Customer Reviews

Greatest Hits: The Tsar (Russian Orchestral Favorites)

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This CD has a wonderful combination of the best tunes Russia has to offer (under 10 minutes of course!). Folk tunes like Two Guitars and Dark Eyes add to the Russian spirit. Also a nice war-like tune by an unfamilar man by the name of Knipper. This is his only work that made it to the world of classical music. Many other works done nicely by Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and many others who don't end with 'sky'. Very nice way to introduce you to the Russians. Buy it even if you know about the Russian works. There are a few 'one hitters' on this CD.

Yes, this disc has some stunning music...about 2 minutes per selection of it. Sometimes a little more, but this is just a movement or so of each. I was thrilled to find Andrew Davis' version of The Polovstian Dances and found only a short choral section of it. It is a useful survey if you are a fledgeling listener to Russian classical music, but other than that, it is pretty useless for listening.

I've been searching all over for good versions of "Meadowlands," the Russian military march song I first heard about thirty years ago in a documentary about the Eastern Front that I saw on Swedish TV. The symphonic version on this CD is excellent. For me, that alone is worth the price. The other tidbits are pleasant enough, though short. How someone ordering this would not notice that they're all short tidbits is beyond me. Some people just don't pay attention when buying.