Basic 100 Sampler

On this CD:

1. Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major ("Eine kleine Nachtmusik"), K. 525 First Movement
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Erich Leinsdorf

2. Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 Third Movement
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Lucerne Festival Strings
Conducted by Rudolf Baumgartner

3. Music for the Royal Fireworks, for orchestra, HWV 351 Overture
Composed by George Frideric Handel
Performed by Chamber Orchestra Europe, Melvyn Tan
Conducted by James Galway

4. Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun), for orchestra, L. 86
Composed by Claude Debussy
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Charles Munch

5. Berceuse, for violin & piano (after L'Oiseau de Feu, transcribed by Stravinsky & Dushkin) Berceuse Lullaby
Composed by Igor Stravinsky
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Seiji Ozawa

6. An der schönen, blauen Donau (On the Beautiful, Blue Danube), waltz for orchestra (with chorus ad lib), Op. 314 (RV 314)
Composed by Johann II Strauss
Performed by Philadelphia Orchestra
Conducted by Eugene Ormandy

7. Symphony No. 5 in C minor ("Fate") Op. 67 First Movement
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Charles Munch

8. Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 Mvt: 03
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Lucerne Festival Strings
Conducted by Rudolf Baumgartner

9. Suite for orchestra No 2 in B minor, BWV 1067 Badinerie
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by James Galway, Solisti di Zagreb
Conducted by James Galway

10. Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 Fourth Movement
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by James Levine

11. Symphony No. 9 in D minor ("Choral") Op. 125 Allegro assai
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by New York Philharmonic with Marilyn Horne, Margaret Price, Matti Salminen, Jon Vickers
Conducted by Zubin Mehta

Tracks:

Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music)
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2: Mvt. 3
Music For The Royal Fireworks
Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun
The Firebird: Berceuse (Lullaby)
The Blue Danube Waltz
Symphony No. 5: Mvt. 1
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3: Mvt. 3
Orchestral Suite No. 2: Badinerie
Symphony No. 40: Mvt. 4
Symphony No. 9 'Choral': Concl.

Customer Reviews:

A story of missed opportunities.......2001-03-17

If the aim of this Sampler is to introduce more people to the magical world of Classical Music, the record company might as well put out a remixed album of pieces by The Ventures!

Nearly everything about the Sampler seems to be done in a most disinterested manner, right from the misleading and unimaginative cover down to the selection of the performers. It seems unlikely that RCA Victor and BMG do not have a better set of musicians in its stable. There are not even any helpful liner notes and the whole album seems to be aimed at promoting the individual records. In that case, it is unfair to expect the listening public to shell out money and buy this CD.

I have no complaints about the selection of pieces, for they are all masterpieces in their own right and would appear in any Classical Music selection, although Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi are two of the most glaring omissions (and among conductors, RCA's very own Toscanini is an unpardonable lapse). Ironically enough, both the composers are listed on the cover! There seems to be an undue spotlight on Bach, who has been given three pieces (compared to poor Mozart and Beethoven both of whom had to settle for two). Admittedly, listening to the Brandenburg Concerto after Beethoven's Fifth feels like coming out of the shadows of a dense forest into the bright happy sunlight, but a similar effect could be obtained from Vivaldi's Spring or Beethoven's Für Elise. I would have expected Mozart's Marriage of Figaro to find a place in this collection, but then one cannot have everything!

Mention must be made of the Philadelphia Orchestra's Blue Danube (under the baton of Eugene Ormandy) and Zubin Mehta's direction of the New York Philharmonic for the Choral which stand out among a collection of mediocre performances.

Buy it only to assure yourself that your own Classical Music collection is actually superior to the music in the RCA vaults.

Music Review: