Customer Reviews

Guitar Heroes

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While the solo performers (Platino, McFadden, Kraft, Garcia, Escobar, Linhanes and Goluses) on this MP3 download may not be well known stars their performances are star quality. The recording quality as expected for Naxos is excellent throughout. This is a sampler of excellent guitar and harpsichord playing by seven different performers playing works by composers including Albeniz, Bach, Brouwer, Scarlatti, Sor, Torriba and Vivaldi. It includes full works such as Bach's Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 (in 4 tracks arranged by Goluses) for example. With a total of 47 music tracks and a 30 minute interview with Norbert Kraft, (Artistic Director of the Naxos Guitar Collection) this is a wonderful wide ranging introduction to classical guitar. This sampler would be a great deal for $5 or even $10 and is a steal for the current price of $0.99 (May 12).

One minor complaint, is that for the classical novice, such as myself, it is a bit difficult to recognize the composers of some of these works; As a download there are no liner notes. In addition, sampler downloads should include something so we can easily find the full albums. Nonetheless, with a bit of detective work, you should be able to trace back to the original Naxos recordings if you find one or two artists or composers that you especially enjoy.

It turns out that If you click on the Amazon track listing of any song you can probably find the CD or MP3 collection that it comes from.

This is a very nice set of recordings, featuring a compilation of pieces by seven different classical guitar artists. All have excellent sound quality and playing.

I particularly enjoyed the "Caprice sur l'air espagnol" by Jeffrey McFadden and the Divertimento sets by Norbert Kraft. The concerto transcriptions played by Gerald Garcia are great.

When I saw the track list, I secretly hoped that Gerald Garcia was actually Jerry Garcia, but he's not. That shouldn't stop anyone from getting this compilation, however. A great buy as "Deal of the Day" on May 8, 2009!

I selected all pieces from this group and picked "new playlist from selection." Then pick the playlist, and if you choose "View Options" (all of this in iTunes) and click the box for "Composers" you'll find almost all of them will now pop up, and almost all are correct. A few list the proper composer for a movement, but then show "anonymous" or the arranger or performer for the other movements surrounding it; this is easily corrected. These are clean recordings with the usual Naxos attention to excellent (though largely unknown to the casual listener) musicians.

I'm sorry G. Garcia wasn't Jerry Garcia, too, but he's bound to show up if Amazon ever does a bluegrass and/or psychedelic compilation!

For .99 cents, I thought that this album couldn't possibly be very good, as so many of these generic albums of classical music can be quite similar, boring, and poorly done.

However, I was overwhelmingly surprised with this album. It is actually extremely well done, with great pieces throughout. Perfect for a relaxing day at home, when you just want to unwind with mellow music playing in the background, and a glass of your favorite wine.

Definitely worth the .99 cent price. Don't pass it up.

What a buy! 48 songs played beautifully for a relaxing listening experience. The recordings are pristine. I am not familiar with these players, but I certainly will look for more of their work. Naxos has put together a package that truly showcases the classical guitar players interests in music and allows the purchaser to enjoy a large helping of beautiful music at a bargain-basement price. Here's a smorgasborg of classical guitar music - enjoy the buffet folks!

First "99 Relaxing Classical songs" for 99 cents, now this? Keep 'em coming Amazon! I love these compilations for a buck deals!