Baiser [Import]

1. La Fidelite

2. Une Bonne Carcasse

3. Ca Sent Le Brule

4. Je Plaisante

5. Le Celibat

6. Le Mors Aux Dents

7. Tant D'hommes 0et Quelque

8. L'infidelite

9. On Etait Tellement De Gau

10. Juste Apres Qu'il Ait Plu

11. La Guerre

12. Le Criterium

13. Salut Les Amoureux

Baiser,Miossec,Pias,World Music

Average customer rating: A Steve Reich 70th Birthday Present from Nonesuch Budget priced overview of newer recordings

Steve Reich: Phases Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Reich, Steve | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: John Adams: The Dharma at Big Sur/My Father Knew Charles Ives The Carnegie Hall Concert Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs Ys Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians ASIN: B000H3095G Release Date: 2006-09-26

Tracks:

1. Music For 18 Musicians

Tracks:

1. Different Trains
2. Tehillim
3. Eight Lines

Tracks:

1. (You Are) Variations
2. New York Counterpoint
3. Cello Counterpoint
4. Electric Counterpoint
5. Triple Quartet

Tracks:

1. Come Out
2. Proverb
3. The Desert Music

Tracks:

1. Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices, and Organ
2. Drumming

Album Description

Phases: A Nonesuch Retrospective is an essential CD companion to the extraordinary range of events in the United States and Europe on October 3rd, 2006 celebrating Steve Reich's 70th birthday.

Customer Reviews:

A Steve Reich 70th Birthday Present from Nonesuch.......2006-10-22

If you are a big Steve Reich fan, you probably already have most or all of these recordings. These are not rarities, PHASES is not for collectors -- this 5-disc box is aimed at those of us who have been curious, but not convinced enough to buy multiple Reich recordings. I, for instance, consider MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS to be a masterpiece of late 20th century music (the original ECM recording), but I haven't been nearly as impressed by the other Reich music I've heard. I consider this box to be a gift, and now I have finally satisfied my curiosity about one of the most important and influential composers of our time.

Here we have, for less than the price of any two of these discs as previously marketed, the pioneering COME OUT (1966), a 1987 recording of the 1971 piece DRUMMING, a 1996 recording of the 1976 masterpiece MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS by the Steve Reich Ensemble, the original recordings of DIFFERENT TRAINS (1988) and the TRIPLE QUARTET (1999/2000) with the Kronos Quartet, the original recordings of DESERT MUSIC (1984) and TEHILLIM (1993) for choir and orchestra, ELECTRONIC COUNTERPOINT (1987) with Pat Metheny, PROVERB from 1998, and the entire YOU ARE (VARIATIONS) album of 2005, and more.

I am not that impressed with the vocal compositions. Similarly, I don't think minimalism suits the string quartet format, though the TRIPLE QUARTET was better live when I heard the Kronos Quartet perform it at LSU in Baton Rouge in the spring of 2005. The concept of DIFFERENT TRAINS is powerful, the composition less so. COME OUT is a stunning work which ends, after the phase shifts separate, with a throbbing electronic rhythm track. DRUMMING is the next best thing to 18 MUSICIANS. I always assumed it was all drums, but as it turns out, it also includes marimbas, glockenspiels and vocals, which are added in turn to stunning effect.

You may know that Reich's music since the 1980s has been strongly shaped by his Jewish faith -- did you know he is an Orthodox Jew? Does it strike you as intriguing that such a radical, innovative composer is devoutly Orthodox? It certainly makes me even more interested in his music. (Thanks to David Schiff and his 11/6/06 article in The Nation for this insight.)

Happy Birthday, Steve, and shalom -- peace.

Budget priced overview of newer recordings.......2006-10-15

Reich suffers much the same problem as Riley (or even Cage and Stockhausen) where classic recordings remain unavailable and what can be found (easily) on the shelf are newer, 'tamer' recordings that fail to express the more challenging dimensions of the pieces. While much has been done to fix this problem with Riley, the best recordings of Reich remain unavailable.

This set collects the newer performances presented on Nonesuch (recordings dated from the late 80's to the present), and are not what many collectors are looking for. On the other hand, at ~$30 (the price of two CDs), this 5 disc set is nearly give-away and is difficult not to pick up based on this premise alone.

The set does contain a decent (though not terribly informative booklet), and the design of the set is functional and pleasent to look at. For those who want an idea of what Reich did and are willing to accept these rather mild recordings, this isn't a bad investment at all.

Here is what is included in the set (sort of unfortunate it isn't actually listed on the box):

Music for 18 Musicians (Recorded 1996)
Different Trains (1988)
Tehillium (1993)
Eight Lines (1996)
You Are (2005)
New York Counterpoint (1997)
Cello Counterpoint (2003)
Electric Counterpoint (1989)
Triple Quartet (1999/2000)
Come Out (1987)
Proverb (1998)
The Desert Machine (1985)
Music for mallet instruments, voices and organ (1990)
Drumming (1987)

Average customer rating: She is fantastic Forget what you think you know about the cello Around the World in 60 Minutes

Kinship Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music Tango | Latin Music | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: World To Come Oblivion Osvaldo Golijov: Ainadamar Child Almost Human ASIN: B00004SC0L Release Date: 2000-05-23

Tracks:

1. Samai Nahawand
2. Trayra Boia
3. Kebyar Maya
4. Khse Buon
5. Tsminadao Ghmerto
6. Kinship
7. Desert Mist

Customer Reviews:

She is fantastic.......2000-06-16

I have heard Ms. Beiser play some of these pieces before in her extraordinary concerts, often set in accesible atmospheric settings. Now to have them on a CD is too good to be true. The playing as always is a mixture of the challenging, the sublime and the mystical. People should check out her other work and become a Beiser groupie!

Forget what you think you know about the cello.......2000-06-09

This album is extraordinary. Listening is its own reward, but if you ever get a chance to see this performer, RUSH! She's unbelievable in live performance. This is what happens when a brilliantly talented virtuoso with the requisite classical training expresses her interest in the wide world and shrugs off the constraints of the classical canon. This is MUSIC. Why you have to search "classical" in order to get it to come up, I don't know (are you listening, Amazonees?). This is as vital, contemporary, stimulating and far-reaching as any current CD - in any genre. If you like classical, you'll find this rewarding. if you like jazz, you'll find it inspired and highly individual. And if you like "world" (that dubious genre; see what the liner notes say about that!) then you'll find all the exoticism and unique sounds/ethnic strains you want. This is music that moves you, fills your soul and makes you smarter too. The playing is beautiful; her taste in composers (and their quality) is incomparable. You won't have anything else like it in your collection, and it will give you listening pleasure for a long, long time.

Around the World in 60 Minutes.......2000-05-30

The pieces Miss Beiser has chosen for this disc are really wonderful! I understand that she has been performing these pieces around the world for years, and has finally recorded them. In Kebyar Maya, I wonder how she was able to make all those different sounds with just the cello. It sounds like there are many different instruments playing, not just cello. I wish they would put the cover picture up on the site - it's a photo of Maya in a yoga position (I think it's called the Ohm, legs crossed, hands palms together), with rays coming out from her hands. It's pretty cool.

Average customer rating: Pärt fans take note Profound and intense A contemporary tour de force

World To Come Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Part | Part, Arvo | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tavener | Tavener, John Kenneth | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Tango | Latin Music | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Kinship Oblivion Osvaldo Golijov: Ayre Golijov: Yiddishbbuk Osvaldo Golijov: Ainadamar ASIN: B0000CABC4 Release Date: 2003-10-21

Tracks:

1. Osvaldo Golijov: Mariel
2. David Lang: World To Come I
3. David Lang: World To Come II
4. David Lang: World To Come III
5. David Lang: World To Come IV
6. Arvo Part: Fratres for Four Cellos
7. John Tavener: Lament for Phaedra

Customer Reviews:

Pärt fans take note.......2005-08-12

Beyond the musical composition there is an intangible, almost mystical quality to many of Pärt's albums, especially my personal favorite - Tabula Rasa. Maya's version of Fratres is what initially attracted me to this album. However, this cut is actually now one of my least favorites. Track #1 alone would make this album worth the price. Maya's playing captures something that is beyond words and beyond any attempts to evaluate it based solely on its musicality. Buy it.

Profound and intense.......2005-03-23

It is impossible to describe this music, but suffice it to say that this CD contains some of the most compelling and interesting new music I've ever heard. The compositions have great emotional/spiritual depth and intensity, and Beiser's playing is strong and authoritative.

A contemporary tour de force.......2003-11-04

Maya Beiser's new recording is a sensational exploration into the world of multi-track recording. "Mariel" is a spiritual work, centered around what sounds like a South American folk song. "World to Come," by far the largest work on this disc, with vocals and multiple tracks of cellos, is inspirational and hopeful. A really enjoyable disc.

Average customer rating: stupid and not Eno. Zero stars. Eno gone wild Mostly good Takes the recording out of the studio not what i expected!

Music For Airports Manufacturer: Philips ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: Ambient 1: Music for Airports Terry Riley: In C Discreet Music Ambient 4: On Land Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks ASIN: B0000069CI Release Date: 1998-02-24

Tracks:

1. 1/1
2. 2/1
3. 1/2
4. 2/2

Amazon.com

An avant-garde ensemble playing the 1978 Brian Eno piece which put ambient music on the map. Eno's idea was to make a series of tape loops into tightly composed Muzak. He wanted a sonic backdrop for bland public spaces that would reward close listening. Bang on a Can, playing acoustic and electric instruments, breathe life into it, making the music's neutrality seem coldly beautiful. The piece is divided into four parts, each consisting of a few gentle, minimal figures, calmly repeated and shifted. Rhythm is eliminated and time seems to stretch. What is revealed is the sensuousness possible in a single note. Music has never been the same. This is the best place to hear where it changed. --Steve Tignor

Customer Reviews:

stupid and not Eno. Zero stars........2006-12-28

Its not an Eno album, but its credited to him.

Yes, I know, its "bang on a can", but it lists him as primary regardless. It should not.

The compositional process for the original is Algorithmic. treating it like a reproduceable composition is like trying to repaint Pollack's "Blue Poles". You could, but why?

As a lifetime fan of Eno, I find this product absurd and misleading.

Airports is a masterpiece.
This is a piece of something else.

Eno gone wild.......2005-09-27

Bang On A Can's version of "Music for Airports" adds a jangly depth to Eno's more compressed version. They've managed to use the studio to create space in an already swiss cheese like piece. But the key difference here is the space is much more stark than Eno, thanks to the startling presence of their instruments, which rattle and drone and twitter expressively. The quiet becomes the space for anticipation of the instruments. so rather than the steady rolling pulse of Eno's, you get more up and down with BOAC's version.

It doesn't improve on Eno's piece. I think in some way, it vindicates Eno's abilities as a composer.

Mostly good.......2005-04-25

I have known the original Eno version intimately for years, so I approached this CD with a question: Does it add anything to the original? The short answer is one part does, two maybe do and one part doesn't. The first part (arranged by Michael Gordon) is the least satisfying. It doesn't seem to add anything to the original Eno version apart from an unsettling deep piano chord at the start. It sounds awkward and clumsy, and it lacks the smooth beauty of the original. Part two consists of mostly aetherial voices, as did Eno's, but on this version David Lang has fleshed it out with subtle additions that work quite well. Third section brings out a slight jazz flavour to the original, which is interesting although I have yet to decide whether I like that angle or not! The best part is the final part, which certainly adds to the original Eno composition. Eno's rich, chorale of synths has been enhanced by the addition of some interesting instruments, e.g. plucked instruments, that really brings out some novel textures in the piece. So, overall, three stars - one for each reasonable piece on the album.

Takes the recording out of the studio.......2003-09-26

By taking Brian Eno's legendary ambient cornerstone album "Music for Airports" out of the studio, i.e. by recording it with live musicians in real time, avant-garnd ensemble Bang on a Can present us with quite a masterpiece, considering the original work was conceived as a piece solely with synthesizers and tape loops in mind (and at hand) when the music was first put together over two decades ago.

After interpreting works of the great minimalists Steve Reich and Terry Riley it would only seem appropriate for them to be the most appropriate pick to give new life to Eno's seminal ambient work, and they do an extraordinary job at it, in my opinion. The result is an album (an exec. production by Philip Glass, by the way) that is true to the source while adding new instruments to it in a process that counted with Eno's blessing all along the way.

not what i expected!.......2003-05-15

so, i bought this CD thinking i was getting the 'brian eno' version... but no; it was the 'bang on a can' version! hmmm, 'bang on can' doesn't exactly conjure up "ambient" music.
well, i gave it try and man am i impressed! i'm not sure how this stacks up to the original, but this is awesome mood music!
highly recommended! ranks right up there with eno's "apollo" disk.

Average customer rating: A Joyful Noise! NOT VERY GOOD AT ALL arrant garbage Still holding out hope boring, repetitive, unimaginative

Steve Reich: You Are (Variations) Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Reich, Steve | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: From The Kitchen, Archives No. 2: Steve Reich and Musicians, Live 1977 Philip Glass : Orion Reich: Different Trains, Electric Counterpoint / Kronos Quartet, Pat Metheny Osvaldo Golijov: Ayre Symphony No. 6, Plutonian Ode ASIN: B000A3OX3M Release Date: 2005-09-27

Tracks:

1. You Are Wherever Your Thoughts Are
2. Shiviti Hashem L'Negdi (I Place The Eternal Before Me)
3. Explanations Come To An End Somewhere
4. Ehmor M'Aht, V'Ahsay Harbay (Say Little And Do Much)
5. Cello Counterpoint

Amazon.com

This new CD of Steve Reich's music pairs two unusually scored pieces. "You Are (Variations)" is set for three sopranos, an alto and two tenors, with flutes, oboe, English horn, two marimbas, clarinets, four pianos, vibraphone and strings. The texts, in Hebrew and English, are philosophical meditations: "You are whoever your thoughts are," "Say little and do much," etc. The resulting work is fascinating, the textures unique and fresh, the experience haunting and captivating, with the voices used as another significant instrumental part. Equally fine is the second work, "Cello Counterpoint," scored for eight cellos (seven pre-recorded and one played "live" by soloist Maya Baiser), which is noteworthy for its complex rhythms, use of counterpoint, and handsome lyrical solo cello line floating above it all. Reich fans will love this; the uninitiated will want to give it a try. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

A Joyful Noise!.......2007-01-11

Many years ago I saw a performance of Steve Reich's "Drumming". I remember it exciting me. But it's not the kind of music you walk out humming, certainly not if you're a near layperson like I. So I didn't think much more about Steve Reich until hearing a report on NPR about the Steve Reich Festival in New York celebrating his 75th birthday. I got motivated and ordered this CD.

And what a thrill. It's easy to presume composer like Reich - because his music is complex - to be inaccessible. But I put the CD on and was swept away by the pure joyous force of it. The driving, indescribable rhythms for which Reich is famous (just how do these musicians manage to play them?) are overlain with broad, thrilling chording performed by chorus, marimba and a small arsenal of other instruments. The "You Are" variations - settings of short texts from Psalms, Pirkei Avot, Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav and Ludwig Wittgenstein that work together remarkably well - pulse with exultation. Far from inaccessible, this music immediately grabbed me and left me feeling uplifted.

NOT VERY GOOD AT ALL.......2006-11-04

I love Steve Reich's music, but now he's old and doesn't have much to say, but has to keep cranking it out. It's not very good at all! Hang it up Steve...you've done more than enough! (Does it get any funkier than Four Organs?}

arrant garbage.......2006-07-16

Others who have said that piece is poor and boring are correct.
Reich, just like Philip Glass, has lost his original style that we all loved to hear in the first place. He has replaced his original style with something that must be an attempt to make his music more palpable to a commercial audience. Unfortunately,
this "new Reich" is very bovine and greatly insipid. I can only hope Reich returns to his true roots =and makes something for his real fans instead of pandering to yuppies.

Still holding out hope.......2006-05-11

I have to respond to "D. Flynn"'s assessment of current/late Reich. I tend to reluctantly agree with most of it. I've noticed the pattern of several of my favorite composers, notably George Crumb, losing their way and losing the distinct power of their compositional voices late in life. I was hoping Reich was an exception and I still hold out hope. Like you, I've been underwhelmed by most of the post-"Trains" music, though one huge exception is "Proverb" which I find absolutely exquisite, timeless & spell-binding. Likewise, "City Life" excited me, as it represented a major step forward in the style he began with "Trains". I feel that "City Life" works because he finds new aesthetic uses for the "Trains" technique of integrating the sampled voices and sounds compellingly into an instrumental texture, and advances that technique significantly forward, to stunning effect. I find it moving & evocative of its subject. Perhaps not as brutally moving as "Trains" but then again, neither is the subject.

Most of the other late works you mention did leave me unmoved, but I try to sympathize with composers who have carved out immortal, distinct voices for themselves, in their unenviable task to go beyond that, not repeat themselves, and yet live up to the level they've already established. It's a tall order. Someone like Philip Glass doesn't even attempt to alter an already boring/lifeless style and just makes lots of money rewriting the same piece for 30 years on end. I have more faith in Reich than that and can overlook a few duds if they represent a path he needs to work through to get to more jewels like "Proverb" and "City Life". However, I must reluctantly admit that his track record is slipping.

boring, repetitive, unimaginative.......2006-04-05

i too welcomed steve reich and philip glass in the 1970s, modern composers with something new to say. but the minimalist, variations on a theme, has become tiresome, weary. and to me shows a lack of imagination, creativity, and invention. It is a one trick pony. He has nothing (new) to say. Sit down at a keyboard, pick a sequence of notes, and play them for 20 minutes. bring in a cello or other instrument to help you out, add some variety, and keep playing your sequence. it is sophomoric, simplistic, passing for erudition and complexity. it is not. You want to hear how a genius does this, listen to a few bars from Tristan und Isolde, how Wagner takes a single motive (motif) and weaves it with complexity and inventiveness. Steve could use a few lessons and ideas from the master.

Average customer rating: Not what I expected Tan Dun: A Composer as much for the Visual as the Aural St. Matthew Passion as World Ritual

Water Passion After St Matthew Tan Dun , O'Connor , and Beiser Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Ghost Opera Symphony 1997 Bitter Love Johannes Passion Wolfgang Rihm: Deus Passus ASIN: B0000787FZ Release Date: 2002-11-19

Tracks:

1. Baptism
2. Temptations
3. Last Supper
4. Water Cadenza
5. In The Garden Of Gethsemane

Tracks:

1. Stone Song
2. Give Us Barabbast!
3. Death And Earthquake
4. Water And Resurrection

Customer Reviews:

Not what I expected.......2005-08-28

Probably my own fault. I was looking for something more like the Spirited Away soundtrack. This album is VERY experimental.

Tan Dun: A Composer as much for the Visual as the Aural.......2005-04-30

Tan Dun, the 48-year-old composer from Hunan, China now living in the US, has entered the world of notoriety in composition based on successes with music scores for majestic Chinese films. It is not unusual, then, that his works for the stage and for orchestra and voices have a decided visual bent. In a recent premiere of a revised work commissioned by the LA Philharmonic for the opening of Disney Hall - "Paper Concerto for Paper Percussion and Orchestra" - it becomes even more understandable why his music is reaching a wide audience: it is simple, accessible, highly dependent on stagecraft and amplification using his favorite elements remembered from childhood - paper, stone, and water. And while he amazes with his ability to pull as much sound from his 'non-instruments' such as paper or water, his actual orchestral writing is repetitive and minimally interesting.

So it is with WATER PASSION. Again, the works should be seen as well as heard: the LA Master Chorale recently performed this work and while the various manipulations of water vessels and pourings are visually beautiful, the choral writing is thick to the point of indecipherable and the instrumental portion is reduced to incidental effects.

This recording does its best to capitalize on the absence of the visual and because it is a captured live recording, both the tension and message that is oddly present are as well done as can be expected. Time will tell whether this music is lasting and viable, but for the moment Tan Dun has found a responsive audience for his interesting investigation of the sounds of the world of nature. Grady Harp, April 05

St. Matthew Passion as World Ritual.......2003-04-16

The concept for this contribution to the Passion 2000 project smacked so much of "political correctness" and world music crossover gimmickry that I almost passed it by. Tan Dun is a composer that intrigues me, but the idea of a Buddhist making understandable this most Christian of stories seemed quite a stretch to me. I shouldn't have worried at all. I have heard three of the four works from the Passion 2000 project, and Tan Dun's work is by far the deepest spiritually. It is an altogether remarkable work.

Tan Dun was given the Passion according to Matthew. Not content to deal merely with the passion story, Dun's work starts with the Baptism of Jesus, includes the Temptation in the Wilderness and then continues with the Last Supper, Garden of Gethsemane, the Betrayal/Denial, Trial, Crucifixion and atypically, ends with the Resurrection. Each section is set apart, almost as a tableau, with a ritualistic quality. Tan Dun's "orchestration" is simple but remarkably effective. The work is scored for choir, soprano and baritone soloists, three percussionists, violin and cello soloists and electronics. Many extended techniques are called for. The soprano has to test the greatest extent of her range with declamation that recalls Chinese opera, and the baritone is required to sing in overtones, influenced by Tuvan throat singing. The choir also plays stones, Tibetan bells and other small instruments. The percussionists get the most fascinating instruments. Tan Dun has long been interested in what he calls "water percussion" - instruments which use water as a significant part of their sounding. The effect in this work is elemental...the use of water sounds, stones (specified to have been taken from a river or the ocean) and other natural elements emphasizes the basic natural elements of the story.

The overall result is quite moving. The piece begins with a droned sound, in many ways reminiscent of the opening of Wagner's Ring cycle. Then the choir introduces a chorale melody that appears in various guises during the rest of the work. Each tableaux of the work is highly differentiated and given some recognizable sonic symbol. As the story progresses toward the cross, the music becomes wilder and more impassioned. The final section, which poetically represents the Resurrection, is as lovely a closing as I could imagine for this work...in many ways as moving as the music for the final scene of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Dun strips the passion story down to it's bare spiritual essentials and creates a work of almost ritual power.

The live recording is terrific. A better or cleaner one could not be asked for. The string soloists are marvelous, including the ever-fabulous Mark O'Connor on the violin. Both vocal soloists handle the demanding requirements of the piece with grace and aplomb and the choral singing is exquisite. The one thing missing in this wonderful CD is the visual element, which is quite pronounced in this piece, I gather in much the same way as it is in the work of Crumb. This is only a small matter though. In general, I find this to be the strongest, least traditional, and most spiritually moving work of the Passion 2000 cycle, at least that I've heard. Highly recommended!

Average customer rating:

Almost Human Maya Beiser Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: World To Come Oblivion Kinship ASIN: B000J20V94 Release Date: 2007-04-24

Tracks:

1. One - Two
2. Three
3. Four
4. Five - Seven
5. Eight - Nine
6. Ten
7. Eleven
8. Twelve
9. Motion Detector
10. Falling

Average customer rating: Some Magical Music of Robert Helps

Spectrum: New Chamber Music Manufacturer: Composers Recordings ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Del Tredici | Del Tredici, David | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Character Pieces | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Nocturnes | Short Forms | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B000005TW1 Release Date: 1994-06-13

Tracks:

1. 1 Hommage a Faure
2. 2 Hommage a Rachmaninoff
3. 3 Hommage a Ravel
4. 4 Trio
5. Fantasy Pieces: I Adagio
6. Fantasy Pieces: II Poco Allegretto
7. Fantasy Pieces: III Allegro Minacciando
8. Fantasy Pieces: IV Largo
9. String Quartet
10. canto
11. Five Duets: I Risoluto
12. Five Duets: II Allegro
13. III Allegretto burlesco
14. IV Remembering Sepherad
15. V Agitato
16. Trio
17. Nocturne

Customer Reviews:

Some Magical Music of Robert Helps.......2007-02-02

Like many new music albums this was put together from several sources. Spectrum Concerts Berlin provided about half, but is mis-identified here as Spectrum Ensemble Berlin. Anyway, while the other pieces take some work warming up to -- for me, at least, who am a dogged but slow listener -- the Helps pieces are an immediate marvel.

As teacher-conductor Maurice Peress observed about connections between Dvorak and Gershwin and Ellington, two great musicians can pick up a lot from each other in a very short meeting. Helps, who died a couple of years ago, never met Fauré, Ravel or Rachmaninov, but as a fine pianist/composer in their mold he "met" them in their music in a profound way. And the first three pieces on the CD are musical commentaries on those composers, each speaking volumes.

At the end of the CD Helps appears again, with Spectrum Concerts Berlin playing his 1960 Nocturne for String Quartet. (A newer recording is on their all-Helps CD from Naxos.) They opened their recent Carnegie Hall concerts with this piece, and for me it is a musical analog to Van Gogh's Starry Night. A marvel of perceptions and exquisite musical effects, it is also a dark night of the soul where, like the Mahler/Rückert song "At Midnight," the search for stars to sustain our spirit becomes a solemn experience of self-knowledge.

I like the other pieces on this album better and better, but the Helps are among my all-time favorites.

Average customer rating: powerful piazzolla

Oblivion Piazzolla , Nin , Maya Beiser , and Anthony DeMare Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Piazzolla, Astor | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Cello | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Argentina | South & Central America | International | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Latin Music | Styles | Music Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music Tango | Latin Music | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Latin Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Kinship World To Come Almost Human Hindemith: Music for Cello and Piano The 20th-Century Cello ASIN: B00000J8QM Release Date: 1999-06-22

Tracks:

1. Oblivion
2. Chants d'Espange: Montanesa
3. Chants d'Espange: Tonada Murciana
4. Chants d'Espange: Saeta
5. Chants d'Espange: Grandina
6. Adios Nonino
7. Cuatro Comentarios: Sobre un tema de Jose Bassa
8. Cuatro Comentarios: Sobre un tema de Rafael Angles
9. Cuatro Comentarios: Sobre un tema lirico de Pable Esteve
10. Cuatro Comentarios: Sobre un aire de danze Pable Esteve
11. Le Grand Tango
12. Suite Espagnole: Vieja castilla
13. Suite Espagnole: Murciana
14. Suite Espagnole: Asturiana
15. Suite Espagnole: Andaluza
16. La Mufa
17. Ave Maria

Customer Reviews:

powerful piazzolla.......2000-07-27

A couple of months ago I purchased a recording of contemporary piano pieces by Rzewski with Anthony de Mare playing and was so blown away by his performance that I picked up this one. A semi-devoted fan of Piazzolla, I picked up this recording with certain expectations. I would say that this one did not disappoint in the least and is one of the most gorgeous performance and interpretations by cellist Maya Beiser and pianist Anthony de Mare. There is something that is inherently 'longing' and 'erotic' in Piazzolla's writing, especially when it is performed/arranged for the cello and piano combination. Piazzolla's tour de force for this medium was his "Le Grand Tango" and it shines under these two colloborators. In comparison with the SONY Yo-Yo Ma recording, I would have to say that Maya Beiser takes an intensely lyrically sparkles. He doesn't need an engineer to balance the 'cello line because his touch and ears do the job just fine. Where Yo-Yo Ma takes the aggressive start to finish approach, it is refreshing to see these two performers make a dramatic shape that brings out such varied emotions (an inherent quality necessary for Piazzolla's music) from the

Average customer rating:

Industry Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ASIN: B000002ATJ Release Date: 1995-04-25

Tracks:

1. Lick
2. Hout
3. Anvil Chorus
4. Hoketus/A
5. Hoketus/B
6. Hoketus/C
7. Hoketus/D/E
8. Industry

International Music:

1. Birthday Concert '95 [Live] [Import]
2. Brazilians Love Jazz
3. Bupatak
4. Chaturang
5. Con Alegría
6. Con el Apollo Sound
7. Crises de l'Ame [Import]
8. Das Beste [Import]
9. Der Schatz Im Silbensee [Import]
10. Die Hits [Import]

International Music

International Music