Classics at the Movies [Soundtrack]

Sherrill Milnes (Performer), Richard [1] Strauss (Composer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Felix [1] Mendelssohn (Composer), Johann II [Junior] Strauss (Composer), Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), George Gershwin (Composer), Johann Pachelbel (Composer), Sergey Rachmaninov (Composer), Jean Sibelius (Composer), Carl Orff (Composer), Samuel Barber (Composer), Maurice Ravel (Composer), Richard [Classical] Wagner (Composer), Fritz Reiner (Conductor), Erich Leinsdorf (Conductor), Charles Münch (Conductor), Arthur Fiedler (Conductor), Géza Anda (Conductor), Seiji Ozawa (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Sherrill Milnes
• Conductor: Fritz Reiner, Erich Leinsdorf, Charles Münch, Arthur Fiedler, Géza Anda, et al.
• Composer: Richard [1] Strauss, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix [1] Mendelssohn, Johann II [Junior] Strauss, Ludwig van Beethoven, et al.
• Audio CD (September 6, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003F5K
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,465 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent collection of classical greats, April 7, 2005

By 

D. COLLIER "Top Guhzillion Reviewer" (Brownwood, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Classics at the Movies (Audio CD)

For anyone who is looking for simply a wide variety of classical hits on one CD, I highly recommend CLASSICS AT THE MOVIES. Highlighted on this CD are such compositions as "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY); Pachelbel's "Canon in D" (ORDINARY PEOPLE); "Serenade No. 13" (AMADEUS); Paganini's "Rhapsody" (SOMEWHERE IN TIME); and "Boléro" (10).

When I first bought the CD, I hadn't seen more than half of the films mentioned on it. But I have no doubt they are heavily complimented by including this kind of classical music in their scores. (I wish more films had this.)

Unfortunately, when you have a CD with this kind of title and tracks which are labeled with certain films containing the respective pieces of music, the buyer is automatically under the impression that it will be the exact same music featured in the film he or she saw. For instance, when I first purchased this CD, I did so (having virtually no knowledge of classical music at the time) under the impression that the track labeled "Die Hard" would contain the classical music featured in the movie DIE HARD. Well, not exactly. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is rather long, and the piece I was looking for (and the piece used in DIE HARD) was "Ode to Joy". Well, "Ode to Joy" is not on this CD at all. Instead, it's a piece from Beethoven's 9th which was not even featured in the movie DIE HARD. If you're looking for "Ode to Joy" or, better yet, the entire Ninth Symphony, I highly recommend the CD MAD ABOUT BEETHOVEN.

A similar thing occurs with track #12: "O Fortuna!" (GLORY). The piece on the CD is the most common version--actually, the official version. This piece had a slightly different arrangement when James Horner used it in the Civil War epic. Anyone who purchases this CD because they enjoyed the version they heard in the movie will be disappointed if they purchase this CD. Instead, they ought to simply purchase the soundtrack to the movie GLORY.

Overall, this is a great classical CD. All of the music on here is both relaxing and enjoyable.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood's ode to the classics, March 25, 2007

By 

Newton Ooi (Phoenix, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classics at the Movies (Audio CD)

Few Americans go out of the way to listen to classical music, yet Americans love movies, and many of the best American movies used classical music for their soundtracks. This CD takes some of the most famous scores from some of the most famous movies, and puts them together onto one very long album. The pieces span the Classical, Baroque, Romance, and Modern eras of classical music, with pieces such as Pachelbel Canon, Bolero and Beethoven's 9th symphony. The movies include dramas (Amadeus), romance (10), action (Die Hard), sci-fi (2001) and comedy (A Midsummer night's sex comedy). All in all, a good disc.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classics at the Movies a Big Hit!, November 24, 1999

By 

Robert H. Blanpied (Meridian, MS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Classics at the Movies (Audio CD)

As a classics fan of many years, I thought my wife's purchase of this CD may have been a waste. Now I'm buying a copy as a Christmas gift. The classical works picked by movie directors can be marvelous. When I saw "Platoon", the music just after an all-night battle haunted me for years. Then I found it on this CD. Anyone who appreciates the "Platoon" music should hear the Adagio for Strings on this CD.