Premiere

Josh Perschbacher (Artist), John Williams (Composer), Paul Dukas (Composer), Hector Berlioz (Composer), Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: John Williams, Paul Dukas, Hector Berlioz, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
• Audio CD (December 22, 2010)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Intent Records, LLC
• ASIN: B000JJS2VQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,772 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #65 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional, November 3, 2007

By 

Tenor A (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Premiere (Audio CD)

This is one of the CD's of organ transcriptions in which the arrangements are as good as the originals (of not better). It's like a realized "what if" the composer wrote these pieces for the organ and found somebody good enough the play them like an orchestra. Indeed the artist, Josh Perschbacher, is presenting himself here as a definitive musician. His musical interpretations are solid, and is use of tone painting with the organ is one of the most stunning things I've heard.

The organ used here seems like a very capable instrument. It sounds as if to be 100+ ranks in a lively acoustical space. The lower registers of the organ are very rich and at the appropriate times the reeds have a definite roaring quality, like a lion behind the pipes. The sound from the upper registers have a distinctive bite to sound; pleasingly right of center between bland and harsh.

There are many CD's of organ transcriptions available on amazon.com. This `Premiere' CD lives up to its name, and puts all others to shame. The product description above identifies this CD as a "thunderous, pulling out all the stops epic." This is a understatement. It's much much more.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW, December 3, 2006

By 

Posaune - See all my reviews

This review is from: Premiere (Audio CD)

What a CD! Every track is wonderful, but my fav is the Imperial March. Why wasn't it written for organ in the first place?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comments on previous reviews, August 22, 2010

By 

J. Hodges (Orlando, Fl) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Premiere (Audio CD)

Some previous reviews indicated this was a poor recording with lots of "short static sounds" and "background noise".

I listened through my high end audio system, and to double check, I carefully reviewed the CD "direct/flat" using professional headphones. I heard only two clicks. The first, before the first selection starts, sounds like a transient when the record switch is pressed. The second was a small barely audible click during a quiet passage.

Background noise is common in large live buildings. Turning up Bass/Treble controls will amplify noise, especially the low rumble of the organ blowers. That's what I hear when I turn up the bass. I guess some prefer electronic organs. (their blowers are much quieter you know!) Disregard these complaints. This is a fine recording unless you mess it up with your tone controls.

There are two reasons this CD belongs in any organ audiophiles collection:

First, the Cornel Zimmer Organ is outstanding! At times, it has all the characteristics of a "Bright Baby Wanamaker". Especially the solo and chorus reeds. We rarely hear organs this good from today's builders.

Second, is the opportunity to hear complete "as written" orchestral works "Midi'fied" to use the full resources of all stops, manuals, and pedal that would be impossible with just one, or even two, organists.

The only selection I found wanting was the 1812 Overture. The finale was too muddy, and sounded like the Midi player was having a heart attack and couldn't keep up. Surprisingly, the organ chimes were not used in the grand finale. (A set of tower chimes and a cannon fired from the far end of the church would have helped)

The CD cover might imply that Mr. Perschbacher is the musician who performed these pieces. Not so. They were compiled from the orchestral score by him using computer music writing software, registered for the organ, and played via Midi. That takes a lot of work, and for this effort he deserves full credit and praise. The CD notes stating that he performed on the Wanamaker Organ is not germane to this recording. Indeed, many have been invited to play at one of three daily performances during store hours. One organist I knew bragged for years that he had played the Wanamaker Organ. He was a terrible organist. I played better using the cord method. Just so you know, I once performed on the 146 rank Longwood Gardens Organ.

Well,...... I say performed,....... actually, I played some cords and held keys so Bob Goodchild the curator, could fix a few out of tune pipes.