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Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone
Release Date: 2004-09-28
Sales rank: 1745
Ennio Morricone is well-known to moviegoers. His soundtracks for The Mission, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in America, Cinema Paradiso, and others are invariably warmly melodic and superbly suited to the films they grace. They not only add atmosphere; they help tell the story. For this CD Morricone has created new orchestrations for many of his scores, adding a solo cello part for the indefatigable Yo-Yo Ma, whose musical curiosity seems to be endless. Outside the films, these pieces tend to be lovely melodies, mostly pretty sentimental stuff, and, in the best way, gorgeous aural wallpaper. The most moving are the two selections from The Mission, but fans of Morricone's music will find plenty to enjoy here. Ma's playing, as always, is exquisite---warm, deeply felt (given the circumstances), and entirely idiomatic within the context. Perhaps not quite for the classical music lover, but an affectionate reworking of music by an important film composer. --Robert Levine |
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Baby Einstein: Baby Santa
Release Date: 2006-10-17
Sales rank: 1564
Baby Santa Music CD celebrates the holiday spirit with music of the world! A soothing, holiday-oriented companion piece to the BABY SANTA DVD, this album introduces infants to the world of multicultural Christmas carols and other pleasant reminders of the season of giving. Some highlights include a Caribbean-flavored "Twelve Days of Christmas," reggae- and samba-styled versions of "Jingle Bells," and a lovely Hanukkah medley. Music Tracks: - Jingle Bells, Traditional
- Deck the Halls, Traditional
- Toy Symphony, Leopold Mozart
- The Dreidel Song, Traditional
- Joy to the World, Traditional
- Joy to the World, Reggae Style
- 12 Days of Christmas, Caribbean Style
- German Dance No. 3, Sleigh Ride,: W.A. Mozart
- Jingle Bells, Traditional
- Jingle Bells, Samba Style
- Hanukkah Medley, Traditional
- Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella, France
- Snowbird on the Ashbank, Appalachia
- The Wexford Carol, Celtic
- Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming, Germany
- Oshogastu (The New Year), Japan
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Traditional
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas, African Pop Style
- Hanukkah, O Hanukkah, Traditional
- Hallelujah Chorus, Handel
- Silent Night, Traditional
Holiday Concert for Little Ears: - Orchestra Tune Up
- Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, Bach Nutcracker Suite, Tchaikovsky
- Trepak (Russian Dance)
- Tea (Chinese Dance)
- Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy
- Coffee (Arabian Dance)
- Dance of the Reed Pipes
- Waltz of the Flowers
- Symphony No. 9, Beethoven
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The Essential Yo-Yo Ma
Release Date: 2005-08-16
Sales rank: 1236
Here are three dozen pieces of music, all played by Yo-Yo Ma, culled from his extensive discography. Aside from the technical mastery and beautiful tone that are absolutes in all of his playing, one is dazzled by his curiosity and ability to adapt to so many forms and types of music. His Bach and Vivaldi are pellucid and played with non-sentimental crispness, his tango music gritty and rhythmically pungent, his jazz seemingly spontaneous, the "Meditation" from Thais simply ravishing, "Anything Goes" a romp, and the Appalachian music performed with both respect and a great twang, while the traditional Chinese music is fascinating. It's really a matter of how much Ma loves whatever he plays here, how entirely he becomes involved in it, and what a fine partner he invariably is to other musicians. This collection is a doozy--it is truly "essential." --Robert Levine |
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The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the Universe
Release Date: 2003-04-08
Sales rank: 1192
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Beethoven's Wig: Sing Along Symphonies
Release Date: 2002-03-05
Sales rank: 1159
GENERAL FEATURES: Beethoven's Wig Sing Along Symphonies are zany stick-in-your-head lyrics set to the greatest hits of classical music. Filled with fact and fancy about the world's most notable composers and their masterpieces, each Sing Along Symphony opens the door to "serious music" in a way that's fun. As a bonus, the orchestral performance of each classical piece is included without lyrics. Educational entertainment for all ages.Inspired and wildly imaginative, Beethoven's Wig is one of the best introductions to classical music you could give to your children. Featuring snippets of 11 classical music staples--Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Haydn, et al.--the disc and its creators, Richard Perlmutter and friends, pour on the silly lyrics the first time around to familiarize young ears to the old masters. Then in the last half of the record, the orchestra plays the same "serious" music pieces instrumentally. You might cheerfully recall Alan Sherman's popular spoofs of old classical works in Wig and you'll again chuckle at pieces like "Drip, Drip, Drip," which adapts Delibes's "Pizzicato from Sylvia." You'll also marvel at the expertise throughout the CD, with all the pieces well played yet thoroughly fun. Beethoven's Wig is an orchestral treasure with a sense of humor as old or as new as its listeners (and the fun questions that run throughout the CD's liner notes are almost as entertaining as the zany musical interludes). Highly recommended. --Martin Keller |
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Baby Einstein: Lullaby Classics, Vol. 2
Release Date: 2006-12-19
Sales rank: 1523
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Puccini: The Complete Operas (Amazon.com Exclusive)
Release Date: 2008-05-13
Sales rank: 1714
In anticipation of the 150th anniversary (December 12, 2008) of the birth of opera's most beloved composer - Giacomo Puccini - Sony BMG Masterworks has created the most definitive available collection of his operas in the exclusive, 20-disc PUCCINI: THE COMPLETE OPERAS. All twelve of his operas are presented in acclaimed complete recordings - La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Turandot, Le Villi, Edgar, Manon Lescaut, La Fanciulla del West, La Rondine and Il Trittico (including Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi), featuring performances by such vocal legends as Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, Leontyne Price, Barbara Frittoli, Renata Scotto, Tito Gobbi, Carlo Bergonzi, Sherrill Milnes, Anna Moffo, Marilyn Horne and Ileana Cotrubas, in classic interpretations conducted by Sir Georg Solti, Lorin Maazel and Zubin Mehta. |
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25 Beethoven Favorites
Release Date: 1996-08-20
Sales rank: 1847
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Peter and the Wolf / Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra / Carnival of the Animals
Release Date: 1994-05-10
Sales rank: 2178
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The Most Soothing Lullabies In The Universe
Release Date: 2004-04-06
Sales rank: 2291
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