Karajan: Adagio

Gustav Mahler (Composer), Johann Pachelbel (Composer), Jules Massenet (Composer), Johannes Brahms (Composer), Antonio Vivaldi (Composer), Edvard Grieg (Composer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Tomaso Albinoni (Composer), Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Jean Sibelius (Composer), Herbert von Karajan (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), David Bell (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: David Bell
• Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
• Composer: Gustav Mahler, Johann Pachelbel, Jules Massenet, Johannes Brahms, Antonio Vivaldi, et al.
• Audio CD (May 16, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000001GMK
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,214 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #18 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Symphonies > Baroque

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gentle, Slow, Reflective...and Wonderful, September 4, 2003

By 

Alex Diaz-Granados "fardreaming writer" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Karajan: Adagio (Audio CD)

Karajian's Adagio is, as the title of this 1994 album culled from previous recordings of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, a CD devoted to the "adagio," a slow, gentle tempo that first became widely used in the Baroque period of music. An adagio can be either part of a greater whole (the Allegretto or 2nd Movement from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony in A major) or a complete self-contained composition (the "Valse Triste/Sad Waltz by Sibelius).

The best known pieces in this collection from Deustsche Gramophon are perhaps Pachelbel's Canon in D, which features a gentle melody that is played first by one section of the orchestra, then repeated and taken up by other sections, becoming more intricate as the piece ascends to a shimmering conclusion. The other widely known composition, Tomaso Albinoni's Adagio in G minor, sounds as if it was a Baroque piece from the late 17th Century, but it was neither composed by Albinoni nor is it a Baroque-period work. It's actually a 20th Century forgery executed by Albinoni's biographer Remo Giazotto. Nevertheless, it's a powerful and deeply moving piece, marked by the somber interplay of organ and strings. (This piece was used, with great effect, in the latter section of Australian director Peter Weir's 1980 film Gallipoli.)

Karajan's Adagio spans several centuries and musical eras, from the aforementioned Baroque to the post-Romantic 20th Century. In addition to Albinoni/Giazotto, Pachelbel, Sibelius, and Beethoven, listeners will find compositions by Mozart, Massenet, Vivaldi. Brahms, Grieg, Mahler, and J.S. Bach. With such a diverse group of composers, even though the pieces are leisurely and gentle, they also express a wide range of musical moods, ranging from the pathos of Grieg's Anse's Death to the pastoral tranquility of Mozart's 4th Movement from his Divertimento in B-flat major.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Each track is worth every penny., January 8, 2000

By 

littlenomad (North Carolina, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Karajan: Adagio (Audio CD)

I can't believe no one has reviewed this yet! This CD is especially ideal for (but not limited to): relaxing, falling to sleep, romantic evenings, baby/child naptime. Albioni's Adagio (not to be confused with the title of the CD)is a tad long, but has spectacular moments. The Adagio from Mahler's 5th is heartbreakingly beautiful, as is the Meditation from Thais. Rarely has such exquisiteness been packed into a single CD. Don't think, just buy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If you're really in a hurry to get over Pachelbel's Canon, April 30, 2006

By 

Adrian "Increasingly critical reader" (Mexico City, Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Karajan: Adagio (Audio CD)

Karajan was an amazing conductor. Precise, demanding, exacting, but also emotional and deeply sensible to nuances and subtleties of the various works and comosers he conducted. He's amazing with Beethoven and Wagner, for instance.

With Pachelbel, however, something didn't click. I have at least three Karajan recordings of the Canon in D -as well as over 50 other versions- and none are as brief, "martial", cut-and-dry, hurry-up-and-leave like Karajan's. Don't ask me why, but it would seem that conducting Pachelbel was something he didn't enjoy.

The rest of the album, however, is very enjoyable, smooth, melodious, and thoroughly enjoyable and commendable.

So, in a nutshell: if you've had it with Pachelbel's Canon in D, this is a great recording for you. If, on the other hand, you really love the Canon, skip it while playing this album or, for that matter, any of Karajan's recordings of it, where you'll also find this report, as I have collected them all: my acoustical masochism knows no boundaries.

I hope this helps you in your selection. Enjoy!