The Classical Variations

Uri Caine (Composer), Wolfgang Kläsener (Conductor), Concerto Köln (Performer), Uri Caine (Performer), Barbara Walker (Performer), Mark Ledford (Performer), David Moss (Performer), Josefine Lindstrand (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Concerto Köln, Uri Caine, Barbara Walker, Mark Ledford, David Moss, et al.
• Conductor: Wolfgang Kläsener
• Composer: Uri Caine
• Audio CD (March 11, 2008)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Winter & Winter
• ASIN: B000W6XBIU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #424,521 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Crossed over, December 27, 2008

By 

Harry "fart4art" (new york) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Classical Variations (Audio CD)

I am a fan of both classical music and jazz, and so I was curious about a fusion of the two. "Fused genres" tend to work better in theory than in practice. This album was a mixed experience, depending largely on the instruments featured. The 5 tracks after Bach's "Goldberg Variations" worked the best; they featured piano, saxophone, clarinet, and drums. Piano, clarinet and drums again work pleasingly in "Desdemona's Lament," after Verdi (whose compositions are intrinsically dramatic). Variations for lute and clarinet, and for lute and flute, sound good together. On the other hand, tracks emphasizing scratching (on turntables), organ, and violin didn't work for me. I found the Schumann variations irritating, with German lieder and English "pop-lyric" sung fugue-style. Variations on Mozart and Wagner? Liebe nicht! By the way, there is a 7-page hard cover mini-booklet with just 2 pages devoted to track information in extremely small print. Lousy way to use precious paper! In the end, I suspect this kind of music elicits highly personal responses, with some listeners vouching for it and others left cold.