When it came time for Johann Sebastian Bach to publish his Opus 1, what work do you think he picked? One of the sacred cantatas? One of the Brandenburg Concertos? One of the cello suites? No, none of the above. In 1726, Bach chose his B flat major Partita to start his publishing career -- and once a year for the next five years, he published five ...
Vikram Seth's novel An Equal Music, an elegant classical-music romance, naturally invited the release of an accompanying CD with performances of the music so nicely woven into its story of a pushing-midlife London violinist who encounters a woman, a concert pianist, whom he had loved years before while both were music students in Vienna. Decca's ...
One of Denon's Ultimate Most Relaxing [insert type of music here] in the Universe series that culls performances from the Denon catalog, this disc of piano music encompasses much more than most similar compilations, which generally only feature solo piano music. This one uses movements from piano concertos, piano trios, and even one from Brahms' ...
For too long, too many people have underestimated András Schiff. Decca, his first Western record company, presented him as a Mozart/Schubert specialist whose Bach was the soft-focus alternative to Glenn Gould. Teldec, his second Western record company, presented him as a Brahms/Reger specialist whose Busoni was the modernist equivalent of Bach. At ...
EMI's Classical Destinations: An Armchair Guide to Classical Music is a double-disc compilation that guides listeners to great works in a simple travelogue format. But beyond its appealing musical examples, there is little to be learned of locales from this package, and perhaps even less to be gleaned about the significance of nationalism in the ...
Andras Schiff's ongoing recordings of the Beethoven sonatas, an ambitious and challenging set in every way, are a bit hard to sum up in their particulars. The best generalization might be to say that they are indeed particular -- Schiff's are the kind of interpretations that are presented with the aid of a detailed interview in the booklet, and, ...
There have been many other great sets of Beethoven's works for cello and piano. How could it be otherwise with such central repertoire, the core works of any cellist's concert programs, and along with Bach's Cello Suites, the apex and crown of any cellist's recording career? But no matter how many other great sets of Beethoven's works for cello ...
One way to start with this disc (and the others to come in András Schiff's cycle of Beethoven's sonatas) is to read the interview with Schiff that serves as a set of liner notes. It's dense but exceptionally thoughtful and illuminating -- and the same could be said of Schiff's performances here. In the interview he lays out two operating ...
Much like serial novels of the past, pianist Andras Schiff is releasing his complete Beethoven cycle one piece at a time, with the complete cycle not scheduled to be finished until 2008. Also like a good serial novel, once you get a hold of a good one, you just can't wait for that next issue to come out. In this, the third volume, Schiff is again ...
Among recordings of Bach's monumental Goldberg Variations on the piano, András Schiff's 1982 set is justly famous. Unlike so many discs that have been issued in tired series designated "legendary recordings" or some other such term, this one fully lives up to the billing with its incredible delineation of Bach's contrapuntal lines. You hear every ...
There is nothing to object to in Andras Schiff's 1983 recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Schiff's tone is dulcet, his rhythm is light, his technique is bright, and his interpretations are lucid. As far as performances of the Goldbergs on the piano go, Schiff's is less eccentric than either of Glenn Gould's recordings, less interesting than ...
A compilation of this kind is at its best when it passes three basic tests. It shouldn't scrawl on the Mona Lisa. It should offer skillful, exciting performances, not stuff that tanked when first released. And ideally, it should make musical sense as a whole. The #1 Bach Album easily passes the first two tests, but seems only dimly aware of the ...
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
![Mozart: Piano Concertos [Box Set] [Hybrid SACD]](http://images.alibris.com/cover/m13862appi2_t.jpg)
Portions of content provided by All Music Guide or All Movie Guide. © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide and All Movie Guide are registered Trademarks of All Media Guide, LLC.