Symphonie Fantastique Hector Berlioz
The quintessential Romantic, Berlioz built this lush, emotional work around the story of a gifted artist
who, in the depths of lovesickness, poisons himself with opium. Leonard Bernstein said this was the first
musical expedition into psychedelia, due to its hallucinatory, dream-like nature.
intense, emotional
WORK OF ART
Rite of Spring Igor Stravinsky
When first performed in 1913, this complex and unpredictable masterpiece caused
fistfights in the aisles. It continues to shock, stir, and confound listeners
to this day. Written as a ballet around a series of episodes depicting a pagan
spring ritual, it's a powerful and dramatic statement.
dazzling & powerful
SYMPHONY
Symphony No. 1 Johannes Brahms
Brahms's First is surely the most overtly dramatic of his four symphonies.
Grand in its large and emphatic gestures and integrating high drama,
lyricism, and an emotional, magnificent finale, this work firmly
established Brahms as a worthy successor to Beethoven.
final masterwork &
TRUE GENIUS
Requiem Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mystery and myth still surround this, one of classical music's most towering and iconic
artistic achievements. Featuring solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, much of this
solemn and powerful rumination on the gravitas of mortality was written from
Mozart's own deathbed.
The Three Tenors in Concert, recorded live in Rome in 1990, holds the distinction in the Guinness Book of World Records (in 2010) of being the best-selling classical album of all time. The concert,...
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John Rutter's 2011 album, The Colors of Christmas, should appeal to fans of his performances with the Cambridge Singers, the group he founded in 1981, and with which he has produced about a half...
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Light & Gold is the debut album on Decca for Eric Whitacre and the Eric Whitacre Singers, a group formed in 2010. They are joined by Laudibus, a choir selected from members of National Youth Choir of...
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