It Plays Me

It Plays Me

Track Listings

1. Thread

2. Invisible Fireworks

3. Ashura

4. Particles and Waves

5. Ikona

6. Stella

7. Thirteen/It Plays Me

8. Sizzling Earth

9. White Cells

10. Dragon Song

11. Beacon

12. Silver

13. Entangled: Ashura/Thread/Improv

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

No Wonder
Baby Plays Around
Go Leave
Rope
Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Broken Bicycles / Junk
The Other Woman
Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
Green Song
April After All
You Still Believe In Me
I Want To Vanish
For No One
Shamed Into Love
Just A Curio
This House Is Empty Now
Take It With Me
For The Stars

Amazon.com

At a time when popular music has been micro-marketed to the far side of ad nauseam, Declan MacManus, a.k.a. Elvis Costello, has traded on his reputation as the brightest songwriter to emerge from the new wave era to foster any number of delightful, cross-genre/generation musical surprises, including soundtracks and collaborations with the Brodsky Quartet, Paul McCartney, jazz artist Roy Nathanson, and songwriting legend Burt Bacharach. The latest fruit of that generous, insatiably curious artistic spirit is this elegant partnership with Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter. Though an admitted pop novice, Otter couldn't have picked a better confederate than Costello, an artist whose taste in songs has seldom been tainted by trend.

Together, they weave material from disparate sources--including a slate of compelling Costello material, a pair of Brian Wilson's evocative "Pet Sounds" confessionals, a Tom Waits song from Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart (oddly, though effectively, coupled in medley with McCartney's "Junk"), an Abba song, and the Beatles' "For No One"--into a musical tapestry of stately power and grace. Costello sparingly uses his voice as seasoning throughout, though his masterful touch is everywhere. Otter's novice pop singing reveals an easy knack for jazz phrasing that should tempt further explorations and a warmth that belies the rigidity that's so often a byproduct of classical training. Most gratifying of all, this album ultimately achieves what's become one of the loftiest plateaus in Pop music: common ground. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Loved this CD .......2006-06-13

Who would pair Costello and an opera singer?? Elvis, and somehow it works. I really love the tone and moodiness of it and lyrics that talk about love and life, failure and success. It's soulful, in a contemplative way, music for those tucked away, rainy days .

I LOVE this CD!.......2005-09-01

Finally, an opera singer who knows how to channel her Classical training into a sound that is, as one critic aptly described it, "what pop singers would sound like if they could actually sing"! Although Elvis Costello does not join Ms. von Otter very often in the vocals, when he does they harmonize beautifully. With great melodies (some beautiful, some catchy) and sensitive (but not sappy) lyrics, this album makes a fine addition to any CD collection.

Costello Partners with Hubris and Yields Variable Results.......2005-05-08

Having just heard Elvis Costello's masterful collaboration with Burt Bacharach, "Painted from Memory", for the first time this past month, I had high hopes for this equally unusual partnership with mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter released in 2001. This time, however, Costello acts as arranger and producer, and it is von Otter who is front and center on vocals. She is among the most revered of singers on the opera and recital stages, and she has impressed me in the past, in particular, with her Dejanira in the 2002 Marc Minkowski-led performance of Handel's "Hercules", among many other roles she has embodied. Here she is called upon to be a pop chanteuse, and while the beauty of her voice is inarguable in any setting, her ability to interpret the diverse lyrics in these songs is far more debatable. This is where a Marianne Faithfull, a Blossom Dearie or even a Joni Mitchell could capture more of the underlying feeling with a fraction of the vocal power von Otter can provide but with twice the nuance. There is a rather sterile sameness to the performances here, somewhat jazz-inflected in a cocktail lounge manner at times and at other times, rather morose and dirge-like.

Take, for example, her rendition of Brian Wilson's "Don't Ask (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)" from the legendary "Pet Sounds" album. It moves so glacially that it actually extricates the romantic subtext almost surgically. The same can be said for Jessie Mae Robinson's "The Other Woman", which has at least Magnus Persson's vibraphone to provide relief from the tedium. She's better on the other "Pet Sounds" classic, "You Still Believe in Me", where she cannily soars with the chorus, though Costello damages it by adding some odd, muffled rapping in the background. Ironically, it is on the Costello compositions where the recording most noticeably flails. The opener "No Wonder" starts as a "Greensleeves"-like madrigal and then turns into Beatlesque pop; "Baby Plays Around" seems to suffer from exhaustion by all parties; the two Fleshquartet collaborations, "Rope" and "Just a Curio", sound somewhat like extraterrestrial hymns done in a series of minor keys; and the closing title track, "For the Stars" includes peppy, Beach Boys-sounding harmonies which escape her grasp. In fact, "Just a Curio" would have been a more appropriate title for this entire recording.

On the other hand, the Gallic flavor of Benny Andersson's accordion effectively informs her rendition of Tom Waits' "Broken Bicycles", which melds perfectly with Costello's vocal on Paul McCartney's "Junk". Speaking of Andersson, a fellow Scandinavian, von Otter admirably covers a piano-led ABBA ballad, "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room". She also displays a meticulously casual bounce on Lennon-McCartney's "For No One", though it stops rather abruptly. Von Otter acquits herself surprisingly well on the jazzy "Shamed into Love", written by another unlikely duo, Costello and Rubén Blades, and performed as almost a smokier variation of Bacharach's "Alfie". And speaking of Bacharach, she does a nice turn on the lovely "This House Is Empty Now" from the 1998 Bacharach-Costello disc. Costello and von Otter are masters of their craft, but I think some of the collaborations reflect simply irreconcilable differences. While Costello seems to have an insatiable desire to expand musically, his hubris here appears to constrain the often preternatural vocal skill von Otter displays on the opera and recital stage. Consequently, what we have here is a nice album, a generous one with eighteen tracks, that doesn't seem to capitalize on either contributor's talent fully.

what's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?.......2004-04-22

Nothing's funny about this boring duo. I picked this up FREE at my library and it didn't take me too many tracks to see why it was donated. The musical arrangements are hapless and dull, and her voice is Dion without the Vegas power finale. Come to think of it, the lyrics remind me of Dion; they are as saccharine as anything Dion has ever sung. I wasted a blank CD on this limp, sleepy pairing of two otherwise good artists.

No life in her (pop) art.......2004-03-15

I am a big fan of both artists and wanted very much for this combination to work. It avoids the traditional trap of "oversinging" the pop material. But a few years after its release, in these American Idol era, is that really such a terror for pop music any more? So-called oversinging seems pretty popular these days!

The big problem is that von Otter has not found a way to communicate any emotion in this scaled-down form of singing. All her classical techniques are stripped away, and there's nothing to replace them. Sure, her voice is gorgeous, but it sounds exactly the same no matter what the lyrical content. The songs could have been made up of nonsense syllables for all the emotional life she communicates.

Tracks:

Take My Breath Away
Unchained Melody
Evergreen
It Must Have Been Love
Chariots Of Fire
People
Cavatina
The Mission
Where Do I Begin
The Way We Were
Stand By Me
Blue Velvet
True Love Ways
The Second Time

Average customer rating:

Gershwin plays Gershwin
An Essential Gershwin Collection, Despite Variable Sound
The first disc especially is fantastic

Plays George Gershwin

Manufacturer: Pearl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Tin Pan Alley | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000WW1
Release Date: 1994-03-22

Tracks:

Rhapsody In Blue
Hang On To Me
Fascinatin' Rhythm
The Half Of It Dearie Blues
I'd Rather Charleston
Sweet And Low Down
That Certain Feeling
Looking For A Boy
Looking For A Boy
Do-Do-Do
Do-Do-Do: Someone To Watch Over Me
Clap Yo' Hands
Maybe
My One And Only
Three Preludes
'Rhapsody In Blue': Andante
S' Wonderful & Funny Face
Rhapsody In Blue

Tracks:

An American In Paris
Porgy And Bess: It Ain't Necessarily So
Porgy And Bess: The Buzzard Song
Porgy And Bess: Scene: Summertime - Crapgame - A Woman Is A Sometime Thing
Porgy And Bess: Bess, You Is My Woman Now
Porgy And Bess: I Got Plenty O' Nuttin
Porgy And Bess: Where Is My Bess?
Porgy And Bess: Summertime
Porgy And Bess: My Man's Gone Now
Porgy And Bess: Concerto In F - Third Movement
Porgy And Bess: Song Medley With Chorus And Orchestra: I Got Rhythm & Of Thee I Sing

Amazon.com

The first of these two discs gathers all Gershwin's commercially issued discs as a pianist, including the two abridged Rhapsody in Blue traversals, Gershwin accompanying the Astaire siblings, and twelve solo sides. Hearing the composer play his own music is like getting your ears cleaned out from 75 years of interpretive maulings. Gershwin's crisp touch, clear-cut and unsentimental phrasing, and rhythmic verve comes through more convincingly in these flat discs than in his much-vaunted piano rolls. Also included are the composer-supervised first recordings of An American in Paris and selections from Porgy & Bess, along with a flawed yet revelatory aircheck of Gershwin playing the finale of his concerto. No Gershwin lover should be without this important collection. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

Gershwin plays Gershwin.......2006-01-26

George Gershwin's best-selling recording was a 1924 acoustical, black seal Victor disc that reproduced the recent world premiere of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." The Paul Whiteman Orchestra, which actually a big band with a few strings added on occasion, joined the composer in an edited performance that was intended to fill two sides of a single 12-inch 78-rpm disc. By 1924 the acoustical process had been refined to its highest possible standards; already Victor and Columbia were among the companies experimenting with electrical recording and would begin releasing commercial discs the following spring.

Although one is disappointed with the cuts in the familiar "Rhapsody in Blue," what did make it onto the original disc is quite remarkable. It certainly gives the first clear indication of Gershwin's brilliant piano playing. No one would ever play Gershwin's music with more enthusiasm and ability than the composer himself. The Whiteman orchestra plays Ferde Grofe's original arrangement and gives a clear indication of what the February 1924 premiere must have sounded like, even if the sonics are somewhat limited by the acoustical process. Only three years later Victor reunited the same musicians with Gershwin for an electrical recording, using the same cuts.

Gershwin's numerous piano solos, sometimes including his friends Fred and Adele Astaire (who had introduced some of the Gershwin songs in his musical comedies), are amazing. His virtuoso piano playing astonishes us and, for the most part, the sound on these early electrical recordings is quite good. A single microphone was usually placed close to the grand piano, picking up the best possible sound of that time.

The world premiere recording of "An American in Paris" was made in 1929 for RCA Victor, using a hand-picked orchestra that was conducted by Nathaniel Shilkret, Victor's longtime musical director. Gershwin was on hand, supposedly to supervise the recording of the complete score, but he reportedly "got in the way" and was asked to leave the recording studio. Then it was recognized that there was no one on hand to play the celesta solo, so Gershwin was asked to return and play the brief but impressive passage that adds to the magical moments of this innovative score. Also included were the original Paris taxi horns that Gershwin had brought back with him in 1928 for the first performance.

Alexander Smallens conducted Metropolitan Opera stars Helen Jepson and Lawrence Tibbett and a professional orchestra in excerpts from Gershwin's latest musical triumph, "Porgy and Bess." Although the folk opera had not yet achieved its later great success, many recognized the innovations of this score and RCA Victor asked Gershwin to supervise the recording of some of the important songs from his opera in 1935. While some may question the use of white singers to sing in Negro dialect, particularly when the first performances used a mostly black cast, not even the Metropolitan Opera used black singers until 1955 when Marian Anderson made her long-awaited debut in Verdi's "A Masked Ball."

Finally, there is a tantalizing excerpt from the "Concerto in F" in a special arrangement for Rudy Vallee's radio program on NBC. Gershwin occasionally appeared on radio programs, even hosting his own 15-minute show in the early 1930's, and this is one of the few surviving examples of how Gershwin could dazzle both the studio audience and the millions tuning in on their radios. It is a wonderful moment.

An Essential Gershwin Collection, Despite Variable Sound.......2005-05-14

That Gershwin (1896-1937) died so young from a malignant brain tumor was a tragic loss to the world of music. Like Mozart and Schubert, who also died while still in their 30's, Gershwin was just hitting his stride at the time of his death. Unlike Mozart, he wrote no symphonies or chamber music, but like Schubert, he was one of the greatest song writers the world has ever known. And as the Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F clearly demonstrate, Gershwin was probably the greatest "cross-over" artist in American history.

This 2-disc Pearl CD set, as Amazon editorial reviewer Jed Distler points out, is an essential purchase for anyone who loves Gershwin's music. Pearl adheres to an "as is" philosophy of transferring old 78 rpm records to CD. This results in very immediate sound, but a lot of shellac noise comes along with it. With a little twiddling of your treble knob, these performances are very listenable and thoroughly enjoyable.

To my mind, just about everything here falls into the category of "definitive" performance. The 1924 Rhapsody In Blue has more joy and exhilaration than any other recording made (and Gershwin's piano playing is heard more clearly than in the 1927 electrical re-make, fine as it is). It was recorded just four months after the world premiere at Aeolian Hall in New York City. What an event that must have been! The audience included such luminaries as Rachmaninov, Kreisler & Sousa. When the performance was finished, the audience roared its approval with a standing ovation that lasted 20 MINUTES!

The songs with Fred Astaire and his sister Adele are utterly delightful, and Gershwin's solo piano playing strikes me as a far truer representation of his art than his notoriously unreliable piano rolls available elsewhere. "An American in Paris," conducted by Gershwin's boyhood chum Nathaniel Shilkret, is irresistable (Gershwin even plays the small parts for piano & celesta, and the car horns he brought back from Paris are used here).

The original 1935 "Porgy and Bess" excerpts, conducted by Alexander Smallens, are wonderful. Jepson is excellent, but the real star here is Lawrence Tibbett, to my taste the greatest operatic baritone America has ever produced. His enormous charm is complemented by fabulous diction - he's one of the very few "classical" singers whose every word is clearly understandable.

Gershwin never recorded a complete Concerto in F. For the best-ever version of that, you have to buy the Roy Bargas/Bix Beiderbecke/Paul Whiteman account on a Pearl CD called "Gershwin and Grofe," which also has the first-ever recordings of Grofe's Grand Canyon & Mississippi Suites (a lot of fun!). But here we get to hear the ONLY CD account of Gershwin himself playing just the 2nd mvt. from a 1933 Rudy Valle Show radio broadcast. It's fascinating and frustrating at the same time: a tantalizing fragment of what must have been a glorious interpretation.

The Concerto in F excerpt is UNIQUE to this CD - which makes it a MANDATORY purchase for Gershwin lovers. The Rhapsody (both versions), American in Paris, and the Porgy selections are also on Sony's "Historic Gershwin Recordings" in somewhat smoother transfers. The aforementioned Whiteman-conducted Concerto in F is also on a Sony CD called "From Gershwin's Time" (sadly, it's out of print - see my review).

CDs seem to have an alarmingly short shelf life these days, so grab this wonderful set while it's still available.

Very Highly Recommended.

The first disc especially is fantastic.......2001-04-03

For Gershwin collectors, the sides with the Astaires are essential. The Whiteman Rhapsody is also quite good. Some of the later material does NOT feature Gershwin on piano and has the feeling of filler. Still, I've gotten a lot of enjoyment from this collection.

Fascinatin' Rampal (Jean-Pierre Rampal Plays Gershwin)

Average customer rating:

Wonderful
Wonderful music

Fascinatin' Rampal (Jean-Pierre Rampal Plays Gershwin)

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Jean-Pierre Rampal Plays Scott Joplin

ASIN: B000002627
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Fascinating Rhythm -I Got Rhythm
Someone To Watch Over Me
Nice Work If You Can Get It
The Man I Love
Porgy And Bess: Bess, You Is My Woman Now
Porgy And Bess: My Man's Gone Now
Porgy And Bess: Summertime
Liza
Preludes For Piano: I- Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
Preludes For Piano: II- Andante con moto e poco rubato
Preludes For Piano: III- Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
A Foggy Day (In London Town)
An American In Paris

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful.......2000-06-17

Being a flutist and having listened to many recordings by J.P. Rampal, I must confess my admiration for him and for the way he played. Apart from being an excellent performer in the classical field (with more than 300 recordings), he showed many times that he could take up other styles with great success (for example in Bolling's suite for flute and jazz piano trio and in Scott Joplin's rags). In this case, we have some very interesting arrangements from famous pieces by George Gershwin. Although some people might prefer the original version for some of them (like An American in Paris), I think that this CD is very worth considering. A great tribute to one of the best composers of the XX century. Enjoy!

Wonderful music.......2000-04-07

Despite what some people may say, Gershwin's music is simply outstanding, with its jazzy harmonies and thrilling sense of rhythm. In this CD we have some brilliant pieces like "An American in Paris", "I got rhythm" or "Summertime" -listen to it very carefully-, in an arrangement for flute (also alto flute) and orchestral accompaniment. The result is, from my point of view, just marvellous. Rampal does his best with this music and shows that he can play it in a very convincing way. Though you may prefer the full orchestral version of some of the pieces (specially "An American in Paris"), this arrangement is very worth considering. And at this price it is very hard to beat it.

Average customer rating:

Feyer's CD is a must have
One More Time
George Feyer Plays George Gershwin
George Feyer Plays George Gershwin
This is the happiest music making imaginable.

George Feyer Plays George Gershwin

Manufacturer: Vanguard Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

George Feyer Plays Jerome Kern

ASIN: B0000023DQ
Release Date: 1993-05-12

Tracks:

Someone To Watch Over Me - Love Walked In
Let's Call the Whole Thing Off - Somebody Loves Me - Soon
Fascinating Rhythm
Love Is Here To Stay - Mine - That Certain Feeling - Liza, All The Clouds'll Roll Away
An American In Paris (Excerpts)
I'll Build A Stairway To Paradise - How Long Has This Been Going On - Bidin' My Time
I Got Rhythm - Clap Yo' Hands - I've Got A Crush On You - Lady Be Good
The Man I Love
Summertime - It Ain't Necassarily So - Bess, You Is My Woman Now, I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'
They Can't Take That Away From Me - He Loves And She Loves - Of Thee I Sing - Strike Up THe Band
Prelude No. 2
Who Cares - Swanee - Love Is Sweeping The Country
Embraceable You - But Not For Me
Do-Do-Do - Funny Face - Maybe - 'S Wonderful
A Foggy Day - Concerto In F (themes)
Rhapsody In Blue (Excerpts)

Customer Reviews:

Feyer's CD is a must have.......2007-01-28

So I purchase my Nano and then easily transfer much of my "must have" music library to the 8 Mega Black Nano. The Nano makes me want to hear all my music again as I work out, etc. I ordered "must have" Feyer's Gershwin from Amazon and was lucky to get the Gershwin CD. If only they could remaster all his works onto CDs at a lower price than the $100 plus I paid. Feyer is a top addition and it reminds me of the Stanhope days and his music magic that I wish to briefly tell you.

In the latter 70s, the Stanhope weekends were a joy, buttressed by Feyer's music. He held court and the audience was captivated. He was an excellent pianist with excellent trills in the high octaves, and nice contrast with the lower ones. The Gershwin CD the piece "I Got Rhythm" reminds one of small flames jumping lightly on a log. So light, so elegant, so much in rhythm. I would take my "A" dates to the Stanhope, including my future wife of 20 plus years. After the Met Opera or ballet, I would take my dates to the Stanhope. Usually two Kier Royals, supper, wine, and dessert would accompany George's fine music. Such a rich repertory and bottomless request well that he knew with top piano skill!

Missing on the CD was his singing and funny remarks. I recall him playing `Thank Heavens For Little Girls"... they are so helpless, and then he would pick some women from the audience and repeat the word " helpless' and the everyone would laugh. My dates were the younger women in the Stanhope back then and he tended to look at my dates.....and made them feel like a princess

The Stanhope was a bit expensive but a classy place. With George, it was worth every penny. I think Gunnar ( spelling?) was the head waiter. They knew you and you did not have to ask for a certain drink as they knew your need before your request. Unlike today, waiters are more of errand boys to the kitchens. George also knew your favorites in songs.

One thing that is not obvious, despite my Ivy MBA and a good undergraduate degree, one does not learn in early years the basic American songs of Porter, Gershwin, etc. Some of my dates knew many of the words to these songs from their social events. Hence for me it was a pleasant discovery and made me grateful to the mastery of George. It opened one's appreciation to the very rich music heritage of America.

The CD in ADD format was very clear; no his; and, the accompanying musicians were well heard in CD. Enjoy this CD!

One More Time.......2002-03-08

Anyone that likes solo piano, must have this one in their collection. Feyer was a superior pianist, and arranger. These are performances to LISTEN to. For alot less than a carton of ciggies, you can buy something good for you! Aloha

George Feyer Plays George Gershwin.......2001-04-21

Hours sped like minutes when sitting next to the keyboard of Feyer's Piano in the Stanhope. I only wish all of his albums could be re-released and a new generation might experience this rare talent. He played with consummate skill, gentle humor and a panache that I've been unable to find anywhere.

George Feyer Plays George Gershwin.......2000-12-26

This is undoubtedly one of the best recordings of popular Gershwin tunes. They are played with Feyer's european touch, but amazingly american in spirit. All his collections since 1951 ("Echoes of Paris", "Echoes of Broadway", "Echoes of Rome" etc.) should be re-mastered and released again, as well as his famous recordings collected in album "Cafe carlyle". It is a real music treasure.

This is the happiest music making imaginable........1999-10-24

It's been more than 40 years since I first ran across George Feyer's "Echoes..." series of recordings on the Vox label (Echoes of Paris, Echoes of Vienna, etc.) Every month I check to see if by some miracle these recordings have been reissued, but I doubt they ever will because of their original label. In the meantime we will make do with this excellent George Gershwin album, which seems to me to come closer to his old recordings than the other stereo-era Feyer recordings now available. But will some company out there PLEASE reissue his old mono VOX recordings and spread joy through the world!

Average customer rating:

Worse than background music for supermarkets...
The best in Bond.
Pretty Good Renditions
The Best

Plays 007 Classics
Las Vegas International Philharmonic , and Chris Walden
Manufacturer: Koch Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Best of Bond James Bond
The Essential James Bond (Film Score Re-recording Anthology)
40 Years of James Bond: 20 Themes
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 4 (Dr. No / You Only Live Twice / Octopussy / Tomorrow Never Dies / Moonraker)
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 3 (GoldenEye / Live and Let Die / For Your Eyes Only / From Russia With Love / On Her Majesty's Secret Service)

ASIN: B00008O314
Release Date: 2003-04-08

Tracks:

James Bond Theme
Goldfinger
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
Diamonds Are Forever
Live And Let Die
Nobody Does It Better
For Your Eyes Only
All Time High
Never Say Never Again
License To Kill
Goldeneye
Tomorrow Never Dies
The World Is Not Enough
Die Another Day

Customer Reviews:

Worse than background music for supermarkets..........2005-08-17

Terrible, absolutely terrible. There are all kinds of samplers of the wonderful original James Bond soundtracks. I don't see any reason why anybody should go with this chintzy reenactments. It truely i s Las Vegas sound: glossy, smoothed, soaked with saxophone and drippy strings instead of all the legendary singers.

Bond always loved casinos - but he didn't deserve that!

The best in Bond........2004-06-13

This CD is awesome. Most of the titles from the past and present including Die Another Day! They are very well made, and very close to the songs. Completely worth getting for any James Bond Fan.

Pretty Good Renditions.......2004-04-14

If you like James Bond 007 music themes from the motion pictures you should find this to be a very satisfying album. "The James Bond Theme" and "Thunderball" sound first-rate. I found the cover art very interesting, as are the musical arrangements.

The Best.......2004-01-07

All the other Bond CDs are bad. This One is the best. I rate it 10 out of 10 stares.-------Sharif Michael Almaani

Average customer rating:

Pfolkadelicious
Excellent eclectic hard-to-put-a-label-on-it music.

It Plays Me
Greg Herriges
Manufacturer: Oarfin Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000A6T1TA
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Tracks:

Thread
Invisible Fireworks
Ashura
Particles And Waves
Ikona
Stella
Thirteen/It Plays Me
The Sizzling Earth
White Cells
Dragon Song
Beacon
Sliver
Entangled: Ashura/Thread/Improv

Product Description

1. Thread
2. Invisible Fireworks
3. Ashura
4. Particles and Waves
5. Ikona
6. Stella
7. Thirteen/It Plays Me
8. Sizzling Earth
9. White Cells
10. Dragon Song
11. Beacon
12. Silver
13. Entangled: Ashura/Thread/Improv

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

Pfolkadelicious.......2006-02-19

I caught Herriges's acoustic set at the Milwaukee Holiday Folk Fair last November (2005), where he performed many of the tracks featured on "It Plays Me." Although often drowned out by the impossibly over-amplified Asian drum corps set up directly across the stage from which he was performing (note to Holiday Folk Fair: What were you thinking?!), Herriges's mastery on guitar (and bouzouki) was nonetheless breathtaking. Herriges bills his musical style as "Eclectic Acoustic Avant Chamber Rock with an Eastern Pfolkadelic Aftertaste"; a description that one could perhaps blow off as New Age marketing schlock. But Herriges is no snake-oil salesman selling pseudo-Culture... his is an artistry that seamlessly weaves contemporary, classical, and world-music influences together with stellar craftsmanship, erudition, reverence, and respect. One can hear-and feel-in Herriges's songs his deep love of the music by which he's inspired.

Although I saw Herriges perform solo, the album features guest artists (playing tabla, pipa, and a host of other interesting percussion instruments) whose likewise-stellar contributions to Herriges's compositions are tasteful, appropriate, and absolutely luminous. If you're looking for something fresh, original, and authentically eclectic-THIS IS IT!!!

Excellent eclectic hard-to-put-a-label-on-it music........2005-08-29

An excellent CD with a steady eastern-tinged flavor without being totally beholden to the sound. I often have it on in the car and it works on me like yoga - both relaxing and invigorating at the same time - perfect for mediating any movement towards road-rage! For example, 'Ashura' has a great bouzouki-driven rythym that always gets my foot tapping, and the interplay with the percussion is wonderful. One of those songs that builds up and then releases just perfectly. 'Ashura' is then followed by the cerebral 'Particles and Waves' (an excellent display of Greg's hybrid fingerstyle-guitar talent) and the mystic 'Ikona'. By the end of this series I always feel the urge to murmur "Nameste".

There are a wide range of instruments on display here, with Greg playing both a Taylor guitar and a bouzouki, while other artists play tabla and Chinese pipa.

I live in Minneapolis where this artist lives and plays and have been catching his gigs for the last year or so. He and Troy Berg (on assorted percussion instruments - his usual "duo" partner) are a great show. If you like high-quality music that is hard to put into a category, played by real musicians, this is for you. My only regret is that some of Greg's other tunes that he plays at gigs are not on this CD, but here's to looking forward to the next CD!