Search - Howard Hanson, Ture Rangstrom, Aram Khachaturian :: Earquake

IC B. (icberry)
Reviewed on 3/25/2008...

Information for tracks on this disk is sometimes sketchy. Here is a better list.

Tracklisting:
1 Hanson* Hansons's 6th (1:55)
Composed By - Howard Hanson
2 Rangström* Invocation (2:58)
Composed By - Ture Rangström
3 Khachaturian* Mountaineers (1:54)
Composed By - Aram Khachaturian*
4 Prokofiev* Ala Et Lolly (2:22)
Composed By - Sergei Prokofiev*
5 Druckman* Prism (2:49)
Composed By - Jacob Druckman
6 Revueltas* Night Of The Mayas (3:47)
Composed By - Silvestre Revueltas
7 Nielsen* Aladdin (4:26)
Composed By - Carl Nielsen
8 Ginastera* Malambo (3:45)
Composed By - Alberto Ginastera
9 Schulhoff* Weapon Dance (4:17)
Composed By - Erwin Schulhoff
10 Segerstam* Nostalgic Thoughts (2:20)
Composed By - Leif Segerstam
11 Bolcom* Machine (3:42)
Composed By - William Bolcom
12 Ibert* Bacchanale (3:22)
Composed By - Jacques Ibert
13 Respighi* War Dance (2:44)
Composed By - Ottorino Respighi
14 Shostakovich* Can-Can (6:21)
Composed By - Dmitri Shostakovich
15 Rautavaara* Angel Of Light (2:00)
Composed By - Einojuhani Rautavaara
16 Leifs* Hekla (Volcano) (9:18)
Composed By - Jón Leifs

A guilty pleasure

A. Tohline | Athens, OH | 07/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I kind of feel bad recommending, and with four stars nonetheless, a recording of such shameless and unartistic music. However, if you just got a new speaker system or something and need to break it in, this is your CD.The word of the day for this CD is LOUD. Clear? Sometimes. Impassioned? Occasionally. Artistic? Rarely. But deafening with a side of deafening served with stentorian sauce? Yes, and incessantly.If that's what you're looking for, then I suppose it should get five stars. The real caveat here is that the informational liner notes so oft-expected with classical music recordings are simply missing. There are liner notes, but any respect for the represented artists is downgraded further when sometimes the name of the piece you're listening to is unclear. The makers of this CD were so enamored with their own "Track Title"s that the real names of the pieces are often butchered.Oh, well. This is still a lot of fun to listen to. You're just going to have to do your own research for the rest of the story."

Essential audiophile collection

Randy C. Baer | Los Angeles, California | 06/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No guilty pleasure this! Instead of a compilation of existing excerpts (with the exception of "Angel of Light"), the estimable Leif Segerstam has seamlessly drawn together new performances with the excellent Helsinki Phil. designed to produce maximum aural excitement in minimum time. Occassionally providing a moment's breathing room (notably Jacob Druckman's lovely, ethereal "Prism"), the collection easily achieves its primary goal of achieving a palpable, triple-forte high. As for the artistic validity of the music, there are contributions here from Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Khachaturian, Ginastera, Nielsen, and Respighi. Even the rather insane "Hekla" by Jon Leifs has its cacaphonous charms. While I usually avoid classical excerpt albums like the plague, the intelligence of selection and high level of execution plus sterling sonics behind this hourlong sort of suite, have made this one of my favorite discs of recent years."