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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
John did again,
By
This review is from: Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams (Audio CD)
About his cello concerto I don't need to explain too much because it depends on your taste. Most of his works we are familiar with are those film scores which are definitely excellent and valuable. This CD is so called "concert music" that belongs to contemporary music,along with his" Tree Song" album, they just showed another aspect of John.In my heart,John is the one of the best composers of all time, because his film music has both quality and quantity,it's difficult for a composer to have both them,but he does.I enjoy two pieces in this CD. The "Elegy", is a beautiful sentimental piece for cello and orchestra, it is adapted from a movement of his film music "Seven Years In Tibet". Another piece is "Heartwood",this sounds just like film music, smooth,tender and charming. If you like John I think you should have it because whatever he wrote, we can always clearly feel that John is the one of distinguished masters in all time,and his talent always shines so brightly.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Our Modern Master,
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This review is from: Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams (Audio CD)
I have been waiting to hear a recording of the Cello Concerto since it was premiered in '93. I can honestly say it was worth the wait. The concerto is a beautifully scored, haunting, expansive work, which quickly grows on a listener. Not surprisingly, given his relationship with Yo-Yo Ma, the cello part is highly individual, allowing Yo-Yo to explore the full range of his talent. Though at times stark, and certainly introspective, I found it a much warmer work than his previous disc (Treesong, etc), with numerous fingerprints of Williams' style (even with snatches from the film scores). This is not to say that Williams is incapable of avoiding film music cliches (as these works are not calculated to appeal to a pop music audience); on the contrary, it speaks to the true range of his talent--film scores that are "serious" works, and concert pieces that can enjoy a wide following. "The Elegy for Cello" is adapted from "Seven Years in Tibet," and is extremely welcome, as the melody on that disc invited so much exploration. "The Three Pieces for Cello" are quite arresting, atmospheric works that evoke the African American struggle in three brief sketches. "Heartwood" is a fascinating piece as well, a fitting bookend to the concerto, which explores a side of Williams at once familiar, yet surprisingly new (to my ears, at any rate). In short, I am thrilled to own this disc and encourage listeners to expand their perceptions of John Williams beyond the stereotype of "a film composer," and see him in his proper light, as a composer in the mold of Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Vaughan-Williams, Rota, etc., who could write in any medium successfully, and more importantly, have something to say.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
great music, but it take some concentrated listening,
By
This review is from: Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams (Audio CD)
I'm not one for attacking people on their personal opinions, but I have to react on the review of kenwuest, certainly since this review is so poorly argumented. I've looked at kenwuest's profile and what struck me was the amount of film scores reviewed by this person. I myself got to know Williams through his film scores, in fact, my interest in classical music was kindled by his music. Apparently though, Kenwuest has never gotten beyond the film scores and seems to think that, since he has listened to a lot of film music, he can give a well-considered review on this complex, modern classical music. As ozoneghost says in his review: "If you're not familiar with or don't intellectually and emotionally appreciate modern composition, this CD is NOT for you. You're JUST NOT gonna get it." And indeed, Kenwuest did not get it. But please, don't slash something if you don't understand it. And certainly not in words like "Listening to this is about as much fun as drilling teeth.", at least have the decency to say "I find listening to this...", it's a purely subjective statement, not a fact.So, what is my opinion on this music. I have listened to this record several times now and I must confess that I do not understand all of it, but what I do understand, I like very much. The pieces for cello solo are thrilling and sometimes really swing, Ma's performance being excellent. I hope these pieces will find their way in the standard cellist repertoire, like the suites by Britten and Kodaly. The elegy is of course the dream of every cellist, ranking with the elegy by faure en the kol nidrei by Bruch. The cello concerto and Heartwood are still a bit unclear to me, being I guess the less accessible pieces on the record, though they are both exhilirating works, I'll need a little bit more time to really get their meaning (so, this review will certainly be updated).
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