The Essential Julian Bream [Import]

Francisco Tarrega (Composer), Heitor Villa-Lobos (Composer), Joaquin Malats (Composer), Joaquin Turina (Composer), Albert Roussel (Composer), William [composer] Walton (Composer), Manuel de Falla (Composer), Emilio Pujol (Composer), Joaquin Rodrigo (Composer), Benjamin Britten (Composer), Gaspar Sanz (Composer), Francisco Guerau (Composer), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Dionysio Aguado (Composer), Fernando Sor (Composer), Luigi Boccherini (Composer), Mauro Giuliani (Composer), Enrique Granados (Composer), Malcolm Arnold (Composer), Malcolm Arnold (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Conductor: Malcolm Arnold
• Composer: Francisco Tarrega, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Joaquin Malats, Joaquin Turina, Albert Roussel, et al.
• Audio CD (January 28, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Sony/Bmg Int'l
• ASIN: B0011458S8
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #823,618 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Recuerdos de la Alhambra, for guitar

2. Estudio, for guitar No. 7 in E major, A. 235/7

3. Estudio, for guitar No. 8 in C sharp minor, A. 235/8

4. Estudio, for guitar No. 12 in A minor, A. 235/12

5. Serenata española for piano in F major

6. Fandanguillo, for guitar, Op. 36

7. Ségovia for guitar, Op. 29

8. Bagatelles (5) for guitar: Allegro

9. Bagatelles (5) for guitar: Lento: Tempo di valse

10. Bagatelles (5) for guitar: Alla cubana

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Gallardas, for guitar (from Instrucción de música sobre la guitarra española, Book 2)

2. Canarios [I], for guitar (Instrucción de Música sobre la Guitarra Española, Book 1)

3. Villano for guitar

4. Canario for guitar

5. Trio Sonata for organ No. 1 in E flat major, BWV 525 (BC J1): 1. Allegro moderato

6. Trio Sonata for organ No. 1 in E flat major, BWV 525 (BC J1): 2. Adagio

7. Trio Sonata for organ No. 1 in E flat major, BWV 525 (BC J1): 3. Allegro

8. Rondo Brillant for guitar No. 3 in D major, Op. 2/3

9. Introduction, Theme & Variations on a theme from Mozart's 'The Magic Flute,' for guitar, Op. 9: Introduction: Andante largo

10. Introduction, Theme & Variations on a theme from Mozart's 'The Magic Flute,' for guitar, Op. 9: Theme: Andante moderato

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars The performer's choice, July 11, 2008

By 

Paul Magnussen (Campbell, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Essential Julian Bream (Audio CD)

I should make clear at the outset that I don't own this (double) album. However, over the years I have accumulated all the recordings in previous manifestations. Since Amazon does not (as I write) list the contents, I give it below. By my computation, the total time is well over two hours.

1) Recuerdos de la Alhambra [Tárrega]
2-4) Studies No. 7, 8 & 12 [Villa-Lobos]
5) Serenata andaluza [Malats]
6) Fandanguillo, Op. 36 [Turina]
7) Segovia, Op. 29 [Roussel]
8) Bagatelles (5) [Walton]
9) Homenaje "pour Le tombeau de Claude Debussy" [Falla]
10) The Miller's Dance [Falla]
11) Invocación y danza [Rodrigo]
12-18) Courtly Dances from Gloriana, Op. 53 [Britten]
19) Gallardas [Sanz]
20) Canarios [Sanz]
21) Villano [Guerau]
22) Canario [Guerau]
23) Trio Sonata, BWV 525 [Bach]
24) Rondo Brillant Op. 2/2 [Aguado]
25) Variations on a Theme of Mozart, Op. 9 [Sor]
26) Introduction and Fandango [Boccherini]
27) Rossiniana No. 1, Op. 119 [Giuliani]
28) Valses poéticos (7), H. 147 [Granados]
29) Guitar Concerto, Op. 67: Lento [Arnold]

The trouble with "Essential", "Best of" and "Ultimate" collections is of course that the choice can never be other than personal. In this regard, however, the present album has an especial distinction: the choice is (it says here) by Mr Bream himself.

This being the case, there are some some surprising omissions: Britten's Nocturnal, written for Bream and considered by many (although not by me) to be the greatest piece ever written for classical guitar; nothing by Dowland, reportedly the performer's favourite composer; in fact, no Renaissance lute music at all, although he was one of its greatest modern pioneers.

Another oddity is that RCA should add to its many Bream anthologies at the same time as it is apparently busy deleting many of his earlier albums, a source of much wailing and gnashing of teeth among those who were too young to buy them when they first appeared.

And so this compilation only gets three stars from me, despite the five-star performances; it's simply too much of a dog's breakfast, and it's not even a DVD Audio or Super Audio CD like Popular Classics. If I had no Bream recordings whatsoever, I would get the original albums -- what remains of them.