ASIN #: B003ZJJHAM
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Long regarded as the quintessential interpretation of the most popular and best-loved symphony ever written, this performance of the Fifth has everything: passion, precision, drama, lyric beauty, and a coiled fury in the first movement that sets your pulse racing from the very first note. Carlos Kleiber has made very few recordings in his distinguished career, but almost all are special. If you own no other copy of this symphony, this is the one to get. It comes with an exceptional performance o Read More »| 41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:  Stunning Performances, By This review is from: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 (Audio CD) Having heard the 7th more than one hundred times in my 50 + years and nearly always been blown away by the last movement theKlieber Beethoven 7 on the radio and was a revelation and I had to get the CD without delay. The clarity of the Vienna Philharmonic playing, the musical line, the sense of architecture ........... lost for words. I am an avid fan of Arturo Toscanini but Carlos Kleiber in the Fifth and the Seventh makes the Maestro seem half asleep. Of course the DG 1975 recording quality far out strips the best of Toscanini and is superb. 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: marvellous ; justly famous, By This review is from: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 (Audio CD) This has just been chosen on BBC 3's CD Review as the 'best' version of the 5th. Symphony, just pipping the 1955 mono Klemperer ; and I believe it was chosen also the last time CD Review tackled the many versions of this work. It made waves when it first came out on LP and has always been popular, combining as it does great fire and intensity with a good sense of structure and some beautifully lyrical phrasing and playing. Much the same virtues are evident in the 7th. Symphony, and together on one CD they really are irresistible. There can never be one definitive version of either of these incomparable works, and many, many performances on CD have something valid to tell us, but these two interpretations have more than most. 32 of 34 people found the following review helpful: A Fifth for a lifetime, By A Customer This review is from: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 (Audio CD) The Fifth! Ah, the fifth! In the musical world, no one doubts whom you mean. Beethoven’s majestic symphony is the most overplayed, over recorded and hackneyed piece of work in the world. Then something like this comes along and we’re back in the original furnace of its creation. Kleiber and his band (and lets not underestimate their achievement) give us a first movement of fearful power & terror. That opening motif sheds it familiarity and hits us as if for the first time. After getting the solar plexus to settle after the first movement, we’re then in the realms of steady resignation, a relentlessness that never relies on volume or speed and then on to an ethereal 3rd movement that seems to encompass all spiritual sadness to an almost unbearable point.And then …! Here we have the most glorious transition between movements in all the history of music. The seamless growth from breathless quiet to the explosive joy of the 4th movement can never fail to... Read more |
The Artist
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Classical crossover quartet Escala (formerly Scala) rose to fame after reaching the final of Britain's Got Talent in 2008. Comprised of Victoria Lyon and Izzy Johnston (on violin), Chantal Leverton (viola) and Tasya Hodges (cello), their debut album has been produced by the one and only Grammy-winning Trevor Horn (Seal, Pet Shop Boys, Charlotte Church). Escala mixes highbrow classical compositions with accessible pop songs, offering a diverse array of music that spans Barber’s "Adagio Read More »| 44 of 46 people found the following review helpful: Scala / Escala - whatever you call them, listen to them, By This review is from: Escala (Audio CD) Whilst not forgetting that there are already artists who do a similar thing - Bond, anyone? - Escala (formerly known as Scala before their rise to fame) are one of the classier music acts to come out of Britian's Got Talent and their album doesn't disappoint, with some great tunes, many of which you may recognise from use in films, or as background music in television shows or adverts."Requiem for a Tower" - The tower in question is because this song was used in a Lord of The Rings film trailer, I'm told, but you'll have heard this music numerous times on television programmes such as, erm, Britain's Got Talent. "Palladio" - Although described on Amazon as "Escala's signature tune" (needless to say because they performed it on the programme), this beautiful Karl Jenkins composition was previously best known as "Allegretto" by Bond. I have to say, Escala's version is better and has more integrity, and as a track it's probably why most people will buy this... Read more 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: Stunning!, By This review is from: Escala (Audio CD) These girls are stunning in more ways than one. Loved them last year on BGT and couldnt wait for this album, and I wasnt disappointed. Highlight for me is Kashmir, one of my favourite songs of all time featuring my favourite guitarist of all time, bonus! Buy it now you will not regret it. 12 of 13 people found the following review helpful: One of the best albums of the year so far..., By This review is from: Escala (Audio CD) I was totally blown away by this album. When purchasing, I never expected it to be so good, but, listening to it for the first time, it turly was something special. There are no bad tracks on the album, and it crosses classical with contempary music in stunning fashion. I'd urge anyone, whatever their taste in music, to buy this simply brilliant album. |
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ASIN #: B002MUAIY4
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The Christmas Album (Deluxe Edition)
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