http://appleitunes.net Just another Appleitunes.net weblog Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-nola-explicit/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-nola-explicit/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:53 +0000 appleitunes.net http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001NS5MTM/appleitunes-net-20 var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='appleitunes-net-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B001NS5MTM'; amzn_wdgt.title='Nola [Explicit]'; amzn_wdgt.width='300'; amzn_wdgt.height='280'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='True'; Nola [Explicit]
Creator: Down
Genre: alternative-metal-music
Label: EastWest
Release Date: 2008-12-09


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• Deliverance
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• Vulgar Display Of Power [Explicit]
• Cowboys From Hell

]]> Nola [Explicit]
Creator: Down
Genre: alternative-metal-music
Label: EastWest
Release Date: 2008-12-09


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• Down II [Explicit]
• Deliverance
• Use Once And Destroy [Explicit]
• Vulgar Display Of Power [Explicit]
• Cowboys From Hell

]]> http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-nola-explicit/feed/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-oumassi/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-oumassi/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:53 +0000 appleitunes.net http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001P2U7PA/appleitunes-net-20 var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='appleitunes-net-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B001P2U7PA'; amzn_wdgt.title='Oumassi'; amzn_wdgt.width='300'; amzn_wdgt.height='280'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='True'; Oumassi
Creator: Leilla Negrau
Genre: international-music
Label: Bonsaï Music
Release Date: 2006-09-25


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]]> Oumassi
Creator: Leilla Negrau
Genre: international-music
Label: Bonsaï Music
Release Date: 2006-09-25


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]]> http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-oumassi/feed/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-the-future/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-the-future/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:52 +0000 appleitunes.net http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001P32O5U/appleitunes-net-20 var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='appleitunes-net-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B001P32O5U'; amzn_wdgt.title='The Future'; amzn_wdgt.width='300'; amzn_wdgt.height='280'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='True'; The Future
Creator: Trillogy
Genre: pop-music
Label: STARR MEDIA GROUP
Release Date: 2009-01-05


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]]> The Future
Creator: Trillogy
Genre: pop-music
Label: STARR MEDIA GROUP
Release Date: 2009-01-05


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]]> http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-the-future/feed/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-brahms-symphony-no-1/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-brahms-symphony-no-1/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:52 +0000 appleitunes.net http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000THGLW0/appleitunes-net-20 var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='appleitunes-net-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B000THGLW0'; amzn_wdgt.title='Brahms - Symphony No. 1'; amzn_wdgt.width='300'; amzn_wdgt.height='280'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='True'; Brahms - Symphony No. 1
Creator: London Philharmonic Orchestra/Wolfgang Sawallisch
Genre: classical-music
Label: SERAPHIM
Release Date: 1999-08-10


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]]> Brahms - Symphony No. 1
Creator: London Philharmonic Orchestra/Wolfgang Sawallisch
Genre: classical-music
Label: SERAPHIM
Release Date: 1999-08-10


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]]> http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-brahms-symphony-no-1/feed/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-blessed-assurance-solo-piano-hymns/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-blessed-assurance-solo-piano-hymns/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:52 +0000 appleitunes.net http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001P1XE9M/appleitunes-net-20 var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='appleitunes-net-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B001P1XE9M'; amzn_wdgt.title='Blessed Assurance: Solo Piano Hymns'; amzn_wdgt.width='300'; amzn_wdgt.height='280'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='True'; Blessed Assurance: Solo Piano Hymns
Creator: Jennifer Haines
Genre: miscellaneous-audio-recordings
Label: Us Four Music
Release Date: 2009-01-01


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]]> Blessed Assurance: Solo Piano Hymns
Creator: Jennifer Haines
Genre: miscellaneous-audio-recordings
Label: Us Four Music
Release Date: 2009-01-01


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]]> http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-blessed-assurance-solo-piano-hymns/feed/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-the-great-concert-of-charles-mingus/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-the-great-concert-of-charles-mingus/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:52 +0000 appleitunes.net http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000WRSR1U/appleitunes-net-20 var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='appleitunes-net-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B000WRSR1U'; amzn_wdgt.title='The Great Concert of Charles Mingus'; amzn_wdgt.width='300'; amzn_wdgt.height='280'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='True'; The Great Concert of Charles Mingus
Creator: Charles Mingus
Genre: bop-jazz-music
Label: Verve
Release Date: 2004-07-20
Average Rating:



Customer Summary I Know This Is Kinda Tacky....
Customer Review of The Great Concert of Charles Mingus by greg taylor

Customer Full Review ...but I cannot let the review below stand alone on this page for the reissue of this great great CD. What follows is the review I wrote for this CD along time ago which is on an out-of-date listing for this album on Amazon. I think you can get some of my feeling for this CD by the original title.
One Of The Greatest Live Recordings of All Time.
I know that title sounds like hypebole. But once you know this album, you cannot help but wish you had been in the audience. I challenge anyone to listen to James Brown at the Apollo, B.B. King at the Regal, the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore, or this album and not feel the same way.
Mingus fans know that there are many pirate recordings of this 1964 European tour. This was the official Columbia release and it beats all others that I have heard not only in the quality of sound but in the performances. These guys were totally on their game when this was recorded.
What a band. Eric Dolphy playing the alto sax, bass clarinet and flute, Clifford Jordan on the tenor, Jaki Byard on piano and Mingus' great soulmate, Dannie Richmond on the drums. Johnny Coles was on the tour but he only plays on one of the songs due to illness.
There are only six tunes on these two discs. More than two hours of music of extraordinary strength. Mingus fans will know that he was well versed in classical music as well as jazz. This group somehow combines the best of a jazz combo with the best of a chamber group. There is superb ensemble and individual playing of some of the greatest music ever written by an American composer. There are astounding solos. Jaki Byard had the entire history of the piano deeply engrained in his soul and that knowledge could flow out of his fingers in one solo. Eric Dolphy is one of the unique voices in music, instantly recognizable yet tremendously influential. Clifford Jordan is, for my money, the most underrated tenor player of all time. The guy has such a soulful sound, was technically superb, took great pride in his ensemble work and was a wonderful soloist. If you ever find his In The World CD buy it. Danny is great-alway there, sounding powerful and understated at the same time. The heart of the band was, of course, Mingus. If you ever saw him live you will know what I mean. Shouting out encouragement, challenging everybody and anything complacent, pouring out his heart through that great bass of his.
This is great great music. Music like this exhausts my vocabulary. This disc like Kind of Blue, like Monk and Trane playing together belongs in every collection of modern jazz.
Customer Rating
]]> The Great Concert of Charles Mingus
Creator: Charles Mingus
Genre: bop-jazz-music
Label: Verve
Release Date: 2004-07-20
Average Rating:



Customer Summary I Know This Is Kinda Tacky....
Customer Review of The Great Concert of Charles Mingus by greg taylor

Customer Full Review ...but I cannot let the review below stand alone on this page for the reissue of this great great CD. What follows is the review I wrote for this CD along time ago which is on an out-of-date listing for this album on Amazon. I think you can get some of my feeling for this CD by the original title.
One Of The Greatest Live Recordings of All Time.
I know that title sounds like hypebole. But once you know this album, you cannot help but wish you had been in the audience. I challenge anyone to listen to James Brown at the Apollo, B.B. King at the Regal, the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore, or this album and not feel the same way.
Mingus fans know that there are many pirate recordings of this 1964 European tour. This was the official Columbia release and it beats all others that I have heard not only in the quality of sound but in the performances. These guys were totally on their game when this was recorded.
What a band. Eric Dolphy playing the alto sax, bass clarinet and flute, Clifford Jordan on the tenor, Jaki Byard on piano and Mingus' great soulmate, Dannie Richmond on the drums. Johnny Coles was on the tour but he only plays on one of the songs due to illness.
There are only six tunes on these two discs. More than two hours of music of extraordinary strength. Mingus fans will know that he was well versed in classical music as well as jazz. This group somehow combines the best of a jazz combo with the best of a chamber group. There is superb ensemble and individual playing of some of the greatest music ever written by an American composer. There are astounding solos. Jaki Byard had the entire history of the piano deeply engrained in his soul and that knowledge could flow out of his fingers in one solo. Eric Dolphy is one of the unique voices in music, instantly recognizable yet tremendously influential. Clifford Jordan is, for my money, the most underrated tenor player of all time. The guy has such a soulful sound, was technically superb, took great pride in his ensemble work and was a wonderful soloist. If you ever find his In The World CD buy it. Danny is great-alway there, sounding powerful and understated at the same time. The heart of the band was, of course, Mingus. If you ever saw him live you will know what I mean. Shouting out encouragement, challenging everybody and anything complacent, pouring out his heart through that great bass of his.
This is great great music. Music like this exhausts my vocabulary. This disc like Kind of Blue, like Monk and Trane playing together belongs in every collection of modern jazz.
Customer Rating
]]> http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-the-great-concert-of-charles-mingus/feed/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-franz-schubert-arpeggione-sonata/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-franz-schubert-arpeggione-sonata/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:52 +0000 appleitunes.net http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001P2C2PS/appleitunes-net-20 var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='appleitunes-net-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B001P2C2PS'; amzn_wdgt.title='Franz Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata'; amzn_wdgt.width='300'; amzn_wdgt.height='280'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='True'; Franz Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata
Creator: Uwe Grodd
Genre: classical-music-works-by-period
Label: Naxos
Release Date: 2009-01-27


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]]> Franz Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata
Creator: Uwe Grodd
Genre: classical-music-works-by-period
Label: Naxos
Release Date: 2009-01-27


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]]> http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-franz-schubert-arpeggione-sonata/feed/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-skin-joseph-indelicato-remixes/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-skin-joseph-indelicato-remixes/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:52 +0000 appleitunes.net http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001P1LF20/appleitunes-net-20 var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='appleitunes-net-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B001P1LF20'; amzn_wdgt.title='Skin - Joseph Indelicato Remixes'; amzn_wdgt.width='300'; amzn_wdgt.height='280'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='True'; Skin - Joseph Indelicato Remixes
Creator: Charlotte
Genre: dance-and-dj-music
Label: Nervous Records
Release Date: 2009-01-20


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]]> Skin - Joseph Indelicato Remixes
Creator: Charlotte
Genre: dance-and-dj-music
Label: Nervous Records
Release Date: 2009-01-20


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]]> http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-skin-joseph-indelicato-remixes/feed/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-alwyn-piano-music-vol-1/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-alwyn-piano-music-vol-1/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:51 +0000 appleitunes.net http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00112PIOE/appleitunes-net-20 var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='appleitunes-net-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B00112PIOE'; amzn_wdgt.title='Alwyn: Piano Music, Vol. 1'; amzn_wdgt.width='300'; amzn_wdgt.height='280'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='True'; Alwyn: Piano Music, Vol. 1
Creator: Ashley Wass
Genre: classical-music-dance-forms
Label: Naxos
Release Date: 2007-12-11
Average Rating:



Customer Summary Accessible and Intriguing Piano Music by William Alwyn
Customer Review of Alwyn: Piano Music, Vol. 1 by J Scott Morrison

Customer Full Review It is good to see the music of William Alwyn (1905-1985) getting attention. He was probably best known as a film composer, at least in the US, and yet he wrote a great deal of concert music including a fair amount of piano music; he was himself a very fine pianist. This release is designated 'Volume 1', so perhaps we will be getting his entire pianistic output. The two works here that are the most substantial are the 'Sonata alla toccata' and the eleven 'Fantasy Waltzes.' Both have been recorded before by no less than the fabled John Ogdon, and those performances are marvelous but they are also in dated sound. Ashley Wass, a rising English piano virtuoso, seems these days to be recording a good bit of British music, including fine discs of music by Elgar, Bax and Bridge, and given his sensitive playing, this is to the good.

The 'Sonata all toccata' was written in 1946 and is in the usual three movements. The first movement's toccata-like allegro gives its name to the sonata as a whole. It is neoclassic in spirit and wholly romantic in its harmonic underpinnings. The andante is simple, serene, and songful. The third movement, molto vivace, is a whirl of modal triplets and cross-rhythms.

The 'Fantasy Waltzes' from 1954-56 are clearly Alwyn's highest pianistic achievement. Written roughly at the same time as his marvelous Third Symphony, they are his most sophisticated and virtuosic piano music; their clever construction does not interfere with their being just plain good fun. They partake some of their formal and harmonic characteristics of the waltzes of Chopin and Johann Strauss jr and from Ravel's 'La valse' and indeed have a number of barely concealed motivic and harmonic references to works by those composers. There is also explicit reference to the music of Grieg; indeed the set was inspired by a visit to Grieg's home at Troldhaugen. But these works are not pastiches; they are Alwyn through and through with the romantic and neoclassic, as well as impressionist, features that make up Alwayn's mature style. No. 3, the first to be written, is most clearly Grieg-like. Several of the waltzes are commentaries on the salon-style waltzes popular with amateur pianists of the earlier part of the twentieth century, but No. 5, on the other hand, is exceedingly complex, reminding one at times of Rachmaninov's late piano works. There is some tendency for Alwyn to alternate between lighter salon waltzes and the complexities of those like No. 5. Another complex waltz is No. 8, a light, almost frivolous-sounding thing whose measure-by-measure metric and tempo changes are masked by light-heartedness. It is followed by its polar opposite, marked 'lento e lugubre'. The series ends with No. 11, a presto with a slower middle section and a conclusion that glitters to a brilliant finish. Wass plays these gems with éclat and clear understanding of both their complexities and their simple charm.

The rest of the disc is filled mostly with occasional pieces, many of them written for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, for which he was a long-time examiner. They are generally fairly negligible. One standout, though, is 'Green Hills', written while Alwyn was abroad and, according to Alwyn expert, John France, possibly reflects Alwyn's nostalgia for the 'Green and Pleasant Land' of his birth. It is an entirely lovely andante that sounds a bit like similar music by John Ireland. And I particularly liked 'Prelude and Fugue Based on an Indian Scale'.

This release is valuable primarily for the Sonata and the Fantasy Waltzes, not forgetting the charm of the other more minor works presented here. And Ashley Wass adds to his burgeoning reputation as a champion of British piano music with his fine performances. Sonics are excellent.

Scott Morrison
Customer Rating


Similar Items:

• BAX: Piano Works, Vol. 4 - Music for 2 Pianos
• Alwyn, W.: Piano Music, Vol. 2 (Wass) - 12 Preludes / Contes Barbares / Movements
• Bridge: Piano Music, Vol. 1
• Bridge: Piano Music, Vol. 2
• BAX: Piano Works, Vol. 2

]]> Alwyn: Piano Music, Vol. 1
Creator: Ashley Wass
Genre: classical-music-dance-forms
Label: Naxos
Release Date: 2007-12-11
Average Rating:



Customer Summary Accessible and Intriguing Piano Music by William Alwyn
Customer Review of Alwyn: Piano Music, Vol. 1 by J Scott Morrison

Customer Full Review It is good to see the music of William Alwyn (1905-1985) getting attention. He was probably best known as a film composer, at least in the US, and yet he wrote a great deal of concert music including a fair amount of piano music; he was himself a very fine pianist. This release is designated 'Volume 1', so perhaps we will be getting his entire pianistic output. The two works here that are the most substantial are the 'Sonata alla toccata' and the eleven 'Fantasy Waltzes.' Both have been recorded before by no less than the fabled John Ogdon, and those performances are marvelous but they are also in dated sound. Ashley Wass, a rising English piano virtuoso, seems these days to be recording a good bit of British music, including fine discs of music by Elgar, Bax and Bridge, and given his sensitive playing, this is to the good.

The 'Sonata all toccata' was written in 1946 and is in the usual three movements. The first movement's toccata-like allegro gives its name to the sonata as a whole. It is neoclassic in spirit and wholly romantic in its harmonic underpinnings. The andante is simple, serene, and songful. The third movement, molto vivace, is a whirl of modal triplets and cross-rhythms.

The 'Fantasy Waltzes' from 1954-56 are clearly Alwyn's highest pianistic achievement. Written roughly at the same time as his marvelous Third Symphony, they are his most sophisticated and virtuosic piano music; their clever construction does not interfere with their being just plain good fun. They partake some of their formal and harmonic characteristics of the waltzes of Chopin and Johann Strauss jr and from Ravel's 'La valse' and indeed have a number of barely concealed motivic and harmonic references to works by those composers. There is also explicit reference to the music of Grieg; indeed the set was inspired by a visit to Grieg's home at Troldhaugen. But these works are not pastiches; they are Alwyn through and through with the romantic and neoclassic, as well as impressionist, features that make up Alwayn's mature style. No. 3, the first to be written, is most clearly Grieg-like. Several of the waltzes are commentaries on the salon-style waltzes popular with amateur pianists of the earlier part of the twentieth century, but No. 5, on the other hand, is exceedingly complex, reminding one at times of Rachmaninov's late piano works. There is some tendency for Alwyn to alternate between lighter salon waltzes and the complexities of those like No. 5. Another complex waltz is No. 8, a light, almost frivolous-sounding thing whose measure-by-measure metric and tempo changes are masked by light-heartedness. It is followed by its polar opposite, marked 'lento e lugubre'. The series ends with No. 11, a presto with a slower middle section and a conclusion that glitters to a brilliant finish. Wass plays these gems with éclat and clear understanding of both their complexities and their simple charm.

The rest of the disc is filled mostly with occasional pieces, many of them written for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, for which he was a long-time examiner. They are generally fairly negligible. One standout, though, is 'Green Hills', written while Alwyn was abroad and, according to Alwyn expert, John France, possibly reflects Alwyn's nostalgia for the 'Green and Pleasant Land' of his birth. It is an entirely lovely andante that sounds a bit like similar music by John Ireland. And I particularly liked 'Prelude and Fugue Based on an Indian Scale'.

This release is valuable primarily for the Sonata and the Fantasy Waltzes, not forgetting the charm of the other more minor works presented here. And Ashley Wass adds to his burgeoning reputation as a champion of British piano music with his fine performances. Sonics are excellent.

Scott Morrison
Customer Rating


Similar Items:

• BAX: Piano Works, Vol. 4 - Music for 2 Pianos
• Alwyn, W.: Piano Music, Vol. 2 (Wass) - 12 Preludes / Contes Barbares / Movements
• Bridge: Piano Music, Vol. 1
• Bridge: Piano Music, Vol. 2
• BAX: Piano Works, Vol. 2

]]> http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-alwyn-piano-music-vol-1/feed/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-schubert-symphonies-nos-1-6-unfinished/ http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-schubert-symphonies-nos-1-6-unfinished/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:05:51 +0000 appleitunes.net http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000TGRAAI/appleitunes-net-20 var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='appleitunes-net-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B000TGRAAI'; amzn_wdgt.title='Schubert - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 Unfinished'; amzn_wdgt.width='300'; amzn_wdgt.height='280'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='True'; Schubert - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 Unfinished
Creator: Riccardo Muti - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Genre: classical-music
Label: SERAPHIM
Release Date: 1999-06-15
Average Rating:



Customer Summary Muti's Schubert is powerful and expansive
Customer Review of Schubert - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 Unfinished by Santa Fe listener

Customer Full Review For decades Schubert's gentle nature led conductors to underplay his symphonies as if they were closer to Haydn than Beethoven. The 'Unfinished' later became the vehicle for much stronger accents and dramatic contrasts, as one can hear from Carlos Kleiber on DG and here from Muti. The Vienna Phil, if left alone, would probably have given us a sweeter rendition of the first movement, but Muti adds Sturm und Drang, and it's effective. The struggle between lyricism and drama is well judged. EMI's sound is excellent, too, giving us a lot of inner detail while keeping alive the orchestra's vibrancy.

Muti's second movement sounds a bit rushed and restless when it should evoke heavenly repose. Basically he's not letting go of the drama of the first movement, resulting in punchier accents than usual. The contrast works, but haven't we have a big dose of it already? In the First Sym. Muti goes for a big sound with Beethoven sonorities. You'd expect that this would be too much in early Schubert, but as with Harnoncourt's version, the heroic approach works. Muti ushers Schubert into the full light of Romanticism. I was impressed--his performance is better than Karajan's over-blown reading (also on EMI) and is fully worth five stars.






Customer Rating


Similar Items:

• Franck - Sympony in D minor

]]> Schubert - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 Unfinished
Creator: Riccardo Muti - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Genre: classical-music
Label: SERAPHIM
Release Date: 1999-06-15
Average Rating:



Customer Summary Muti's Schubert is powerful and expansive
Customer Review of Schubert - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 Unfinished by Santa Fe listener

Customer Full Review For decades Schubert's gentle nature led conductors to underplay his symphonies as if they were closer to Haydn than Beethoven. The 'Unfinished' later became the vehicle for much stronger accents and dramatic contrasts, as one can hear from Carlos Kleiber on DG and here from Muti. The Vienna Phil, if left alone, would probably have given us a sweeter rendition of the first movement, but Muti adds Sturm und Drang, and it's effective. The struggle between lyricism and drama is well judged. EMI's sound is excellent, too, giving us a lot of inner detail while keeping alive the orchestra's vibrancy.

Muti's second movement sounds a bit rushed and restless when it should evoke heavenly repose. Basically he's not letting go of the drama of the first movement, resulting in punchier accents than usual. The contrast works, but haven't we have a big dose of it already? In the First Sym. Muti goes for a big sound with Beethoven sonorities. You'd expect that this would be too much in early Schubert, but as with Harnoncourt's version, the heroic approach works. Muti ushers Schubert into the full light of Romanticism. I was impressed--his performance is better than Karajan's over-blown reading (also on EMI) and is fully worth five stars.






Customer Rating


Similar Items:

• Franck - Sympony in D minor

]]> http://appleitunes.net/2009/01/06/review-of-schubert-symphonies-nos-1-6-unfinished/feed/