9. 5. Le Jardin Feerique - Pierre Barbizet

    Tracks:

    1. Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte
    2. 1. Modere, Tres Franc
    3. 2. Assez Lent
    4. 3. Modere
    5. 4. Assez Anime
    6. 5. Presque Lent
    7. 6. Vif
    8. 7. Moins Vif
    9. 8. Epilogue: Lent
    10. Prelude
    11. Jeux D'Eau
    12. Menuet Sur Le Nom D'Haydn
    13. 1. Noctuelles
    14. 2. Oiseaux Tristes
    15. 3. Une barque Sur L'Ocean
    16. 4. Alborada Del Gracioso
    17. 5. La Vallee Des Cloches
    18. Emmanuel Chabrier (Paraphrase Sur Un Air De Gounod)
    19. Borodine

    Tracks:

    1. 1. Ondine
    2. 2. Le Gibet
    3. 3. Scarbo
    4. 1. Modere
    5. 2. Mouvement De Menuet
    6. 3. Anime
    7. 1. Prelude
    8. 2. Fugue
    9. 3. Forlane
    10. 4. Riguadon
    11. 5. Menuet
    12. 6. Toccata
    13. Menuet Antique

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars great pianist!!!!.......2007-02-16

    samson was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century his debussy was sublime and his color palete to impresionism is unsurpassed. could someone tell me if these recordings of his debussy are the stereo ones

    5 out of 5 stars Yesterday Francois would be celebrating his eighty-two anniversary .......2006-05-19

    Samson Francois figure has evidenced slow but increasing enhancement through the years. His notable pianism, aristocratic approach and refined phrasing are some of his virtues.

    If you still do not know about this legendary artist, no itý s the time for you to convince by yourself about the supreme level occupied by him.

    When he left us in 1970 at his 46, he had so much to give. The musical world remained legitimately orphan and much more vile since his premature death.

    But, fortunately his legacy will live among us, every time you listen any record you acquire of this peerless musician.

    His Ravel is loaded not only of notable, sensual and asserive expressiveness. If you know about some other performance able to equal his Gaspard de la nuit, please, be my guest.

    His Debussy is sober, eloquent with Impresionist flair and sublime musicality.

    A true artistic and a fundamental treasure in your collection.

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