featured classical albums
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- Anoushka Shankar / Dav …
- Ravi Shankar: Symphony
- Shankar's delightful symphony sounds almost like a concerto because it features such a prominent part for sitar, played by his daughter Anoushka Shankar.
- Arditti Quartet
- Harrison Birtwistle: Complete…
- The virtuoso Arditti Quartet performs the challenging music of Harrison Birtwistle with apparent ease on this 2012 Aeon release.
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- Jan Willem de Vriend
- Beethoven: Symphony No.…
- Jan Willem de Vriend and the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra bring period scholarship to their performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
- Aleksandar Madzar /
- Brahms: Violin Sonatas
- Marwood and Madzar unpack the detailed material Brahms put into these intricate, late works, full of big melodies.
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- Byron Janis
- The Chopin Collection
- The legendary Byron Janis presents mazurkas, nocturnes, and alternate versions of two famous waltzes on this exquisite Chopin collection.
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- Mari Kodama
- Beethoven: Piano Sonatas…
- Mari Kodama's recording of Beethoven's last three piano sonatas is a tour de force for connoisseurs of super audio recordings.
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- La Brea Sinfonietta / …
- Mark Abel: The Dream Gallery…
- These acid yet humane portraits of California will be recognizable to anyone who has lived there, or really to any American.
- Boston Pops Orchestra
- A Celebration
- Compiled from recordings of the 1980s, A Celebration captures John Williams and the Boston Pops at their peak.
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- Steven Osborne
- Beethoven: Bagatelles
- Beethoven's bagatelles are among his most sophisticated and elusive creations, and Steven Osborne plays them with alertness and sublime expression.
- Yoshiko Okada
- Ludwig van Beethoven:…
- Cool and careful, Yoshiko Okada plays three of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas on this 2012 release from Gramola.
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- Olli Mustonen
- Scriabin: Etudes; Preludes;…
- Olli Mustonen presents the poles of Scriabin's piano music, from his early emulation of Chopin to the late, original masterworks.
- Accentus / Laurence Eq …
- Best 20
- This diverse compilation should whet listeners' appetite for seeking out the complete albums from Accentus' impressively broad discography.
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- Claus Peter Flor / Mal …
- Dvorák: Symphony No.…
- Claus Peter Flor and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra play an all-Dvorak program on this hybrid SACD from BIS.
- Danish National Vocal …
- Half Monk, Half Rascal:…
- Danish National Vocal Ensemble delivers subtle performances of Poulenc's sacred and secular a cappella choral works.
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- Chris Botti
- Impressions
- Impressions features trumpeter Chris Botti framed against lush classical and Latin-themed orchestrations and pop reinterpretations with guest artists.
- Aukso Orchestra
- Krzysztof Penderecki:…
- The experimental orchestral works of Krzysztof Penderecki and Jonny Greenwood receive side-by-side comparisons on this 2012 Nonesuch release.
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about classical
Classical music is hard to define in specific terms, but it is generally understood to be music rooted in Western European traditions performed by trained musicians in formal settings like concert halls, opera houses, and churches. Its key emphasis is the faithful interpretation of composers' written scores. Classical music's roots lie in the chant melodies of Medieval religious rites. Its contemporary incarnation encompasses everything from opera and the symphony orchestra to chamber ensembles, solo works, choral music, songs, film music, and the avant-garde. Works from the intervening centuries make up the bulk of the recorded repertory, and they mirror the artistic and architectural trends of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras in their sound worlds and conception. The dichotomy between classical and popular music is a fairly recent cultural development. In fact, much of what is considered classical music today grew out of, was influenced by, or was popular music of its time.