Relax: The World's Most Beautiful Music

Music For The Soul - 36 Tracks

The modern world seems to constantly be getting more and more hectic, with more and more things going on around us all at once. This 2-CD set from EMI Classics is meant to remind people that there is more to life than the daily hustle and bustle, that sometimes it's good to just sit back and just not do anything for a little while--to relax a little.

These 36 tracks represent the most soothing, meditative, transcendently beautiful music ever produced, encouraging listeners to pause from the distractions of the world and turn inward, shutting off the computer, TV, cell phone, and so on. Timeless treasures such as Pachelbel's Canon in D, Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21, Dvorˇák's New World Symphony Largo, and more uplift and restore, leaving the listener refreshed and ready to face the world with renewed energy! 

Ravel: Complete Works for Solo Piano

"The Canadian pianist, Louis Lortie, gives an impressive account… throughout the whole set his playing is elegant, virile and sensitive… This is a distinguished and stimulating recital." --The Penguin Complete Guide

"The technical brilliance and absolute assurance of the playing excludes neither passion nor the cooler poetry Ravel admired." --Sunday Times ‘Record of the Week’

"Louis Lortie is on superlative form in his recital…" --Gramophone ‘Critic’s Choice’

Such was Ravel’s genius that he could achieve technical perfection even in his most violently charged moments. Debussy once described him as having ‘the most refined ear that ever existed’. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his piano works.

The Pavane pour une infante défunte is an exquisite exercise in nostalgia, reflecting in is grave formality and sweetness another time and place, namely sixteenth-century Spain.

Le Tombeau de Couperin is a six part Suite, the last of Ravel’s piano compositions, and by his own admission, more a tribute to the entire spirit of French eighteenth-century music than to Couperin in particular. More sombrely, each piece is dedicated to a friend killed in the First World War.

The Valses nobles et sentimentales are a startlingly modern reflection of Schubert’s Waltzes of the same title. A scandal ensued when the works were first played, for people were not used to Ravel’s novel astringency and toughness of expression.

La Valse takes the waltz to another dimension. Sketched before the 1914-18 war it was first conceived as Wien, a symphonic poem, an apotheosis of the Viennese waltz’ and an ‘impression of fantastic, fatal whirling’. Powerful and symbolic, La Valse signalled the end of an era of civilised values.

Gaspard de la nuit is arguably the greatest piano work of the twentieth century and its admirers included Messiaen, who saw its lavish pianistic resource and unfaltering precision as a supreme instance of Ravel’s genius.

The classically based Sonatine is the epitome of distilled grace and Gallic understatement, energised by startling passages of passion and ebullience. Understandably, many scholars consider the work one of Ravel’s subtlest and most finely wrought.

Respighi: Suite in E major, Etc

 

´This Marco Polo re-release presents a fascinating survey of the early orchestral works of Respighi written before 1916, the year of the first of his vivid symphonic poems, Fontane di Roma, for which he is today best remembered. Although the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Dvořák, Saint-Saëns, and others is readily discernible, these works also demonstrate Respighi’s growing mastery of a form of music – the symphonic – that was largely neglected at that time in Italy.

The large-scale Suite in E, which initially bore the title Sinfonia, is a work of considerable musical interest and an elaborate example of the symphony. The Burlesca, with its suggestions of the sounds of water to be heard in Fontane di Roma, may be seen as an early impressionistic symphonic poem.

Paisiello: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 3 and 5

 

"these works are of considerable charm and historical interest—standing solidly within the Classical period and recalling Mozart’s middle concertos…these concertos reflect the original dedicatees’ tastes and abilities.

Concerto No. 1…was written for harpsichord, and dedicated to an Italian lady-in-waiting to Catherine the Great…Cast in three movements, it is a straightforward but pleasing work. The simple Larghetto (track 2)…has a plain but engaging quality, while the final Rondo includes some lively interaction between the soloist and orchestra.

The third concerto is the more complex of the trio…The brilliant, playful first movement (track 4) ripples with tricky arpeggios which Francesco Nicolosi calmly takes in his stride…The final concerto, No.5, is equally bland…

…this is a very listenable disc. The playing by both soloist and orchestra is lively and warm, and the sound recording is equally clear…"

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Rossini: Early Sinfonias

 

Rossini occupied an unrivalled position in the Italian musical world of his time, winning considerable success relatively early in his career. The son of a horn player and a mother who made a career for herself in opera, as a boy he had direct experience of operatic performance, both in the orchestra pit and on stage. His operas from his first relative success in 1810 until 1823 were first performed in Italy. 

There followed a period of success in Paris, leading to his final opera, Guillaume Tell (‘William Tell’), staged in Paris in 1829. The revolution of 1830 prevented the fulfilment of French royal commissions for the theatre, but in his later life he continued to enjoy considerable esteem—both in Paris, where he spent much of his last years, and in his native Italy. There he spent the years from 1837 until 1855, before returning finally to France, where he died in 1868. The last 40 years of his life were creatively silent: no more operas issued from his pen.

Molter: Sonata Grossa & Orchestral Works

The performances by Martin Jopp’s period-instrument band are uniformly excellent. He keeps his tempos crisp but not frantic, and the ensemble plays both musically and in tune. Indeed, there is skill all about, and while Rux’s clarion playing is certainly good, Jopp’s line in the violin concerto will make one sit up and take notice with the clear and difficult lines he must perform in the outer movements. In short, this is a fine disc, and if you are curious to find that musical evolutionary track between the Baroque and Classical styles, you will really want to check out this one. --Fanfare

Already with the composers Fasch and Hertel, the Main-Barockorchester Frankfurt succeeded in getting the public enthusiastic about little-known masters on the threshold between the Baroque and Classical eras. Now the orchestra presents works by Johann Melchior Molter. Wind players are most likely to know this composer.

And indeed, this SACD features a trumpet concerto, played here by the internationally known specialist Hans-Martin Rux on the valve-less, pleasantly mellow-sounding natural trumpet. Molter undertook a number of journeys to Italy. Thus the Italian influences are not surprising, yet the French style and the young Mannheim school can also be heard in the six works that the Main-Barockorchester proffers in this SACD.

Telemann: Burlesque De Quixotte

"No collector will want to miss this series…this is a stylish, brilliant performance of all the works." --American Record Guide

"Over the years Chandos and Collegium Musicum 90 have done Telemann proud, nowhere more so than in this bright and lean recording…" --BBC Music Magazine ‘Top Recommendation’

“Telemann is never more irresistible than when he's in light-hearted pictorial mode, and both these new releases feature one of the most entertainingly evocative of all his overture-suites for strings, the Burlesque de Quixote. Taking episodes from the Cervantes novel as its inspiration, it provides us with a memorable sequence of cameos, from the deluded Don tilting at windmills and sighing with love, to Sancho Panza tossed high in a blanket, to portrayals of the pair's respective steeds.

Telemann achieves all this with such humour and descriptive precision that, when you hear it, you'll surely laugh in delighted recognition. What a good film composer he would have been! Both performances strike an appropriate tongue-in-cheek attitude. Northern Chamber Orchestra show good style and a pleasingly light and clear texture, unclouded by excessive vibrato or over-egged string tone. Only at the bass end does the sound occasionally become a little thick, but this is really quibbling when what we actually have is a good demonstration of how to perform Baroque music on modern strings. It still makes quite a contrast with Collegium Musicum 90, however, whose period instruments, recorded more intimately, sound slighter and sparkier.

Having already recorded so much of Telemann's music, they sound more at home and have that extra ounce of freedom to enjoy themselves.

The couplings of the Chandos disc are more interesting. For all that the NCO offer another attractive string suite, La Lyra, containing a typically realistic and beguiling hurdy-gurdy impersonation, the D major Overture isn't especially memorable; CM90 have found more colourful stuff in the strikingly French-accented G major Overture and a thoroughly charming Concerto for two violins, bassoon and strings. A pair of bassoons also makes a delightful appearance in the second Minuet of the Overture in B minor.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

Kozeluch: Klarinettenkonzerte

The antithesis and even the declared enemy of Mozart? With an infallible instinct, fine sense of style and playful wit, Dieter Klöcker refutes this musical prejudice and mistaken assumption, providing us with an insight into the works of a skilful composer who, on the cusp between Rococo and early Romanticism, was cosmopolitan in character: Leopold Kozeluch.

Grieg, Schumann & Saint-Saëns - Piano Concertos

“These are intimate performances, an effect no doubt enhanced by the fact that Shelley directs from the piano. Intimately but also sharply characterised. And when virtuosity is required, Shelley provides it in spades. Technically, the Saint-Saëns is an ideal vehicle for Shelley's fingery kind of pianism and he is exceptional in the Allegro scherzando, the movement that our-Mendelssohns Mendelssohn.” --Gramophone Magazine, May 2009

“…a modern version of Schumann's Piano Concerto that actually sounds like Schumann. Howard Shelley's performance is refreshingly free from empty showmanship or narcissistic 'pianism'. The Grieg and Saint-Saëns concertos are also full of lovely things, especially the slow movement coda for the Grieg - this music can touch without being the slightest bit sentimental or oversweet.” --BBC Music Magazine, July 2009 *****

“Outstanding performances” --Classic FM Magazine, February 2012

Neapolitan Flute Concertos

 

'This is above all music to beguile the ear. The performances are a delight. What with Carlo Ipata's liquid tone and secure virtuosity, and the brightness, nimbleness and transparency of the one-to-a-part strings of Auser Musici (excellently captured by the recording), this unassuming but sunny and attractive music has surely achieved its finest hour' --Gramophone, June 2010

Gramophone Magazine
Editor's Choice - June 2010

Carlo Ipata (flute), Auser Musici

Auser Musici’s recordings for Hyperion have been praised for their stylish period-instrument charm and lithe, flexible, elegant sound. They have rediscovered many hidden gems of the Italian baroque repertoire. Works featuring the flute are something of a speciality of the ensemble and their disc of Boccherini Flute Quintets was highly acclaimed. The baroque flute virtuoso Carlo Ipata returns for this latest release.

Previously concentrating on music of Tuscan origin, Auser Musici now turns to 18th century Naples. The city at this period was an extraordinarily fecund artistic crucible, with many commissioning opportunities for young composers. The composers recorded here are contemporaries of the great composers such as Porpora who were at the forefront of the achievements of Neapolitan music in the first half of the eighteenth century; and the startling quality of the music demonstrates the richness of the artistic life of the age.

Mozart: Overtures

“…Rinaldo Allessandrini… has an innate understanding of Mozart's conception of "sonata form" as concentrated drama. He also has an uncanny ear for sonority. Alessandrini makes the brass an integral part of the woodwind choir: hear how beautifully they are incorporated into the wind chords in The Magic Flute - just one of the vivid and thought-provoking details that make this such a delightful disc.” --Gramophone Magazine, October 2009

Norwegian National Opera Orchestra, Rinaldo Alessandrini

Naïve continues its collaboration with renowned conductor, Rinaldo Alessandrini, which sees him lead the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra in an exciting release featuring the overtures from Mozart’s greatest operas.

This is in fact Alessandrini’s first recording with an orchestra playing on modern instruments and resulted from Alessandrini’s position as Principal Guest conductor of the Norwegian National Opera that he’s held since 2005. He chose this repertoire as during his years in this position, it was the sublime music of Mozart that the Orchestra responded to best.

A virtuoso on the harpsichord, organ and fortepiano, and the founder and conductor of Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini is considered a major force in today’s international early music scene. He and his group have created new standards of excellence in the performance of 17th and 18th century Italian vocal music. Alessandrini’s desire to re-conquer the long-neglected madrigal repertory of the early seventeenth century led to the founding of the Concerto Italiano vocal ensemble. Norwegian National Opera Orchestra is one of Northern Europe’s oldest orchestras, dating back to 1827.

Turina: Chamber Music

SUNDAY TIMES CLASSICAL CD OF THE WEEK

“the Nash Ensemble's present collection includes some of his best works in [the chamber music] field, making this a highly recommendable disc for anyone who enjoys early 20th-century Spanish music. Everything here is performed with great warmth and a real sense of belief in the music - Marianne Thorsen and Ian Brown's eloquent and characterful account of the Sonata espagnola” --BBC Music Magazine, June 2012 *****

'This excellent CD of chamber music … The performances throughout by these outstanding musicians, who are clearly wholly committed to Turina's music, are deeply impressive. The recording quality is also first-rate. Hyperion's world-renowed production values are equally consistently admirable and fully maintained here' --International Record Review, May 2012

“Bravo to the Nash Ensemble for championing these chamber works by Joaquin Turina...He could scarcely have imagined that one day an ensemble would produce an entire CD of his music but the Spanish traits by no means become wearing or predictable.” --Gramophone, June 2012

'The near-masterpieces here … are the splendid Piano Trio Op 35, the A minor Piano Quartet Op 67, and the Violin Sonata, played with searing tone and rhythmic dash by Marianne Thorsen and Ian Brown, mainstays of the wonderful Nash Ensemble. Lawrence Power's viola and Paul Watkins' cello shine in, respectively, the Escena Andaluza and the songful tenor/bass melodies of the trio. It would be hard to imagine more compelling performances' --Sunday Times, March 2012

Romantic Oboe Concertos

Composers in the Romantic era were entranced by the sublime sound of the oboe and many wrote their finest works for that instrument. In this extraordinary collection of concertos from the early nineteenth century, Australian oboe star Diana Doherty plays masterpieces by Bellini and lesser-known composers alike.

"... a brilliant instrumentalist and an exceptional musician..." --The New York Times.

"... monster technique... a truly remarkable debut..." --New York Concert Review.

Franck, Widor, Strauss: Works for Flute

No doubt a French cousin of Elmer, Emmanuel Pahud is always hunting that crazy transcription. What else is a flutist to do? There is only so much flute repertoire and one is, after all, obliged to play something composed after the death of Mozart. So like so many other loony tune flutists, Pahud has gone out hunting transcriptions of works originally conceived and executed for other instruments to add a little late Romantic meat to a diet otherwise consisting of Baroque bonbons and High Classical tonic water.

And what has Emmanuel Pahud bagged here? A warm-hearted transcription of Richard Strauss' early Sonata for violin and piano, a sweet-hearted transcription of César Franck's middling Sonata for violin and piano, and, lo and behold, a work originally conceived and executed for the flute, Charles-Marie Widor's ineffable Suite for flute and piano. As always, Pahud plays with a dazzling technique and a warm tone ideally suited for the red meat of Strauss, Franck, and Widor. With the able accompaniment of Eric le Sage, Pahud turns in a recording that is done to perfection. EMI's digital sound is so intimate you will swear that Pahud is breathing into your ear, a not altogether pleasant experience. --allmusic.com

Tartini: Concertos

Long regarded as a mere "transitional figure" between Corelli and Boccherini, Giuseppe Tartini had to await the very end of the 20th century (and recordings like this one) to be judged at this true worth: as a composer of the very first rank and a violinist of genius. He was also a pedagogue much envied by Leopold Mozart, who plagiarised him copiously. With 130 concertos and 200 sonatas for violin, his musical achievement speaks for itself.

‘Tartini therefore abandoned the rowdy muddles that
deafen the ears and bewilder the brain,
which, imported into Italy the Teutonic craze to ruin good
taste, to this very day enjoy, by
what blindness or fanaticism I know not, so much applause
in the Academies…’
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