Symphony of the Forest [Import]

Symphony of the Forest [Import]

Track Listings

1. Forest's Longing for Warmheartedness

2. Mystical Virgin Forest in a New Era

3. Birds in the Tree-Tops

4. Ducks on the Brook

5. In the Magical Forest

Tracks:

Concerto in B minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 104
Klid (Silent woods) for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68, No. 5
Slavonic Dance No. 2 in E minor, Op. 72
Humoresque No. 7 in G-flat Major, Op. 101
Songs My Mother Taught Me from Gypsy Melodie, Op. 55

Amazon.com

This compilation of music by Dvorak played by Yo-Yo Ma is just beautiful. Ma seems to understand just when Dvorak wants to be super-Romantic and sappy and when he is in fact being merely his usual expressive self. The former comes into bloom with the Slavonic Dance, in which he's accompanied by Itzhak Perlman and "Songs My Mother Taught Me," with Patricia Zander at the piano. But when it comes to revealing Dvorak as one of the most insightful and truly passionate of composers, with a particular understanding of the cello, Ma's playing of the B minor Concerto (under Kurt Masur, with the New York Philharmonic), the latter description comes into play. Ma gets every nuance out of the cello, and the way in which Masur, for instance, leads the winds against the cello at the start of the 2nd movement is just gorgeous. "Klid" ("Silent Woods") is given a deeply affecting reading as well, under Seiji Ozawa. 2004 is the 100th anniversary of Dvorak's death; this CD is fine tribute. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Yo-Yo Ma is a genius .......2004-11-16

words fail me on how to describe performance in this CD.It's very good, one of the best interpretations I have heard in a very long time. I must confess that since i discovered Ma du Pre I have not been able to listen to anything else nor did I attempt to do so. But out of the blue I bumped into this CD by chance & after hearing Yo Yo Ma's phraising especially the 1st movement infact the whole of Dvorak Cello was like something new to me.Ma plays with passion,emotions & strong commitment to the music in a different way.The Ochestra is in top form & allows the solo cello to shine at the right time.I never thought there is another interpretation that could surpass M.Rostropovich(Im sorry to say this I know he is a living legend & the 1969 record with Karajan is held in high esteem). Ma is accompanied by my favourate violinist Itzhak Perlman on "Humosresque no.7 for piano" & "Slavonic Dance no.10 in E minor"- the results are so sweet as many people know Perlman is a romantic specialist his tone with Ma's cello is heavenly.With regard to the "songs my mother taught me" the cello sounds good not best for the track personally im so used to hear the song being played on violin.There's nothing wrong with the cello it's just that it 's tone is a bit too strong for the composition but it's very well interpreted by Ma. They call this transcription in musical terms. Actually Ma deserves an apology as im one of those who have accused him of lacking in emotions &"look at me now i can play anything" attitude.I think those allegations are baseless & unwarranted when u hear this CD u will know u are into something beautiful. Overall grab this very fast before many people realise Yo-Yo Ma 's greatest gift of song.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Average customer rating:

Star Wars: A Musical Journey (2005) (V)
Not one of his bests, but very close
John Williams' finest work
A Great Conclusion to the Prequel Trilogy
Williams is slumming it

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Star Wars Trilogy
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

ASIN: B000850IS6
Release Date: 2005-05-03

Tracks:

Star Wars and The Revenge Of The Sith
Anakin's Dream
Battle Of The Heroes
Anakin's Betrayal
General Grievous
Palpatine's Teachings
Grievous and the Droids
Padme's Ruminations
Anakin vs. Obi-Wan
Anakin's Dark Deeds
Enter Lord Vader
The Immolation Scene
Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious
The Birth Of The Twins and Padme's Destiny
A New Hope and End Credits

Amazon.com

John Williams' lovely and moving score for the sixth Star Wars film brings thirty years of collaborating on George Lucas' beyond-popular intergalactic franchise to a close. (Is this really the end of Star Wars? Can't Lucas and Williams work together on a prequel to these prequels? Let us hope so, and that Jar Jar Binks is nowhere near it.) As this music accompanies the most exciting Star Wars film in many a moon, the soundtrack itself is more fun, more evil, more nasty and bumpy. Many of the heroic, anthemic themes woven throughout Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith will necessarily be familiar to any fan of the series, from the "Imperial March" to the main theme. It's remarkable how stirring the latter can be, no matter how many times you've heard it, and even for those who do not have all their money invested in S.W. memorabilia. There is a lot of new music here, and the lush, extensive range of both Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra is on display, most notably in the menacing, percolating "General Grievous" and the rousing "New Hope" end theme. --Mike McGonigal

The Force Is Also with:

Star Wars Trilogy soundtrack box set
Star Wars Episode II sountrack
Star Wars Episode II, Attack of the Clones

Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Trilogy on DVD
Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Customer Reviews:

Star Wars: A Musical Journey (2005) (V).......2007-06-21

product: Star Wars: A Musical Journey (2005) (V), included as bonus disc in Episode III soundtrack.

The bonus dvd with this soundtrack was the reason I purchased. I enjoy film soundtracks, and science fiction, but this dvd was a real highlight for me. I got the soundtrack cd out of the local library. The cd was missing from the case, but I found this wonderful dvd instead that I went out to purchase later.

With optional segments of dialog from Ian McDiarmid, this film is a stunning visual and musical overview of the full epic story of episodes I-VI of Star Wars. For those of us who felt that eps. IV-VI fell short of our expectations, this film presents them well as parts of the whole story. The Musical Journey also stands as a summary of the entire SW opus for someone who is not familiar with the Star Wars characters and plot. Highly recommended.

Options: no subtitles or other options.

Not one of his bests, but very close.......2007-05-21

The Episode III soundtrack is very good. Not great, but very, very good. You can tell that Williams is getting old, but he still manages to weave together a very memorable score.

My favorite tracks are "Battle of the Heroes," "Anakin's Betrayal," Palpatine's teachings, "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan," and the "Immolation Scene."
The others are very good as well, but these are especially nice. "Battle of the Heroes" is Dual of the Fates for Revenge of the Sith. "Anakin's Betrayal" is a very sad track that is, in my opinion, one of William's most powerful pieces. "Palpatine's Teachings" is really, really neat. It's very dark and moody, a perfect piece for the evil emperor. The only weird thing is the end. "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan" is the action piece that plays during the battles of Anakin and Obi-Wan, and Yoda and the Emperor. Finally, "The Immolation Scene" is another sad piece, even more so than "Anakin's Betrayal."

Although I really like this CD, there are some things that are missing (as usual). First, the whole sequence where the droids are looking for Obi-Wan after he was shot. You see Obi-Wan in his ship with Senator Organa on the Hologram (or whatever it is), and Obi-Wan says that his clones turned on him. That was some pretty awesome music that OF COURSE was left out of the CD. Then there was Dual of the Fates in the movie, but completely absent from the CD. And probably the most annoying was that whole piece of music before Obi-Wan and Anakin fight. It was so touching and sad and I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY LEFT IT OUT! Absolutely amazing. Also, did anyone notice that some little bits were cut out? For example, in Anakin vs. Obi Wan, they cut out about a second or two of choir. What?! What the heck is with that? It's when Anakin is running on the long thing and jumps on the droid on the lava. Also, there was some pretty cool drumming when you see Yoda and the Emperor fighting, and you can see the whole stadium (the big room). There's also drumming in "Enter Lord Vader" that is muted in the soundtrack.

Oh well...if I'm going to collect movie scores, I'm going to have to get used to the fact that in almost all cases there's not going to be every bit of music. I've experienced this in both Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park I (there was very little left out on this score), and almost everything else. At the moment, I'm just waiting for the 22nd, for the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 soundtrack. It's gonna be amazing.

See Yu

John Williams' finest work.......2007-04-20

There is little more I can say that hasn't already been said about the soundtrack to Episode 3, especially what Amazon contributor Dan Mohr wrote in his review of the soundtrack on 2/2/2006. His review captured almost all the thoughts, feelings, and emotions I had when I first listened to the soundtrack, and was, IMO, the best review of John Williams' greatest masterpiece.

Having said that, I will say that few soundtracks have ever so perfectly captured the underlying emotional currents of their respective movie; in the case of ROTS, the contemporaneous tragedies of Anakin's fall to the Dark Side, the extermination of the Jedi, and the rise of the oppressive Empire. The listener is confronted with the depth and totality of the evil that has beset the entire galaxy to a degree that the film could not reach in only 2 hours.

Bravo, Dan Mohr, and BRAVO John Williams!

A Great Conclusion to the Prequel Trilogy.......2007-04-07

This is a great work of art. I rank it 4th among Star Wars soundtracks after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and The Phantom Menace. I had a hard deciding which I thought was better, The Phantom Meance or Revenge of the Sith, but I decided that The Phantom Menace lays the foundation for so much that is in this soundtrack and is thus the more masterful work. But that doesn't mean that this score still isn't great. Every piece is a thrill to listen to and pace never lets up. "Battle of the Hereos" is an amazing piece and the rendition of the "Funeral Theme" from Episoded I captures the film's tragety magnificently. Also I do not think John Williams could have portrayed the Jedi's extinction more perfectly than he did in "Anakin's Betrayal". This is without a doubt the best score of 2005 and one of the best of the decade.

Williams is slumming it.......2007-04-01

Williams's score for Revenge of the Sith is almost entirely overbearing, lacking any emotional subtlety. The music is overcomplicated and even a bit confusing, especially in the tracks that correspond to action sequences in the movie. His overuse of choral tracks and vocals is too bombastic and irritating to be listened to without the explosions and laser blasts of the soundtrack to soften them. (Yes, this music is actually softened by the sounds of warfare.) Worst of all, much of the music has simply been lifted from earlier scores. At times his self-imitation was so blatant that I actually wondered whether the editor who had complied this score had made a mistake and I was listening to The Empire Strikes Back or A New Hope. Also suffers from not including the entire score, in some cases cutting out musical segues in obvious and awkward ways.

Average customer rating:

A well-kept secret
Essential Wagner
Excellent Wagner from a surprising source ... or maybe not!
Go For Boult
Memorable and dramatic- A must have for Wagner fans

Wagner: Overtures & Preludes

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Wagner: Tristan und Isolde/Parsifal/Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg/Lohengrin/Tannhäuser
The Best Of Wagner
Wagner: The "Ring" Without Words
Twilight of the Gods: The Essential Wagner Collection
Wagner: Orchestral Favourites

ASIN: B000002S08
Release Date: 1992-09-29

Tracks:

Tannher: Overture
Tannher: Grand March
Der Fliegende Holler: Overture
Tristan und Isolde: Prelude to Act 1
Tristan und Isolde: Prelude to Act 3
Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg: Overture
Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg: Prelude to Act 3
Lohengrin: Prelude to Act 1

Tracks:

Lohengrin: Prelude to Act 3
Parsifal: Prelude to Act 1
Parsifal: Act 1 Transformation scene
Parsifal: Prelude to Act 3
Parsifal: Good Friday Music
Das Rheingold: Entrance of the Gods
Die Walkure: Ride of the Walkyries
Siegfried: Forest murmurs
Gotterdammerung: Siegfried's Rhine Journey
Gotterdammerung: Siegfried's Funeral March

Customer Reviews:

A well-kept secret.......2007-05-18

Everyone wants to have a crack at the "bleeding chunks" eventually, and while I love the flashier Stoky and Furtwangler approach, I wouldn't want to be without the Boult. He's a great Wagnerian, strange as it may seem. Who could blame him for not wanting to go down in history merely as the finest Holstian? As long as this stays in print, Ormandy will still be considered the least sexy conductor. (I heard CBS researchers found an Ormandy fan once!)

Essential Wagner.......2006-06-17

As a child, this set was my first experience of Wagner's music, and it made quite an impression on me. However, as I grew older and began to collect the full operas I felt I could surely do better than Adrian Boult and the British for a collection of the preludes, overtures, and orchestral music from the operas. I was wrong. I have yet to here any recordings that can match the power and intensity as demonstrated in these discs from Boult and the LSO (and LPO). The Meistersinger prelude alone is worth the price, and the only version of the prelude to Tristan which outdoes the one here is Bohm's live 1966 Tristan. The Solti, Karajan, and Klemperer highlight discs have their moments (and truthfully, I do prefer Solti and Karajan for the "Ring" highlights), but their contributions are greatest in the full operas, and overall, they simply can't muster the power and intensity that Boult brings to these preludes, overtures, etc.

Even if you have other compilations of Wagner's music in "bleeding chunks", I can assure you they don't come close to this one; and with two discs (the second containing mostly music from Parsifal and the "Ring") at 14 bucks, there is absolutely no excuse not to have this essential recording. So go ahead and buy this disc, never buy another Wagner compilation again, and with the money you save get started on the more important task at hand: the full operas.

Excellent Wagner from a surprising source ... or maybe not!.......2004-09-27

Does Sir Adrian Boult conjure up of images of Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughn Williams, but not Wagner? You're not alone! Nevertheless, this is a double CD set not to be missed! Many years ago, I was listening to a classical radio music station in NYC that was playing the music of Wagner. The performance was so good, that I wouldn't leave the radio until I found out the name of the conductor. When the announcer said the conductor was Sir Adrian Boult, I was quite surprised. I had recordings of English music from Sir Adrian on Angel/EMI, but I never associated that conductor with Wagner. Having been blessed with a friend who had knowledge of classical music way beyond his years, I gave him a call to find out more about the recording. He told me that, Boult had solid expertise in the area of Germanic music, but, in England, had been overshadowed in that repertoire by Otto Klemperer. He told me not to be surprised about Boult's very fine Wagner, it was an excellent recording to purchase and, indeed, search out Sir Adrian's wonderful performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (now available on Vanguard). Fast-forward many years and I find myself browsing through Amazon for a recording of Wagner's Overtures and Preludes. Like everyone else I know, I foolishly jettisoned my LPs in the 1990s and have been "back-filling" ever since. Well, I was able to obtain this splendid set for less than $7 per CD! There are a total of 18 selections covering most of Wagner's operas including five excerpts from the Ring Cycle. The performances are excellent coming from no less than three British orchestras, and the sound is top-shelf EMI. Sir Adrian's pacing is measured and his vision is broad and sensitive, highlighting the beauty and grandeur --rather than just the fire-- of this glorious music. I heartily recommend this two-CD set, and at this price, I think it's a steal.

Go For Boult.......2003-07-08

Sir Adrian Boult is best known for his recordings of the British repertoire, and his performances, particularly of Holst's "The Planets" and Elgar's Symphonies and Orchestral Works, are legendary. But Boult was also an excellent conductor of Beethoven, Brahms and Wagner, and this 2-CD set collects the Overtures and Preludes of the latter German titan. These stereo recordings from the early to mid-1970s with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, and London Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestras are truly first rate. EMI's set compares nicely in terms of price, quality and musical offerings with competing sets by DG (Bohm, Kubelik, et al) and Sony (Ormandy & Szell). You might have reservations about getting German music conducted by a Brit, but you really can't go wrong with Boult.

Memorable and dramatic- A must have for Wagner fans.......2000-03-20

I bought this cd for the following reasons: 1 I'm a Wagner fan, 2 the cover looks exquisite and 3 I wanted to hear a "prelude" since it sounds fancy and never heard one. The result is great cd. The Tannhauser overture, Tristan and Isolde prelude and Lohengrin Prelude to act 3 are all very excellent. Excerpts from the Ring of the Nibelunge aren't as good as I had anticipated but are still enjoyable. The music speaks the tales of Wagner's operas. Just hear it, as slow and irksome as they maybe, these preludes make you feel the tragic love of Tristan and Isolde, the epic odyssey of Lohengrin and the holy, heavenly spirit in Parsifal as he discovers the Holy Grail. Buy this CD and you won't regret it. Except that one bit from Gotterdammerung, Siegfried's Funeral March. It does'nt quite have the feel of grand disaster as it did in John Boorman's film Excalibur. If you're hoping to find that version(which is better) stick with the Classics Go To The Movies Vol 2 cd. But all the other pieces on this CD are excellent. Go and buy this CD- now !

Jacqueline du Pré - The Concerto Collection

Average customer rating:

Wonderful Concerto Performances
Lacks the "real" Elgar!
The real du Pre, but not the *real* Elgar performance!!!
Great performances, by one of the greatest cellists!
a fitting memorial to a unique artiste

Jacqueline du Pré - The Concerto Collection
Edward Elgar , Joseph Haydn , Antonin Dvorak , Luigi Boccherini , Robert Schumann , Frederick Delius , Georg Mathias Monn , Richard Strauss , English Chamber Orchestra , Sir John Barbirolli , Daniel Barenboim , Chicago Symphony Orchestra , Jacqueline du Pré , London Symphony Orchestra , Sir Adrian Boult , New Philharmonia Orchestra , Herbert Downes , and Desmond Bradley
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Jacqueline du Pré - Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor, Franck: Sonata in A / Barenboim
Jacqueline du Pré - a lasting inspiration

ASIN: B00004RIU5
Release Date: 2000-06-06

Tracks:

Cello Concerto No. 1 In C Hob.VIIb:1: I. Moderato - Cadenza
Cello Concerto No. 1 In C Hob.VIIb:1: II. Adagio - Cadenza
Cello Concerto No. 1 In C Hob.VIIb:1: III. Allegro molto
Cello Concerto No. 2 In D Hob.VIIb:2: I. Allegro moderato - Cadenza
Cello Concerto No. 2 In D Hob.VIIb:2: II. Adagio
Cello Concerto No. 2 In D Hob.VIIb:2: III. Rondo (Allegro) - Cadenza
Cello Concerto In B Flat: I. Allegro moderato - Cadenza
Cello Concerto In B Flat: II. Adagio non troppo
Cello Concerto In B Flat: III. Rondo (Allegro) - Cadenza

Tracks:

Cello Concerto In A Minor Op. 129: Nicht zu schnell
Cello Concerto In A Minor Op. 129: Langsam - Etwas lebhafter - Schneller
Cello Concerto In A Minor Op. 129: Sehr lebhaft - (Cadenza) - Im Tempo - Schneller
Cello Concerto No. 1In A Minor Op. 33: Allegro non troppo
Cello Concerto No. 1In A Minor Op. 33: Allegretto non troppo
Cello Concerto No. 1In A Minor Op. 33: Un peu moins vite
Cello Concerto In G Minor: I. Allegro
Cello Concerto In G Minor: II. Adagio
Cello Concerto In G Minor: III. Allegro non tanto

Tracks:

Cello Concerto In B Minor Op. 104: I. Allegro
Cello Concerto In B Minor Op. 104: II. Adagio ma non troppo
Cello Concerto In B Minor Op. 104: III. Finale (Allegro moderato)
Silent Woods Op. 68
Cello Concerto: Lento
Cello Concerto: Con moto tranquillo
Cello Concerto: Lento
Cello Concerto: Con moto tranquillo
Cello Concerto: Allegramente

Tracks:

Cello Concerto In E Minor Op. 85: I. Adagio - Moderato
Cello Concerto In E Minor Op. 85: II. Lento - Allegro molto
Cello Concerto In E Minor Op. 85: III. Adagio
Cello Concerto In E Minor Op. 85: IV. Allegro - Moderato - Allegro, ma non troppo
Don Quixote: Introduction (Massiges Zeitmass)
Don Quixote: Theme: The Knight Of The Mournful Countenance (Massig)
Don Quixote: Variation I: The Adventure With The Windmills (Gemachlich)
Don Quixote: Variation II: The Battle With The Sheep (Kriegerisch)
Don Quixote: Variation III: Discourse Between Knight And Squire (Massiges Zeitmass)
Don Quixote: Variation IV: The Adventure With The Pilgrims (Etwas breiter)
Don Quixote: Variation V: The Knight's Vigil (Sehr langsam)
Don Quixote: Variation VI: The Meeting With Dulcinea (Schnell)
Don Quixote: Variation VII: The Ride Through The Air (Ein wenig ruhiger als vorher)
Don Quixote: Variation VIII: The Voyage In The Enchanted Boat (Gamachlich)
Don Quixote: Variation IX: The Combat With The Two Magicians (Schnell und sturmisch)
Don Quixote: Variation X: The Defeat Of Don Quixote (Viel breiter)
Don Quixote: Finale: Don Quixote's Death (Sehr ruhig)

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Concerto Performances.......2006-11-17

Of the six or seven cd albums that I have by Jacqueline du Pre, this album contains the meat and potatoes of du Pre's repertoire. Happily, she doesn't disappoint at a time when she was still physically healthy and developing musically. The Boccherini Concerto arranged by Grutzmacher, I believe she owns. The Monn Concerto is excellent and the Delius is a romantic dream. Don't miss this one, if you want hear the breadth of her short-lived talent.

Lacks the "real" Elgar!.......2005-04-28

Like other reviewers, I just want to say that this set lacks the famous Elgar recording by Jackie Du Pre. The Elgar performance on this CD is dull in comparison to her more famous performance. So, you will have to buy a separate CD for the Elgar. Other than that, this is a great set to have. I love the two Haydns especially.

The real du Pre, but not the *real* Elgar performance!!!.......2003-03-04

This is a comprehensive collection of Cello performances by a thrilling artist. Unfortunately, despite reviewer MacFarlane's assurances to the contrary, the producer of this CD has failed to include Jacqueline du Pre's *famous* and greatest performance of the Elgar Cello, and this is the reason for witholding a star. Ms.du Pre's famous performance of Elgar's Cello Concerto, Opus 85, was performed live in Philadelphia on November 27-28, 1970, with conductor-husband Daniel Barenboim, not Conductor Barbiroli. This Amazon review, comparing the two performances will indicate why this CD loses points for not featuring the Barenboim performance: < > The performance with Barenboim was formerly available on Sony. Today the Amazon search engine only turned it up one time in six search attempts using the SAME words! Elusive, but an essential recording nonetheless! Because confusion persists between the Elgar performances and conductors, it is necessary to persist in citing that it is Jacqueline Du Pre's performance with BARENBOIM which is so revered. Besides, the Sony disc which has the favored performance with conductor Barenboim, is also known for Barenboim's brilliant interpretation of the Elgar Enigma Variations. Daniel Barenboim's talent is becoming more and more visible and worthy of following closely. He's doing great things outside of music as well, so put his name in the Google search engine and find out!

Great performances, by one of the greatest cellists!.......2001-04-29

If there is one word for describing Jacqueline du Pre, it is MUSIC. She was the embodiment of music itself, because she gave all to the music she played. Some do not like her playing because it is too emotional. I echo the other reviewer's sentiments in that music is there to be played. Played with emotion. Music is about transmitting emotion to the listener, and du Pre was one of the best examples of how that could (and should) be done. Here, EMI has remastered and reissued most (I say most, because one concerto - the Lalo- has been omitted in this otherwise full compilation of du Pre's concerto recordings) of du Pre's concerto recordings. The Haydn concerto in C, is undoubtedly one of the most touching accounts, with its romantic sentiments. The same can be said of the Haydn in D and the Monn concerti, with the broad tempi, quite relaxed, and very opposite of Period performances Completely incorrect stylistically, but the performances are so moving and involved that all the fuss about stylistic correctness is throuwn out the window. I dare say that one is not going to get a more impassioned account of the Haydn C major concerto. It is among my absolute favourites. The Boccherini concerto is another matter. The version du Pre plays is not the original, but a mixture of the original, with bits borrowed from other Boccherini cello concertos, combined with Romantic styling by Grutzmacher (the 'editor' of the concerto). I don't like it as much as the Haydn concertos, but still it receives a bravura performance by du Pre with the English Chamber Orchestra under Barenboim. The Schumann and Saint-Saens concerti are unsurpassed for their passion and imaginativeness. The Schumann is tragic, but ends triumphantly, in a way that only du Pre could make it sound like that. The Saint-Saens is a less musically significant piece, but in du Pre's hands, it sounds like an important work. Dvorak's cello concerto is one of the greatest pieces in the cello repertoire, with its grand writing and poignancy. While du Pre's Dvorak concerto is not the best version one can buy, for the recording quality is notoriously horrible, with the orchestra sounding so distant from the cellist (who is placed far too forward) it is certainly one of the most outspoken and yes, impassioned accounts, interpretation-wise. Emotionally, it outdoes the justly famous Rotropovich/Karajan version. But the other Dvorak piece in this collection, the Silent Woods, is so touching that one is bound to cry at some stage of the 6-minute piece. The Delius concerto is a very rhapsodic, but a very engmatic one. Technically it is very demanding, because for once the technical difficulties are really due to the musical difficulties. It is hard to make sense of the work unless you are absolutely sure of its musical structure. But du Pre makes this sound easy, fully capturing the rhapsodic nature of the work, and sings beautifully. It was du Pre's first concerto recording, under one of the most arrogantly aristocratic conductors (arrogant to soloists, I mean, as he didn't regard them highly. But for du Pre, he was more than generous), Malcolm Sargent. The Elgar had to be included, didn't it? I mean, it is one of the great classics of the century. So there is nothing more to say about the Elgar. The Strauss tone-poem Don Quixote is a strange work, because it has a solo cello part (with a solo vioin and viola, who are usually members of the orchestra), a solo part that can be a soloist or the principal cellist from the orchestra cello section. It is strange, because the cello part is the most significant solo part, yet 80 per cent of the time it is outplayed by the orchestra, because the 'solo' cello plays the part of the orchestral cello section. But as to this performance, it was a run-through for a concert. Klemperer was supposed to be the conductor but he pulled out at the last minute and Boult was engaged. This historical recording does not sound like a run-through, although it si a bit messy at times ensemble-wise. But du Pre plays with absolute commitment. Her playing of the Finale must be one of the most poignant ever. The conductor's 'bravo' and the unanimous applause of the orchestra adds to the magic. I apologise for the long review, but if you have read this far, then I will say if you like du Pre and the cello, then this set is essential, and at mid price for CDs that would otherwise be full price and in single CDs, it is a bargain.

a fitting memorial to a unique artiste.......2001-02-09

The keyword with Jacqueline du Pre was always involvement, and so it is here. The performances in this collection are riveting. The Elgar, of course, is one of the most famous performances of all time - young cellist Du Pre with former cellist Barbirolli reaching to the absolute heart of this wonderful music. Though she plays with utmost and unvarying conviction throughout - and therefore these are not middle-of-the-road performances, and it is possible to sense a hothouse element in them as I do in the Haydn and the Monn, where stylistically she is far from faultless - the conviction, sincerity, guts and beauty of the playing carry you (and her) through. Curiously affecting is the end of 'Don Quixote', in a recording, with a bizarre history, which we are really very lucky to have (you can read about it in the set). At the end of a fine and fully characterised run-through, which is all it was, never meant to be issued, she plays with amazing poignancy the touching postlude. The performance ends, the counductor (Boult) shouts 'bravo' and the orchestra claps - it's all there, and we think of poor, wonderful Jacqueline, who never played a dishonest or uncommitted note, we are touched, and we are glad we bought this set!

Average customer rating:

An excellent classical CD
A hidden diamond
Wagner's Grandeur
Ormandy is underrated!
Excellent Recordings

The Best Of Wagner

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Twilight of the Gods: The Essential Wagner Collection
Wagner: Overture & Preludes
Wagner without Words
Wagner: Overtures & Preludes
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde/Parsifal/Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg/Lohengrin/Tannhäuser

ASIN: B000003F4J
Release Date: 1991-06-06

Tracks:

Die Meistersinger: Prelude
Die Walkure: Ride Of The Valkyries
Lohengrin: Bridal Chorus
Siegfried: Forest Murmurs
Gotterdammerung: Dawn & Siegfried's Rhine Journey
Die Walkure: Magic Fire Music
Tristan und Isolde: Liebestod

Customer Reviews:

An excellent classical CD.......2007-01-28

Richard Wagner rightly deserves his high reputation as a classical musician. Like many people, I don't care for Wagner's racial or religious views, but don't let that stop you from enjoying his music. The CD starts off with my favorites the Prelude from Die Meistersinger & Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walkure, followed by a fascinating rendition of the Bridal Chorus (a.k.a. "Here Comes the Bride") from Lohengrin. I won't recite the rest of the list, but there are 4 other compositions, all somewhat varied in style, but very good. Whether you are classical music buff or simply want an introduction to classical music this CD is a good place to start.

A hidden diamond.......2001-10-03

This unassuming budget classic reissue is among the finest of its genre: The Wagner orchestral highlight album, and features the contents of 1973 LP recital the farthest thing from run-of-the-mill, spaciously recorded with the palpable feeling of the presence of the musicians, not merely an amorphously gorgeous orchestral sonority. The music unfolds without self-indulgent pointing, in a free-wheeling manner that is simply right.

The original Ormandy program is supplemented with a track by Robert Shaw doing a luscious rendering of the famous Bridal Chorus from with his divine women's chorus, a version as good or better than any ever anthologized or appearing in complete opera recordings, its 1959 atmospherically recorded sound barely showing its age.

My only caveat is that this stuff really merited more respectful packaging than this ersatz "Best of" series, but at the price, who should complain?

Wagner's Grandeur.......2001-08-24

Wagner was a great composer. His music and use of orchestra are grand and masterful. I am repulsed by his political views, but as an artist he was a genius. This compilation of Wagner is probably the best there is. I listen to it from time to time. The breadth of the orchestral palette, the elevation, and grandeur have been imitated but never duplicated.

Ormandy is underrated!.......2001-02-08

I did a test by listening to Szell, Klemperer, Karajan, Kubelik, Bohm, Jochum, Gerdes, Ozawa, Stokowski, and Ormandy play Wagner overtures and excerpts from "The Ring". My verdict: it's Ormandy. What can I say? I feel as is he's underrated, especially in the annals of Wagner worship. I like Stokowski's energy, but he plays around with scores (horrors!) too much. The Szell was great, but a tad limp. Other conductors have their high points, but Ormandy ranks consistently at the top. His conducting is full and rich and the orchestra always sounds great. I ranked the Szell orchestral music from Wagner at 5 stars, so Ormandy rates 6 stars.

Excellent Recordings.......2000-11-08

The selections performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy are excellent. One of the best. Highly Recommended.

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

Average customer rating:

The best Star Wars soundtrack
Not 100% Complete!
A Final and Astounding Work of Art from John Williams
John Williams knows music
Is it the best?

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
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Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

ASIN: B0002YCVK6
Release Date: 2004-09-21

Tracks:

20th Century Fox Fanfare
Main Title/Approaching The Death Star/Tatooine Rendezvous
The Droids Are Captured
Bounty for A Wookiee
Han Solo Returns
Luke Confronts Jabba/Den Of The Rancor/Sarlacc Sentence
The Pit of Carkoon/Sail Barge Assault
The Emperor Arrives/The Death of Yoda/Obi-Wan's Revelation
Alliance Assembly
Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor
Speeder Bike Chase/Land Of The Ewoks
The Levitation/Threepio's Bedtime Story
Sourc Music: Jabba's Baroque Recital
Jedi Rocks
Archival Bonus Track: Sail Barge Assault (Alternate)

Tracks:

Parade Of The Ewoks
Luke and Leia
Brother and Sister/Father and Son/The Fleet Enters Hyperspace
Emperor's Throne Room
The Battle Of Endor
The Lightsaber/The Ewok Battle
THE BATTLE OF ENDOR II
THE BATTLE OF ENDOR III
Leia's News/Light of the Force
Victory Celebration/End Title
Source Music: Ewok Feast/Part Of The Tribe
Archival Bonus Track: The Forest Battle (Concert Suite)

Customer Reviews:

The best Star Wars soundtrack.......2007-03-02

While all the Star Wars films have extraordinary soundtracks, Return of the Jedi stands slightly above it's peers in terms of music. John Williams really went all out for the finale! The attack on the Death Star, Luke's final duel with Darth Vader, the battle on the Endor moon, Vader's funeral and celebration make this one incredible CD.

Not 100% Complete!.......2006-12-24

I love this soundtrack but - This release does not contain the "jam" that the Max Reebo Band plays while Chewbacca is being led to his jail cell......I wonder why?

A Final and Astounding Work of Art from John Williams.......2005-09-23

As always, John williams brings masterful composing to the Star Wars movie screen. The sweeping and spine-tingling score will leave you breathless and stick with you for years.

It starts out a little slow, but of course all the classic themes are present. The action picks up at track 7 (Dsic 1) The Pit of Carkoon/Sail Barge Assault. The moving track 8 will announce the arrival of the infamous emperor with deep male voices and dark themes, then we are swept back to Degobah for Luke's final meeting with Yoda in slow trumpets proclaiming Yoda's news and final announcement to Luke, finally we meet Obi Wan once again, whose conversation with Luke reveals stunning news with the trumpet theme of Skywalker and the warm, comforting violins. Comical additions such as Jabba's baroque recital and Jedi Rocks close the first disc with a slower pace, almost as if it were intermission.

Disc 2 opens with the playful Parade of Ewoks, a new theme created to portray the cute but deadly inhabitants of Endor, played on flutes, trumpets, and a variety of other instruments. Next we are introduced to the change in Luke and Leia's relationship with a slow flute and violin piece showing how strong their bond has become.

Track 3, Brother and Sister, Father and Son, finds the Skywalker theme as Luke tells Leia a wonderful secret, which transitions into their new theme. The Emperor's throne room conveys the serious danger of our heros in deep male voices and sweeping music. The three battle pieces are, of course, wonderful, but by far the best part is the piece matching when the rebels prepare to charge the Death Star in a great instrumental piece.

Last is the calm after the storm, the two tracks that are by far my favorite from this soundtrack. First is track 9, Leia's News/Light of the Force, in which we begin with a sweet, grand piece with Leia's theme and Luke & Leia's theme mingling in.
Next comes possibly the most moving piece of music created by John Williams as a lone trumpet breaks from the silence, playing the Skywalker theme, and it culminates in a tremendous and shattering climax, which settles back into the trumpet skywalker theme, as if in final send of, as Luke watches the man he had feared, redeemed, finally at peace.

Lastly, except for the extra tracks, we finish with the Ewoke celebration on endor, an amazing and wonderful piece of pure joy and revelation as we close upon our heros, all having found what they were looking for in the end, and see the final gathering of old friends.

Without a doubt, this is a must-have for soundtrack afficionados!

John Williams knows music.......2005-09-09

Okay, so this isn't my favorite star wars CD but it's good. I'm still hooked on Ep III soundtrack so that's why I haven't broken this one with repeated use. Still, ROTJ was an awesome movie and the soundtrack is responsible for much of the moodsetting. Happy or sad, the tune tells all.

Is it the best?.......2005-06-25

This soundtrack CD is probably one of the best John Williams has ever had and the best among all the star wars CD soundtracks of the classic ones. The songs are much more fun and lively. John Williams knows how to translate the music so well that it can blend in perfectly with the movie.

The compositions are really magnificent and the dynamics are really great. These are really among the unique ones. Very special indeed.

Some of the great songs are Jedi rocks (The part in the movie where Jabba The Hut is entertained by the new cantina band. The song is very lively and can really make your mood a lot better. Another one is the Victory Celebration (The last part where the death star was destroyed and they went to Endor to Celebrate.) The song really captured the mood of celebration. I loved it.

Kirstie Mabitad

Douglas Lilburn: A Song of Islands; Aotearoa Overture; Forest

Average customer rating:

Lilburn's Processional Fanfare
Austral Nordicism
New Zealand's Greatest Composer

Douglas Lilburn: A Song of Islands; Aotearoa Overture; Forest

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000H1QUQK
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Customer Reviews:

Lilburn's Processional Fanfare.......2007-07-04

This disc of orchestral works of the New Zealander, Douglas Lilburn, is full of pleasant, unchallenging music. The brief "Processional Fanfare" is particularly accessible --- ideal music to include in a graduation ceremony.

Austral Nordicism.......2006-11-13

A couple of years ago Naxos extended the favor to all students of Twentieth Century symphonic music of collecting on one bargain priced disc the three symphonies of the best known of New-Zealand composers, Douglas Lilburn (1915 - 2001), a protégé in the mid-1930s of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Even for educated listeners, Lilburn had hitherto been little more than an entry in the music-dictionary. In Los Angeles in the 1980s, when one was tuned into late-night radio, one might hear the "Aotearoa" Overture (1939), broadcast from a long-playing record of New-Zealand origin, wonderfully hypnotic in the quiet minutes of the dark antemeridian. (The DJ was probably Skip Weschner, who also broadcast the BIS LP of Aulis Sallinen's "Symphony 1970.") That first Naxos disc revealed an austral inheritor of the Sibelius tradition, who, like his American counterpart Howard Hanson, put a new inflection on Sibelius' Nordic language without greatly altering the grammar or the syntax. This is not meant as a complaint, but rather as a compliment. The new disc of Lilburn's orchestral music other than his symphonies, played once again by the New Zealand Symphony under conductor James Judd, verifies the earlier impression, but it also extends the picture of the composer by including his earliest orchestral score. This is a tone poem called "The Forest" (1936), dating from Lilburn's student-days in London, at the Royal College of Music. Like its companion, the "Drysdale Overture" (1937), "The Forest" takes it cues from the late Sibelius of Symphonies Nos. 5, 6, and 7 and the tone poem "Tapiola." In the Finnish national epic, "Kalevala," the god of the pine-forest bears the name Tapiola, so that Lilburn may be said to have borrowed even his nomenclature from the Master of Ainola. I recommend an AB comparison of the two works. Lilburn's score owes a debt, seeming to quote not only "Tapiola" but also the slow movement of Symphony No. 5, yet no one can really fault an apprentice artist from taking the best model that he can find. Richard Strauss modeled his early symphonic poems on those by Franz Liszt, but the listener enjoys Strauss, despite the indebtedness, on his own merits. In "Aotearoa" (1938) and "A Song of the Islands" (1946), we move from convincing apprentice work to journeyman accomplishments while remaining aware that the ghostly presence of the Finn glides through the landscape. "A Song of the Islands" is the outstanding item on the disc, a beautiful and moving score. In the 1960s, Lilburn came under the influence of Aaron Copland. SOme of the later pieces reflect this. James Judd presides over these performances with total commitment and exacting control of dynamics and tempi. Long gone are the days when the idea of a New Zealand orchestra seemed to American record collectors a bit like a quirky joke. Judd's orchestra is as good as any to be heard nowadays on CD. No one who buys this disc will suffer disappointment. Admirers of Sibelius and Hanson should take well to Lilburn's art. I also recommend the earlier CD of the three symphonies.

New Zealand's Greatest Composer.......2006-10-21

There is no question that Douglas Lilburn (1915-2001) is New Zealand's greatest and best-known composer. And if there is a quintessential orchestral work by Lilburn, it is his 'Aotearoa Overture' which has been played all over the world, and recorded several times by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the group heard on this CD. It has been noted many times that 'Aotearoa' (which is a Maori word meaning 'land of the long white cloud') is very reminiscent of the music of Sibelius. Lilburn studied in England under Vaughan Williams at a time when the music of Sibelius was exerting enormous influence on English composers. If one did not know who the composer was, one might very well think it is unknown Sibelius piece. And since it is a musical landscape it has connections with similar Sibelius works. More important, it is an entirely lovely work and as far as I'm concerned one of the great short non-European orchestral works. I've loved it for thirty-five years and was thrilled to hear this fine performance by the NZSO under its music director, the Englishman James Judd.

Just as exciting, though, is the collection of otherwise relatively little-known works by Lilburn (little-known outside New Zealand at least). All but one are fairly early works; indeed two of them -- 'Drysdale Overture' (1937) and 'Forest' (1936) -- are student pieces, although you probably wouldn't recognize it on hearing them. 'Drysdale' is named for the farm in the central plateau of New Zealand's North Island on which Lilburn grew up. It has two main themes, one of them limning the landscape and the other a reminiscence of native lullabies that Lilburn's mother sang. 'Forest', a quarter-hour tone poem, describes an autumn landscape of a mountain in South Canterbury. There are typical Sibelian pizzicato basses that tread delicately through the first part of the work, but one can hear Lilburn's distinctive voice emerging. The piece won a competition for a work on New Zealand themes sponsored by Percy Grainger.

'Festival Overture' (1939), also a prize-winner, depicts the national spirit as the newly consolidated nation of New Zealand approached the War. It is both minatory and celebratory. 'A Song of the Islands' (1946), written after Lilburn had returned for good to New Zealand, is a quarter-hour tone poem in arch form that was inspired by a painting by New Zealand's Rita Angus depicting a church, cottage, barn and furrowed fields against a background of sea and snowy peaks. There is a haunting oboe melody that figures heavily in the work, along with a kind of breathless admiration for the scene depicted. The work has a sense of ultimately fulfilled anticipation, partly described through long-held harmonic suspensions, that is striking.

'A Birthday Offering' (1956) was written for the tenth anniversary of the founding of the National Orchestra (now the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra) and sounds a little like Copland, with wide-open harmonies, along with what sounds like a tale-telling mood. The last-written work recorded here is the short 'Processional Fanfare' (1961, rev. 1985) composed by Lilburn while he was professor at Victoria University in Wellington. It is, as one might guess from its title, sometimes used as a processional at graduation ceremonies and it features three trumpets and strings calling out, among other things, variations on 'Gaudeamus igitur', the student song well-known from Brahms's Academic Festival Overture.

The performances by the very fine NZSO are all one could want. My copy of the CD had some sporadic problems with mistracking, a defect I assume was unique to my copy. Otherwise sound was lifelike. For those who are drawn to this music I would call attention to the fine recordings on Naxos of Lilburn's three symphonies performed by the same forces.

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

A Great Addition to My Hans Zimmer Collection
Not as good as i thought it would be
Tears of the Sun - lacking
Not easily enjoyed, but remarkable
Hans Zimmer's brilliance coupled African Poetry of LEBO M

Tears of the Sun

Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Thin Red Line: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
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ASIN: B00008NRJT
Release Date: 2003-03-18

Tracks:

Yekeleni Part 1/Mia's Lullabye
Heart Of Darkness
Small Piece For Doumbek And Strings/Kopano Part 1
Under The Forest Calm
Yekeleni Part II/Carnage
Kopano Part II
Night
Cry In Silence
The Jablonsky Variations On A Theme By HZ/Cameroon Border Post
The Journey/Kopano Part III

Amazon.com

If the basic thematic elements of this Bruce Willis star vehicle--American military unit gets cut off behind enemy lines in a guerilla-besieged African backwater--have parallels with Ridley Scott's fierce, unrelenting Black Hawk Down, composer Hans Zimmer (who scored both films) has conjured an entirely different musical soul for this adventure. Where his Black Hawk score turned on a gritty, often violent clash of musical cultures, his work here is richly introspective and tinged with a mature sense of melancholy. African rhythms and melodic elements bubble to the surface throughout, but in subtly powerful ways that often recall the best of Peter Gabriel's world music ventures. Zimmer has again impressively expanded his repertory company approach to scoring as well, with veteran collaborators Lisa Gerrard and Heitor Pereira joined here by Steve Jablonsky, Andreas Vollenweider and Lebo M. (who's written and performed the score's passages of African poetry). The result is a moody, evocative score whose quiet grace recalls the composer's masterful work for The Thin Red Line; another satisfying tribute to the power of musical understatement. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

A Great Addition to My Hans Zimmer Collection.......2006-07-24

I am a HUGE fan of Hans Zimmer so this review may be slightly skewered but I feel this is a wonderful edition to my collection. Strange as this sounds, Mr. Zimmer and war go together like butter and toast, so picking this soundtrack up was a no-brainer.
I would have to say that his work on Tears of the Sun does not dig very deep into the well. These tracks could very easily be confused for missing tracks from The Lion King but given how that wonderful score was never released in its entirety, it is still a wonderful listening experience. As the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
The music is very reminiscent of his work on Black Hawk Down and Gladiator. If you enjoyed both of those scores, I would definately recommend this one as well. It is a very good CD and worth my hard-earned money. I hope you agree...

Not as good as i thought it would be.......2006-02-01

I expected more african vocals in it.. thats the main reason i brought the cd, i recently became a fan of that kind of music.. it had like 3 songs on there that i liked, besides that this album is garbage

Tears of the Sun - lacking.......2005-08-03

Harsh words but I suppose I expected the music to be stronger than it was....

Not easily enjoyed, but remarkable.......2005-04-06

I have to say, I didn't know what to expect from this score. Had it been released in the mid-to-late 90's, I would have expected a blustering action score with several Media Ventures-style anthems. But then Zimmer did something different than usual with "Gladiator", and did something WAY different with "Black Hawk Down", not to mention his somber work on "The Thin Red Line." In the past few years, it's been hard to figure out what to expect from Mr. Z. WHat he gives us a here is a blend of many of his trademark sounds. The African influence from "Power of One" and "Lion King", Lisa Gerards's vocals from "Gladiator", the sad strings of "The Thin Red Line", the harsh electronics of "Black Hawk Down", and even one of Zimmer's famous action anthems. Zimmer is listed as the primary composer, but there are many contributions to the album from Lebo M, Steve Jablonsky, Jeff Rona, and others. The aspect of "Tears of the Sun" that impresses me the most is the production work. Just listen to track four and marvel at the array of ethnic and unique sounds Zimmer thrusts into his massive soundscape. To date, this is one of the best-produced albums I've heard. Like "The Thin Red Line", it's more about atmosphere than themes, but there are themes here. The main theme is inspirational, and is heard best in tracks three (on strings), six (with a male choir and Lisa Gerard), and especially track ten (as a joyous song celebration led by Lebo M with an African choir). Also impressive is the action piece heard in track nine, a relentlessly agressive epic that's preceded by a lovely and (much as I hate to use this cliched word) haunting orchestral prelude accompanied by Gerard's voice. There are parts of "Tears of the Sun" that may sound harsh to the ears on a first listen, but this is an album that you can't help but appreciate and admire, whether or not you like it. Zimmer fans all ready have it by now, but everyone else may want to listen to the avaliable sound clips before deciding to purchase it, as this sort of score is an acquired taste.

Hans Zimmer's brilliance coupled African Poetry of LEBO M.......2004-10-26

I have always been a Bruce Willis fan. So where on God's earth was I when this film was made and showing in the theatres? It must, surely, be one of the best movies he's made. I had no idea it even existed. I bought the DVD from a small Gameforce in Saint Louis, Missouri. And that only because it starred Bruce Willis.
I am a South African living in America and have been starved of good African music for a while. As a Lebo M fan, I was totally surprised to hear, what I was sure was his wonderfully passionate voice coming through the theme music at the end of the movie. WHAT A DELIGHT!. I sat glued, watching the credits as they rolled, being so sure that was Lebo M's voice. The last I heard from Lebo M was his CD "Deeper Meaning". It brought back wonderful memories. I have read through most of the reviews and was amused at Lee from San Fransico's review. However, I suppose if I didn't have the African heritage, I would, most probably felt the same as Lee did. But Lee, his voice BELONGED in that song. Lebo M is at his most passionate best at the end of the film with the African Poetry theme. You don't have to have been born and raised in Africa to appreciate passion in anyone's voice, but it was that passion that drew me to Lebo M in the first place a few years ago. He is highly underated, as far as I am concerned, in the African music field. The movie gripped me to the core and Hans Zimmer's spectacular score was riveting. It finished the film wonderfully for me. But it was Lebo M that polished it. I hope this artist, who is also well known for his disco type style of music, which I don't like, goes a long way in the world of movie soundtrack for this type of movie. I think it's time I listened to "The Lion King" soundtrack too. I think I'm getting old. I have missed some good music and some good films since I came to live in this wonderful country called America. But, I hope it's OK that I get homesick....just every once in a while.
The story line in this film has prompted me to recommend a book written by a black American journalist, Keith B. Richburg, called "Out of America". Anyone who doubts the veracity of the violence portrayed in this movie should read this book. One of the last things he says in the book is "Thank God my ancestor got out".

John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy

Average customer rating:

Best of Episodes IV - VI
If you don't want to buy each score, get this compilation
una gran seleccion de star wars
Star Wars Music Sampler
You just want more!

John Williams Conducts John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy
John Williams , and The Skywalker Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Wars | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology
The Star Wars Trilogy: Star Wars/The Empire Strikes Back/Return Of The Jedi (Re-recording)
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration (Film Score Anthology)
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

ASIN: B000002712
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Star Wars-Main Theme
Princess Leia
The Little People
The Imperial March
Yoda's Theme
Parade of the Ewoks
The Asteroid Field
Luke and Leia
The Cantina Band
Here They Come!
Jabba The Hutt
The Forest Battle
Throne Room and Finale

Customer Reviews:

Best of Episodes IV - VI.......2007-05-16

It has been said before -- if you want the best all on one CD, then this is the best sampler to get.

Conducted by the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra, there shines through an obvious love of the material being played. These are among the best versions I've ever heard of these songs and the production quality is first rate.

My only slight niggle would be that at times, the horn section seem to come through a little too strong, but that might just be my tastes and my sound system. And it is not enough to keep me from giving it 5 stars. All the best from 3 of the best movie soundtracks in the past 30 years.

If you don't want to buy each score, get this compilation.......2006-09-29

This is a great representation of the excellent music Williams wrote for the original trilogy. Many of these tracks are completely fantastic. There are a couple of tracks that I wouldn't have added to this compilation in favor of adding others (the sand people track is pretty boring) and the cantina music ends with some really weird sounding synth effects or something, but the rest of the album is great. I'd give it 4 1/2 if I could.

una gran seleccion de star wars .......2005-01-08

Lo primero que llama la atencion es la orquesta, es un conjunto selecto de interpretes de Los angeles, San francisco y otros que reunidos forman esta Skywalker Symphony Orchestra que instalada en el rancho de george lucas se dio la tarea de registrar este conjunto de temas de Star Wars.
Y el resultado es esplendido hay que decirlo, el sonido es excelente, existe gran fiato y la orquesta suena grandiosa.
La seleccion esta bien hecha, como es una grabacion de 1991 se obto por recordar lo mejor y grandes momentos, asi no podia dejarse de lado la musica de la cantina una pieza exquicita que se le agrego algunos toques con sintetizadores y suena increible. Esta parades of Ewoks y little people que son muy entretenidas llenas de un encanto casi infantil, nada que comentar respecto de los temas inolvidables de la princesa Leia, de Yoda y el de Luke y Leia, hermosos, la cautivante marcha imperial y la apoteosis de la batalla en los bosques de Endor. Ademas la voragine de campo de asteroides y here they come!, y el exquisito solo de tuba en Jabba the hutt. Para finalizar el principio y el fin, el tema principal es sin lugar a dudas una pieza que no podra ser igualada, increible, y para finalizar throne room en una presentacion incomparable.
Es un CD grandioso, que hace Williams mejor director junto aun grupo grandioso de interpretes para una seleccion sin igual.

Star Wars Music Sampler.......2003-07-12

The Star Wars Trilogy: John Williams Conducts John Williams is a 13-track "sampler" of selected orchestral arrangements from the 1977-83 "Classic" Episodes of George Lucas' space opera set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." Not to be confused with either the Varese Sarabande 1983 recording with a similar title, this 1990 Sony Classical offering showcases the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the composer.

While none of the material here is surprising - we HAVE heard all these themes before in the London Symphony Orchestra-performed original soundtracks in their various incarnations - the Skywalker Symphony (a group of talented musicians assembled especially for this performance) performs Williams' concert hall arrangements with clarity and love for the material. There was also an attempt to add more variety to the 13 tracks to further avoid confusion with the other "Star Wars Trilogy" single CD collection. The Cantina Band (that jazzy Benny Goodman style bauble from Star Wars) and the bouncy The Little People are here, as well as the more "traditional" Main Title, Princess Leia's Theme, Yoda's Theme, and the famous Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme). Particularly impressive is the concert hall arrangement of The Throne Room/Finale, which is very different from the film version.

While I prefer the individual film scores from either the Soundtrack Anthology or the Special Edition collections, for listeners on the go, younger music lovers, or newcomers to John Williams' music, The Star Wars Trilogy: John Williams Conducts John Williams is still worth a listen.

You just want more!.......2003-03-04

That's right. When it ends, you just want more, and more.

I gave it a 4 stars rating, only because of this. I have all the music from Star Wars, and definitely I think it's a crime to make a compilation from such a terrific soundtrack. You MUST have the entire score.

Customer Reviews:

breakdown by cd........2007-01-14

CD1-7:SYMPHONIES 1-9

CD8:PIANO CONCERTO

CD9:VIOLIN CONCERTO & CELLO CONCERTO

CD10-11:REQUIEM

CD12-13:STABAT MATER

CD14:PIANO TRIOS OP.90 "DUMKY" & 21

CD15:PIANO TRIOS OP.65 & 26

CD16:PIANO QUARTETS

CD17:PIANO QUINTETS

CD18:STRING QUINTETS

CD19-20:MUSIC FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO

C21:SERENADE/HAUSMUSIK

CD22-31:THE COMPLETE STRING QUARTETS

CD32:SLAVONIC DANCES OP.46 & 72

CD33:PIANO DUET SLAVONIC DANCES

CD34:PIANO DUET LEGENDS FROM THE BOHEMIAN FOREST

CD35:PIANO WORKS

CD36-37:RUSALKA

CD38-40:SYMPHONIC POEMS

I'm not a music expert.......2005-08-25

I don't know too much about music. I own over 700 cds, but I don't play music and I don't have much experience with this music. My only point of reference was the ninth symphony, seeing as every other piece in this box set was new to me. It sounds fine, nothing wrong with it as far as I can see.

Now, here's what you'll get in this box set, seeing as Amazon does not give it a description. 40 cds! no joke, you get 40 cds in this box set. It features:
1. Complete symphonies
2. Complete symphonic poems
3. Cello concerto
4. Piano concerto
5. Violin concerto
6. Requiem
7. Stabat Mater
8. Slavonic Dances
9. Complete String quartets
10. Chamber music
11. Piano Works (solo and duet)
12. Rusalka

As far as I can tell, the only things missing are The Spectre's Bride and Jacobin. Seeing as it is 40 cds, i have not had an opportunity to listen to it, however what i have heard i have been quite satisfied with.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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