Spanish but not Flamenco, 12 Apr 2008
This is a clasical guitar album recorded by John Williams in his style of ultimate perfection. Don't confuse this with Flamenco Spanish guitar.

Brilliant in many ways, 04 Jan 2006
'The guitar is a genuinely Spanish instrument,' writes Uwe Kraemer, and it (along with the classical music for it) is one of the great gifts of Spanish culture to the world. The period of composition for guitar in Spanish culture began in the 1500s, and has never really faded. Guitarist John Williams (not to be confused with the composer of the Star Wars themes) is a master of this instrument, and has selected a repertoire of pieces spanning all four centuries of the instrument.

This is a solo album - all of the pieces here are arranged for single guitar. Some of the music is distinctively Spanish, while others bear a Catalan and Portuguese influence. Few of the composers on this album are well-known names in the Northern-European culture, but in the Latin culture, these are names that are known, and the music even more so.

From the earliest century of guitar music, composers such as Gaspar Sanz and Alonso Mudarra show the origins of this kind of work, which includes dissonances that occasionally sound like modern composition. There are pieces with lively spirit and power, inspiring dance in a more popular mode.

Mateo Albeniz has only one surviving composition; a church organist in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, he was influenced by Scarlatti and wrote for the harpischord - Williams has transcribed the piece for guitar here.

From the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, many composers were productive: Isaac Albeniz, Julio Sagreras, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Francisco Tarrega, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Joaquin Turina. Some like de Falla were very influenced by traditional Spanish stories and musical themes, whereas others like Granados drew inspiration from the broader aspects of European musical tradition. Villa-Lobos shows the transportation of Spanish music into the new world, becoming a noted name in Brazilian music (which, ironically, is the only major South American country without Spanish as its primary language).

Joaquin Rodrigo and Frederico Moreno Torroba represent composers in this grand style up to the present day.

John Williams' playing is technically sound and has flashes of emotional power and inspiration. Many pieces here are wonderful, but 'The Miller's Dance', the 'Fandango' and the Villa-Lobos 'Prelude No. 4 in E minor' stand out as the greatest of tracks here, being nothing short of brilliant.

classical gems, 05 Aug 2003
A treat for the solo guitar enthusiast, this is a sparkling collection of Spanish classics, full of drama and passion, played to perfection by John Williams. His technique is dazzling, with a purity and clarity even in the fast and fiery parts, and never a squishy note to be heard.
The music takes us back to the mid 16th century with Alonso Mudarra's "Fantasia", which is short and charming, as well as another early composer, Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), with his "Canarios", up to many 20th century masters like de Falla, Torroba, and the only non-Spaniard represented, the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Favorites include Albeniz' "Cordoba", which has a marvelous "rasqueado", and the familiar but exciting "The Miller's Dance" by de Falla, but every track is impressive on this CD, as well as entertaining, something solo guitar music occasionally fails to be.

Having been reared by a mother who loved her guitar almost as much as her children, I have heard these pieces played often and by many great artists, but never better, or more enjoyably. This is a compilation that consists of previously released material, some from the 70's and 80's, and the sound throughout is excellent.

Spanish but not Flamenco, 12 Apr 2008
This is a clasical guitar album recorded by John Williams in his style of ultimate perfection. Don't confuse this with Flamenco Spanish guitar.

Brilliant in many ways, 04 Jan 2006
'The guitar is a genuinely Spanish instrument,' writes Uwe Kraemer, and it (along with the classical music for it) is one of the great gifts of Spanish culture to the world. The period of composition for guitar in Spanish culture began in the 1500s, and has never really faded. Guitarist John Williams (not to be confused with the composer of the Star Wars themes) is a master of this instrument, and has selected a repertoire of pieces spanning all four centuries of the instrument.

This is a solo album - all of the pieces here are arranged for single guitar. Some of the music is distinctively Spanish, while others bear a Catalan and Portuguese influence. Few of the composers on this album are well-known names in the Northern-European culture, but in the Latin culture, these are names that are known, and the music even more so.

From the earliest century of guitar music, composers such as Gaspar Sanz and Alonso Mudarra show the origins of this kind of work, which includes dissonances that occasionally sound like modern composition. There are pieces with lively spirit and power, inspiring dance in a more popular mode.

Mateo Albeniz has only one surviving composition; a church organist in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, he was influenced by Scarlatti and wrote for the harpischord - Williams has transcribed the piece for guitar here.

From the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, many composers were productive: Isaac Albeniz, Julio Sagreras, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Francisco Tarrega, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Joaquin Turina. Some like de Falla were very influenced by traditional Spanish stories and musical themes, whereas others like Granados drew inspiration from the broader aspects of European musical tradition. Villa-Lobos shows the transportation of Spanish music into the new world, becoming a noted name in Brazilian music (which, ironically, is the only major South American country without Spanish as its primary language).

Joaquin Rodrigo and Frederico Moreno Torroba represent composers in this grand style up to the present day.

John Williams' playing is technically sound and has flashes of emotional power and inspiration. Many pieces here are wonderful, but 'The Miller's Dance', the 'Fandango' and the Villa-Lobos 'Prelude No. 4 in E minor' stand out as the greatest of tracks here, being nothing short of brilliant.

classical gems, 05 Aug 2003
A treat for the solo guitar enthusiast, this is a sparkling collection of Spanish classics, full of drama and passion, played to perfection by John Williams. His technique is dazzling, with a purity and clarity even in the fast and fiery parts, and never a squishy note to be heard.
The music takes us back to the mid 16th century with Alonso Mudarra's "Fantasia", which is short and charming, as well as another early composer, Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), with his "Canarios", up to many 20th century masters like de Falla, Torroba, and the only non-Spaniard represented, the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Favorites include Albeniz' "Cordoba", which has a marvelous "rasqueado", and the familiar but exciting "The Miller's Dance" by de Falla, but every track is impressive on this CD, as well as entertaining, something solo guitar music occasionally fails to be.

Having been reared by a mother who loved her guitar almost as much as her children, I have heard these pieces played often and by many great artists, but never better, or more enjoyably. This is a compilation that consists of previously released material, some from the 70's and 80's, and the sound throughout is excellent.

A GREAT GUITAR COMPILATION, 04 Aug 2008
As the previous reviewer said, this is a great introduction to the world of classical guitar music. As usual with ClassicFM Cd's, the quality of the music on offer is superb, with a few well known pieces that have been arranged for the guitar; like Elgar's Nimrod etc.. As said before, if your new to this style, or you want something to just relax to, then you can't go wrong with this.

'My first classical guitar album', 28 Jun 2008

This Classic FM 2CD collection of classical guitar music was released at the same time as the Classic FM `Full Works' series of 50 separate CDs, so was slightly upstaged and pushed to the back of the class.

However, it's Classic FM's first serious venture into the area of classical guitar music and with this in mind I think it's a well considered offering. It's not the `Ultimate' of course as the title claims - even a large collection of John Williams, Julian Bream and Andres Segovia wouldn't scratch the surface - but it does score well I think for its success at displaying the versatility of the instrument.

Obvious inclusions are Stanley Myers' `Cavatina' (made famous by the film The Deerhunter) but more interesting perhaps are the transcriptions, from piano, of pieces such as Einaudi's `Le Onde' and Satie's `Gymnopedie No. 3' which I think really show off the ability of the instrument to play a wide range of musical styles.

The recordings are good, as is usual of Classic FM products, and the range of guitarists - John Williams is of course included, but many lesser known players are also on offer - provides a variety of playing techniques.

While certainly not the `Ultimate', this is a highly recommended and entertaining collection.

Spanish but not Flamenco, 12 Apr 2008
This is a clasical guitar album recorded by John Williams in his style of ultimate perfection. Don't confuse this with Flamenco Spanish guitar.

Brilliant in many ways, 04 Jan 2006
'The guitar is a genuinely Spanish instrument,' writes Uwe Kraemer, and it (along with the classical music for it) is one of the great gifts of Spanish culture to the world. The period of composition for guitar in Spanish culture began in the 1500s, and has never really faded. Guitarist John Williams (not to be confused with the composer of the Star Wars themes) is a master of this instrument, and has selected a repertoire of pieces spanning all four centuries of the instrument.

This is a solo album - all of the pieces here are arranged for single guitar. Some of the music is distinctively Spanish, while others bear a Catalan and Portuguese influence. Few of the composers on this album are well-known names in the Northern-European culture, but in the Latin culture, these are names that are known, and the music even more so.

From the earliest century of guitar music, composers such as Gaspar Sanz and Alonso Mudarra show the origins of this kind of work, which includes dissonances that occasionally sound like modern composition. There are pieces with lively spirit and power, inspiring dance in a more popular mode.

Mateo Albeniz has only one surviving composition; a church organist in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, he was influenced by Scarlatti and wrote for the harpischord - Williams has transcribed the piece for guitar here.

From the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, many composers were productive: Isaac Albeniz, Julio Sagreras, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Francisco Tarrega, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Joaquin Turina. Some like de Falla were very influenced by traditional Spanish stories and musical themes, whereas others like Granados drew inspiration from the broader aspects of European musical tradition. Villa-Lobos shows the transportation of Spanish music into the new world, becoming a noted name in Brazilian music (which, ironically, is the only major South American country without Spanish as its primary language).

Joaquin Rodrigo and Frederico Moreno Torroba represent composers in this grand style up to the present day.

John Williams' playing is technically sound and has flashes of emotional power and inspiration. Many pieces here are wonderful, but 'The Miller's Dance', the 'Fandango' and the Villa-Lobos 'Prelude No. 4 in E minor' stand out as the greatest of tracks here, being nothing short of brilliant.

classical gems, 05 Aug 2003
A treat for the solo guitar enthusiast, this is a sparkling collection of Spanish classics, full of drama and passion, played to perfection by John Williams. His technique is dazzling, with a purity and clarity even in the fast and fiery parts, and never a squishy note to be heard.
The music takes us back to the mid 16th century with Alonso Mudarra's "Fantasia", which is short and charming, as well as another early composer, Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), with his "Canarios", up to many 20th century masters like de Falla, Torroba, and the only non-Spaniard represented, the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Favorites include Albeniz' "Cordoba", which has a marvelous "rasqueado", and the familiar but exciting "The Miller's Dance" by de Falla, but every track is impressive on this CD, as well as entertaining, something solo guitar music occasionally fails to be.

Having been reared by a mother who loved her guitar almost as much as her children, I have heard these pieces played often and by many great artists, but never better, or more enjoyably. This is a compilation that consists of previously released material, some from the 70's and 80's, and the sound throughout is excellent.

A GREAT GUITAR COMPILATION, 04 Aug 2008
As the previous reviewer said, this is a great introduction to the world of classical guitar music. As usual with ClassicFM Cd's, the quality of the music on offer is superb, with a few well known pieces that have been arranged for the guitar; like Elgar's Nimrod etc.. As said before, if your new to this style, or you want something to just relax to, then you can't go wrong with this.

'My first classical guitar album', 28 Jun 2008

This Classic FM 2CD collection of classical guitar music was released at the same time as the Classic FM `Full Works' series of 50 separate CDs, so was slightly upstaged and pushed to the back of the class.

However, it's Classic FM's first serious venture into the area of classical guitar music and with this in mind I think it's a well considered offering. It's not the `Ultimate' of course as the title claims - even a large collection of John Williams, Julian Bream and Andres Segovia wouldn't scratch the surface - but it does score well I think for its success at displaying the versatility of the instrument.

Obvious inclusions are Stanley Myers' `Cavatina' (made famous by the film The Deerhunter) but more interesting perhaps are the transcriptions, from piano, of pieces such as Einaudi's `Le Onde' and Satie's `Gymnopedie No. 3' which I think really show off the ability of the instrument to play a wide range of musical styles.

The recordings are good, as is usual of Classic FM products, and the range of guitarists - John Williams is of course included, but many lesser known players are also on offer - provides a variety of playing techniques.

While certainly not the `Ultimate', this is a highly recommended and entertaining collection.


The Perfect Recording, 09 Aug 2008
Brendel sets the mark for other performers for seven of Beethoven's finest piano sonatas.

Although brendel sticks to the notes, he still manages to leave his mark on the music.

recommended !

A truly great performance, 31 Jul 2008
I love the music of Beethoven and especially his piano sonatas, symphonies and string quartets. Also I have listened to a LOT of different interpretations and can with certainty say that Brendel is among the absolute winners. And here I'm first of all thinking about the overall performance; it really has depth, musicality and transcendence - in other words; here is a man who understands Beethoven's music.

This is not to say that everything is "perfect" - maybe sometimes one is missing a little clarity - a little more extra technical brilliance, but I believe that it doesn't really matter, because he really tells the story and that is the most important thing. Just listen to the famous 1'rst movement of the "Moonlight Sonata" - a piece that have been played to death, but in Brendel's hands it is a sheer joy - deep and profound, it cannot be any better.

It is a shame that they haven't reissued he's complete performances from the 70's, with an updated mastering, because he's new rerecording of all the sonatas is definitely not as good as the ones from the 70's. You will not regret buying these selected sonatas (from the 70's) - it's just great.


Alfred Brendel - Master of Beethoven piano interpretation., 11 Aug 2005
The original recordings may be over thirty years old,but the combination of first-rate transfer to CD and Alfred Brendel's superb interpretation of Beethoven's piano sonatas,make this collection,in my opinion,the benchmark by which other recordings should be judged. The price is amazing value.For me,the Moonlight especially the challenging Presto was simply wonderful.

Without doubt the best set of Beethoven Sonatas I have heard, 06 Dec 2000
Alfred Brendel is well known and well respected by the musical community as a great interpreter of Beethoven, but the recordings on this cycle are second to none. Alfred Brendel brings the discipline of perfect precision to the music in a way that I have never experienced before; regardless of speed or complexity, each note stands on its own and yet is perfectly part of the whole. One might expect there to be some reduction in expressiveness as a result of such amazing precision, but quite the reverse is true. The feeling that runs through the pieces is wholly genuine, and Brendel never allows technical ability to compromise artistic integrity. Consider the 3rd movement of the Waldstein sonata. The subtlety of the rendition is second to none, and one feels intimately attached to the music, as though Beethoven himself were playing through him. The shifts in velocity, tempo, colour and just the general feeling of the piece are simultaneously uplifting and captivating. Despite this wonder of expressiveness there is never any inappropriate enrichment or thickening of tone, a trap that so many great performers seem unable to escape.

This is what it must have been like to hear Liszt perform Beethoven - Alfred Brendel is at the same time a master of precision and expression, one for whom technique and form are as one.

Spanish but not Flamenco, 12 Apr 2008
This is a clasical guitar album recorded by John Williams in his style of ultimate perfection. Don't confuse this with Flamenco Spanish guitar.

Brilliant in many ways, 04 Jan 2006
'The guitar is a genuinely Spanish instrument,' writes Uwe Kraemer, and it (along with the classical music for it) is one of the great gifts of Spanish culture to the world. The period of composition for guitar in Spanish culture began in the 1500s, and has never really faded. Guitarist John Williams (not to be confused with the composer of the Star Wars themes) is a master of this instrument, and has selected a repertoire of pieces spanning all four centuries of the instrument.

This is a solo album - all of the pieces here are arranged for single guitar. Some of the music is distinctively Spanish, while others bear a Catalan and Portuguese influence. Few of the composers on this album are well-known names in the Northern-European culture, but in the Latin culture, these are names that are known, and the music even more so.

From the earliest century of guitar music, composers such as Gaspar Sanz and Alonso Mudarra show the origins of this kind of work, which includes dissonances that occasionally sound like modern composition. There are pieces with lively spirit and power, inspiring dance in a more popular mode.

Mateo Albeniz has only one surviving composition; a church organist in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, he was influenced by Scarlatti and wrote for the harpischord - Williams has transcribed the piece for guitar here.

From the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, many composers were productive: Isaac Albeniz, Julio Sagreras, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Francisco Tarrega, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Joaquin Turina. Some like de Falla were very influenced by traditional Spanish stories and musical themes, whereas others like Granados drew inspiration from the broader aspects of European musical tradition. Villa-Lobos shows the transportation of Spanish music into the new world, becoming a noted name in Brazilian music (which, ironically, is the only major South American country without Spanish as its primary language).

Joaquin Rodrigo and Frederico Moreno Torroba represent composers in this grand style up to the present day.

John Williams' playing is technically sound and has flashes of emotional power and inspiration. Many pieces here are wonderful, but 'The Miller's Dance', the 'Fandango' and the Villa-Lobos 'Prelude No. 4 in E minor' stand out as the greatest of tracks here, being nothing short of brilliant.

classical gems, 05 Aug 2003
A treat for the solo guitar enthusiast, this is a sparkling collection of Spanish classics, full of drama and passion, played to perfection by John Williams. His technique is dazzling, with a purity and clarity even in the fast and fiery parts, and never a squishy note to be heard.
The music takes us back to the mid 16th century with Alonso Mudarra's "Fantasia", which is short and charming, as well as another early composer, Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), with his "Canarios", up to many 20th century masters like de Falla, Torroba, and the only non-Spaniard represented, the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Favorites include Albeniz' "Cordoba", which has a marvelous "rasqueado", and the familiar but exciting "The Miller's Dance" by de Falla, but every track is impressive on this CD, as well as entertaining, something solo guitar music occasionally fails to be.

Having been reared by a mother who loved her guitar almost as much as her children, I have heard these pieces played often and by many great artists, but never better, or more enjoyably. This is a compilation that consists of previously released material, some from the 70's and 80's, and the sound throughout is excellent.

A GREAT GUITAR COMPILATION, 04 Aug 2008
As the previous reviewer said, this is a great introduction to the world of classical guitar music. As usual with ClassicFM Cd's, the quality of the music on offer is superb, with a few well known pieces that have been arranged for the guitar; like Elgar's Nimrod etc.. As said before, if your new to this style, or you want something to just relax to, then you can't go wrong with this.

'My first classical guitar album', 28 Jun 2008

This Classic FM 2CD collection of classical guitar music was released at the same time as the Classic FM `Full Works' series of 50 separate CDs, so was slightly upstaged and pushed to the back of the class.

However, it's Classic FM's first serious venture into the area of classical guitar music and with this in mind I think it's a well considered offering. It's not the `Ultimate' of course as the title claims - even a large collection of John Williams, Julian Bream and Andres Segovia wouldn't scratch the surface - but it does score well I think for its success at displaying the versatility of the instrument.

Obvious inclusions are Stanley Myers' `Cavatina' (made famous by the film The Deerhunter) but more interesting perhaps are the transcriptions, from piano, of pieces such as Einaudi's `Le Onde' and Satie's `Gymnopedie No. 3' which I think really show off the ability of the instrument to play a wide range of musical styles.

The recordings are good, as is usual of Classic FM products, and the range of guitarists - John Williams is of course included, but many lesser known players are also on offer - provides a variety of playing techniques.

While certainly not the `Ultimate', this is a highly recommended and entertaining collection.


The Perfect Recording, 09 Aug 2008
Brendel sets the mark for other performers for seven of Beethoven's finest piano sonatas.

Although brendel sticks to the notes, he still manages to leave his mark on the music.

recommended !

A truly great performance, 31 Jul 2008
I love the music of Beethoven and especially his piano sonatas, symphonies and string quartets. Also I have listened to a LOT of different interpretations and can with certainty say that Brendel is among the absolute winners. And here I'm first of all thinking about the overall performance; it really has depth, musicality and transcendence - in other words; here is a man who understands Beethoven's music.

This is not to say that everything is "perfect" - maybe sometimes one is missing a little clarity - a little more extra technical brilliance, but I believe that it doesn't really matter, because he really tells the story and that is the most important thing. Just listen to the famous 1'rst movement of the "Moonlight Sonata" - a piece that have been played to death, but in Brendel's hands it is a sheer joy - deep and profound, it cannot be any better.

It is a shame that they haven't reissued he's complete performances from the 70's, with an updated mastering, because he's new rerecording of all the sonatas is definitely not as good as the ones from the 70's. You will not regret buying these selected sonatas (from the 70's) - it's just great.


Alfred Brendel - Master of Beethoven piano interpretation., 11 Aug 2005
The original recordings may be over thirty years old,but the combination of first-rate transfer to CD and Alfred Brendel's superb interpretation of Beethoven's piano sonatas,make this collection,in my opinion,the benchmark by which other recordings should be judged. The price is amazing value.For me,the Moonlight especially the challenging Presto was simply wonderful.

Without doubt the best set of Beethoven Sonatas I have heard, 06 Dec 2000
Alfred Brendel is well known and well respected by the musical community as a great interpreter of Beethoven, but the recordings on this cycle are second to none. Alfred Brendel brings the discipline of perfect precision to the music in a way that I have never experienced before; regardless of speed or complexity, each note stands on its own and yet is perfectly part of the whole. One might expect there to be some reduction in expressiveness as a result of such amazing precision, but quite the reverse is true. The feeling that runs through the pieces is wholly genuine, and Brendel never allows technical ability to compromise artistic integrity. Consider the 3rd movement of the Waldstein sonata. The subtlety of the rendition is second to none, and one feels intimately attached to the music, as though Beethoven himself were playing through him. The shifts in velocity, tempo, colour and just the general feeling of the piece are simultaneously uplifting and captivating. Despite this wonder of expressiveness there is never any inappropriate enrichment or thickening of tone, a trap that so many great performers seem unable to escape.

This is what it must have been like to hear Liszt perform Beethoven - Alfred Brendel is at the same time a master of precision and expression, one for whom technique and form are as one.

These recordings live forever, 15 Dec 2008

These are three classic, timeless, almost historical (1963 and 1965) recordings of Elgar's works by three great champions of the composer - conductor Sir John Barbirolli, Jacqueline du Pre and Dame Janet Baker, and full credit to EMI too for preserving and continually remarketing these great recordings.

However, great as the recordings are, they are all included in the EMI Classsics 5CD set `Elgar Orchestral Works' which also has the complete Enigma Variations, Symphonies 1 and 2, and all the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, so my recommendation has to be that set rather than this single disc offering.

If you don't already have the complete Rachmaninov concertos, you can buy this version with total confidence. There may be better recordings of the individual works (such as the legendary Michelangeli in No. 4 or Argerich in No. 3) but this remains the finest complete recording, unrivalled since it was made in the early 1970s. Only the boxy sound (in itself not bad enough to lessen the recommendation) and the tuning of the piano in the first movement of the First Concerto counts against it. Vladimir Ashkenazy is one of Rachmaninov's most sympathetic interpreters, both as pianist and latterly as conductor. He never ladles on the sugar in the way some interpreters do and the music sounds all the greater for it. Previn is a superb ally, and his relationship with the LSO was one of the most distinguished in the orchestra's history. The highlights are too numerous to number: by far the best thing is to buy it and hear it for yourself. --Harriet Smith

Spanish but not Flamenco, 12 Apr 2008
This is a clasical guitar album recorded by John Williams in his style of ultimate perfection. Don't confuse this with Flamenco Spanish guitar.

Brilliant in many ways, 04 Jan 2006
'The guitar is a genuinely Spanish instrument,' writes Uwe Kraemer, and it (along with the classical music for it) is one of the great gifts of Spanish culture to the world. The period of composition for guitar in Spanish culture began in the 1500s, and has never really faded. Guitarist John Williams (not to be confused with the composer of the Star Wars themes) is a master of this instrument, and has selected a repertoire of pieces spanning all four centuries of the instrument.

This is a solo album - all of the pieces here are arranged for single guitar. Some of the music is distinctively Spanish, while others bear a Catalan and Portuguese influence. Few of the composers on this album are well-known names in the Northern-European culture, but in the Latin culture, these are names that are known, and the music even more so.

From the earliest century of guitar music, composers such as Gaspar Sanz and Alonso Mudarra show the origins of this kind of work, which includes dissonances that occasionally sound like modern composition. There are pieces with lively spirit and power, inspiring dance in a more popular mode.

Mateo Albeniz has only one surviving composition; a church organist in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, he was influenced by Scarlatti and wrote for the harpischord - Williams has transcribed the piece for guitar here.

From the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, many composers were productive: Isaac Albeniz, Julio Sagreras, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Francisco Tarrega, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Joaquin Turina. Some like de Falla were very influenced by traditional Spanish stories and musical themes, whereas others like Granados drew inspiration from the broader aspects of European musical tradition. Villa-Lobos shows the transportation of Spanish music into the new world, becoming a noted name in Brazilian music (which, ironically, is the only major South American country without Spanish as its primary language).

Joaquin Rodrigo and Frederico Moreno Torroba represent composers in this grand style up to the present day.

John Williams' playing is technically sound and has flashes of emotional power and inspiration. Many pieces here are wonderful, but 'The Miller's Dance', the 'Fandango' and the Villa-Lobos 'Prelude No. 4 in E minor' stand out as the greatest of tracks here, being nothing short of brilliant.

classical gems, 05 Aug 2003
A treat for the solo guitar enthusiast, this is a sparkling collection of Spanish classics, full of drama and passion, played to perfection by John Williams. His technique is dazzling, with a purity and clarity even in the fast and fiery parts, and never a squishy note to be heard.
The music takes us back to the mid 16th century with Alonso Mudarra's "Fantasia", which is short and charming, as well as another early composer, Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), with his "Canarios", up to many 20th century masters like de Falla, Torroba, and the only non-Spaniard represented, the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Favorites include Albeniz' "Cordoba", which has a marvelous "rasqueado", and the familiar but exciting "The Miller's Dance" by de Falla, but every track is impressive on this CD, as well as entertaining, something solo guitar music occasionally fails to be.

Having been reared by a mother who loved her guitar almost as much as her children, I have heard these pieces played often and by many great artists, but never better, or more enjoyably. This is a compilation that consists of previously released material, some from the 70's and 80's, and the sound throughout is excellent.

A GREAT GUITAR COMPILATION, 04 Aug 2008
As the previous reviewer said, this is a great introduction to the world of classical guitar music. As usual with ClassicFM Cd's, the quality of the music on offer is superb, with a few well known pieces that have been arranged for the guitar; like Elgar's Nimrod etc.. As said before, if your new to this style, or you want something to just relax to, then you can't go wrong with this.

'My first classical guitar album', 28 Jun 2008

This Classic FM 2CD collection of classical guitar music was released at the same time as the Classic FM `Full Works' series of 50 separate CDs, so was slightly upstaged and pushed to the back of the class.

However, it's Classic FM's first serious venture into the area of classical guitar music and with this in mind I think it's a well considered offering. It's not the `Ultimate' of course as the title claims - even a large collection of John Williams, Julian Bream and Andres Segovia wouldn't scratch the surface - but it does score well I think for its success at displaying the versatility of the instrument.

Obvious inclusions are Stanley Myers' `Cavatina' (made famous by the film The Deerhunter) but more interesting perhaps are the transcriptions, from piano, of pieces such as Einaudi's `Le Onde' and Satie's `Gymnopedie No. 3' which I think really show off the ability of the instrument to play a wide range of musical styles.

The recordings are good, as is usual of Classic FM products, and the range of guitarists - John Williams is of course included, but many lesser known players are also on offer - provides a variety of playing techniques.

While certainly not the `Ultimate', this is a highly recommended and entertaining collection.


The Perfect Recording, 09 Aug 2008
Brendel sets the mark for other performers for seven of Beethoven's finest piano sonatas.

Although brendel sticks to the notes, he still manages to leave his mark on the music.

recommended !

A truly great performance, 31 Jul 2008
I love the music of Beethoven and especially his piano sonatas, symphonies and string quartets. Also I have listened to a LOT of different interpretations and can with certainty say that Brendel is among the absolute winners. And here I'm first of all thinking about the overall performance; it really has depth, musicality and transcendence - in other words; here is a man who understands Beethoven's music.

This is not to say that everything is "perfect" - maybe sometimes one is missing a little clarity - a little more extra technical brilliance, but I believe that it doesn't really matter, because he really tells the story and that is the most important thing. Just listen to the famous 1'rst movement of the "Moonlight Sonata" - a piece that have been played to death, but in Brendel's hands it is a sheer joy - deep and profound, it cannot be any better.

It is a shame that they haven't reissued he's complete performances from the 70's, with an updated mastering, because he's new rerecording of all the sonatas is definitely not as good as the ones from the 70's. You will not regret buying these selected sonatas (from the 70's) - it's just great.


Alfred Brendel - Master of Beethoven piano interpretation., 11 Aug 2005
The original recordings may be over thirty years old,but the combination of first-rate transfer to CD and Alfred Brendel's superb interpretation of Beethoven's piano sonatas,make this collection,in my opinion,the benchmark by which other recordings should be judged. The price is amazing value.For me,the Moonlight especially the challenging Presto was simply wonderful.

Without doubt the best set of Beethoven Sonatas I have heard, 06 Dec 2000
Alfred Brendel is well known and well respected by the musical community as a great interpreter of Beethoven, but the recordings on this cycle are second to none. Alfred Brendel brings the discipline of perfect precision to the music in a way that I have never experienced before; regardless of speed or complexity, each note stands on its own and yet is perfectly part of the whole. One might expect there to be some reduction in expressiveness as a result of such amazing precision, but quite the reverse is true. The feeling that runs through the pieces is wholly genuine, and Brendel never allows technical ability to compromise artistic integrity. Consider the 3rd movement of the Waldstein sonata. The subtlety of the rendition is second to none, and one feels intimately attached to the music, as though Beethoven himself were playing through him. The shifts in velocity, tempo, colour and just the general feeling of the piece are simultaneously uplifting and captivating. Despite this wonder of expressiveness there is never any inappropriate enrichment or thickening of tone, a trap that so many great performers seem unable to escape.

This is what it must have been like to hear Liszt perform Beethoven - Alfred Brendel is at the same time a master of precision and expression, one for whom technique and form are as one.

These recordings live forever, 15 Dec 2008

These are three classic, timeless, almost historical (1963 and 1965) recordings of Elgar's works by three great champions of the composer - conductor Sir John Barbirolli, Jacqueline du Pre and Dame Janet Baker, and full credit to EMI too for preserving and continually remarketing these great recordings.

However, great as the recordings are, they are all included in the EMI Classsics 5CD set `Elgar Orchestral Works' which also has the complete Enigma Variations, Symphonies 1 and 2, and all the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, so my recommendation has to be that set rather than this single disc offering.


Very good, 29 Nov 2008
To my ears this was a very good recording of the great composer's piano concertos.

Reality check, 14 Apr 2007
No question that Ashkenazy, Argerich, & Michelangeli are geat pianists and that their Rach recordings are among the best. But two interpreters are so outstanding that their recordings are...what can one say...transcendent ?

The recordings by Rachmaninov himself are benchmarks and beyond reproach. Unfortunately he lived at a time when recording technology was primitive, although modern restoration specialists have made a wonderful job of bringing his recordings to life on the Naxos Historical label. If one cannot put up with the shortcomings of restored mechanical/electric recording technology, then the next best option is Horowitz, on whom Rachmaninov himself had conferred his blessing. But the technical quality of the Horowitz recordings falls short of what we expect today. What to do?

There is a great modern pianist who plays the Rachmaninov concertos and the Paganini Variations with all the technical brilliance and interpretive skill of the composer himself, to my mind superior to all the well-known pianists named so far. In many places he has forsworn flashy displays of technique to revert strictly to Rachmaninov's score, especially with respect to tempi. He has been well served with a first-rate modern recording - Stephen Hough, with the Dallas Symphony under Andrew Litton. You will not be disappointed.

The best collection of the 4concertos, 21 Feb 2006
Although it is possible that some prefer the playing of Michelangi for these recordings, i believe they are being short-sighted. On this record Ashkenazy demonstrates his Russian training and interpretation, thus getting much closer to the style that befits Rachmaninov! I recommend this album strongly if you strive to hear these well known concertos in the Russian style they were composed! But if you strive for a western style of interpretation then don't buy this! Ashkenazy performs all of the four concertos with his typicall musicalaty that never fails to provoke thought, but his performane of the 2nd deserves special mention! And not forgetting the fine LSO playing throughout, admirally conducted By Andre Previn!

Fantastic, 17 May 2004
The title says it all, this CD is absolutely fantastic! Ashkenazy is a great pianist and Rachmaninov a wonderful composter. These 2 people combined into 1 CD is a must-have CD! Although I can also recommend Horowitz for this CD. Just buy it and you'll see this is a great CD.

Drama within melodrama, 07 Feb 2004
Yet again I see that some of the reviewers on this page are lamenting the lack of 'drama' or 'passion' which comes with players who push their performance to the upper limits at the expense of technical clarity.

One has cited Martha Argerich's superlative recording of the 3rd concerto and Michaelangeli's 4th: both brilliant pianists, both excellent interpretations, both legendary intellects. Yet, not Russian. Argerich was trained in South America, and Michaelangeli claims to be self-taught (although most probably Italian-based).

However Ashkenazy hails from the Russian school where an emphasis upon technical precision is paramount, emotional interpretation all-pervading. Just listen to Richter's similarly note-perfect interpretation on Deutsche Grammophon, or Kissin's on Red Seal. What about Glemser, Ousset, Thibaudet (with Ashkenazy conducting, I might add)? All of these recordings are without pianistic errors, and yet manage to top the summit of Rachmaninov interpretations.

Ashkenazy has had the unfortunate label of 'one who tried to chase too many rabbits' - that is, he recorded too much repertoire too fast and without giving himself time to properly settle with the music. This is partially true. But then again, who can blame him for it? A young man, freshly defected from the USSR to the West, humble, technically brilliant, emotionally also, and a lovely character to match: he was signed up by Decca almost instantly, and, after the smash hit that was his first recording with Perlman of the Franck Violin Sonata, set about his attack upon almost the entire piano repertoire (with the major exceptions of Bach, Haydn, Grieg, and a few others).

Seen by many (myself also) as the Rachmaninov interpreter 'ne plus ultra', what these reviewers have to bear in mind is: could any of us do as well? Critics slander Ashkenazy for spreading the opening chords of the second piano concerto: well, he has small hands and therefore cannot manage them (I find this problem too, even though my hands are quite large - the chords are awkward for most people, save maybe Richter and Rachmaninov himself).

Would it be heresy to say I preferred Ashkenazy's interpretations of Rachmaninov's entire output over Rachmaninov himself? Some would say so, others, the more philosophical of you out there, might just put it down to subjective viewpoint.

Why don't you buyers stop listening to reviewers, buy the CD, and find out for yourselves?

Michael Nyman came of age as a classical composer in the radical London of the late '60s. His work embraces multiple vernaculars (jazz, avant garde, conceptual art) and helped cement the foundation of what came to be known as minimalism. Decades into his career, Nyman's score to Jane Campion's film The Piano made him a star. The movie's themes of colonialism and silence (its protagonist, portrayed by Holly Hunter, cannot speak) were perfectly aligned with his longtime interests in world and ambient music. Horn players assist members of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in fleshing out Nyman's stately, hymn-like motifs. On the more heavily orchestrated cues, sentimentality wins out over minimalist restraint; the best tracks feature Nyman on solo piano, playing the rudimentary, faux period repertoire of Hunter's character. --Marc Weidenbaum

Spanish but not Flamenco, 12 Apr 2008
This is a clasical guitar album recorded by John Williams in his style of ultimate perfection. Don't confuse this with Flamenco Spanish guitar.

Brilliant in many ways, 04 Jan 2006
'The guitar is a genuinely Spanish instrument,' writes Uwe Kraemer, and it (along with the classical music for it) is one of the great gifts of Spanish culture to the world. The period of composition for guitar in Spanish culture began in the 1500s, and has never really faded. Guitarist John Williams (not to be confused with the composer of the Star Wars themes) is a master of this instrument, and has selected a repertoire of pieces spanning all four centuries of the instrument.

This is a solo album - all of the pieces here are arranged for single guitar. Some of the music is distinctively Spanish, while others bear a Catalan and Portuguese influence. Few of the composers on this album are well-known names in the Northern-European culture, but in the Latin culture, these are names that are known, and the music even more so.

From the earliest century of guitar music, composers such as Gaspar Sanz and Alonso Mudarra show the origins of this kind of work, which includes dissonances that occasionally sound like modern composition. There are pieces with lively spirit and power, inspiring dance in a more popular mode.

Mateo Albeniz has only one surviving composition; a church organist in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, he was influenced by Scarlatti and wrote for the harpischord - Williams has transcribed the piece for guitar here.

From the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, many composers were productive: Isaac Albeniz, Julio Sagreras, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Francisco Tarrega, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Joaquin Turina. Some like de Falla were very influenced by traditional Spanish stories and musical themes, whereas others like Granados drew inspiration from the broader aspects of European musical tradition. Villa-Lobos shows the transportation of Spanish music into the new world, becoming a noted name in Brazilian music (which, ironically, is the only major South American country without Spanish as its primary language).

Joaquin Rodrigo and Frederico Moreno Torroba represent composers in this grand style up to the present day.

John Williams' playing is technically sound and has flashes of emotional power and inspiration. Many pieces here are wonderful, but 'The Miller's Dance', the 'Fandango' and the Villa-Lobos 'Prelude No. 4 in E minor' stand out as the greatest of tracks here, being nothing short of brilliant.

classical gems, 05 Aug 2003
A treat for the solo guitar enthusiast, this is a sparkling collection of Spanish classics, full of drama and passion, played to perfection by John Williams. His technique is dazzling, with a purity and clarity even in the fast and fiery parts, and never a squishy note to be heard.
The music takes us back to the mid 16th century with Alonso Mudarra's "Fantasia", which is short and charming, as well as another early composer, Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), with his "Canarios", up to many 20th century masters like de Falla, Torroba, and the only non-Spaniard represented, the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Favorites include Albeniz' "Cordoba", which has a marvelous "rasqueado", and the familiar but exciting "The Miller's Dance" by de Falla, but every track is impressive on this CD, as well as entertaining, something solo guitar music occasionally fails to be.

Having been reared by a mother who loved her guitar almost as much as her children, I have heard these pieces played often and by many great artists, but never better, or more enjoyably. This is a compilation that consists of previously released material, some from the 70's and 80's, and the sound throughout is excellent.

A GREAT GUITAR COMPILATION, 04 Aug 2008
As the previous reviewer said, this is a great introduction to the world of classical guitar music. As usual with ClassicFM Cd's, the quality of the music on offer is superb, with a few well known pieces that have been arranged for the guitar; like Elgar's Nimrod etc.. As said before, if your new to this style, or you want something to just relax to, then you can't go wrong with this.

'My first classical guitar album', 28 Jun 2008

This Classic FM 2CD collection of classical guitar music was released at the same time as the Classic FM `Full Works' series of 50 separate CDs, so was slightly upstaged and pushed to the back of the class.

However, it's Classic FM's first serious venture into the area of classical guitar music and with this in mind I think it's a well considered offering. It's not the `Ultimate' of course as the title claims - even a large collection of John Williams, Julian Bream and Andres Segovia wouldn't scratch the surface - but it does score well I think for its success at displaying the versatility of the instrument.

Obvious inclusions are Stanley Myers' `Cavatina' (made famous by the film The Deerhunter) but more interesting perhaps are the transcriptions, from piano, of pieces such as Einaudi's `Le Onde' and Satie's `Gymnopedie No. 3' which I think really show off the ability of the instrument to play a wide range of musical styles.

The recordings are good, as is usual of Classic FM products, and the range of guitarists - John Williams is of course included, but many lesser known players are also on offer - provides a variety of playing techniques.

While certainly not the `Ultimate', this is a highly recommended and entertaining collection.


The Perfect Recording, 09 Aug 2008
Brendel sets the mark for other performers for seven of Beethoven's finest piano sonatas.

Although brendel sticks to the notes, he still manages to leave his mark on the music.

recommended !

A truly great performance, 31 Jul 2008
I love the music of Beethoven and especially his piano sonatas, symphonies and string quartets. Also I have listened to a LOT of different interpretations and can with certainty say that Brendel is among the absolute winners. And here I'm first of all thinking about the overall performance; it really has depth, musicality and transcendence - in other words; here is a man who understands Beethoven's music.

This is not to say that everything is "perfect" - maybe sometimes one is missing a little clarity - a little more extra technical brilliance, but I believe that it doesn't really matter, because he really tells the story and that is the most important thing. Just listen to the famous 1'rst movement of the "Moonlight Sonata" - a piece that have been played to death, but in Brendel's hands it is a sheer joy - deep and profound, it cannot be any better.

It is a shame that they haven't reissued he's complete performances from the 70's, with an updated mastering, because he's new rerecording of all the sonatas is definitely not as good as the ones from the 70's. You will not regret buying these selected sonatas (from the 70's) - it's just great.


Alfred Brendel - Master of Beethoven piano interpretation., 11 Aug 2005
The original recordings may be over thirty years old,but the combination of first-rate transfer to CD and Alfred Brendel's superb interpretation of Beethoven's piano sonatas,make this collection,in my opinion,the benchmark by which other recordings should be judged. The price is amazing value.For me,the Moonlight especially the challenging Presto was simply wonderful.

Without doubt the best set of Beethoven Sonatas I have heard, 06 Dec 2000
Alfred Brendel is well known and well respected by the musical community as a great interpreter of Beethoven, but the recordings on this cycle are second to none. Alfred Brendel brings the discipline of perfect precision to the music in a way that I have never experienced before; regardless of speed or complexity, each note stands on its own and yet is perfectly part of the whole. One might expect there to be some reduction in expressiveness as a result of such amazing precision, but quite the reverse is true. The feeling that runs through the pieces is wholly genuine, and Brendel never allows technical ability to compromise artistic integrity. Consider the 3rd movement of the Waldstein sonata. The subtlety of the rendition is second to none, and one feels intimately attached to the music, as though Beethoven himself were playing through him. The shifts in velocity, tempo, colour and just the general feeling of the piece are simultaneously uplifting and captivating. Despite this wonder of expressiveness there is never any inappropriate enrichment or thickening of tone, a trap that so many great performers seem unable to escape.

This is what it must have been like to hear Liszt perform Beethoven - Alfred Brendel is at the same time a master of precision and expression, one for whom technique and form are as one.

These recordings live forever, 15 Dec 2008

These are three classic, timeless, almost historical (1963 and 1965) recordings of Elgar's works by three great champions of the composer - conductor Sir John Barbirolli, Jacqueline du Pre and Dame Janet Baker, and full credit to EMI too for preserving and continually remarketing these great recordings.

However, great as the recordings are, they are all included in the EMI Classsics 5CD set `Elgar Orchestral Works' which also has the complete Enigma Variations, Symphonies 1 and 2, and all the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, so my recommendation has to be that set rather than this single disc offering.


Very good, 29 Nov 2008
To my ears this was a very good recording of the great composer's piano concertos.

Reality check, 14 Apr 2007
No question that Ashkenazy, Argerich, & Michelangeli are geat pianists and that their Rach recordings are among the best. But two interpreters are so outstanding that their recordings are...what can one say...transcendent ?

The recordings by Rachmaninov himself are benchmarks and beyond reproach. Unfortunately he lived at a time when recording technology was primitive, although modern restoration specialists have made a wonderful job of bringing his recordings to life on the Naxos Historical label. If one cannot put up with the shortcomings of restored mechanical/electric recording technology, then the next best option is Horowitz, on whom Rachmaninov himself had conferred his blessing. But the technical quality of the Horowitz recordings falls short of what we expect today. What to do?

There is a great modern pianist who plays the Rachmaninov concertos and the Paganini Variations with all the technical brilliance and interpretive skill of the composer himself, to my mind superior to all the well-known pianists named so far. In many places he has forsworn flashy displays of technique to revert strictly to Rachmaninov's score, especially with respect to tempi. He has been well served with a first-rate modern recording - Stephen Hough, with the Dallas Symphony under Andrew Litton. You will not be disappointed.

The best collection of the 4concertos, 21 Feb 2006
Although it is possible that some prefer the playing of Michelangi for these recordings, i believe they are being short-sighted. On this record Ashkenazy demonstrates his Russian training and interpretation, thus getting much closer to the style that befits Rachmaninov! I recommend this album strongly if you strive to hear these well known concertos in the Russian style they were composed! But if you strive for a western style of interpretation then don't buy this! Ashkenazy performs all of the four concertos with his typicall musicalaty that never fails to provoke thought, but his performane of the 2nd deserves special mention! And not forgetting the fine LSO playing throughout, admirally conducted By Andre Previn!

Fantastic, 17 May 2004
The title says it all, this CD is absolutely fantastic! Ashkenazy is a great pianist and Rachmaninov a wonderful composter. These 2 people combined into 1 CD is a must-have CD! Although I can also recommend Horowitz for this CD. Just buy it and you'll see this is a great CD.

Drama within melodrama, 07 Feb 2004
Yet again I see that some of the reviewers on this page are lamenting the lack of 'drama' or 'passion' which comes with players who push their performance to the upper limits at the expense of technical clarity.

One has cited Martha Argerich's superlative recording of the 3rd concerto and Michaelangeli's 4th: both brilliant pianists, both excellent interpretations, both legendary intellects. Yet, not Russian. Argerich was trained in South America, and Michaelangeli claims to be self-taught (although most probably Italian-based).

However Ashkenazy hails from the Russian school where an emphasis upon technical precision is paramount, emotional interpretation all-pervading. Just listen to Richter's similarly note-perfect interpretation on Deutsche Grammophon, or Kissin's on Red Seal. What about Glemser, Ousset, Thibaudet (with Ashkenazy conducting, I might add)? All of these recordings are without pianistic errors, and yet manage to top the summit of Rachmaninov interpretations.

Ashkenazy has had the unfortunate label of 'one who tried to chase too many rabbits' - that is, he recorded too much repertoire too fast and without giving himself time to properly settle with the music. This is partially true. But then again, who can blame him for it? A young man, freshly defected from the USSR to the West, humble, technically brilliant, emotionally also, and a lovely character to match: he was signed up by Decca almost instantly, and, after the smash hit that was his first recording with Perlman of the Franck Violin Sonata, set about his attack upon almost the entire piano repertoire (with the major exceptions of Bach, Haydn, Grieg, and a few others).

Seen by many (myself also) as the Rachmaninov interpreter 'ne plus ultra', what these reviewers have to bear in mind is: could any of us do as well? Critics slander Ashkenazy for spreading the opening chords of the second piano concerto: well, he has small hands and therefore cannot manage them (I find this problem too, even though my hands are quite large - the chords are awkward for most people, save maybe Richter and Rachmaninov himself).

Would it be heresy to say I preferred Ashkenazy's interpretations of Rachmaninov's entire output over Rachmaninov himself? Some would say so, others, the more philosophical of you out there, might just put it down to subjective viewpoint.

Why don't you buyers stop listening to reviewers, buy the CD, and find out for yourselves?

Passionate, 15 Oct 2008
I play these pieces regularly on my piano but I was reduced to tears on hearing several of these renditions by Barenboim. They are intensely intellectual and emotive interpretations and may not be to your taste but boy, they do have impact. I am now searching for Barenboim's later recordings to compare the styles. Impetuous youth, or genius? Only you can tell!!

incredible, 12 Jul 2008
Barenboim is in absolutely incredible form in these recordings. He IS, in my mind, Beethoven in his interpretation. I can really lose myself in the way he performs the music. He is so unbelievably focussed, and has such an open heart. Recommended thoroughly.

An Artist At His Peak, 04 Mar 2008
As Daniel Barenboim was my introduction into the classical world, I had a great admiration for his sincerity and interpretation of Beethoven's Pathetiqué, Appasionata and Moonlight sonatas.

However, after having been exposed to other lesser known artists, such as Emanuel Ax, I have come to realise that Barenboim has long since passed his peak. But this particular recording IS Barenboim at his peak. You would be hard pressed to find another interpretation with the same consistency, vitality and freshness, with a magical instinct of knowing just how to make Beethoven's complex music sound right and flow 'correctly'.

Recommended...

Perfectly good Beethoven set for the price., 13 Dec 2006
Whenever I buy a set of CD's at such a discount price, I instantly question the reason(s) why they are so cheap. Especially when I see who the artist(s) are and what the record label is, as is the case here.
But my fears are laid to rest because I think this is one of the best value for money items I've ever bought.

I actually remember owning part of this Barenboim cycle on old vinyl LP's (in a different era!) so I know what I was to expect.
Being re-mastered on CD's has meant a new crispness and dynamics to the recording, breathing new life to, what I think are very competent and sensitive accounts of these wonderful works (I actually think this Beethovens' most expressive and intimate medium as he was, primarily, a pianist).

Barenboim has a very understated approach to the works; letting them, largely, speak for themselves. Not putting too much personal interpretation into them, but at the same time having a sensitivity and clarity to form and structure, and an understanding of the musical mind of the composer.
He is not frightened of including the exposition repeats. Something that was sadly not observed with other artists of the mid-to-late twentieth century.

Recordings are, by and large, good, considering their age (mainly 60's and 70's) when Barenboim was at his peak as a pianist. It's a shame though, that some of the works are not laid out in chronoligical or compositional order on the ten discs. If, like me, you want to follow the works in compositional order to grasp the musical thinking of the composer at the time: You have to chop and change discs somewhat! And also, even though there are adequate write ups for the music there is nothing on Barenboim himself.
But these are small quibbles considering that you're paying about 2-50 GBP per disc...
Great value for money and you won't go far wrong with them...

Barenboim's EMI Piano Sonatas, 08 Aug 2006
Daniel Barenboim plays them slowly which is fine to me. The longest sonata is the "Hammerklavier" and it is the hardest and he is slow that he makes it c.an hour. He also has a mixture of joy, passion, emotions etc. I like the way how he does the "Appassionata" because he plays slowly to show great passion. He does speed up in the joyous and happy bits. This is one of my favourite sets but I have other favourite sets as well.

Whoever first dreamt up the title "The Only Piano/Opera/Banjo Album You'll Ever Need" must have been hoping record buyers wouldn't take it too literally. A translation would be "We Hope That When You've Listened To This You'll Want To Buy Lots More Piano/Opera/Banjo Albums". So as an attempt to lure listeners into the world of the piano, how does this set measure up? Most of the all-time favourite piano pieces are here (though you won't find Golliwogg's Cakewalk) and childhood memories may well be stirred by the likes of Für Elise and Rondo alla Turca. It's not all solo piano--the orchestra is wheeled on for the Big Moments from concertos by Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mozart and Rachmaninov (who also gets the famous 18th variation from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini). Among the big-name pianists represented are Geza Anda, Emanuel Ax, Emil Gilels, Vladimir Horowitz, Alfredo Perl, Kathryn Stott and Andrew Wilde. Recordings range in time from 1955 to 1999. Purists may bridle at the lollipop nature of the programme, but for those genuinely looking for an introduction to the instrument's richly rewarding repertoire, the 150 minutes of music on these two CDs should fit the bill nicely. --Keith Clarke

Spanish but not Flamenco, 12 Apr 2008
This is a clasical guitar album recorded by John Williams in his style of ultimate perfection. Don't confuse this with Flamenco Spanish guitar.

Brilliant in many ways, 04 Jan 2006
'The guitar is a genuinely Spanish instrument,' writes Uwe Kraemer, and it (along with the classical music for it) is one of the great gifts of Spanish culture to the world. The period of composition for guitar in Spanish culture began in the 1500s, and has never really faded. Guitarist John Williams (not to be confused with the composer of the Star Wars themes) is a master of this instrument, and has selected a repertoire of pieces spanning all four centuries of the instrument.

This is a solo album - all of the pieces here are arranged for single guitar. Some of the music is distinctively Spanish, while others bear a Catalan and Portuguese influence. Few of the composers on this album are well-known names in the Northern-European culture, but in the Latin culture, these are names that are known, and the music even more so.

From the earliest century of guitar music, composers such as Gaspar Sanz and Alonso Mudarra show the origins of this kind of work, which includes dissonances that occasionally sound like modern composition. There are pieces with lively spirit and power, inspiring dance in a more popular mode.

Mateo Albeniz has only one surviving composition; a church organist in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, he was influenced by Scarlatti and wrote for the harpischord - Williams has transcribed the piece for guitar here.

From the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, many composers were productive: Isaac Albeniz, Julio Sagreras, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Francisco Tarrega, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Joaquin Turina. Some like de Falla were very influenced by traditional Spanish stories and musical themes, whereas others like Granados drew inspiration from the broader aspects of European musical tradition. Villa-Lobos shows the transportation of Spanish music into the new world, becoming a noted name in Brazilian music (which, ironically, is the only major South American country without Spanish as its primary language).

Joaquin Rodrigo and Frederico Moreno Torroba represent composers in this grand style up to the present day.

John Williams' playing is technically sound and has flashes of emotional power and inspiration. Many pieces here are wonderful, but 'The Miller's Dance', the 'Fandango' and the Villa-Lobos 'Prelude No. 4 in E minor' stand out as the greatest of tracks here, being nothing short of brilliant.

classical gems, 05 Aug 2003
A treat for the solo guitar enthusiast, this is a sparkling collection of Spanish classics, full of drama and passion, played to perfection by John Williams. His technique is dazzling, with a purity and clarity even in the fast and fiery parts, and never a squishy note to be heard.
The music takes us back to the mid 16th century with Alonso Mudarra's "Fantasia", which is short and charming, as well as another early composer, Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), with his "Canarios", up to many 20th century masters like de Falla, Torroba, and the only non-Spaniard represented, the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Favorites include Albeniz' "Cordoba", which has a marvelous "rasqueado", and the familiar but exciting "The Miller's Dance" by de Falla, but every track is impressive on this CD, as well as entertaining, something solo guitar music occasionally fails to be.

Having been reared by a mother who loved her guitar almost as much as her children, I have heard these pieces played often and by many great artists, but never better, or more enjoyably. This is a compilation that consists of previously released material, some from the 70's and 80's, and the sound throughout is excellent.

A GREAT GUITAR COMPILATION, 04 Aug 2008
As the previous reviewer said, this is a great introduction to the world of classical guitar music. As usual with ClassicFM Cd's, the quality of the music on offer is superb, with a few well known pieces that have been arranged for the guitar; like Elgar's Nimrod etc.. As said before, if your new to this style, or you want something to just relax to, then you can't go wrong with this.

'My first classical guitar album', 28 Jun 2008

This Classic FM 2CD collection of classical guitar music was released at the same time as the Classic FM `Full Works' series of 50 separate CDs, so was slightly upstaged and pushed to the back of the class.

However, it's Classic FM's first serious venture into the area of classical guitar music and with this in mind I think it's a well considered offering. It's not the `Ultimate' of course as the title claims - even a large collection of John Williams, Julian Bream and Andres Segovia wouldn't scratch the surface - but it does score well I think for its success at displaying the versatility of the instrument.

Obvious inclusions are Stanley Myers' `Cavatina' (made famous by the film The Deerhunter) but more interesting perhaps are the transcriptions, from piano, of pieces such as Einaudi's `Le Onde' and Satie's `Gymnopedie No. 3' which I think really show off the ability of the instrument to play a wide range of musical styles.

The recordings are good, as is usual of Classic FM products, and the range of guitarists - John Williams is of course included, but many lesser known players are also on offer - provides a variety of playing techniques.

While certainly not the `Ultimate', this is a highly recommended and entertaining collection.


The Perfect Recording, 09 Aug 2008
Brendel sets the mark for other performers for seven of Beethoven's finest piano sonatas.

Although brendel sticks to the notes, he still manages to leave his mark on the music.

recommended !

A truly great performance, 31 Jul 2008
I love the music of Beethoven and especially his piano sonatas, symphonies and string quartets. Also I have listened to a LOT of different interpretations and can with certainty say that Brendel is among the absolute winners. And here I'm first of all thinking about the overall performance; it really has depth, musicality and transcendence - in other words; here is a man who understands Beethoven's music.

This is not to say that everything is "perfect" - maybe sometimes one is missing a little clarity - a little more extra technical brilliance, but I believe that it doesn't really matter, because he really tells the story and that is the most important thing. Just listen to the famous 1'rst movement of the "Moonlight Sonata" - a piece that have been played to death, but in Brendel's hands it is a sheer joy - deep and profound, it cannot be any better.

It is a shame that they haven't reissued he's complete performances from the 70's, with an updated mastering, because he's new rerecording of all the sonatas is definitely not as good as the ones from the 70's. You will not regret buying these selected sonatas (from the 70's) - it's just great.


Alfred Brendel - Master of Beethoven piano interpretation., 11 Aug 2005
The original recordings may be over thirty years old,but the combination of first-rate transfer to CD and Alfred Brendel's superb interpretation of Beethoven's piano sonatas,make this collection,in my opinion,the benchmark by which other recordings should be judged. The price is amazing value.For me,the Moonlight especially the challenging Presto was simply wonderful.

Without doubt the best set of Beethoven Sonatas I have heard, 06 Dec 2000
Alfred Brendel is well known and well respected by the musical community as a great interpreter of Beethoven, but the recordings on this cycle are second to none. Alfred Brendel brings the discipline of perfect precision to the music in a way that I have never experienced before; regardless of speed or complexity, each note stands on its own and yet is perfectly part of the whole. One might expect there to be some reduction in expressiveness as a result of such amazing precision, but quite the reverse is true. The feeling that runs through the pieces is wholly genuine, and Brendel never allows technical ability to compromise artistic integrity. Consider the 3rd movement of the Waldstein sonata. The subtlety of the rendition is second to none, and one feels intimately attached to the music, as though Beethoven himself were playing through him. The shifts in velocity, tempo, colour and just the general feeling of the piece are simultaneously uplifting and captivating. Despite this wonder of expressiveness there is never any inappropriate enrichment or thickening of tone, a trap that so many great performers seem unable to escape.

This is what it must have been like to hear Liszt perform Beethoven - Alfred Brendel is at the same time a master of precision and expression, one for whom technique and form are as one.

These recordings live forever, 15 Dec 2008

These are three classic, timeless, almost historical (1963 and 1965) recordings of Elgar's works by three great champions of the composer - conductor Sir John Barbirolli, Jacqueline du Pre and Dame Janet Baker, and full credit to EMI too for preserving and continually remarketing these great recordings.

However, great as the recordings are, they are all included in the EMI Classsics 5CD set `Elgar Orchestral Works' which also has the complete Enigma Variations, Symphonies 1 and 2, and all the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, so my recommendation has to be that set rather than this single disc offering.


Very good, 29 Nov 2008
To my ears this was a very good recording of the great composer's piano concertos.

Reality check, 14 Apr 2007
No question that Ashkenazy, Argerich, & Michelangeli are geat pianists and that their Rach recordings are among the best. But two interpreters are so outstanding that their recordings are...what can one say...transcendent ?

The recordings by Rachmaninov himself are benchmarks and beyond reproach. Unfortunately he lived at a time when recording technology was primitive, although modern restoration specialists have made a wonderful job of bringing his recordings to life on the Naxos Historical label. If one cannot put up with the shortcomings of restored mechanical/electric recording technology, then the next best option is Horowitz, on whom Rachmaninov himself had conferred his blessing. But the technical quality of the Horowitz recordings falls short of what we expect today. What to do?

There is a great modern pianist who plays the Rachmaninov concertos and the Paganini Variations with all the technical brilliance and interpretive skill of the composer himself, to my mind superior to all the well-known pianists named so far. In many places he has forsworn flashy displays of technique to revert strictly to Rachmaninov's score, especially with respect to tempi. He has been well served with a first-rate modern recording - Stephen Hough, with the Dallas Symphony under Andrew Litton. You will not be disappointed.

The best collection of the 4concertos, 21 Feb 2006
Although it is possible that some prefer the playing of Michelangi for these recordings, i believe they are being short-sighted. On this record Ashkenazy demonstrates his Russian training and interpretation, thus getting much closer to the style that befits Rachmaninov! I recommend this album strongly if you strive to hear these well known concertos in the Russian style they were composed! But if you strive for a western style of interpretation then don't buy this! Ashkenazy performs all of the four concertos with his typicall musicalaty that never fails to provoke thought, but his performane of the 2nd deserves special mention! And not forgetting the fine LSO playing throughout, admirally conducted By Andre Previn!

Fantastic, 17 May 2004
The title says it all, this CD is absolutely fantastic! Ashkenazy is a great pianist and Rachmaninov a wonderful composter. These 2 people combined into 1 CD is a must-have CD! Although I can also recommend Horowitz for this CD. Just buy it and you'll see this is a great CD.

Drama within melodrama, 07 Feb 2004
Yet again I see that some of the reviewers on this page are lamenting the lack of 'drama' or 'passion' which comes with players who push their performance to the upper limits at the expense of technical clarity.

One has cited Martha Argerich's superlative recording of the 3rd concerto and Michaelangeli's 4th: both brilliant pianists, both excellent interpretations, both legendary intellects. Yet, not Russian. Argerich was trained in South America, and Michaelangeli claims to be self-taught (although most probably Italian-based).

However Ashkenazy hails from the Russian school where an emphasis upon technical precision is paramount, emotional interpretation all-pervading. Just listen to Richter's similarly note-perfect interpretation on Deutsche Grammophon, or Kissin's on Red Seal. What about Glemser, Ousset, Thibaudet (with Ashkenazy conducting, I might add)? All of these recordings are without pianistic errors, and yet manage to top the summit of Rachmaninov interpretations.

Ashkenazy has had the unfortunate label of 'one who tried to chase too many rabbits' - that is, he recorded too much repertoire too fast and without giving himself time to properly settle with the music. This is partially true. But then again, who can blame him for it? A young man, freshly defected from the USSR to the West, humble, technically brilliant, emotionally also, and a lovely character to match: he was signed up by Decca almost instantly, and, after the smash hit that was his first recording with Perlman of the Franck Violin Sonata, set about his attack upon almost the entire piano repertoire (with the major exceptions of Bach, Haydn, Grieg, and a few others).

Seen by many (myself also) as the Rachmaninov interpreter 'ne plus ultra', what these reviewers have to bear in mind is: could any of us do as well? Critics slander Ashkenazy for spreading the opening chords of the second piano concerto: well, he has small hands and therefore cannot manage them (I find this problem too, even though my hands are quite large - the chords are awkward for most people, save maybe Richter and Rachmaninov himself).

Would it be heresy to say I preferred Ashkenazy's interpretations of Rachmaninov's entire output over Rachmaninov himself? Some would say so, others, the more philosophical of you out there, might just put it down to subjective viewpoint.

Why don't you buyers stop listening to reviewers, buy the CD, and find out for yourselves?

Passionate, 15 Oct 2008
I play these pieces regularly on my piano but I was reduced to tears on hearing several of these renditions by Barenboim. They are intensely intellectual and emotive interpretations and may not be to your taste but boy, they do have impact. I am now searching for Barenboim's later recordings to compare the styles. Impetuous youth, or genius? Only you can tell!!

incredible, 12 Jul 2008
Barenboim is in absolutely incredible form in these recordings. He IS, in my mind, Beethoven in his interpretation. I can really lose myself in the way he performs the music. He is so unbelievably focussed, and has such an open heart. Recommended thoroughly.

An Artist At His Peak, 04 Mar 2008
As Daniel Barenboim was my introduction into the classical world, I had a great admiration for his sincerity and interpretation of Beethoven's Pathetiqué, Appasionata and Moonlight sonatas.

However, after having been exposed to other lesser known artists, such as Emanuel Ax, I have come to realise that Barenboim has long since passed his peak. But this particular recording IS Barenboim at his peak. You would be hard pressed to find another interpretation with the same consistency, vitality and freshness, with a magical instinct of knowing just how to make Beethoven's complex music sound right and flow 'correctly'.

Recommended...

Perfectly good Beethoven set for the price., 13 Dec 2006
Whenever I buy a set of CD's at such a discount price, I instantly question the reason(s) why they are so cheap. Especially when I see who the artist(s) are and what the record label is, as is the case here.
But my fears are laid to rest because I think this is one of the best value for money items I've ever bought.

I actually remember owning part of this Barenboim cycle on old vinyl LP's (in a different era!) so I know what I was to expect.
Being re-mastered on CD's has meant a new crispness and dynamics to the recording, breathing new life to, what I think are very competent and sensitive accounts of these wonderful works (I actually think this Beethovens' most expressive and intimate medium as he was, primarily, a pianist).

Barenboim has a very understated approach to the works; letting them, largely, speak for themselves. Not putting too much personal interpretation into them, but at the same time having a sensitivity and clarity to form and structure, and an understanding of the musical mind of the composer.
He is not frightened of including the exposition repeats. Something that was sadly not observed with other artists of the mid-to-late twentieth century.

Recordings are, by and large, good, considering their age (mainly 60's and 70's) when Barenboim was at his peak as a pianist. It's a shame though, that some of the works are not laid out in chronoligical or compositional order on the ten discs. If, like me, you want to follow the works in compositional order to grasp the musical thinking of the composer at the time: You have to chop and change discs somewhat! And also, even though there are adequate write ups for the music there is nothing on Barenboim himself.
But these are small quibbles considering that you're paying about 2-50 GBP per disc...
Great value for money and you won't go far wrong with them...

Barenboim's EMI Piano Sonatas, 08 Aug 2006
Daniel Barenboim plays them slowly which is fine to me. The longest sonata is the "Hammerklavier" and it is the hardest and he is slow that he makes it c.an hour. He also has a mixture of joy, passion, emotions etc. I like the way how he does the "Appassionata" because he plays slowly to show great passion. He does speed up in the joyous and happy bits. This is one of my favourite sets but I have other favourite sets as well.

The Best introduction possible, 16 Feb 2006
As an avid lover of Chopin I felt a "Best of" collection would lack depth, however i found this to be simply not the case. From the deeply moving Nocturns, powerful Ballades to the surprisingly interesting waltzes and Sherzos this collection is the best introduction to a brilliant composer. Ashkenazy as ever plays Chopin's works with more fluency than almost anyone on modern record, enough to spark anyone's interest in Chopin and his era of piano musc, i strongly urge you to buy this collection and then expand upon it!

Great choice, but get the Philips too, 12 Mar 2004
There is not that much to add to the other reviewer's comments: these two discs are a bargain and unreservedly recommended. Ashkenazy is indeed the very best overall Chopin interpreter around. I immensely enjoyed his treatment of pieces such as the second scherzo and the g minor ballade. Not to mention the etudes, the preludes, etc. etc. All is crisp and clear, and the fact that some recordings are analogue doesn't matter at all: in fact, they are hard to be discovered.

But keep something in mind: as I said, Ashkenazy is arguably overall the best. This implies that he can be bettered in some ways. Philips has also released a Best-of Chopin set, which contains better renditions of some Waltzes (Kocsis), the Barcarolle and Mazurkas (Kovacevich) and the impromptus (Davidovich). Additionally, the Philips discs give you the Marcia funebre, the Fantaisie-Polonaise and the fourth Ballade, three big pieces that cannot be found over here. Overall it is more balanced too. So if you are going to buy just one best-of-Chopin set, go for the Philips. The best choice, however, is to get both of them!

I highly recommend this recording, 25 Oct 2001
Ashkenazy plays superbly throughout this recording.There are no noticeable irritating personal manerisms. His musicality is so pure, with perfect balance and wonderful neatness. He truly is one of the greatest pianists.

Outstanding, 01 Nov 2000
Vladimir Ashkenazy brings Chopin's piano works to life in this CD. The Grande Valse brillante, op.18 is played with such vigour and enthusiasm, starting the CD off at a brilliant pace. Much of Chopin's pieces are ridiculously difficult to play on the piano and Ashkenazy plays each note so clearly and to sheer perfection that it sounds easy. If you do not know of Chopin's piano pieces then I would advise anyone to buy this CD (in fact I have bought it as a gift for many people and none have been disappointed - most of whom had never enjoyed piano music before) - it is very pretty and delicate but (usually) fast-paced music.

Ashkenazy : Pianist or conductor.?, 26 May 2000
Mr.Ashkenazy has received a vast amount of good reviews from the English press. It does make one wonder it 's source , because his recorded legacy is not that impressive. The best of his pianism , is witout a doubt " The Etudes Tableaux " by Rachmaninov, outshinig almost any other pianist. and as a conductor , his interpretation of Rachmaninov's " The Isle of the Dead " with the Concertgebouw . Perhaps Kondrashin had already " taught " The Concertgebouw how to play it ? None the less it is a powerful performance .