DB Error: Bad SQL Query: select node_id, node_name from uk_music where parent_node = 694208 order by node_name
Can't find file: './C222666_aws/uk_music.frm' (errno: 13)
DB Error: Bad SQL Query: select n1.node_id, n1.node_name from uk_music n1, uk_music n2 where n2.node_id = 694208 and n1.parent_node = n2.parent_node order by n1.node_name
Can't find file: './C222666_aws/uk_music.frm' (errno: 13)
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James Levine | |
|
List Price: £19.99
Our Price: £10.85
Rated: Exempt
Staring:
Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, James Morris, Jane Bunnell, Richard Croft
Director:
Brian Large
 Very strongly recommended!, 2008-11-16
This superb production is a stunning success. The entire cast sings and acts with total authority and conviction. Fleming sings beautifully (even if she does look a bit like she's walked straight out of an American soap opera), my only reservation is over James Morris, whose acting is a bit hammy (he should have made less use of his (very strange) eyebrows). Domingo overwhelms. Levine gives the music all the ferocious power it needs, with a fantastically disciplined Met orchestra. Sets and costumes strike an ideal balance between traditional and modern, sumptuous and understated. One tiny gripe - not every line in the opera is subtitled. There are some serious gaps in the subtitling. Overall verdict though: excellent - the five stars richly deserved. I cannot imagine this opera better presented.
List Price: £16.99
Our Price: £6.18
Artist:
José Carreras,
Plácido Domingo,
Luciano Pavarotti,
James Levine,
Zubin Mehta
Back in 1990, three of the world's most celebrated tenors, namely José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotii, combined forces to create the Three Tenors, now celebrated on a "best of" CD. They gave their first concert in Rome; that event was recorded and went on to become one of the best-selling classical titles of all time. This latest release brings together tracks from that night in Rome (including "Nessun dorma" and a competitive rendition of "O sole mio") with music performed in a 1994 concert in Los Angeles as well as at the 1998 event in Paris where the Three Tenors sang to an audience of thousands with the Eiffel Tower as their spectacular backdrop. The 22 tracks which comprise The Best of the Three Tenors range from operatic standards, such as the joyful "Brindisi" from La traviata to popular songs including "Singin' in the rain" via songs from the shows ("You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel). There are no solos on this disc--each piece is performed by all three singers. And with plenty of applause and cheering to be heard, not to mention the sense of fun in the singers' voices, the disc truly captures the atmosphere of these extra...
The Best of the Three Tenors, 2003-12-08
I am not really a classical music buff, but with my father in law being one its an obvious choice for presents. knowing that he likes the 3 tenors is a big help seeing as i do not really know much at all about classical music apart form the odd few bits world cup and films. I bought this disc for his birthday not really relishing the thought of hearing it, however I was pleasently supprised indeed. This was very easy on the ears indeed and shock horror on the whole i enjoyed cd there was the odd one i was not that overly keen on not to sure which one it was called i think it was track 4 Sous le ciel de Paris. By comparrison you'll never walk alone i thought was very enjoyable along with nessumdora the world cup anthum from a few years back now. Untill listening to this cd i thought this to be a bit highbrow and deffinatelly not my cup off tea at all even for my (heinz 57) taste trance,rock,reggea,tamla garage etc my 19 month old daughter was bopping along to it even my wife thought it was good. What was more worrying still i purchased a copy myself to add to my collection looks a bit odd being just below deaf leppard. If you are into classical music or not this is well worth adding to your collection and hey you might find you like it and play it a lot more than you thought you would, I certainly did! if you do not its a good present for someone who does. The cover looks good to
List Price: £70.99
Our Price: £41.97
Rated: Exempt
Staring:
Siegfried Jerusalem, Hildegard Behrens, James Morris, Heinz Zednik, Birgitta Svendén
Director:
Brian Large
The James Levine cycle of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen is humane and emotionally powerful rather than monumental or spiritual; Levine is more interested in finding our sympathy for the characters than inspiring pity or terror. These are very traditional productions in which you see a rock where you need to see a rock, a dragon where the libretto says a dragon (the Metropolitan Opera has never been a place for experiment). What Levine and the Met can and do offer is excellent orchestral playing and some of the best singers in these roles in the world. Siegfried Jerusalem is boyish and naive and touching as Siegfried, and he is also surprisingly good as the detached mischievous Loge of Das Rheingold. James Morris is uniformly impressive as Wotan and makes the character evolve from the young ruthless god of the first opera to the tired old god of Siegfried, who seeks nothing more than his own necessary defeat and death. As Brunnhilde, Hildegard Behrens makes a convincing shift from goddess to woman, from callousness to tenderness and on to vindictiveness and self-sacrificing wisdom. Overall, this is an attractive Ring cycle, well-cast and beautifully pl...
Safe, sound - but inspired, 2009-07-11
This is the recording for anyone appalled by the current fashion for productions of opera that assume the librettist is incompetent. It's Wagner both for Wagnerians and for conservatives (and conservationists) who want the Ring performed as Wagner himself might have appreciated it. Not only, are the settings impressive, but the performances are very high grade, especially those of Jessie Norman as Sieglinde and James Morris as Wotan. Hildegarde Behrens, after a problematic beginning, becomes a commanding Brunnhilde, while Siegfried Jerusalem's double act as Loge and Siegfried is very satisfying and Ekkehard Wlaschiha is as good an Alberich as you'll ever see. Levine's tempo occasionally becomes alarmingly slow, but his overall performance is rivettingly good, with the backing of a virtuoso orchestra.
If you've never seen a complete Ring - or if you know only modern conceptualist productions - this is the one to buy.
List Price: £15.99
Our Price: £7.15
Beautifully crafted performance, 2009-05-22
This is a wonderfully vivid and beautifully crafted performance of Organ Concerto. The slow movement is most beautifully sustained. Finale is just magnificent! Recommendable alongside Karajan's glorious account and Maazel's powerful account.
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £5.06
Artist:
London Symphony Orchestra
Fun and frolics!, 2009-10-07
What a dream cast! As Almaviva, Nicolai Gedda sounds attractively virile (many Almavivas tend to be vocally "wimpy"), and throws himself into the comedy scenes with gusto! His drunken soldier and ever-so-pious "singing teacher" acts are laugh-out-loud sections, even for a non-Italian speaker like myself. Milnes is in superb voice, and I defy anyone to deliver "Largo al factotum" as breathtakingly / humorously / brilliantly as he does. Like the rest of the cast, Milnes is a superb vocal actor. Capecchi is the funniest Bartolo around, and Ruggero Raimondi's powerful but cleverly nuanced bass-baritone makes for a suitably sinister (and sneaky!) Basilio. Beverley Sills was a real "stage animal", and her Rosina does not disappoint. Purists might object to a soprano singing a mezzo role, but Sills has a mellow lower register and a bell-like "top", not to mention a wonderful sense of mischief! James Levine's exciting conducting - the orchestra has as much fun as the singers! - is the icing on the cake. At a bargain price, too. If you enjoy the fun and magic of Rossini, buy this recording!
List Price: £19.99
Our Price: £14.47
Rated: Exempt
Staring:
Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo, Vladimir Chernov, Robert Lloyd, Bruno Pola
Director:
Brian Large
Boccanegra given old fashioned treatment, 2008-02-17
Simon Boccanegra is near to being my favourite Verdi opera; it is a deeply contemplative opera full of dark forboding. But, that being said, there are times when one feels like saying: "come on lighten up!" But, I am afraid the opera reflects the times - Mozart, Haydn and others are well gone and we are well into what can only be described as a moody century. The opera is sung beautifully here and the sets are simply marvelous - particularly the tintorettoesque Council chamber setting. Has anyone noticed that Verdi seems to transcribe line for line from one of Beethoven's late quartets as the musical backing for the chorus in the Council chamber - the fighting scene?
List Price: £19.99
Our Price: £11.05
Rated: Exempt
Staring:
Aprile Millo, Plácido Domingo, Dolora Zajick, Sherrill Milnes, Paata Burchuladze
Director:
Brian Large
First rate production of Verdi's opera, 2000-12-05
Verdi's Aida comes thrillingly to life in this splendid production from the Metropolitan Opera. Aprile Millo is in excellent voice in the title role and sings with great musicality throughout. Indeed this sense of musical values being the most important is reflected in the fine performances of the rest of this all star cast most notably Placido Domingo and Dolora Zajick as Radames and Amneris respectively. The production is old fashioned but attractive and the physical acting is rudimentary but the vocal acting gets prizes all round.This was a favourite performance for me on video and is now excellently transferred onto DVD (sub titles optional). First rate.
List Price: £4.99
Our Price: £2.45
Artist:
Leonard Bernstein,
Los Angeles Philharmonic,
Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
James Levine
Inspiring and Evocative, 2009-04-06
Is there anything new under the sun? Considering how predictable and hackneyed much of today's music must seem to the jaded ear it's a question I have asked myself many times. Those of us who were around during the days of Beatlemania will know how exciting it is to hear new and original music. Concertgoers also felt the same sense of excitement in the 1920's when they heard Rhapsody in Blue for the very first time; its performance received a standing ovation from an audience jaded by many of the mediocre musical offerings of the day. The piece is an inspired example of how European orchestral harmonies were successfully combined with the blues scale to create something fresh and unique at the time. I first heard Rhapsody in Blue when a teenager. A friend loaned me a 12-inch vinyl recording and when I played it the hairs on my neck stood up. From the clarinet glissando at the beginning to the ascending trombone passages near the end Rhapsody in Blue is sheer bliss and evokes the Art Deco period perfectly. This particular CD also features other pieces by Gershwin, such as `An American in Paris' etc. and therefore is great value for money. But if the only piece you ever listen to on this CD is Rhapsody in Blue then your money will have been well spent.
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: £6.43
Artist:
Myung-Whun Chung,
Géza Anda,
Rudolf Baumgartner,
Trevor Pinnock,
Karl Böhm,
Eugen Jochum,
Ferdinand Leitner,
Ferenc Fricsay,
Neeme Järvi,
Claudio Abbado
Music for classic virgins, 2009-04-30
As a relative newcomer to classical music I was a bit daunted by the array of composers and their differing styles, consequently I did not want to purchase a single composer in case I did not like their distinctive manner of composing. So after reading various reviews I chose The Essential Classics Collection.
In just a few short days I have become completely enamoured with the music on the six Cd's. The compilation is divided into six categories in order to give the listener a taste of some of the different genres within classical music. To the aficionado it may seem a tad commercial, in so much as there are tracks that are readily identifiable. However, to balance this out there are also enough samples of, to the novice at least, seem more less mainstream.
This collection has certainly wet my appetite for more classical music, and look forward to continuing my journey of exploration into the world of the classics.
|
|
|
|
|