Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies

by: Herbert von Karajan

February 04, 2008

Used Price: £9.97

Classic FM Babies

by: Katherine Jenkins, Elin Manahan Thomas, Julian Lloyd-Webber, Pascal Roge, Herbert Von Karajan, Charles Dutoit, Harry Christophers, London Symphony Orchestra

July 23, 2007

A lovely 2CD Classic FM compilation of relaxing music - for mothers as much as their babies - consisting of an interesting assortment of baroque, classical, romantic and modern music with the underlying theme of aiming to relax the listener.

Some pieces are chosen partly for their title as well as the soothing effect they have, these include the 'Lullaby' by Brahms and 'The Swan' from 'Carnival of the Animals' by Saint-Saens. The more contemporary offerings are by popular composers ... Read More:

Used Price: £10.00

The Only Opera Album You'll Ever Need

from: RCA Victor

March 31, 2001
The tracks on this cd are excellent and well worth the money. I get worried about the packaging of this sort of disc though because it reminds me of Tesco's attempt to sell wine to the masses by renaming a mediocre chablis as 'Good with meat' or whatever. If this was called 'Fine Opera' or 'An Opera Sampler' then I'd be a lot happier but the dumb approach of 'The Only Opera Album You'll Ever Need' makes me cringe. Once again though: the music is very good and the performances are excellent on the whole.

Used Price: £4.23

The Only Choral Album You'll Ever Need

from: Victor

October 06, 2003
whoever wrote the 'whats on this cd' blurb mislead me to buy this item - I needed the WHOLE of the Messiah AND THE WHOLE of Faure's Requiem and reading this blurb you think you have it - but guess what - there are only extracts - the titles given are just for the whole work - not the individual piece of music - so I cannot learn the pieces for two concerts I am performing in before Christmas off this - very misleading. Sorry - but it is not the only album Ill ever need.

Used Price: £4.00

Puccini: La Bohème

from: Decca

August 05, 1987
In a recent BBC3 "CD Review" broadcast, Alexandra Wilson made a gallant attempt to achieve the impossible task of choosing amongst forty or so recordings of "La Boheme" - and while I agreed with her ultimate choice of the Beecham recording with Bjorling, Merrill and De Los Angeles, I have rather more regard for this discarded Karajan recording simply because Pavarotti's voice, in its prime, as she herself put it, "runs through the recording like a golden seam". The rest of the cast is wonderful, too, although ... Read More:

Used Price: £8.90

Brahms: The 4 Symphonies

from: Universal Classics

April 14, 2003
Karajan recorded the four Brahms symphonies three times for DG and for me the earliest (1963 or thereabouts) is the best by a fair margin, and although not perfect, the sound quality is better - more natural and open. There's more life, spontanaity and drama in the 60s cycle, which by comparison his later efforts sound somewhat mannered. Like much of Karajan's output, his earlier years with the BPO give better performances. Later repeats (say 1970 onwards) are generally marred by a BPO which had been over-refined by Karajan's ... Read More:

Used Price: £7.58

Richard Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra

from: Universal Classics

September 18, 1995
The opening organ chord lasts eighteen seconds on this 1973 recording of Also Sprach Karajan. I prefer the 1984 version (also reviewed on Amazon), to which I give the full five stars. Here, the timpani are more to the fore, the sound is loftier, more stately, but not lush. One often feels in a trance as the music hangs in the air, for example at the end of the measured descent at the end of the `Song of the Grave' - and of course at the music's very end.

The performance is more restrained (if that is possible) with ... Read More:

Used Price: £5.05

The World's Greatest Mozart Album

from: Decca

May 08, 2000

Putting a title like `Worlds Greatest' on the front of a CD is obviously a bold claim, and one which many people have become so familiar with that they tend to take it with a pinch of salt. There are so many ways of trying to catch the buyers interest that very few titles like these really jump out at the buyer.

This one did jump out at me, though not so much for the choice of tracks, more for the quality of artists who perform them. Considering this is only a 2CD set, far too short for any Mozart compilation, the list ... Read More:

Used Price: £9.51

The Essential Classics Collection

from: DG

July 03, 2000
I bought this as a gift for my niece, since I wanted her to be educated about classical music as she was on her way to college. Ended up buying two copies as I found I loved it so much. Normally I like to pick and choose my orchestras, composers, and conductors, but this collection has jujst about everything. Also, I'd never bought some of the more "popular" items (Strauss and Grieg) as I'd heard them a million times, but now I have them and the performances are all great. This truly has a smattering of it all, and if you're not a classical music ... Read More:

Used Price: £5.06

Tchaikovsky - Symphonies Nos 4, 5 & 6 \'Pathétique\'

from: Gemini

April 02, 2007
I bought this as a gift for my niece, since I wanted her to be educated about classical music as she was on her way to college. Ended up buying two copies as I found I loved it so much. Normally I like to pick and choose my orchestras, composers, and conductors, but this collection has jujst about everything. Also, I'd never bought some of the more "popular" items (Strauss and Grieg) as I'd heard them a million times, but now I have them and the performances are all great. This truly has a smattering of it all, and if you're not a classical music ... Read More:

Used Price: £6.16