Of course "classical" music can be fun
585435
An excellent orchestral performance coupled with Ogden Nash's witty poem about the work makes for great entertainment.  The recitations are very well-performed by actors and actresses we know and love.
4840512
A little gem!  If you love classical music, it will be especially a treat to view!  Indeed, just save the rental fee and buy it as you'll watch it again.
4698377
Wonderful music for the classical music lover. What a great value!
4635064
Brilliant Classics is aptly named.  Another smart, exciting performance of unknown music.  I agree with the sentiments of the other reviewer, Dr. G, about the stale repertoire in the comcerthalls even at the world's largest music school, and continue to be astonished at the ability of Brilliant, Naxos, CPO, MD+G, Chandos, and others to find worthy repertoire that's never been heard before. These aren't masterpieces, but they're plenty of fun, and you'll be hearing most of them for the first time ever.
1553548
I picked this up while Amazon had it up as part of their free albums (and it's still free at the time of writing), so grabbed this along with a bunch of more compact items. What you get for your download time is 500Mb of assorted classical pieces performed by a broad variety of ensembles, many of of them probably hailing from the el cheapo classical CDs of the 1980s and 1990s. The main reason for having a collection like this is to have something handy that's good for background without having to think about putting together a playlist, or throwing a random pile of things into a media player and putting it on shuffle.

I've started picking up these collections as I go on, free or cheap, and I'm content with them. They're nice to use when hitting the hay, certainly, and the individual tracks usually can stand close listening.
2175820
Let's face it, the "Trout" Quintet and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik are the quintessential "work horses" of classical music, but in this album, they are both (especially the latter) given a fresh face in the hands of master musicians. The music and the playing on this recording is stimulating, and at the same time relaxing to the listener. The recording engineers did a great job of giving the sound a more intimate feeling of a drawing room or living room rather than a large hall or recording studio.

It is especially important with the Mozart, as quite frankly, it is extremely rare to hear it done by a small group of musicans (which it appears from the liner notes to have been Mozart's intent for this piece). But here it is, and not in it's usual full orchestral dress, and most important, it sounds incredible. This performance will make you wonder why it is not performed more often in this fashion. This is music meant to be played by a small group of friends (or family members) as a after-dinner entertainment, or Sunday afternoon diversion.

Pairing it with the "Trout" Quintet, which owes its existence to just such a request for music to be played by musicians for their own amusement and not a regular performance, brings this out even more.

These are pieces of music with no program, message, or ideology, just music for the pure joy of playing , and for us to listen to after dinner or on a lazy Sunday afternoon. (It's also a great stress-reliever for commutes, and long plane rides as well.) Do make it a part of your collection.
4471705
This is a perfect package to download for a weekend of reading.  There are 50 tracks of classical music that range from the moody, romantic work of Satie (Track #1) to Spanish gypsy guitar and rare transcriptions of Mozart for guitar.  So whatever you're reading there's music to go along with it and enhance the reading.  So much fun and what a price for so much music.
4166655
If you like it, you like it... and if you don't, you don't... That is true of almost all music and art.  And I like this!
2827588
Fun music for adult & child.  Which is fortunate, considering how often I must listen to it!
3081353
I'm sorry to offer such a different review from the other reviewer, but in my house, this is a well-loved CD. We actually have it in the car most of the time along w/some of the books that are read on the CD so my 4-year old son can follow along as he listens. This is a fun-loving exposure to classical music while well-loved stories are read along. I personally think it's a great way for kids to start understanding that music conveys emotion. When the music gets softer or faster along with the story, it makes it evident that the music itself is also telling a story. We actually own volume 2 from the same artists as well.
911645
If you enjoy classical music and especially the Baroque era you will enjoy this selection and listen to it often.
4943997
As a lover of classical music and self taught guitar (and piano) player, I have enjoyed, and am enjoying , this book immensely.  We are dealing with a collection of  27  themes adapted for the guitar and inclusive of  both the regular musical score and the tablature.  The majority of  these themes -  well known to anyone who enjoys classical music -  have been excerpted from some of the most beautiful masterpieces, for example,  Schubert's Ave maria, Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Beethoven's Fur Elise and Ode to Joy,  Brahm's Lullaby, Hayden`s Surprise Symphony.

Some expertise in the handling of the guitar, as well as a few hours of  practice are needed to correctly interpret a good number of  the themes, yet some - such as Vivaldi's Spring or Boccherini's Minuet - are sufficiently easy to be played the first time by any advanced beginner/early intermediate guitar soloist without any problems. By the same token, some of the pieces may be considered too elementary for a public performance, yet others - such as Grieg`s Morning, or Delibes' Pizzicato Polka - seem written expressly for the guitar, and - if interpreted correctly - will make good entertaining pieces during any musical evening by amateurs, as well as future professional players.

If you are a young (or even  not so young) aspiring musician, you will welcome this book. Being able to play classical themes without the long hours of practice, will provide you with a sense of accomplishment, a sense that will encourage you to play and to want to learn more about as captivating  an instrument as the classical guitar.

If you are self taught, the themes are a more enjoyable alternative to the routine guitar exercises.

And, if you  are hyperactive or if for whatever reason you find yourself under stress,  some of the themes, for example, Brahms' Lullaby - easy as they may be to play - will calm you down or put you in a more cheerful mood better than any sedative pill.

All in all, I would recommend the book without reservations to any musician who has been studying the classical guitar for six months.
39845
Despite their commitment to interesting and rare repertoire, continental 20th century music is rather thinly featured in the Naxos catalogue, and in that respect this release is very welcome. I am not completely sure Shwarz-Schilling is the most gratifying place to start, however. Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling (1904-1985) was a student of Heinrich Kaminski and as his teacher a staunch and active opposer of the Third Reich (insofar as that is a selling point in itself, why are there no modern recordings of the late-romantic composer Clemens, Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein who would probably sell a couple of discs in virtue of his name alone?).

Anyway, Schwarz-Schilling's music is rather conservative in style, with - as the booklet writer makes much of - a strong connection to Bruckner but as reflected through the somewhat austere, grey, somewhat neo-Baroque tradition to which e.g. Kaminski belongs. The main problem is that the music here isn't particularly interesting (apparently I am unable to hear what the other reviewers here do). The Introduction and Fugue for strings from 1948 goes through the moves leaving absolutely no trace in the memory of the listener - it is not bad, but contains nothing interesting either. The Sinfonia diatonica from 10 years later is staunchly conservative, but not much more interesting; mostly bland and unchallenging with few ideas worth savoring, although again I cannot claim that I was really bored while listening to it but the lack of inspiration seems undeniable. The mild-mannered Symphony in C is probably the best work on the disc, and it might be worth hearing once by those who are interested in the music of the period, but if you miss out it will hardly be any major loss (it does, for instance, not hold a candle to the music of near-contemporaries such as Werner Egk, Theodor Berger or Johann Cilensek, to name but three).

The performances by the Staatskapelle Weimar under Jos Serebrier are rather good, with full-bodied strings and a general attention both to detail and overall argument (what there is of it), but to make this music work I think you'd need far more fire and forward momentum than the music receives here. It might be a call for cheating, for I don't think the lack of fire is really due to the performances. Sound quality is fine, I guess. So to sum up, this is undeniably a disc mainly for specialists (although it comes at an attractive price) and maybe you might find something to savor here if you don't expect too much.
1171759
What a delightful selection of music from a truly talented composer!  I remember hearing most of these songs as a young child, but never realized they were "modern" compositions.

Several commenters have said that their product was "defective" because it "skipped" - I think they may be referring to the "Classical Juke Box" piece.  In actuality, it appears that Anderson was being quite playful and clever - anyone who remembers hearing those old records knows that inevitably there would always be one or two records which would either skip or would repeat over and over again (until someone kicked the machine) due to a scratch in the vinyl - he just "reproduced" that in his composition.

This is just a fun, fun, fun CD, and I highly recommend it.
4622882
There's really no way to accurately describe this music. Is it World Music because the great Zakir Hussain is on it? Americana or Classical because of Edgar Meyer? Bluegrass or Jazz because Bela Fleck rounds out the group? You can put aside all of these categories because the music is all of it and more, and completely accessible. It's not a hodgepodge of styles. The compositions and sounds have real unity and the players enjoy legitimate chemistry.

It's absolutely not avant garde or free jazz, and I have no idea why Amazon has it in this category. Classical is more appropriate but doesn't tell the whole story.

The recorded sound is less austere than your average ECM production, but I think if you like the cross-cultural music from that great label, you'll be on board.

Obviously, fans of any or all three of the principals (as I am) are sure to love it.
950636
If your idea of opera is "heavy" and epic music developing heroic themes, then, this Rossini farce is not for you. But, if you want to lay aside your cares and just enjoy a good time, then by all means buy this DVD. I couldn't help thinking about modern musical comedy, which fulills the same purpose as this earliest effort by Rossini: just provide an escape for a reasonable length of time. This production makes a good case for type-casting singers who not only can sing and act but are believable because they are more or less the ages of the characters they portray on stage. The entire production is suited to the small Rokokotheater used in the Schwetzingen Festival, and what's more important in this case, to the small home theater. Delightful entertainment!
1139216
A fun listen for those who like oboes and bassoons; there is something for everyone on this CD.