The Music of the Grand Canyon
Track Listings
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1. Moonlight on Havasu Creek
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2. Entering Twin Falls
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3. Flight over North Rim
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4. New World
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5. Twilight
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6. Phantom Ranch
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7. South Rim
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8. Four Worlds
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9. Lost Tribe
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10. Grand Canyon
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11. Canyon Nights
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The Music of the Grand Canyon,Nicholas Gunn,Real Music,Contemporary Instrumental,Jazz Music,New Age / Meditation,Pop
The Music of the Grand Canyon
Average customer rating:
- Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!
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- Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra
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Instruments of the Orchestra
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
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- The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual (includes 1 CD)
- The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Book & CD)
- Study of Orchestration, Third Edition
- The Life and Works of Ludwig van Beethoven
ASIN: B00006O0NT
Release Date: 2002-12-03 |
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.
The one complaint I have is the last CD. This deals with the orchestra. I wanted more of a tour of how the orchestra has been used through history up to the present. Instead, it was a tour of how different groups of instruments sound. I thought it could have been better. The other 6 CDs are excellent.
Average customer rating:
- Astounding "Canyon"; "Rodeo" Rivals NYP
- Superb recordings of American classics.
- Copland and Gould - LSC-2195
- Gould conducts Copland and Grofe
- Superlative performance of Copeland
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Aaron Copland: Billy the Kid and Rodeo Suite; Ferde Grofé:Grand Canyon Suite
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Similar Items:
- Copland: Appalachian Spring/Fanfare For The Common Man/El Salón México/Danzón Cubano
- The Wild West: The Essential Western Film Music Collection
- Copland: Appalachian Spring; Gould: Fall River Legend
- Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue/An American In Paris
- Copland: Appalachian Spring; Rodeo; Fanfare for the Common Man
ASIN: B000003FGZ
Release Date: 1993-05-11 |
Tracks:
- Billy The Kid: Suite: Introduction: The Open Prarie
- Billy The Kid: Suite: Street In A Frontier Town
- Billy The Kid: Suite: Mexican Dance And Finale
- Billy The Kid: Suite: Prairie Night: Card Game
- Billy The Kid: Suite: Gun Battle
- Billy The Kid: Suite: Celebration: After Billy's Capture
- Billy The Kid: Suite: Billy's Death
- Billy The Kid: Suite: The Open Prairie (reprise)
- Rodeo: Suite: Buckaroo Holiday
- Rodeo: Suite: Corral Nocturne
- Rodeo: Suite: Honky Tonk Interlude
- Rodeo: Suite: Saturday Night Waltz
- Rodeo: Suite: Hoe-Down
- Grand Canyon Suite: Sunrise
- Grand Canyon Suite: Painted Desert
- Grand Canyon Suite: On The Trail
- Grand Canyon Suite: Sunset
- Grand Canyon Suite: Cloudburst
Customer Reviews:
Astounding "Canyon"; "Rodeo" Rivals NYP.......2007-01-05
Close your eyes and be transported to the Canyon. In this remastering of a 1960 recording, Morton Gould shows his chops as a superlative conductor and interpreter of this Grofe classic. The work itself is wonderful, but Gould and his orchestra provide nuances that absolutely delight. Of the five movements of "Grand Canyon Suite", the final, "Cloudburst", ceases becoming music and is elevated to pure sensory experience. It is no longer notes on a page finely executed; it IS the sky, the wind, the sheets of rain (a sheer, shimmering slide of sound), the thunder, and it is perfect. The four prior movements are nearly as excellent, with the second, "Painted Desert", casting an eerie shadow over the listener's mind with spellbinding brush strokes. This is a performance delivered with painstaking care.
Gould's treatment of Copland's works, recorded three years earlier, were of great personal interest, as one of my earliest exposures to "serious" music was the great Bernstein recording of "Rodeo", and "Buckaroo Holiday" in particular. Surprisingly, Gould and company give the NYPO a run for its money. They are just as energized, brash and even raw (hear the horns, and it's fitting) as New York; ditto the "Gun Battle" episode of "Billy". Gould threw himself into Copland's scores and whipped his musicians into a frenzy when called for, and the results place Gould's readings of these two pieces of Americana right behind Bernstein.
This CD - beautifully remastered - is a bargain.
Superb recordings of American classics........2004-04-27
I thoroughly agree with all other reviewers (though I wish some would spell Copland's name right!) Morton Gould conducts with great verve and sensitivity. "Rodeo" is terrific and it also includes the seldom heard "Honky-Tonk Interlude" which is a delight in itself.
The Grand Canyon Suite is a highlight with its marvellous orchestration and melodic richness. Although the score is influenced by a number of composers such as Dukas, Ravel, Respighi and even Richard Strauss, it nevertheless feels entirely
original. "On the trail" is beautifully rhythmical,one can really feel the trotting
of the donkeys, and the sound effects are pure joy. Note the
ee-ah-ing of the donkeys, so superbly part of the music. (somewhat reminescent of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream overture.) The Cloudburst is a sonic triumph.
This recording comes from 1957, but digitally remastered. Sound is demonstration quality. Still probably the best available, highly recommended.
Copland and Gould - LSC-2195.......2004-02-12
I've heard Copland conducting these two works on recordings and I've heard the famous NYPO/Bernstein's 1960 recording of these two works on Columbia Records, yet Gould and his Orchestra fills in the blank spaces that was left out in previous and recent recordings.
He takes his troup to NYC to Manhatten Center, in Oct of 1957, and have the legendary RCA producer, John Pfeiffer and Lewis Layton, produce and engineer this recording session to be encaptured on 3-track tape (where the "Billy the Kid" was released on RCA "New Orthophonic tape recording" - the BCS-130), then to eventual vinyl (LM/LSC-2195). Gould, being somewhat of an arrangement conductor in the 50's, manage to pull the stops out in how these two Copland pieces are to be presented-to where the listener can feel that they themselves are back in the Wild, Wild West of the 1880's. He doesn't rush through these two pieces like some other conductors do. Gould takes his time trying to tell the story within the music. He uses emphasis, emotion, tempo and dynamics where it should be per each chapter in a story. Excellent listening for all!
This BMG "Living Stereo" release of the LSC-2195 Copland/Gould is a faithful reproduction as it can be of the original vinyl release.
Gould conducts Copland and Grofe.......2003-11-21
It may surprise some to discover that American composer/conductor Morton Gould conducted such fine performances of other American composers' music. These RCA Victor "Living Stereo" recordings are vivid, excellent proof that Gould was a really fine conductor and not just of his own music.
The performances of the suites from Copland's ballets "Billy the Kid" and "Rodeo" are among the best ever recorded. They benefit not only from Gould's wonderful sensitivity and appreciation but from excellent playing by the "pickup" orchestra and the still remarkable "Living Stereo" recording process, in which RCA used only three microphones and advanced mastering techniques.
Ferde Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite" was a "labor of love" as the skilled composer/arranger spent considerable time carefully depicting his impressions of one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. Grofe had been a very successful arranger for Paul Whiteman and is still remembered for the very first orchestration of George Gershwin's "An American in Paris," premiered by Gershwin at the piano with Whiteman conducting in New York's Aeolian Hall in February 1924.
Grofe composed a number of original orchestral works in later years and the "Grand Canyon Suite" is probably his best. It contains memorable melodies and is skillfully orchestrated throughout. It so impressed Arturo Toscanini that he recorded it in 1945 for RCA Victor, under the supervision of the composer. Grofe himself conducted a recording of the suite for Everest Records in 1960. Gould's recording is excellent. The final movement, depicting a spectacular thunderstorm, is absolutely awesome. I think this recording may surpass an earlier favorite, also recorded for RCA Victor, by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston "Pops" Orchestra.
This is all very fun and very exciting American music.
Superlative performance of Copeland.......1999-12-26
Billy the Kid & Rodeo were both etched in my soul when as a young boy I listened along with my mother. This performance by Morton Gould remains for me above any other that I have heard and I have heard many given my love for them. This is a re-issue of an original 3 microphone/3 track TRUE stero recording made by RCA in their 'Living Stero' series and originally recorded in 1957. A must have for Copeland listeners. It is a bonus that it also contains 'Grand Canyon Suite.'
Average customer rating:
- Favorite then and now!!!
- Grand Canyon Suite Review
- Makes you feel like you are there!
- Musical interpretation
- Great Kostelanetz, awful Bernstein
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Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite/Mississippi Suite
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
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Similar Items:
- Grofe: Death Valley Suite
- Copland: Appalachian Spring/Fanfare For The Common Man/El Salón México/Danzón Cubano
- Copland: Rodeo/Billy The Kid
- Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bald Mountain
- Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue/An American In Paris
ASIN: B0000025PE
Release Date: 1990-10-25 |
Tracks:
- Grand Canyon Suite: I - Sunrise
- Grand Canyon Suite: II - Painted Desert
- Grand Canyon Suite: III - On The Trail
- Grand Canyon Suite: IV - Sunset
- Grand Canyon Suite: V - Cloudburst
- Mississippi Suite: I - Father Of The Waters
- Mississippi Suite: II - Huckleberry Finn
- Mississippi Suite: III - Old Creole Days
- Mississippi Suite: IV - Mardi Gras
Customer Reviews:
Favorite then and now!!!.......2007-06-11
When these recordings first came out I was too young to
have it on record, but later I had it on tape, and now
on CD. This is the best recording by far of these two works.
This recording I really love it. I remember as a teen in
the late 80's and early 90's comming home from school, how
I loved to listen to the "Grand Canyon Suite", how much
I like the "special effects" such as the "thunder storm" in the
last movement, and the "donkey" or "horse" steps as it would walk
through the desert. Grofe used such "special effects" I guess
to help us imagine better what he was trying to describe in his
music. The Mississippi Suite has always been a favorite too, with
its "Mardi Gras" finale, which depicts a carnival parade, so pupular
in the south as in many parts of the world. Kostalanetz, Bernstein
and the New Yorkers really put a "good show".
Grand Canyon Suite Review.......2007-01-13
While driving through the Painted Desert in Arizona on my way to NAU in Flagstaff I was listening to this CD and it just made the Painted Desert come alive. I could just picture each area of the Grand Canyon as the music came on. It was one of the most plesant drives I've taken in years. Also I was replacing a CD that had gotten stolen and I missed this mucic, so I ordered a replacement. I'm glad that I did. I danced to this mucis years ago at a ballet recital and the music had always remained with me. I really recommend playing this music as you pass through the Grand Canyon area but it's just as beautiful if you're sitting in your own living room or parlor listening to it.
Makes you feel like you are there!.......2007-01-10
I first had the Grand Canyon Suite conducted by Berstein as a vinyl recording. I missed it very much when I could no longer play it. I have two other conductors and orchestras doing Grand Canyon, but they are both lacking the expression in which this performance excels. I was thrilled to get this CD!! Berstein definitely understands the power of this great composition.
Kostelanetz does a great job with the Mississippi Suite. I have it on one other CD and, though that one is good, Kostelanetz brings a flavor to it that makes me think I am actually on the river. I was born in Memphis and go back to visit relatives frequently. The music and the flow and the majesty of the river is wonderfully depicted.
Musical interpretation.......2006-02-19
The Utah Orchestra plays with depth and interpretation of Grofe's music images of the Grand Canyon. Having hiked the Canyon myself as well as experienced the many moods, this recording evokes them very well
Great Kostelanetz, awful Bernstein.......2004-07-10
Given the fact that The Grand Canyon suite is a concert pops piece, it should be a piece of cake for Lenny to pull this off. Well, he can't, and it's terrible. The most famous movement, On The Trail, is lacking the excitement and spirit that this needs. His celeste solo is so over blown with extra accents and mannered phrasing, you realize just how self indulgent Bernstein is. Compare this to Stanley Black. His Grand Canyon is terrific. With Phase 4 engineering, great strings and plenty of spirit, he captures the mood of the piece with great verve. Skip the Bernstein tracks and just listen to Kostelanetz. The string sound he gets from the NYP is much better than Bernstein. It's hard to believe that it's the same orchestra. Even though this work is much shorter, Kostelanetz gives it his all. Daybreak is uplifting and majestic. Since this piece is rarely played, it's nice to have it on cd. Kostelanetz is the only version you'll need. Skip Bernstein and listen to Kostelanetz.
Average customer rating:
- Two Great Gershwin Recordings
- Gershwin fan
- Sorry - it's not the best.
- Two of LB's quintessential recordings
- Brilliant is the word!
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Bernstein Century - Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, etc
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Similar Items:
- Bernstein Century - Copland: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, etc / Bernstein, New York PO
- Bernstein: Candide; West Side Story; On the Waterfront; Fancy Free
- Haydn: The London Symphonies, Vol. 1
- Bach - Mass in B minor / Argenta, Nichols, Chance, Stafford, Milner, W. Evans, Gardiner
- Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3/Debussy: La Mer/Ibert: Escales
ASIN: B0000029XJ
Release Date: 1997-10-28 |
Tracks:
- Rhapsody In Blue
- An American In Paris
- Grand Canyon Suite: l. Sunrise
- Grand Canyon Suite: ll. Painted Desert
- Grand Canyon Suite: lll. On The Trail
- Grand Canyon Suite: lV. Sunset
- Grand Canyon Suite: V. Cloudburst
Amazon.com
Back in the 1950s and '60s, when George Gershwin was taken for granted more than he was respected, Leonard Bernstein was one of his only champions in high-classical-music circles, and to judge from these recordings, he got away with a lot. He would seem to be attempting to out-swagger Arthur Fiedler in the jazzier passages, but on the plus side, what can sound freeze-dried with some conductors has a welcome heat here, especially in An American in Paris. That piece receives one of its best-ever recordings and sounds great in the bright, clear recording venue, Brooklyn's Hotel St. George. However, Bernstein's tempo extremes tax the cohesion of Rhapsody in Blue. And Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite receives a sympathetic performance, though the acoustics of the Lincoln Center recording venue are so cavernous and diffuse you'd think it was recorded in the location of the title. --David Patrick Stearns
Customer Reviews:
Two Great Gershwin Recordings.......2007-06-27
I first heard the recording of "An American in Paris" on the radio, and I immediately concluded that this was a recording I needed to order. I ordered this CD solely for the recording of "An American in Paris", everything else was a bonus. "An American in Paris" was worth the price of the whole CD, but so is "Rhapsody in Blue", which I believe could easily be the definitive recording of this great work. Grofé's "Grand Canyon Suite" is a pleasant bonus, but not the substance of this recording. I would highly recommend this recording.
Gershwin fan.......2007-04-01
I am, definitely, absolutely and totally sold on Gershwin, so there is no question as to whether this CD is good or not, since it has Gershwin's two "hits", Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, it is good and enjoyable. I only feel that the Ferde Grofé part, though outstanding, is too overpowering vis-a-vis the Gershwin part. But it is definitely an OK CD, no question about it.
Sorry - it's not the best........2007-03-13
This recording is okay in many respsects...but many people (yours truly) find it lacking in something. Dare I say the interpretation is slightly off?
Sorry - there are better out there.
Two of LB's quintessential recordings.......2007-01-09
This bids fair to be the most famous recording of American music ever made, so it's strange for the Amazon reviewer to condescend to LB's readings of Gerhswin, only to call it one of his best. The more renowned recording is Rhapsody in Blue with Bernstein at the piano and a pickup orchestra--no doubt recruited form the NY Phil.--that's bigger than a jazz band but still lean. (Arthur Fiedler's version, also famous, is far more square.) If anything, the American in Paris recording is better; I can't imagine a more vibrant reading. The orchestration is more symphonic than the Rhapsody, but LB makes sure that the rhythms swing. A ollector could stop and buy no other readings, but the ones by Andre Previn on EMI have updated sound and also come across with jazz spirit. The filler here is Grofe's once-famous Grand Canyon Suite, a negligible piece of fluff with truding donkeys and a thunderstorm. LB does it proud, however; one wonders if he even had to rehearse it--probably not.
Brilliant is the word!.......2006-11-29
No other director in the history has achieved such expression level and plain domain of the idiomatic lexicon of George Gershwin as Bernstein did it. There are two main reason for it, his enormous talent and his condition as pianist.
So, Gershwin may be very grateful because of that because for the posterity , the future newcomers in music will have the chance to analyze, scrutinize and explore all the factors that made possible this testimonial.
Totally recommended.
Average customer rating:
- Grand Grofé
- The Treasures of Ferde Grofé
- Majestic!
- Programmatic music at its finest!
- Another "new" work by Ferde Grofe!
|
Grofé: Orchestral Works
William T. Stromberg , Ferde Grofe , and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
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Similar Items:
- Grofe: Death Valley Suite
- Amy Beach: "Gaelic" Symphony; Piano Concerto
- Howard Hanson: Organ Concerto; Fantasy Variations; Nymphs and Satyr; Summer Seascape; Pastorale; Serenade
- Barber: School for Scandal/Symphonies 1 & 2
- Victory at Sea (Music from the Original Television Series)
ASIN: B00000IXIW
Release Date: 1999-06-01 |
Tracks:
- Mississippi Suite: I. Father of Waters
- Mississippi Suite: II. Huckleberry Finn
- Mississippi Suite: III. Old Creole Days
- Mississippi Suite: IV. Mardi Gras
- Grand Canyon Suite: I. Sunrise
- Grand Canyon Suite: II. The Painted Desert
- Grand Canyon Suite: III. On The Trail
- Grand Canyon Suite: IV. Sunset
- Grand Canyon Suite: V. Cloudburst
- Niagara Falls Suite: I. Thunder Of The Waters
- Niagara Falls Suite: II. Devil's Hole Massacre
- Niagara Falls Suite: III. Honeymooners
- Niagara Falls Suite: IV. Power of Niagara - 1961
Customer Reviews:
Grand Grofé.......2007-07-13
What a fabulous collection of the best of Grofé conducted by the composer himself. If there is a better recording of any of these selections, I have not heard it and I have heard many.
The Treasures of Ferde Grofé.......2007-03-27
Ferde Grofé, born in the late 19th century New York, had a varied musical career as a composer, arranger, and pianist. He was a performer and arranger for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and later arranged Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" for orchestra. Best known as a composer for "Grand Canyon Suite," his style combined classical, jazz and Hollywood cinematic styles in a series of unique "paintings" that managed to evoke the images that his sounds represented.
This collection from Naxos includes the aforementioned "Grand Canyon Suite," as well as his lesser known "Mississippi Suite" and "Niagara Falls Suite." All are quite moving, although "Grand Canyon" is far and away his most brilliant. Niagara displays a fine range of images and moods, from the power of the waters themselves to the cinematic lyricalism of honeymooners.
The quality of the CD is excellent. I have been quite pleased with the quality of their releases. William Stromberg and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra capture the essence of these wonderful compositions.
Majestic!.......2002-10-14
Probably everyone with any familiarity with American classical composers has heard at least some of the "Grand Canyon Suite" at some point, but the other two suites on this CD (the "Mississippi" and the "Niagara Falls") may not be quite so familiar. They should be, and this version is a splendid (and inexpensive) way to own them. I bought the CD chiefly because I had heard of the "Mississippi" and wanted to find out what it was like. It is a fine piece of music, with much of the rolling expansiveness of the Big River captured in it. And the "Niagara Falls" ranges from Native motifs that will be familiar to all TV-Western buffs, to the Gershwinesque. Of course, there's no need to describe the centerpiece. I've always loved the kind of music that lifts you out of your seat, and all these pieces do.
If this is a typical Naxos product, I'm sure I'll be adding a lot more of them to my collection.
Programmatic music at its finest!.......2002-01-20
Ferde Grofé's mastery of the orchestral palette is breathtaking. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his seminal work, the GRAND CANYON SUITE. This work portrays 24 hours of contrasting moods in America's most famous natural habitat, from the stillness of morning in "The Painted Desert" to the thunder of a rare nighttime "Cloudburst." No matter what time of day, you may feel as if the sky is brighter after listening to "Sunrise." One can sense the demeanor of the donkey forced to make the journey "On the Trail." I always feel the regret of another day passing during "Sunset."
The other two orchestral suites on this CD are also great, but they simply do not compare to the majesty of the GRAND CANYON. The MISSISSIPPI SUITE is a short four-movement exploration of Americana along the great river. The NIAGARA FALLS SUITE is overwhelming in its portrayal of the power of the Falls, enhanced by the quiet sections of the inner movements.
Like me, you may be a bit leery of purchasing a CD from a budget label featuring artists and ensembles of whom you've never heard. Rest assured, this CD is a bargain that you will not regret purchasing. I have never been disappointed with a NAXOS CD, and both the Bournemouth Symphony and William T. Stromberg are excellent. Stromberg, a native Californian and only 34 years old at the time of this recording, lends a sensitivity to the quiet passages and incredible zest and energy to the dynamic passages, most notably to the NIAGARA FALLS SUITE.
Another "new" work by Ferde Grofe!.......2000-12-11
The close of the last century was a good time for the late American composer Ferde Grofe, with two never-before-recorded works popping up on CD! I refer to "Broadway at Night," recorded by the Beau Hunks, and "Niagra Falls Suite," the last and best performed of the three suites featured on this CD.
The sound quality is quite good, with a sufficiently spacious balance. While the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's versions of the "Grand Canyon" and "Mississippi" suites are merely competent, its dramatic and robust presentation of "Niagra" is an unforgettable listening experience. The piece is great escapist fare, mild in intent but brilliantly written and orchestrated. The asking price amounts to a giveaway, so don't miss out on this one!
Average customer rating:
- I liked it
- Almost as Good as the Christmas Music
- igottaview
- Manheim Steamroller's American Spirit
- American Spirit: Mannheim Stemroller
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American Spirit
Mannheim Steamroller
Manufacturer: American Gramaphone
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
All Works by Copland
| Copland, Aaron
| ( C )
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Grofé, Ferde
| ( G )
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Smith, John Stafford
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Similar Items:
- Yellowstone: The Music of Nature
- Romantic Melodies
- Mannheim Steamroller Meets The Mouse: Unique Musical Creations Based On Disney Songs
- 25 Year Celebration of Mannheim Steamroller
- Classical Gas
ASIN: B000095J69
Release Date: 2003-05-20 |
Tracks:
- Star Spangled Banner
- American Spirit
- America The Beautiful
- Convoy
- Fanfare For The Common Man
- Yellowstone Morning
- Heritage
- Wolf Creek Pass
- Home On The Range
- Mt. Mckinley
- Cloudburst
- Tin Type
- Battle Hymn Of The Republic
Customer Reviews:
I liked it.......2007-06-30
I liked the CD overall. The choral numbers build very nicely and Home on the Range is a unique item done in this style.
Almost as Good as the Christmas Music.......2007-05-27
I love Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas music, so I've been collecting their music for other holidays as well. I wish they'd avoided the occasional speaking parts in this but I love most of the musical parts. They did a good job on the Aaron Copland piece! I'll be listening to it other than on July 4th.
igottaview.......2007-03-08
GREAT ALBUM! Not quite as BIG as Trans Siberian but still a keeper!
Manheim Steamroller's American Spirit.......2007-02-13
Another excellent CD I'd recommend to all ages, even us oldsters!
American Spirit: Mannheim Stemroller.......2007-01-09
Adequate, but not as inspirational as I'd hoped. Much reciting.
Blessings to Amazon!
Average customer rating:
- Great for quiet time and reflection, has some Indian music in it too
- it is a very good CD
- A wonderful experience . . .
- Relax and unwind
- GREAT MUSIC...BUT WHY THE TALKING???
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The Music of the Grand Canyon
Nicholas Gunn
Manufacturer: Real Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
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General
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Meditation
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General
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Similar Items:
- The Sacred Fire
- Journey to Yellowstone
- Afternoon in Sedona
- Return to the Grand Canyon
- Through the Great Smoky Mountains: A Musical Journ
ASIN: B000001J3L
Release Date: 1995-07-11 |
Tracks:
- Moonlight On Havasu Creek
- Entering Twin Falls
- Flight Over North Rim
- New World
- Twilight
- Phantom Ranch
- South Rim
- Four Worlds
- Lost Tribe
- Grand Canyon
- Canyon Nights
Customer Reviews:
Great for quiet time and reflection, has some Indian music in it too.......2007-04-29
I love this CD! I play it a lot! I would highly reccomend it to anyone!
it is a very good CD.......2007-02-07
the CD is very good, a nice music, I like it.
A wonderful experience . . ........2006-02-01
I recently purchased "The Music of the Grand Canyon" by Nicholas Gunn after hearing the piece "Twilight" which was played on a local station. I stopped what I was doing and turned up the sound. Immediately I was taken to another place and time, which I did not want to ever end. I wrote the name down and purchased the CD right away, on-line. I have since come to enjoy this entire album incredibly, and play it often bringing peace, joy, beauty and well being to my spirit. I plan on listening to Mr. Gunn's other albums and hope to acquire more of his music in order to bring these beautiful sounds into my home.
Relax and unwind.......2005-07-27
After everyone else has gone to bed, put on this cd and turn it up not too loud. Then, shut the lights, relax in your recliner, shut your eyes, breath in/out slowly and you will know what I mean.
It will make you unwind and put you in time. A time of peace and tranquility beyond your imagination and keep you in the moment on the most beautiful place on Earth. Enjoy.
GREAT MUSIC...BUT WHY THE TALKING???.......2005-04-12
I love this CD and play it for dinner parties and in the morning to relax, etc.
However, one of the tracks has extended talking and factual data on the Grand Canyon (some of which is inaccurate by the way), interspersed w/the music. It is a jarring distraction and absolutely not necessary. If there was a way to delete a song from a CD, I'd be all over it.
Less talking, more music, please!!
Average customer rating:
- Descriptive American Orchestral Suites Beautifully Done
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Ferde Grofé: Grand Canyon, Mississippi & Niagara Suites [Hybrid SACD]
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Grofé, Ferde
| ( G )
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| Classical
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Suites
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Similar Items:
- Grofe: Death Valley Suite
- Grieg: Holberg Suite; Dvorák: Serenade for Strings; Elgar: Serenade for Strings [Hybrid SACD]
- Mussorgsky-Stokowski: Pictures at an Exhibiton [Hybrid SACD]
- Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves; Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis [Hybrid SACD]
- Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale [Hybrid SACD]
ASIN: B000260QF6
Release Date: 2004-07-20 |
Tracks:
- Father Of Waters
- Huckleberry Finn
- Old Creole Days
- Mardi Gras
- Sunrise
- The Painted Desert
- On The Trail
- Sunset
- Cloudburst
- Thunder Of The Waters
- Devil's Hole Massacre
- Honeymooners
- Power Of Niagara
Customer Reviews:
Descriptive American Orchestral Suites Beautifully Done.......2004-08-09
To Americans of a certain age, the name Ferde Grofé conjures up images of the Grand Canyon, because for many years one heard in all kinds of venues music from, or arranged from, his very popular Grand Canyon Suite, which is included on this SACD disc from Naxos. It also includes the Mississippi Suite and the Niagara Falls Suite. It seems as if Grofé was dedicated to writing music to describe all manner of American landscapes, activities, holidays, etc. This CD is one of several that have been issued by Naxos that give us a pretty good taste of his up-front, middle-American, easy-to-understand music. He was an expert at painting musical pictures. Probably most famous of such passages in his music is the hee-haw of the burro at the beginning of 'On the Trail' from 'Grand Canyon,' followed by a whiny violin cadenza that signifies the burro's reluctance to begin the descent down into the canyon. And then comes the familiar clip-clop of the burro's hooves. Also extraordinarily pictorial is the final section of the suite, 'Cloudburst,' which does indeed picture a desert storm.
The Mississippi Suite is just as descriptive, and even more so is the Niagara Suite which begins with a eerily accurate percussion imitation of the roar of the water going over the Falls.
These perfomances have all been released before on a plain-vanilla CD (and I urge you to read the reviews for that release to gain more information) and here it is in the more vivid surround-sound SACD format. I will admit I have not heard it in surround sound, because I haven't converted to the format, but from previous listens of other Naxos SACD on such equipment, I can confidently predict that the sound would be awesome.
Strong performances by the Bournemouth Symphony under William T. Stromberg, a conductor who has made a career of conducting film scores. Grofé music is not film music, but it could easily be taken for such.
TT=67:46
Scott Morrison
Average customer rating:
- Eh, It's Okay
- Better than the First Volume
- An Interesting and Gratifying Volume 2
- Sheila from Savannah, Georgia
- A great album
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Hollywood's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Previn, André
| ( P )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
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Rota, Nino
| ( R )
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All Works by Theodorakis
| Theodorakis, Mikis
| ( T )
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Similar Items:
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- Simply the Best Movie Themes
- Beautiful Hollywood
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- Classic Movie Themes
ASIN: B000003CYV
Release Date: 1993-06-29 |
Tracks:
- 2001: A Space Odyssey: Fanfare
- Ben-Hur: Prelude
- The Ten Commandments: Prelude
- Friendly Persuasion: Thee I Love
- Picnic: Moonglow And Theme
- Around The World In 80 Days: Theme
- Mutiny On The Bounty: Main Title
- Spartacus: Love Theme
- Zorba The Greek: Theme
- The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg: I Will Wait For You
- Valley Of The Dolls: Theme
- Midnight Cowboy: Theme
- The Godfather: Theme
- Modern Times: Smile
- Dances With Wolves: Themes
- Far And Away: Book Of Days
- Grand Canyon: Theme
Customer Reviews:
Eh, It's Okay.......2007-04-24
For those that purchase soundtrack collages to have a variety of songs and themes, then this is good for you. Unfortunately, these tracks didn't have the signature Erich Kunzel version of the songs as he had on other soundtrack mix CDs. It was more like just that, a mix CD of different soundtracks and scores. However, it was a good buy in the fact that the tracks chosen had excellent sound quality and a sense of harmony.
Better than the First Volume.......2005-08-04
There is a great collection of music to be found here. There are many great renditions. The "2001, a Space Odyssey Fanfare" was outstanding. "Book of Days" from "Far and Away" had a very unique approach. I recommend this one deeply, oh yes I do, by far and away!
An Interesting and Gratifying Volume 2.......2005-06-17
Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops' treatment of film scores on this second tribute to Hollywood are somewhat more pleasing than Volume I. The selections are more intriguing and demonstrate a more positive approach to film scores and their value as true musical art forms. There is quite a diverse representation of music here. The incredibly powerful main title to MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (Bronislaw Kaper) juxtaposed with the bittersweet and romantic love theme to SPARTACUS (Alex North) and the intimately tender love theme to FRIENDLY PERSUASION (Dimitri Tiomkin) are masterfully achieved. I have never been that enamored with this CD's 20-bit digital recording but it has grown on me. Still, I highly recommend and enjoy this CD.
Sheila from Savannah, Georgia.......2005-01-15
I love this cd. It is the greatest. Moonglow and Midnight Cowboy are my favorites.
A great album.......2001-01-28
Erich Kunzel, once again comes through with another terrific album of movie music. On this album you will find preludes, themes and main title music from some of Hollywood's most loved movies. Films from as early as 1936's "Modern Times", through to 1992's "Far and Away", are represented here. The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra are as wonderful as ever, and the 20-bit digital sound system makes for unequalled sound quality. A pleasing highlight for me, is the wonderful "Moonglow" which starts off track 5. The jazz trio of piano, bass and drums eventually is joined by the orchestra for the theme from "Picnic". Then we have the beautiful waltz from "Around the world in eighty days". With the wonderful accordion solo, you can imagine being on a merry-go-round. This is truly a beautiful album...a must for lovers of orcestral music.
Average customer rating:
- Some wonderful performances in great old stereo
- Get Mercury Living Presence Before Its Dead
|
Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite for orchestra No1-5; Herbert: Concerto for cello in Em
Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Grofé, Ferde
| ( G )
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All Works by Herbert
| Herbert, Victor
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Similar Items:
- Grofe: Death Valley Suite
- Howard Hanson Conducts Bloch
- Gershwin: Rhapsody; Concerto for piano in F
- Howard Hanson Conducts Barber, Piston, Griffes, McCauley, Kennan, Bergsma
- Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 4
ASIN: B0000057MR
Release Date: 1995-09-19 |
Tracks:
- Grand Canyon Suite: 1. Sunrise
- Grand Canyon Suite: 2. The Painted Desert
- Grand Canyon Suite: 3. On The Trail
- Grand Canyon Suite: 4. Sunset
- Grand Canyon Suite: 5. Cloudburst
- Mississippi Suite: 1. Father Of Waters
- Mississippi Suite: 2. Huckleberry Finn
- Mississippi Suite: 3. Old Creole Days
- Mississippi Suite: 4. Mardi Gras
- Concerto No. 2 In E Minor For Cello And Orchestra, Op. 30: 1. Allegro impetuoso
- Concerto No. 2 In E Minor For Cello And Orchestra, Op. 30: 2. Lento - Andante tranquillo
- Concerto No. 2 In E Minor For Cello And Orchestra, Op. 30: 3. Allegro
Amazon.com
Grofe lost no time capitalizing on the spectacular success of his Grand Canyon Suite, churning out several others, of which the Mississippi Suite is probably the best. Both pieces are very well performed by composer/conductor Howard Hanson and his excellent conservatory orchestra. The music itself is charmingly jazzy and very much of its period. Victor Herbert's Cello Concerto is a typically well written work by the famous operetta composer, and it has the singular distinction of having inspired Dvorák to compose his own Cello Concerto--the greatest ever written for the instrument. It's nice to have it back in the catalog in such a sympathetic performance. --David Hurwitz
Customer Reviews:
Some wonderful performances in great old stereo.......2005-08-08
I concur with the other review to get Mercury CDs while they can be gotten. The early stereo sound on these 1958 recordings is valuable not only as a historic benchmark in early stereo production but for the way they project the orchestra in sections.
I find equally winsome the performances of Ferde Grofe's two symphonic suites about the Grand Canyon and Mississippi -- which is about the river, not the state -- and the Victor Herbert Cello Concerto No. 2, which I have heard in more recent recordings not done as well as here. Cellist Georges Miquelle emphasizes the songful aspects of Herbert's friendly score in this memorable performance.
Having just read a review of popular American music in a well-known American classical music magazine, I was displeased to learn they did not recommend this recording for the Grand Canyon Suite, which is surely the meatiest section. The performance here by the Eastman Rochester Orchestra are vividly done with sensitivity to the Wild West aspects of the music. You can probably find a better version of "On the trail" but you'll never hear better work in the Mississippi Suite, which with excellent bass response rises to a level of the better known composition.
I very much enjoyed this small tour of Americana through Howard Hanson's Rochester forces circa 1958. I found the recording not wanting in any area and the players -- with a small accommodation necessary for a thin string tone -- being otherwise up to the task and turning in really memorable performances of the Mississippi Suite and Herbert concerto.
Get Mercury Living Presence Before Its Dead.......2003-08-16
When I first started collecting classical CDs, I only had a few Mercury Living Presence (MLP) titles. In my quest to get the absolute best, or at least a definitive recording, of the major works of the standard repertoire, MLP discs rarely topped the critics' lists. In fact, only three MLP recordings have been earmarked as "Essential Recordings" by amazon -- Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Byron Janis performing Rachmaninov's 2nd & 3rd Piano Concertos, and Yehudi Menuhin performing Bartok's 2nd Violin Concerto, all three with Antal Dorati as conductor. It is also safe to say that three other titles are equally essential for their historical value alone. They are Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by Dorati (the first recording of the complete ballet), Janis performing Liszt's Piano Concertos (the first recordings made in the Soviet Union by American technicians, musical staff and equipment), and Kubelik's Chicago Symphony performance of Pictures at an Exhibition (one of, if not the single best mono recording ever, and the one that led the New York Times critic to coin the phrase "Living Presence," from which the label named its series). But how does a CD line go from having a half-dozen must have recordings, to being this reviewer's all-time favorite classical label?
The answer: consistently magical performances, captured in brilliant golden-age stereo sound, that offer a slightly different take on your typical interpretation of the great works. While MLP titles may not offer the best standard account of a work, they always surprise you and open you up to all the possibilities that the music has to offer. For example, this performance of Grofe's Grand Canyon and Mississippi Suites (and Herbert's Cello Concerto No. 2) by Howard Hanson and the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra may not be the consensus first choice recording -- the composer himself made memorable recordings for EMI, which have been available on budget-line CDs. But I constantly come back to this disc for a different perspective, and its vibrancy and splendor never disappoint me. Maybe that is why collectors prize these recordings, because they are a breath of fresh air in a homogenized world of listening. Of course, collectors love a challenge too, and MLP CDs are becoming increasingly hard to find. It has taken years for me to finally find all of the MLP CDs released to date, and unfortunately I don't think there will be any new releases forthcoming. So collectors, and even those who aspire to be, should pick up as many Mercury Living Presence discs as possible now, before they all die.
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Pop Music
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