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Strauss: Four Last Songs; Songs with Orchestra; Rosenkavalier Suite
(more) »rank: 27361from: RCA
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Keeping Score: Revolutions in Music - Beethoven's Eroica
(more) »rank: 23310starring: Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony
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Bach & Beyond - Gabriela Montero
(more) »rank: 7303from: EMI Classics
: : Taking as her base 12 works of Bach, Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero proceeds to play variations on each. The works are familiar and most Classical fans will recognize their melodies instantly. But Montero, who is closer to a jazz improvisationalist than a classical pianist merely embellishing, alters rhythm as well as melody, and the results are invariably both surprising and delightful. The Presto from the Italian Concerto is positively wacky, but 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' sticks to the piece's mood with truth and originality. Montero plays 'beyond' Bach with good taste and respect, ...
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Leon Fleisher: Two Hands
(more) »rank: 21388from: Artemis Classics
: :In pianist Leon Fleisher's return to playing with both hands, an indomitable spirit has triumphed over physical adversity. Not that he has been absent from music since losing the use of his right hand to focal dystonia in 1965: in addition to forging a successful career as teacher and conductor, he performed the left-hand literature with peerless mastery, enlarging it with new commissions. However, he persisted in searching for a cure, and his determination has now borne fruit: this is his first record of the two-hand repertoire in 40 years. It is altogether extraordinary. Always ...
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Joshua Bell. Kreisler, Brahms, Paganini, Sarasate, Wieniawski.
(more) »rank: 33351from: Decca
: :In pianist Leon Fleisher's return to playing with both hands, an indomitable spirit has triumphed over physical adversity. Not that he has been absent from music since losing the use of his right hand to focal dystonia in 1965: in addition to forging a successful career as teacher and conductor, he performed the left-hand literature with peerless mastery, enlarging it with new commissions. However, he persisted in searching for a cure, and his determination has now borne fruit: this is his first record of the two-hand repertoire in 40 years. It is altogether extraordinary. Always ...
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Vaughan Williams: The Nine Symphonies
(more) »rank: 41539from: RCA
: :In pianist Leon Fleisher's return to playing with both hands, an indomitable spirit has triumphed over physical adversity. Not that he has been absent from music since losing the use of his right hand to focal dystonia in 1965: in addition to forging a successful career as teacher and conductor, he performed the left-hand literature with peerless mastery, enlarging it with new commissions. However, he persisted in searching for a cure, and his determination has now borne fruit: this is his first record of the two-hand repertoire in 40 years. It is altogether extraordinary. Always ...
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Schubert: The Piano Sonatas
(more) »rank: 10559from: Deutsche Grammophon
: :Wilhelm Kempff was a master of poetic lyricism, with a wondrous keyboard touch and a breathtaking command of subtle dynamics and tonal colorations--all invaluable attributes of any Schubert interpreter. He also had the knack of holding together large structures that can often seem aimless, thus avoiding another trap many pianists fall into, that of lavishing so much attention on passing detail that Schubert's 'heavenly lengths' can seem wayward wanderings. The one criticism often heard is that Kempff emphasizes poetry at the expense of drama. This magnificent set leaves that claim unsubstantiated. Few pianists have been ...
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Chopin: The Complete Nocturnes And Impromptus
(more) »rank: 6844from: Philips
: :Claudio Arrau considered the Nocturnes among Chopin's deepest, most searching works, rather than mere descriptive mood paintings, and he plays them that way. The same can be said vis-à-vis Arrau's Impromptus, with brooding textures and cosmic breadth that leave the drawing room behind. --Jed Distler
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Copland: Appalachian Spring; Rodeo; Fanfare for the Common Man
(more) »rank: 3604from: Telarc
: :This sonically spectacular disc features three of Aaron Copland's most beloved Americana scores. Drawing on American folk themes, Rodeo and Appalachian Spring originated as ballet music, but they have found a larger life as light classic staples. They are briskly conducted by Louis Lane and played with élan by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. --Sarah Bryan Miller
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The Knot Collection of Ceremony and Wedding Music Selected by the Knot's Carley Roney
(more) »rank: 12014by: Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis
: :This sonically spectacular disc features three of Aaron Copland's most beloved Americana scores. Drawing on American folk themes, Rodeo and Appalachian Spring originated as ballet music, but they have found a larger life as light classic staples. They are briskly conducted by Louis Lane and played with élan by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. --Sarah Bryan Miller
