Ma-Ma San

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Pop, Mystic, Urgent, Garage Melodies.

Customer Reviews:

Aspects of Verdi and Bel Canto!.......2004-10-02

Mr. Bergonzi is a famous Verdi tenor and this collection is simply sublime, beyond words. His singing is both accented and lyrical, perhaps too lyric for the ideal Verdi voice. Bergonzi's Verdi comes with a bel canto approach.

Well this is where we may separate a Verdi voice from Verdi style. Bergonzi is a Verdi stylist par excellence and deserves the highest respect possible where certainly no other tenor since Lauri Volpi, with his more virile and wide ranging voice, has realized the magnitude and beauty of Verdi's style combined with the great dramatic accents and declamation.

Among the greatest Verdi stylists, which are rarer among tenors than the other voice categories, are Martinelli, Lauri-Volpi, Bergonzi, and even Veriano Luchetti; rare indeed but these men have the tone, the accent, the power, the legato, and the INTELLIGENCE to bring Verdi's drama to life. That is what Verdi wanted after all: "Accent Accent Accent"

Average customer rating:

Shirley Verrett Sings Bellini & Verdi

Manufacturer: Gala
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005Y92Y
Release Date: 2000-06-06

Average customer rating:

Excellent introduction to Tebaldi's art
Wonderfull
Classic Renata

Classic Puccini Recordings
Puccini , and Tebaldi
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Andrea Chenier
Giacomo Puccini: La Rondine
Verdi: La Forza del Destino
The Complete Recordings, 1902-1920 (Box Set)
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

ASIN: B00006IU8W
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Album Details

Italian Soprano Renata Tebaldi was One of the Most Important Post-war Sopranos to Tackle a Wide Range of Puccini Roles, and During the 1950s She Recorded Several Complete Opera Recordings. Some of the Operas were Recorded Twice — in Mono and Then in Stereo. Amongst Those which Tebaldi Committed to Disc in the Recording Studio on Two Occasions Must Be Included La Bohème and Madama Butterfly. It is the Earlier, Mono Recordings of These Two Operas which Are Included Here and They Reveal a Fresh-voiced Tebaldi in Recordings Which, Despite the Stereo Remakes, have Stood the Test of Time.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent introduction to Tebaldi's art.......2005-09-29

This set covers the entire productive years of Tebaldi's recording career. Turandot, Butterfly and Boheme are from her earlier career while Tosca is from her later career. Since this Tosca recording is now out of print and is somewhat hard to find, this recording itself almost worth the cost of the set. In Turandot, you will find Tebaldi at her fresher voice, lovely and melting. Eventhough I would still rate Callas' first recorded Tosca as my first choice, this Tosca comes very close. Enjoy.

Wonderfull.......2005-08-19

Fantastic recordings at a very good price. Tebaldi and Del Monaco rule. You should definetely own this set.

Classic Renata.......2005-03-16

To say that these 12 disks contain some of the finest singing ever committed to disk is no exaggeration, but a simple statement of fact. Historical fact. In the 100 years (more or less) that Puccini operas have been around, only a few sopranos in each generation have been the equal of Renata Tebaldi. One cannot objectively say that anyone has surpassed her. Some opera lovers find her peerless in many of these performances. Personal tastes in singers vary, but no one ever sang these roles better. Few anywhere nearly so well. There is not a single note on any of these recordings that is not heartfelt to the core of her being. Like Maria Callas and Franco Corelli, she was luminous, gargantuan in her talent that personified an age. This is one of the great compilations.

National Anthems of the World: Swarovski Orchestra

Average customer rating:

Large collection for the price, but not perfect
excellent selection & quality sound

National Anthems of the World: Swarovski Orchestra

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

World Dance | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
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Collections of National Anthems, Vol. 1
World Anthems
The World of National Anthems
The Complete National Anthems of the World
National Anthems of the World

ASIN: B00029J1XQ
Release Date: 2004-07-27

Tracks:

Algeria
Arab Emirates
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Egypt
Barbados
Belgium
Bolivia
Brazil
Germany
Bulgaria
Denmark
Ecuador
England
Estland
Europe
Finland
France
Georgia
Greece
Iraq
Iran
Ireland
Iceland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Cameroon
Canada
Colombia
Cuba
Latvia
Luxembourg

Tracks:

Lithuania
Malta
Morocco
Mexico
Mozambique
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
New Zealand
The Netherlands
Norway
Oman
Austria
Peru
The Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Saudi Arabia
Sweden
Switzerland
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
South Africa
Syria
Thailand
Czech Republic
Tunisia
Turkey
Hungary
Uruquay
United States
Venezuela
Vietnam
Zimbabwe

Customer Reviews:

Large collection for the price, but not perfect.......2006-07-30

As with these sorts of all-inclusive collections, there are issues to be had with 'National Anthems of the World' as performed by the Swarovski Orchestra. Primary--to me--is that these performances and arrangements come off as being rather sterile and bland, though it's perhaps not surprising since I doubt very much that most of the nationalities of the nations represented here have citizens actually in the Swarovski Orchestra. There's little of the passion that a national band or orchestra would have in playing their own nation's anthem, much like listening to a generic studio band play play a collection of college fight songs (and there ARE CDs of those out for sale as well).

That said, this 2-disc CD set does offer a wide spectrum of national anthems, though it does a far better job of covering European nations more so than any other region. For instance, Central America is poorly represented in this collection as is Africa which, aside from Cameroon, the heart of that continent is conspicuously ill-depicted. But the biggest omission is China; neither the mainland or Taiwanese anthems are included in this set. Considering that The People's Republic of China is the most populous nation on earth, as well as a global political and economic force to be reckoned with, even in 1996 (this CD set dates from 2004, but at least one online database list the contents from the mid-1990s), this is a glaring oversight in my opinion.

The final gripe deals with the included documentation. Each of these anthems DO have titles to them, none of which the producers of this collection ever bother to mention and provide. One has to go to Wikipedia or some other resource to look up the actual name of the anthems included here. This is information that is relatively cheap to research and out of courtesy to the consumer should've been provided for this set, especially since this collection has been around in some form for over a decade already.

For the money, it's a fairly good buy for those who want a collection of national anthems. But the producers could've done a better job of compiling the contents of this collection, and what music there is would've certainly benefitted from a bit more impassioned play.

excellent selection & quality sound.......2005-08-27

Swarovski Orchestra did an excellent job in this compilation. I work in Foreign Service & I use this CD to play US anthem & the host country anthem during events. Unlike other compilations which shorten the pieces, this offers full-length pieces saving me from embarrassment.

The Complete Recordings, 1902-1920 (Box Set)

Average customer rating:

Get It While You Can
Essential edition for opera lovers

The Complete Recordings, 1902-1920 (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Requiems | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Bach: Cantatas, Vol. 22
Caruso 2000
The Complete Caruso
Leon Fleisher Plays Brahms
Wagner: Götterdämmerung

ASIN: B00030B92K
Release Date: 2004-11-23

Album Description

The Complete Caruso: Volumes 1 - 12

The Italian tenor Enrico Caruso holds a unique place in musical history, as the first operatic singer whose recordings sold in millions, and who created an international reputation on the strength of these. Caruso's robust tone and musical sincerity made him both an ideal stage and recording artist, whose voice the primitive acoustic recording technology of the early twentieth century was able to reproduce with startling fidelity. The Naxos Historical Caruso edition constitutes the complete cycle of all Caruso's recordings issued in chronological order. In addition, the transfers have been immaculately undertaken by top sound engineer Ward Marston, unrivalled for his knowledge of the specialized world of acoustic opera recordings, and his rare ability to retrieve all of the music lying in the grooves of the original recordings. Naxos Historical's incredible price (12 CD'S FOR THE PRICE OF 10) puts this unique legacy of great singing within the reach of all music-lovers. This! complete cycle of recordings represents a major document in the history of sound recording, and one which no collector and enthusiast of great singing will wish to be without. "There is no series of vocal records that have a greater documentary value, that meant more to the development of the phonograph record, or that are as consistently capable of providing pleasure to lovers of great singing. ...One of the most significant recording industry events of the decade." Fanfare

Customer Reviews:

Get It While You Can.......2006-10-13

This may not be easy to get in the USA for very long.....don't miss it.

Essential edition for opera lovers.......2005-02-01

This set gives you the opportunity to follow the entire recording career of one of the greatest singers in Operatic History. Enrico Caruso was the first superstar of the 20th century -- and this without the benefit of mass media. His person and his records were his greatest publicity.

The set begins with Caruso's Italian made recordings. They show a great raw talent. The artistry is lacking with many sobs, over acting and mistaken cues. The 1902 and 1903 clearly show a tenor with a lot to learn. But learn it he did. His 1904 sessions show a mature artist on par with any heard since. His voice matures before your very ears and by 1910, you wonder if you will ever listen to any other tenor the same way again.

The engineering used for this set is wonderful. There is no attempt at all to use the soundstream process of computer sound enhancement as heard on the RCA issued sets. These are near perfect mint conditioned discs copied by engineer extraordinary Ward Marston. They sound like natural 78s, they way Caruso himself must have heard the playbacks at the (RCA) Victor studios.

Also included are outtakes and extra takes. There is a "Celeste Aida" from 1908, complete with a broken high note, previously released by RCA in a 1973 set commemorating the tenor's centenary birthday. But there are new treasures here as well, including extra takes of two of Caruso's greatest recordings, the Italian song "L'Alba separa dalla l'uce ombra" and an aria from Rubinestine's Nerone. Listening to them, one wonders what Caruso could have possible thought inadquate in those long lost altenative takes.

Finally, there is the simple joy of hearing so many things so well sung. Caruso was the pinnacle of the tenor art. He can be compared to no other single tenor since ... he has the brilliant ring of Bjorling, the passion of Gigli, the beauty of Gedda, the youthful enthusiasm of Lanza, the warm tonal quality of Tucker, the pure strength of Corelli, the charasma of Pavarotti and the artestry of Domingo.

Whether you are an opera fan, a voice fan or just a music lover. This set is worth every penny.

Todd Kosovich

Meredith Willson: Symphony No. 1 in F minor; Symphony No. 2 in E minor

Average customer rating:

A True Music Man
Fewer trombones, more feeling
Two First Rate Symphonies
Great discovery in American music
More to Willson than Harold Hill!

Meredith Willson: Symphony No. 1 in F minor; Symphony No. 2 in E minor

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000026CWP
Release Date: 1999-10-26

Tracks:

Symphony No. 1 In F Minor ('A Symphony Of San Francisco'): I. Andante - Allegro ma molto moderato - Allegro moderato - Vivace
Symphony No. 1 In F Minor ('A Symphony Of San Francisco'): II. Andante (Passacaglia)
Symphony No. 1 In F Minor ('A Symphony Of San Francisco'): III. Presto
Symphony No. 1 In F Minor ('A Symphony Of San Francisco'): IV. Allegro molto
Symphony No. 2 In E Minor ('The Missions Of California'): I. Juniperro Serra (Lento - Allegro)
Symphony No. 2 In E Minor ('The Missions Of California'): II. San Juan Bautista (Andante)
Symphony No. 2 In E Minor ('The Missions Of California'): III. San Juan Capistrano Scherzo (Vivace)
Symphony No. 2 In E Minor ('The Missions Of California'): IV. El Camino Real (Allegro, a la marcia)

Customer Reviews:

A True Music Man.......2007-02-19

What a pleasant surprise! I was not familiar with Willson's concert music and found it wonderfully "American" with lovely melodies.

Fewer trombones, more feeling.......2002-11-28

You're going to be surprised by these two symphonies by Meredith Willson, the composer who gave us "The Music Man" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." They present nothing electrifyingly new or adventurous, but they're deeply felt and enjoyable. The San Francisco Symphony is a delightful pre-rock, romantic serenade to the city, and the Missions of California resonates with a certain excitement, although there's little Spanish influence to be heard. They're not as profound but more entertaining than Bernstein's symphonies.

Two First Rate Symphonies.......2001-11-17

Meredith Willson had an impressive musical background. He attended the Julliard School (then known as the Damrosh Institute) where he studied flute and piccolo. He played in the John Phillip Sousa's band and the New York Philharmonic under Arturo Toscanini. He co-wrote the score for The Great Dictator with Charlie Chaplin and was the musical director for the Armed Forces Radio Services during the Second World War. He is better known for writing The Music Man and the Christmas song "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas."

Willson's two symphonies were written in 1936 and 1940 respectively and celebrate his favorite places: San Francisco and the missions of California. The symphonies have their first recording by Naxos for their American Classics series. Although the playing is a bit rough at times, the orchestra approaches the symphonies with a lot of spirit, and overall the results are impressive. The music tends to be like Howard Hanson and Paul Creston in style and will not disappoint anyone who is familiar with either composer. I can say that I not only have this recording but also give it as a gift.

Great discovery in American music.......2001-04-07

I ordered this CD without any information but also without hesitation. I have listened several times and it is music I am going to enjoy for many years. I love the idea of programme music in areas that we all know and love. Bravo to Naxos and the Moscow Symphony (to typical that an American Symphony Orchestra hasn't found it) in delivering new discoveries to us....especially those of us in the USA Craig

More to Willson than Harold Hill!.......1999-10-19

Yes, I didn't know either that Meredith Wilson had turned to the Symphonic Format, albeit with a 20th century spin, as well has having turned out "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and the unique "The Music Man." But then again only a superb composer could have given us that last score. So right away, this Naxos offering has its interesting side. His is subtitled "A Symphony of San Francisco" and does not quite do for that city in four movements what Gershwin did for Paris or Coates and Vaughan Williams for London; but the feeling is there, although without knowing the "program," one would never guess it. is more melodic, as one would anticipate from its subtitle, "The Missions of California>. Although I feel this material would better have been handled in a non-symphonic Respighian way, it is just fine on its own terms. Having no other versions with which to compare, I sense that the Moscow Symphony Orchestra is not quite the group for the first offering, but perfectly adequate for the second. Still in all, an unusual Naxos presentation and most welcome.

Average customer rating:

A beautiful reading despite the casting of some light voices
Unfortunately, the minority standpoint

Verdi: Don Carlo

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Rimsky-Korsakov: The Tsar's Bride

ASIN: B0000C6IVZ
Release Date: 2004-03-09

Tracks:

Su, Cacciator!
Fontainebleau! Forest Immensa E Solitaria!
Io La Vidi
Il Suon Del Corno Alfin Nel Bosco Tace
Al Mio Pie, Perche?
Di Qual Amor, Di Quant'ardor
Al Fedel Ch'ora Viene, O Signora
L'Ora Fatale E Suonata!
Inni Di Festa Lieti Echeggiate
Il Glorioso Re Di Francia, Il Grande Enrico
Carlo Il Sommo Imperatore
Al Chiostro Di San Giusto
E Lui! Dessa! L'Infante!
Dio, Che Nell'alma Infondere
Sotto Ai Folti, Immensi Abeti
Nei Giardin Del Bello
La Regina!

Tracks:

Io Vengo A Domandar Grazia All Mia Regina
Il Re!
Non Pianger, Mia Compagna
Restate!
O Signor, Di Fiandra Arrivo
Oso Lo Sguardo Tuo
Preludio
A Mezzanotte, Ai Giardin Della Regina
Al Mio Furor Sfuggite Invano
Spuntato Ecco Il Di D'Esultanza
Sire, No, L'Ora Estrema
Sire! Egli E Tempo Ch'io Viva!

Tracks:

Ella Giammai M'Amo!
Il Grande Inquisitor!
Nell'ispano Suol Mai L'Eresia Domino
Giustizia! O Sire!
Ah! Sii Maledetto, Sospetto Fatale
Pieta! Perdon! Per La Rea Che Si Pente
O Don Fatale
Son Io, Mio Carlo
Per Me Giunto E Il Di Supremo
O Carlo, Ascolta...
Mio Carlo, A Te La Spada Io Rendo!
Tu Che Le Vanita
Francia, Nobile Suol
E Dessa
Ma Lassu Ci Vedremo In Un Mondo Migliore
Si, Per Sempre!

Customer Reviews:

A beautiful reading despite the casting of some light voices.......2007-01-20

To get the bad news over with quickly, the voices in Haitink's 1997 Don Carlo from London tend to be on the light side, and few of the performers are steeped in Italian style. The King Philip, Roberto Scandiuzzi, is Italian, but his voice sounds woolly and lacks authority. Elisabetta is the then-promising Russian soprano Galina Gorchakova. She has the vocal heft to sing any of Verdi's great dramatic soprano roles, but here she is a bit mature-sounding, and throaty in a Slavic way that takes some getting used to. She's at the opposite extreme from Mirella Freni, whose lyric soprano was clearly too light in Karajan's otherwise gripping set on EMI.

After that it's clear sailing. We get a fine orchestral reading from Haitink, more straightforward than either Karajan or Giulini but refined and beautifully balanced--only at times does the pacing feel too relaxed. It's certainly possible to play the score as a mroe haunted, doomed affair--the three leads, after all, are consumed by guilt almost from the beginning--but that's not Haitink's approach. Hvorostovsky gives one of his best performances on disc as Rodrigo, and the American tenor Richard Margison comes amazingly close to superstars like Domingo and Carreras as Don Carlo. The three bass roles of the Monk, Philip II, and the Grand Inquisitor are taken by very good singers, even if they don't erase memories of Boris Christoff or Nicolai Ghiaurov. Olga Broodina makes for a world-class Eboli, as one would expect. The orchestra and chorus of the Royal Opera Covent Garden sound just right in scale, not overblown like Karajan's Berlin Phil.

Editions have become complicated for this opera. Here we have the 1886 Modena version, an Italian translation in effect of the five-act French score premiered in Paris. I msut say I thoroughly enjoyed it. to the point that even Gorchakova's miscasting can't bring five stars down to four.

Unfortunately, the minority standpoint.......2005-10-04

Haitink's Don Carlo is very much like Giulini's, but better recorded, better conducted (!) and overall more accomplished as a concept.

His cast is very different. While not all ideally suited to their roles, they are sensitive to the drama and have something interesting to say - no weak link among them. The one standout is Hvorostovski as Posa, in what must be his best recorded performance. Also, I prefer Gorchakova and Scandiuzzi here to many others. Margison as Don Carlo is in good voice, but in terms of characterisation not a patch on Carreras, Domingo (live or for Abbado), or Alagna. Recommended!

Average customer rating:

All the best
Truly essential

Essential Rachmaninov

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Essential Bach
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ASIN: B00005Y2JD
Release Date: 2002-01-15

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.2 In C Minor, Op.18: I. Moderato - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Piano Concerto No.2 In C Minor, Op.18: II. Adagio Sostenuto - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Piano Concerto No.2 In C Minor, Op.18: III. Allegro Scherzando - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vocalise, Op.34 No.14 - Renee Fleming
Prelude In C Sharp Minor, Op.3 No.2 - Vladimir Ashknazy
Suite No.1 For Two Pianos, Op.5: IV Paques: Allegro Maestoso - Andre Previn
Symphony No.2 In E Minor, Op.27: III. Adagio - Valery Gergiev
Piano Concerto In No.4 in G Minor, Op.40: II. Largo - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Symphonic Dances, Op.45: I. Non Allegro - Concertgebouw Orchestra

Tracks:

Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op.43 - Zoltan Kocsis
Piano Concerto In No.3 In D Minor, Op.30: I. Allegro Ma Non Tanto - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Symphony No.3 In A Minor, Op.44: II. Adagio Ma Non Troppo - Allegro Vivace - Concertgebouw Orchestra
Vespers (All-night Vigil), Op.37: Nyne Otpushchayeshi (Kievian Melody): Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy Servant Depart In Peace - St. Petersburg Chamber Choir
Prelude In G Minor, Op.23 No.5 - Rafael Orozco
Romance In F Minor - Julian Lloyd Webber
Liebesfreud - Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No.1 In D Minor, Op.13: IV. Allegro Con Fuoco - Concertgebouw Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

All the best.......2005-01-29

This splendid collection of Rachmaninov is a must-have for fans of classical. Wonderful for quiet evenings at home, the background for romantic dinners, or just to enjoy on the drive to work. It's called "Classical Music" for a good reason.

Truly essential.......2004-02-22

You can see the track listing above, so you can decide for yourself if what you want it on it. I bought it mainly for the second piano concerto so I'll only review that part thoroughly.

I spent a while looking for a good Rachmaninov CD. My main objective was to find a nice version of Piano Concerto No. 2, and I can safely say mission accomplished.

Vladimir Ashkenazy does a good job with the solo piano and it moves at a pace to which I am accustomed. (Is it wrong to not like the composer's intentions? :) ) I actually prefer a performance with the London Philharmonic from the 70s slightly more than this, but all the recordings of that have a prominent hiss.

That brings me to the audio quality. Its Much better than most Rachmaninoff CDs I have found, as it has been digitally remastered. But I was a little dissapointed when playing it on my dad's audio-phile surround sound system. I felt like I was being fed the music in one lump instead of a weave of the different tones and timbres. But that's no reason not to buy it; it still sounds great on my stereo, my car stereo, and my computer speakers (I have good computer speakers) I may have been expecting too much from my dad's audio system.