The 5 Browns [Dual Disc]

The 5 Browns (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 8, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Dual Disc
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B0006HHU5A
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,313 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #71 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Forms & Genres > Sonatas

Track Listings

1. Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumble Bee

2. Bernstein: Scenes from West Side Story

3. Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

4. Ravel: La Valse (poème chorégraphique)

5. Friedman: Tabatière à musique, Op. 33 No. 3

6. Rachmaninoff: Moments musicaux, Op. 16 No. 4

7. Rachmaninoff: Elégie from Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3

8. Debussy: L’Isle joyeuse

9. Prokofiev: Sonata No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 28

10. Bowen: Toccata, Op. 155

11. Grieg: In the Hall of the Mountain King, from Peer Gynt, Op. 23

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Their story is truly one of the more unusual tales of classical music today. Pop music has produced world-famous examples of all-in-the-family groups (which typically gave way to one or two solo stars as the years passed). And of course there's the Trapp Family singers of The Sound of Music fame. But the sibling pianists known as the 5 Browns are in a category all their own. They've gotten mega-exposure from profiles on 60 Minutes, Oprah, and the like as the first example in the history of the esteemed Juilliard School of Music in which five members of the same family have won admission (scholarships at that!) and studied concurrently. But if this sounds like a P.T. Barnum publicity stunt, make no mistake: Desirae, Deondra, Gregory, Melody, and Ryan are the real thing--musicians of intense dedication and talent. Their debut CD offers different perspectives on this pianistic quintet. It's not surprising that the literature isn't exactly overflowing with arrangements for five pianos--so only 4 tracks here actually have all ten hands busy tickling the ivories (arrangements of "Flight of the Bumblebee," West Side Story scenes, The Sorcerer's Apprentice and music from Grieg’s Peer Gynt). The flip DVD side includes videos of their amazing in-sync dexterity for "Flight" and the Bernstein excerpts, plus a charming interview introducing the very down-to-earth Browns. They talk about how they took to the piano, one by one, at a very early age and also point out that they remain each other's best friends, which helps them weather the stresses of the competitive classical performing arts world. Other tracks involve several four-hands settings and some solos (my own favorite is Melody's beautiful rendition of Debussy’s gorgeous "L'Isle joyeuese"). We're sure to hear more from this amazingly talented family--whether as a group or as soloists. --Sarah Chin

Product Description

CD AUDIO SIDE: Entire Album

DVD SIDE: * Entire Album in 5.1 Surround Sound and enhanced LPCM Stereo * Video Performances: - Rimsky-Korsakov: The Flight of the Bumble Bee (arr. Jeffrey Shumway) - Bernstein: Scenes from "West Side Story" (arr. Kendall Briggs) * Exclusive interview footage with The 5 Browns This disc is intended to play on standard DVD and CD players. May not play on a limited number of models.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Way for the Browns, February 10, 2005

By 

Robert W. Allen (Northfield Falls, Vermont United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 5 Browns (Audio CD)

After I purchased this CD/DVD combo, I brought it yesterday to a church where I go to rehearse for Sunday services. Everybody who saw the DVD portion of this disc was blown away. A friend of mine kept shaking his head and saying, "Where did I go wrong?" He had wanted to learn the piano but found he couldn't. (Fortunately he went on to become an airline pilot for TWA, so he didn't do so badly.) But that left the rest of us scratching our heads over how it is that these kids are so wonderfully talented, and the rest of us aren't. They're so young, and yet any one of them can play a 19th century technical monster with all the aplomb and grace of a Vladimir Ashkenazy or a Marc-Andre Hamelin. What gives with these kids?
Well, for one thing, they are all very devoted to their craft, spending as much as 6 or more hours a day practicing, and that helps. (I don't even spend 6 hours a day watching television except when it snows like today and I can't get out.) For another, they are very much in tune with each other. Now I've heard recordings of so-called monster concerts before (i.e. concerts where 16 pianists are all banging away at once on eight pianos.) Those concerts always sounded like you were really listening to 16 different pianists who were only slightly together. But with the Browns, the sound is so together that it sounds like what I'm listening to is a single pianist who just happens to have ten arms and hands and fifty fingers.
So my best recommendation is that you buy this album and play it for your friends and watch their reactions. Then they'll want to buy their own copies, hopefully, unless they try to steal yours like one of my friends did. You will not be disappointed.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm Sure We'll Be Hearing More From The Browns!, February 26, 2005

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 5 Browns (Audio CD)

I usually allow myself one gimmicky classical album a year. I usually purchase more than one, but that's another story. When Is aw the cover of the CD for THE FIVE BROWNS: a group of young people who resemble the kid who mows your lawn, the nice young person who waits on you at the coffee shop, or the girl every boy has a crush on-I took a closer look and wondered what type of music would come from five people playing the piano. It may be marketed as gimmicky, but it is anything but a gimmick. These two brothers and three sisters are gifted musicians who are equally as gifted as an ensemble as they are as soloists. While the goal of the album is to entertain, and while entertaining inspire young people to be interested in classical music, people young and old can appreciate the musicianship if these young people. One of the things I appreciated most about this collection is its quality. So often classical collections geared to younger audiences "dumbs down" the music so to speak. It does not respect the intelligence of the young audience and is completely lost on an older audience. The selections are good choices for any audience, and only the liner notes and cover are blatantly geared to a youthful audience.

The music is entertaining and worth the price of the disc alone, but it is a dual disk that has music on one side and a DVD on the other. The DVD contains two selections but also includes an interview with these young people who have personalities that are as engaging as the music. I am willing to bet that we will hear from these young people again, either as soloists or as an ensemble.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great group of performers!, February 9, 2005

By 

Jared R. Dahl (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 5 Browns (Audio CD)

It's exciting to be the first to review the CD of such great new artists! The 5 Browns are amazing, not only in their musicianship, but in their personalities as well! The efforts they have put in to reach the point they are at today are incredible, and the true bond between brothers and sisters is what gives their performance the added sense of unity and oneness.

I would recommend this CD to any who are interesed in learning more about classical music, as well as the veteran listener. The fresh, vibrant approach brought by the youthfullness of the performers is refreshing - in a way, the piano becomes "cool" again.

Enjoy the music, and share it with a friend!