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Content by Mart Music
Reviewer Rank: 111
Helpful Votes:
3987
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Reviews Written by
Mart Music (Essex, UK)
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Historical Elgar, 13 Nov 2009
Naxos have 3 CDs offering historical recordings from the 1920's and 30's of Elgar's works conducted by the composer himself. The year 2007 represented the 150th anniversary of Elgar's birth (in 1857) and these releases are a fitting way to celebrate this event.
The 3 discs are:
1) Symphony No. 1 (1930), Falstaff (1931/1932)
2) Symphony No. 2 (1927), Cello Concerto (1928)
3) Enigma Variations, Cockaigne Overture (1926-1933)
The sound quality is admirably restored by producer and audio engineer Mark Obert-Thorn, although don't expect anything like today's standards for these are archive recordings originally recorded by HMV from an era before surround sound, SACD and stereo, so they are muddy mono recordings without vibrancy or depth.
Sound quality though is unimportant considering the conductor here is Sir Edward Elgar himself, at the age of 70 plus, directing the orchestra to play his music exactly as he wanted it to be heard. This is no interpretation of Elgar, this is Elgar himself breathing life into these works, lifting and endorsing them with nostalgia and historical importance.
Better performances and recordings of all these works are available, but this is a historical gem.
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1928 cello concerto is timeless, 21 Oct 2009
Naxos have 3 CDs offering historical recordings from the 1920's and 30's of Elgar's works conducted by the composer himself. The year 2007 represented the 150th anniversary of Elgar's birth (in 1857) and these releases are a fitting way to celebrate this event.
The 3 discs are:
1) Symphony No. 1 (1930), Falstaff (1931/1932)
2) Symphony No. 2 (1927), Cello Concerto (1928)
3) Enigma Variations, Cockaigne Overture (1926-1933)
The sound quality is admirably restored by producer and audio engineer Mark Obert-Thorn, although don't expect it to be like today's standards for these are archive recordings originally recorded by HMV from an era before surround sound, SACD and stereo, so they are muddy mono recordings without vibrancy or depth.
Sound quality though is unimportant considering the conductor here is Sir Edward Elgar himself, at the age of 70 plus, directing the orchestra to play his music exactly as he wanted it to be heard. This is no interpretation of Elgar, this IS Elgar, and we are hearing the very essence of the composer breathing life into these works, lifting them with his baton and endorsing them with nostalgia and historical importance.
Better performances and recordings of all these works are available, but for an interpretation of his cello concerto this is a historical gem.
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Elgar comes to life, 18 Oct 2009
Naxos have 3 CDs offering historical recordings from the 1920's and 30's of Elgar's works conducted by the composer himself. The year 2007 represented the 150th anniversary of Elgar's birth (in 1857) and these releases are a fitting way to celebrate this event.
The 3 discs are:
1) Symphony No. 1 (1930), Falstaff (1931/1932)
2) Symphony No. 2 (1927), Cello Concerto (1928)
3) Enigma Variations, Cockaigne Overture (1926-1933)
The sound quality is admirably restored by producer and audio engineer Mark Obert-Thorn, although don't expect it to be like today's standards for these are archive recordings originally recorded by HMV from an era before surround sound, SACD and stereo, so they are muddy mono recordings without vibrancy or depth.
Sound quality though is unimportant considering the conductor here is Sir Edward Elgar himself, at the age of 70 plus, directing the orchestra to play his music exactly as he wanted it to be heard. This is no interpretation of Elgar, this IS Elgar, and we are hearing the very essence of the composer breathing life into these works, lifting them with his baton and endorsing them with nostalgia and historical importance.
Better performances and recordings of all these works are available, but for historical importance these ones are priceless.
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Some cello works which deserve to be more popular, 14 Oct 2009
A good collection of cello concertos from Brilliant Classics, notable mainly for the inclusion of all 12 concertos by Italian composer and cellist Luigi Boccherini which represent 3 CDs on this 7 disc set.
Also included are all 6 concertos by the little known Italian composer Leonardo Ortensio Salvatore di Leo, whose instrumental works form only a small proportional of his lifetime works which include more than 56 operas and a large number of sacred choral music.
The remaining 2 discs offer both of Haydn's ever popular cello concertos, and C.P.E Bach's 3 concertos.
The recordings are from 1979 (Haydn played by Hungarian Miklos Perenyi, b. 1948), 1988 and 1999 (Boccherini and Leo by German cellist Julius Berger, b. 1954) and 1995 (C.P.E Bach by Hungarian Balazs Mate, b. 1965).
All CDs are in card sleeves presented in a slim card box which includes a 12 page (all English) booklet which discusses the composers and their works. Oddly however the C.P.E. Bach section discusses his symphonies rather than the cello works on this set, which is a slight misprint by the label I guess.
Minor error aside, this is a good opportunity to hear the somewhat neglected music written during the transitional period between the towering baroque figures of Bach, Handel and Vivaldi and the true classical composers Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven.
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Cello works which deserve to be more popular, 11 Oct 2009
A good collection of cello concertos from Brilliant Classics, notable mainly for the inclusion of all 12 concertos by Italian composer and cellist Luigi Boccherini which represent 3 CDs on this 7 disc set.
Also included are all 6 concertos by the little known Italian composer Leonardo Ortensio Salvatore di Leo, whose instrumental works form only a small proportional of his lifetime works which include more than 56 operas and a large number of sacred choral music.
The remaining 2 discs offer both of Haydn's ever popular cello concertos, and C.P.E Bach's 3 concertos.
The recordings are from 1979 (Haydn played by Hungarian Miklos Perenyi, b. 1948), 1988 and 1999 (Boccherini and Leo by German cellist Julius Berger, b. 1954) and 1995 (C.P.E Bach by Hungarian Balazs Mate, b. 1965).
All CDs are in card sleeves presented in a slim card box which includes a 12 page (all English) booklet which discusses the composers and their works. Oddly however the C.P.E. Bach section discusses his symphonies rather than the cello works on this set, which is a slight misprint by the label I guess.
Minor error aside, this is a good opportunity to hear the somewhat neglected music written during the transitional period between the towering baroque figures of Bach, Handel and Vivaldi and the true classical composers Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven.
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Vivaldi Masterworks (10CD version), 30 Sep 2009
The Brilliant Classics label specialises in box sets like this one and I've always found their recordings, generally from the 1990's and 2000's, to be more than adequate even if they don't always offer the listener's particular favourite orchestra, conductor or soloist.
This 10 disc collection of some of Vivaldi's popular works is a smaller version, and the same recordings, of the Brilliant Classics 40 CD box set entitled `The Masterworks'.
As a way of collecting a respectable amount of works by a single composer this space saving slim line box is ideal, and the label has also released matching 10 CD sets by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Schubert plus a bumper size 100 disc version of all the composers except for Haydn.
I would however recommend checking out the larger and more complete 40 CD version for comparison before making any purchase.
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Schubert Masterworks (10CD version), 29 Sep 2009
The Brilliant Classics label specialises in box sets like this one and I've always found their recordings, generally from the 1990's and 2000's, to be more than adequate even if they don't always offer the listener's particular favourite orchestra, conductor or soloist.
This 10 disc collection of some of Schubert's popular works is a smaller version, and the same recordings, of the Brilliant Classics 40 CD box set entitled `The Masterworks'.
As a way of collecting a respectable amount of works by a single composer this space saving slim line box is ideal, and the label has also released matching 10 CD sets by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Vivaldi, plus a bumper size 100 disc version of all the composers except for Haydn.
I would however recommend checking out the larger and more complete 40 CD version for comparison before making any purchase.
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Mendelssohn Masterworks (10CD version), 26 Sep 2009
The Brilliant Classics label specialises in box sets like this one and I've always found their recordings, generally from the 1990's and 2000's, to be more than adequate even if they do not necessarily offer the listener's particular favourite orchestra, conductor or soloist.
This 10 disc collection of some of Mendelssohn's most popular works is a smaller version of Brilliant's 40CD `The Masterworks' set and the recordings are the same as its larger counterpart.
Four of the composer's five symphonies are included, and No. 2 with its choral movements is a sad but understandable omission considering its hour long duration. Three discs are dedicated to piano concertos, trios, sextets and octets, and two of his four violin concertos are here, including one of his most popular works the E minor concerto, Op.64.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave) and some lesser heard works such as the two volumes of Lieder ohne Worte (Songs Without Words) make up a very respectable set of Mendelssohn music, and as a way of collecting a respectable amount of his lifetime compositions this space saving slim line box is ideal. The label has also released matching 10CD sets by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Vivaldi, plus a bumper size 100 disc version of all the composers except for Haydn.
I would however recommend checking out Brilliant's larger and more complete 40CD version for comparison, particularly for the Bach inspired organ sonatas, before making any purchase.
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Mendelssohn, The Masterworks, 26 Sep 2009
This 40 CD box set is one in a series of ten entitled `The Masterworks' issued on the Brilliant Classics label. Brilliant Classics, currently one of the leading classical music labels, specialise in high quality recordings of a wide repertoire of classical music, often using box set collections to enable the music to be offered at low cost. As a guide, a medium sized box set such as this one will typically cost under £[...] per disc.
With each of The Masterworks sets, the packaging is kept to a minimum, consisting of a rigid cardboard box holding 40 CDs in card sleeves. There are no sleeve notes or booklets, the information supplied on each CD being limited typically to orchestra, conductor, soloist, recording venue and recording date, although in some cases dates and venues are not shown.
The lack of information and the minimal packaging however is compensated for by the fact that you can purchase a large amount of music from a single composer at a cost effective price in a space saving format.
It is impossible to review each of the 40 CDs in such short space, so I have included my brief comments on some of the works in this collection. To appreciate the quantity of music represented by the composer in this set I have shown the total number of works written by the composer, the approximate number of works in the set, and this number represented as a percentage.
Mendelssohn, The Masterworks - Composers total 321, Box set total 104 (32%).
It is only in relatively recent years that Felix Mendelssohn has become recognised as one of the most naturally gifted and talented of all musicians. Able to play the violin, piano and organ, he could compose from an early age and went on to become an accomplished conductor.
Born into a wealthy family, he had the best private education available, and was fortunate to be able to use hired orchestras to try out his compositions. His early compositions include the `octet for strings' (Op.20) and the overture to Shakespeare's play `A Midsummer Night's Dream', all written before the age of 18. It took a further 17 years for Mendelssohn to add the `Wedding March' to this play, and more than 150 years later it has become immortalised as one of the most symbolic and familiar pieces of music heard in modern wedding ceremonies.
Mendelssohn was hugely popular, famous even, during his lifetime but fell out of popularity somewhat as the Romantic period gathered momentum with names such as Liszt, Bruckner and Brahms establishing the musical style of this era. Mendelssohn was responsible for unearthing much of the largely forgotten work of JS Bach, leading to the 19th century revival of the composer.
This box set contains a sizeable slice of Mendelssohn's (short 38 year) lifetime works. Symphonies 1 to 5 are included, so too are the popular Octet, Midsummer Nights Dream, Violin Concerto (Op 64), Lieder ohne Worte (song without words), and Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave).
There is much, much more on this set to listen to, and it gives an insight into the more unfamiliar Mendelssohn. Worthy of mention is one of my favourites, the six organ sonatas (Op 65) played by Wouter van den Broek, at the Oude Kerk (old church) Delft, Holland. These rarely played works are immaculately composed masterpieces, at times almost anthem-like, written in the style of the great JS Bach, who I think would nod his head approvingly if only he were fortunate enough to hear them.
In summary a great opportunity to discover the music of Mendelssohn.
(The other composers in The Masterworks Series are Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Vivaldi.)
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Handel Masterworks (10CD version), 25 Sep 2009
The Brilliant Classics label specialises in box sets like this one and I've always found their recordings, generally from the 1990's and 2000's, to be more than adequate even if they do not necessarily offer the listener's particular favourite orchestra, conductor or soloist.
This 10 disc collection of some of Handel's most popular works is a smaller version of Brilliant's 40CD `The Masterworks' set and the recordings are the same as its larger counterpart - good 1993 versions of the Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks by Sir Neville Marriner's Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and the complete set of Concerti Grossi Opus 6 again by the Academy, this time a 1994 recording directed by the late (2004) British female violinist Iona Brown.
The four Coronation Anthems are included, Zadok the Priest, My Heart Is Inditing, Let Thy Hand Be Strenghthened and The King Shall Rejoice. It's unfortunate that the most popular of these - Zadok, aka UEFA Champions League theme music - is a rather weak performance by the Holland Boys Choir and Dutch Baroque Orchestra.
There's one disc dedicated to flute sonatas, a strange choice considering the organ concertos are far more popular but not included here, and the 2 discs of oratorio Israel in Egypt I think would be better used to showcase a selection of some of Handel's many beautiful opera arias. The set redeems itself however with a complete performance of Messiah, recorded live 1994 by The Choir of Kings College Cambridge and The Brandenburg Consort.
As a way of collecting a respectable amount of works by a single composer this space saving slim line box is ideal, and the label has also released matching 10CD sets by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Vivaldi, plus a bumper size 100 disc version of all the composers except for Haydn.
I would however recommend checking out Brilliant's larger and more complete 40CD version for comparison before making any purchase.
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![Mendelssohn: The Masterworks [Box Set]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51cv%2BRs-7AL._SL110_.jpg)
