Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. No.13. Morning mood - Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Lennart Dehn, Michael Bergek, Neeme Järvi, Edvard Grieg
2. 1. Canon - Festival Strings Lucerne, Rudolf Baumgartner, Dr. Manfred Richter, Günter Hermanns, Guenther Dieckmann, Helmut Najda, Johann Pachelbel
3. Le Cygne - Wolfgang Herzer, Alfons Kontarsky, Aloys Kontarsky, Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm, Werner Mayer, Klaus Scheibe, Manfred Bartel, Hans-Rudolf Müller, Gernot Westhaeuser, Camille Saint-Saëns
4. Pavane, Op.50 - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Hanno Rinke, Seiji Ozawa, Werner Mayer, Hans-Peter Schweigmann, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, Klaus Behrens, Helmut Burk, Gabriel Fauré
5. 2. Adagio - Dr. Steven Paul, Göran Söllscher, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Wolf Erichson, Andreas Neubronner, Joaquin Rodrigo
6. 2. Air - Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Dr. Steven Paul, Wolf Erichson, Andreas Neubronner, Johann Sebastian Bach
7. 4. Adagietto (Sehr langsam) - Dr. Wilfried Daenicke, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Hans Weber, Rafael Kubelik, Heinz Wildhagen, Jobst Eberhardt, Gernot Westhaeuser, Volker Martin, Christa Conrad, Gustav Mahler
8. 1. Adagio - Moderato - Pierre Fournier, Berliner Philharmoniker, Alfred Wallenstein, Wolfgang Lohse, Klaus Scheibe, Helmut Najda, Horst Mischewski, Edward Elgar
9. Adagio for Strings and Organ in G minor - Arr. Remo Giazotto/ Transcr. A. Lagoya - Dr. Manfred Richter, Eduard Kaufmann, Günter Hermanns, Walter Prystawski, Festival Strings Lucerne, Guenther Dieckmann, Helmut Najda, Rudolf Baumgartner, Tomaso Albinoni
10. 2. Largo - Berliner Philharmoniker, Rafael Kubelik, Dr. Rudolf Werner, Hans Weber, Heinz Wildhagen, Wolfgang Werner, Christa Conrad, Helmut Najda, Antonín Dvorák
11. Entr'acte (Barcarolle) - Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Lennart Dehn, Michael Bergek, Neeme Järvi, Jacques Offenbach

Disc 2:

1. Les toréadors - Lennart Dehn, Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille, Michael Bergek, Myung-Whun Chung, Dr. Peter Czornyj, Didier (opera Bastille, Paris) Panier, Joel Simon, Georges Bizet
2. "O Fortuna" - Dr. Hans Hirsch, Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Eugen Jochum, Klaus Scheibe, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Joachim Niss, Walter Hagen-Groll, Wolfgang Werner, Carl Orff
3. 4. In the Hall of the Mountain King - Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Pal Christian Moe, Lennart Dehn, Neeme Järvi, Michael Bergek, Torbjoern Samuelsson, Edvard Grieg
4. 1. Allegro non molto - 2. Largo - 3. Allegro - Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert, Simon Standage, Antonio Vivaldi
5. Promenade - Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Guenther Breest, Carlo Maria Giulini, Klaus Scheibe, Volker Martin, Klaus Behrens, Reinhild Schmidt, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky
6. Overture 1812 - Beginning - Churchbells of Gothenburg, Gothenburg Artillery Division, Gothenburg Symphony Brass Band, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi, Gothenburg Symphony Chorus, Ove Gotting, Lennart Dehn, Michael Bergek, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
7. 13. Dance of the knights - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, Hanno Rinke, Wolfgang Stengel, Hans-Peter Schweigmann, Volker Martin, Helmut Burk, Sergei Prokofiev
8. 2. Dies irae - Berliner Philharmoniker, Carlo Maria Giulini, Ernst Senff Chor, Guenther Breest, Claudia Hamann, Werner Mayer, Ulrich Vette, Andrew Wedman, Volker Martin, Giuseppe Verdi
9. The Ride of the Walkyres - Dr. Steven Paul, Orchestre de Paris, Daniel Barenboim, Werner Mayer, Klaus Scheibe, Hans-Rudolf Müller, Richard Wagner
10. Einleitung - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Karl Faust, Tom Mowrey, William Steinberg, Hans Weber, Günter Hermanns, Gernot Westhaeuser, Richard Strauss
11. Rhapsody in Blue - Reimar Bluth, Siegfried Stockigt, Kurt Hiltawsky, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur, George Gershwin
12. Boléro - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Mowrey, Seiji Ozawa, Franz Christian Wulff, Joachim Niss, Gernot Westhaeuser, Maurice Ravel

Disc 3:

1. Invitation to the Dance, Op.65 (Aufforderung zum Tanze) - Orchestrated by H. Berlioz (1803-1869) - Hans Weber, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay, Günter Hermanns, Carl Maria von Weber
2. No. 1 in G minor, No. 3 in F and No. 6 in D flat - Rainer Brock, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Klaus Hiemann, Volker Martin, James Brown, Christopher Alder, Johannes Brahms
3. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy...Waltz of the Flowers - Berliner Philharmoniker, Wolfgang Lohse, Ferdinand Leitner, Werner Wolf, Hans-Peter Schweigmann, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
4. Allegro - Cancan - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Hanno Rinke, Cord Garben, Seiji Ozawa, Werner Mayer, Hans-Peter Schweigmann, Klaus Behrens, Jacques Offenbach
5. 2. Alla Hornpipe - Dr. Andreas Holschneider, The English Concert, Charlotte Kriesch, Trevor Pinnock, Dr. Gerd Ploebsch, Hans-Peter Schweigmann, Joachim Niss, Klaus Behrens, George Frideric Handel
6. 3. Rondo (Allegro vivace) - David Jolley, Dr. Steven Paul, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Wolf Erichson, Stephan Schellmann, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
7. An der schönen blauen Donau, Op.314 - Hans Weber, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay, Günter Hermanns, Rolf Peter Schroeder, Johann Strauss
8. Polka, Furiant and Dance of the Comedians - Dr. Steven Paul, Wiener Philharmoniker, James Levine, Werner Mayer, Klaus Scheibe, Jobst Eberhardt, Hans-Rudolf Müller, Klaus Behrens, Bedrich Smetana
9. Polovtsian Dances, from Prince Igor - Lennart Dehn, Torgny Sporsen, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi, Gothenburg Symphony Chorus, Ove Gotting, Michael Bergek, Alexander Borodin
10. Radetzky-Marsch, Op.228 - Arr. Ertl - Hans Weber, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay, Günter Hermanns, Rolf Peter Schroeder, Johann Strauss

Disc 4:

1. 2. Andante - Géza Anda, Hans Weber, Camerata Academica des Mozarteums Salzburg, Günter Hermanns, Rolf Peter Schroeder, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
2. Nocturne No.5 in F sharp, Op.15 No.2 - Daniel Barenboim, Dr. Steven Paul, Cord Garben, Karl-August Naegler, Jürgen Bulgrin, Christopher Alder, Frédéric Chopin
3. 7. Träumerei - Hanno Rinke, Martha Argerich, Wolfgang Stengel, Wolfgang Mitlehner, Jobst Eberhardt, Robert Schumann
4. Poco moto - Anatol Ugorski, Hanno Rinke, Werner Mayer, Jochen Gottschall, Jürgen Bulgrin, Ludwig van Beethoven
5. 3. Clair de lune - Alexis Weissenberg, Hanno Rinke, Werner Mayer, Klaus Scheibe, Volker Martin, Jürgen Bulgrin, Reinhild Schmidt, Jobst Eberhardt, Klaus Behrens, Claude Debussy
6. 1. Adagio sostenuto - Emil Gilels, Hanno Rinke, Werner Mayer, Klaus Scheibe, Klaus Behrens, Ludwig van Beethoven
7. No.10 in B minor: Lento - Lilya Zilberstein, Hanno Rinke, Gernot Von Schultzendorff, Volker Martin, Sergey Vasil'yevich Rachmaninov
8. The Flying Dutchman/Wagner: Ballade, Transcription S. 441 - Daniel Barenboim, Dr. Steven Paul, Werner Mayer, Klaus Scheibe, Wolf-Dieter Karwatky, Hans-Rudolf Müller, Rainer Hoepfner, Franz Liszt
9. 15. in D flat major ("Raindrop") - Christoph Eschenbach, Fr. Dr. Ellen Hickmann, Hansjoachim Reiser, Helmut Najda, Frédéric Chopin
10. 8. La fille aux cheveux de lin - Alexis Weissenberg, Hanno Rinke, Cord Garben, Klaus Hiemann, Jobst Eberhardt, Jürgen Bulgrin, Claude Debussy
11. No.12 in g sharp minor: Allegro - Hanno Rinke, Lilya Zilberstein, Gernot Von Schultzendorff, Volker Martin, Sergey Vasil'yevich Rachmaninov
12. No.2 in A flat (Andantino) - Wilhelm Kempff, Hans Ritter, Klaus Scheibe, Wolfgang Werner, Helmut Najda, Franz Schubert
13. 2. Adagio - Géza Anda, Hans Weber, Camerata Academica des Mozarteums Salzburg, Günter Hermanns, Rolf Peter Schroeder, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Disc 5:

1. "Hallelujah" - Dr. Andreas Holschneider, The English Concert, Charlotte Kriesch, Trevor Pinnock, Dr. Gerd Ploebsch, The English Concert Choir, Hans-Peter Schweigmann, Ulrich Vette, George Frideric Handel
2. Fantasia on Greensleeves - Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Dr. Steven Paul, Wolf Erichson, Andreas Neubronner, Ralph Vaughan Williams
3. 2. Vltava (The Moldau) - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik, Dr. Wilfried Daenicke, Hans Weber, Heinz Wildhagen, Gernot Westhaeuser, Bedrich Smetana
4. Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 - Simon Preston, Dr. Gerd Ploebsch, Charlotte Kriesch, Hans-Peter Schweigmann, Klaus Behrens, Hans-Ulrich Bastin, Johann Sebastian Bach
5. Andante sostenuto - Allegro moderato - Allegro - Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi, Pal Christian Moe, Lennart Dehn, Michael Bergek, Torbjoern Samuelsson, Jean Sibelius
6. 4. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity - Boston Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg, Karl Faust, Tom Mowrey, Rainer Brock, Günter Hermanns, Joachim Niss, Gustav Holst
7. 1. Prologue - 4. Mambo - 9. Finale - San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Mowrey, Seiji Ozawa, Jack Hunt, Tom Scott, Ken Caillat, Terry Stark, Volker Martin, Christa Conrad, Leonard Bernstein
8. Allegro moderato - London Symphony Orchestra, Rainer Brock, Claudio Abbado, Klaus Hiemann, Hans-Rudolf Müller, Felix Mendelssohn
9. "Pomp and Circumstance," Op.39: March, No.1 in D - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Norman Del Mar, Edward Elgar

Disc 6:

1. "Nessun dorma" - Guenther Breest, Plácido Domingo, Michel Glotz, Wiener Philharmoniker, Günter Hermanns, Herbert von Karajan, Jobst Eberhardt, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Jost Michael Haase, Roberto Benaglio, Volker Martin, Reinhild Schmidt, Giacomo Puccini
2. "Una furtiva lagrima" - Guenther Breest, Plácido Domingo, Hans Weber, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Carlo Maria Giulini, Hans-Peter Schweigmann, Klaus Behrens, Gaetano Donizetti
3. "Di quella pira" - Carlo Bergonzi, Antonietta Stella, Franco Ricciardi, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin, Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Norberto Mola, Elsa Schiller, Hans Weber, Günter Hermanns, Rolf Peter Schroeder, Volker Martin, Giuseppe Verdi
4. Coro: Introduzione - "Va pensiero, sull'ali dorate" - Dr. Hans Hirsch, Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Wolfgang Stengel, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Renate Kupfer, Hanno Rinke, Walter Hagen-Groll, Klaus Hiemann, Christopher Alder, Jürgen Bulgrin, Giuseppe Verdi
5. "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" - Plácido Domingo, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Carlo Maria Giulini, Guenther Breest, Hans Weber, Hans-Peter Schweigmann, Klaus Behrens, Georges Bizet
6. "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" (Havanaise) - Grace Bumbry, Hans Weber, Günter Hermanns, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Janos Kulka, Rolf Peter Schroeder, Georges Bizet
7. "Che gelida manina" - Hans Weber, Sándor Kónya, Heinz Wildhagen, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Antonino Votto, Giacomo Puccini
8. "Vedi! le fosche notturne spoglie" (Anvil Chorus) - Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin, Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Norberto Mola, Elsa Schiller, Hans Weber, Günter Hermanns, Rolf Peter Schroeder, Volker Martin, Giuseppe Verdi
9. "Mild und leise wie er lächelt" (Isoldes Liebestod) - Dr. Hans Hirsch, Margaret Price, Staatskapelle Dresden, Werner Mayer, Carlos Kleiber, Karl-August Naegler, Jobst Eberhardt, Jost Michael Haase, Richard Wagner
10. Un bel dì vedremo - Guenther Breest, Mirella Freni, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wolfgang Stengel, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Klaus Hiemann, Rainer Hoepfner, Volker Martin, Hans-Rudolf Müller, Wolf-Dieter Karwatky, Reinhild Schmidt, Andrew Wedman, Giacomo Puccini
11. "O Isis und Osiris, welche Wonne!" - Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Walter Hagen-Groll, Guenther Breest, Wolfgang Stengel, Klaus Hiemann, Jobst Eberhardt, Jürgen Bulgrin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
12. Intermezzo sinfonico - Philharmonia Orchestra, Wolfgang Stengel, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Klaus Hiemann, Volker Martin, Hans-Rudolf Müller, Gernot Von Schultzendorff, Reinhard Lagemann, Pietro Mascagni
13. Se quel guerrier io fossi!..Celeste Aida - Plácido Domingo, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Claudio Abbado, Rainer Brock, Renate Kupfer, Klaus Hiemann, Klaus Behrens, Joerg Iwaschuta, Wolf-Dieter Karwatky, Christopher Alder, Rainer Hoepfner, Joachim Niss, Jürgen Bulgrin, Giuseppe Verdi
14. "Gloria all'Egitto" - Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Walter Hagen-Groll, Guenther Breest, Wolfgang Stengel, Klaus Hiemann, Jobst Eberhardt, Jürgen Bulgrin, Giuseppe Verdi
15. Overture - Otto Gerdes, Rome Opera House Orchestra, Hans Weber, Tullio Serafin, Günter Hermanns, Rolf Peter Schroeder, Gioacchino Rossini

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11773 in Music
• Released on: 2000-07-03
• Number of discs: 6
• Format: Box set
• Running time: 422 minutes

Customer Reviews

Good value collection... but...
This 6 CD collection contains most of the popular classical music you could every want and is priced competitively. However many of the recordings are very old and the sound quality is at best adequate. A lot of the performances although technically excellent are dull and uninspiring. The packaging is bland with minimal information about the music or performers. If you want quality rather than quantity look elsewhere.

First class selection, excellent value for money
There are plenty of classical music samplers on the market, some better than others. This is very much a case of don't just mind the quality, feel the width. The fact that this set offers you six CD's means that you get a broad, eclectic range of the more popular classics. Of course, what you also get is a selection of the highlights from classic works - one of Grieg's best loved melodies, one of Orff's more dramatic moments.

This sampler, however, is largely restricted to the more melodic tunes. As someone who does like to have some background music playing when I'm reading or writing, I can't complain about that. The six CD's will give you a lot of very enjoyable music which you can have playing while you relax or concentrate on some task. There is enough variety in the selection to reward your ears even when you're not concentrating on the sounds.

But the real joy of a selection like this is that it might give you the confidence to delve deeper into classical music. There is so much pretension in the music world, if you have little musical knowledge to begin with, it can be a bit daunting trying to explore the mysteries of the classics. Ignore all the hype and all the flowery language. Allow yourself to sit back and listen to some of these tracks, then take yourself out and listen to the longer, full versions of your favourites. Let your ear be your guide - have a listen to Radio 3 instead of Classic FM!

An entertaining selection which should stimulate your ears, and excellent value ... which should reward your pocket!

First class introduction to classical music
There is a glut of classical music compilations available and for the uninitiated it can be a bit of a stab in the dark as to which to pick out. Having listened to several, I would commend this selection above all others. Not only is it more extensive than most (all?), the six CD's are neatly arranged by theme. The recordings themselves are generally fairly good and will allow the listener to find composers or pieces that he or she will want to listen to further.