V.A. - The Essential Classics Collection (6CD Box Set, 1999)

The intent of this set is pretty clear from the titles of each of the six discs: Meditations; Orchestral Fireworks; Invitation to the Dance; Nocturne; Pomp & Circumstance; Grand Opera. This is mood or 'theme' music designed to provide either a background or a sequence of 'tasters' initiating the person who comes fresh to classical music with a sampling from the 'great and the good'. True the 'great and the good' are all from the core repertoire; not even a scintilla of Janacek, Nielsen, Adams, Reich which is a shame.

Contents:

CD 1. Volume 1 - Meditation
CD 2. Volume 2 - Orchestral Fireworks
CD 3. Volume 3 - Invitation To The Dance
CD 4. Volume 4 - Nocturne
CD 5. Volume 5 - Pomp & Circumstance
CD 6. Volume 6 - Grand Opera



Full Tracklist:

CD 1. Volume 1 - Meditation

01. Grieg - 'Peer Gynt' - Morning Mood (Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi 1987)
02. Pachelbel - 'Canon' in D major (Festival Strings, Lucerne, Rudolf Baumgartner 1968)
03. Saint-Saens - 'Carnival of the Animals' - The Swan 9Wolfgang Herzer, Vienna Philharmonic Karl Bohm 19750
04. Faure - 'Pavane' - Op. 50 (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa 19870)
05. Rodrigo - 'Concierto de Aranjuez' - Adagio (Goran Sollscher, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 1990)
06. J.S. Bach - Suite No. 3 - Air (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 1990)
07. Mahler - Symphony No. 5 - Adagietto (Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival, Rafael Kubelik 1971)
08. Elgar Cello Concerto - Adagio- Moderato (Pierre Fournier, Berlin Philharmonic, Alfred Wallenstein 1967)
09. Albinoni - 'Adagio' (Festival Strings, Lucerne, Rudolf Baumgartner 1968)
10. Dvorak - Symphony No. 9 'From the New World' - Largo (excerpt) (Berlin Philharmonic, Rafael Kubelik 1973)
11. Offenbach - 'The Tales of Hoffmann' - Barcarole (Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi 1990)

CD 2. Volume 2 - Orchestral Fireworks

01. Bizet - Carmen - Les Toreadors (Orchestra of the Bastille, Myung-Whun Chung 1991)
02. Orff - Carmina Burana - O Fortuna (Choir and Orchestra of the German Opera, Berlin, Eugen Jochum 1968)
03. Greig Peer Gynt - In the Hall of the Mountain King (Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi 1993)
04. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Winter (Simon Standage, the English Concert, Trevor Pinnock 1982)
05. Mussorgski - Pictures of an Exhibition - Promenade (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini 1976)
06. Tchaikovsky - 1812 - Overture - Excerpt (Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi 1990)
07. Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet - Knights Dance (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa 1987)
08. Verdi Requiem - Dies Irae (Ernst Senff Choir, Berlin Philharmonic, Carlo Maria Giulini 1989)
09. Wagner- Die Walkure - Ride of the Valkyries (Orchestra of Paris, Daniel Barenboim 1984)
10. Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra - Introduction (Boston Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg 1971)
11. Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue (Siegfried Stockigt, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur 1981)
12. Ravel - Bolero (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa 1974)

CD 3. Volume 3 - Invitation To The Dance

01. Weber - Invitation to the Dance (Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay 1961)
02. Brahms - Hungarian Dances - Nos 1, 3 & 6 (Vienna Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado 1982)
03. Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy; Waltz of the Flowers (Berlin Philharmonic Ferdinand Leitner 1960)
04. Offenbach,Rosenthal - Gaite Parisienne - Cancan (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa 1968)
05. Handel - Water Music - Alla Hornpipe (The English Consort, Trevor Pinnock 1983)
06. Mozart - Horn Concerto No. 4 - Rondo (David Jolley, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 1968)
07. Strauss (Son) - The Blue Danube Waltz (Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay 1961)
08. Smetana - The Bartered Bride - Polka, Furiant and Dance of the Comedians (Vienna Philharmonic, James Levine 1987)
09. Borodin - Prince Igor - Polovtsian Dances (Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Neeme Jarvi 1990)
10. Strauss (Father) - Radetzky-Marsch (Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay 1961)

CD 4. Volume 4 - Nocturne

01. Mozart - Piano Concerto No 21 - Andante (Salzburg Mozarteum Camerata Academica, Geza Anda 1962)
02. Chopin - Nocturne - in F sharp major (Daniel Barenboim 1982)
03. Schumann- Scenes from Childhood - Dreaming (Martha Argerich 1984)
04. Beethoven - Fur Elise (Anatol Ugorski 1991)
05. Debussy - Suite Bergamesque - Clair de Lune (Alexis Weissenberg 1985)
06. Beethoven - Piano Sonata No 14 'Moonlight' - Adagio (Emil Gilels 1981)
07. Rachmaninov - Prelude - Opus 32 No 10 in B minor (Lilya Zilberstein 1989)
08. Franz Liszt - Ballade (Daniel Barenboim 1983)
09. Chopin - Raindrop Prelude - in D flat major (Christophe Eschenbach 1972)
10. Debussy - The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (Alexis Weissenberg 1985)
11. Rachmaninov - Prelude - No 12 in G sharp minor (Lilya Zilberstein 1989)
12. Schubert - Moment Musicaux - No 2 in A flat major Andantino (Wilhelm Kempff 1968)
13. Mozart - Piano Concerto No 23 - Adagio (Salzburg Mozarteum Camerata Academica, Geza Anda 1964)

CD 5. Volume 5 - Pomp & Circumstance

01. Handel - Messiah - Hallelujah Chorus (The English Consort and Choir, Trevor Pinnock 1988)
02. Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on 'Greensleeves' (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 1986)
03. Smetana - Ma Viast - Vltava (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik 1971)
04. J. S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue - in D minor (Simon Preston 1989)
05. Sibelius - Finlandia (Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi 1996)
06. Holst - The Planets - Jupiter (Boston Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg)
07. Bernstein - Symphonic dances from 'West Side Story' (San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa 1973)
08. Mendelssohn - Hebrides Overture (London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado 1985)
09. Elgar - Pomp and Circumstance March - No 1(Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Norman Del Mar 1976)

CD 6. Volume 6 - Grand Opera

01. Puccini - Turandot - Nessun Dorma! (Herbert von Karajan 1982)
02. Donizetti - L'Elisir d'amore - Una furtiva lagrima (Placido Domingo, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini 1981)
03. Verdi - Il Trovatore - Di quella pira (Carlo Bergonzi, Antonietta Stella, Kaatia Ricciardi, Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Tullio Serafin 1963)
04. Verdi - Nabucco - Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (Chorus and Orchestra of the German Opera, Berlin, Giuseppe Sinopoli 1983)
05. Bizet - Carmen - La fleur que tu m'avais jetee (Placido Domingo, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini 1981)
06. Bizet - Carmen - Havanaise (Grace Bumbry, Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, Janos Kulka 1962)
07. Puccini - La Boheme - Che gelida manina (Sandor Konya, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Antonio Votto 1962)
08. Verdi - Il Trovatore - Anvil Chorus (Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Tullio Serafin 1963)
09. Wagner - Tristan und Isolde - Liebestod (Margaret Price, Staatslapelle Dresden, Carlos Kleiber 1982)
10. Puccini - Madama Butterfly - One Fine Day (Mirella Freni, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli 1988)
11. Mozart - The Magic Flute - O Isis und Osiris (Chorus and Orchestra of the German Opera, Berlin, Giuseppe Sinopoli 1985)
12. Mascagni - Cavalliera Rusticana - Intermezzo sinfonico (Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli 1990)
13. Verdi - Aida - Celeste Aida (Placido Domingo, Orchestra of La Scala, Claudio Abbado 1982)
14. Verdi - Aida - Gloria all'Egitto (Chorus and Orchestra of the German Opera, Berlin, Giuseppe Sinopoli 1985)
15. Rossini - William Tell - Overture (Orchester der Romischen Oper, Tulio Serafin 1964)

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