complete quartets of three composers: Haydn, Beethoven and Bartok. Their recordings of the quartets of Haydn stand out in particular, setting completely new standards. The wonderful instruments they play on - two Stradivari violins, an Amati viola and a Ruggiero cello - make a significant contribution to the Quartet's unique and unmistakable sound. The Lindsays have made a decision which very few musicians dare to make: at the height of their international fame they have decided to disband the Quartet. This DVD set is a testimony to an extraordinary ensemble that has not only set standards for the future but has also done much to restore Joseph Haydn, father of the string quartet, to his rightful place in the repertoire.These seven quartets were recorded in High Definition and true Surround Sound during the acclaimed Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in 2004.
recordings: Haydn: String Quartets Op.64 Nos 1, 2 and 3 brings them one step closer to a complete collection by this master. If you like your Haydn immaculately polished, the Emerson Quartet will fit your bill better. But if you prefer your Haydn chamber music to be redolent of the country where it was first conceived and performed, the Lindsays are your bag. There are moments in these new recordings where you can almost imagine the mud on the players' boots, so strongly rooted is their timbre. Their minuets have gusto, their prestos hurtle and when Haydn demands high seriousness they deliver that in spades. Moreover, when the score calls for breath to be held, and for long lines of slow melody to sound, the Lindsays obey with delicate plangency. There are many moments to savour here, from the surprises in the minuet of the third quartet, to the way the colour changes form from bar to bar--like clouds chasing each other across the sky--in the opening movement of the second. --Michael Church
The Lindsays. The wit, sparkle and humour are all infectiously conveyed with that familiar keen rhythmic sense (although the players now and then press ahead perhaps a shade too much in both fast and slow music). But as these readings make clear, we ignore the soul-searching side to Haydn's personality at our peril--witness the dramatic Adagio of Op.64 No.6, for example. It was commonplace at one time to hear statements to the effect that The Lindsays never let the search for technical perfection get in the way of the music. That may be true, but this disc is yet further evidence, if we needed it, of the quartet's consummate dexterity, indeed, it's the ability to retain the eye for detail while travelling at speed which sticks in the mind. As ever, first violin Peter Cropper is eloquence itself. The excellent recorded sound is warm, detailed and spacious. And compared with the Emerson Quartet's contemporary recording of Op.64 No.5? Fine though that is, when it comes to conveying the humanity in this music, The Lindsays are ahead--and with better sound. --Andrew Green
Production Year: 1997 - Music / Performing Arts - Director: David Amphlett - Original Language: English\Italian - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Andrea Bocelli, Nuccia Focile, Sarah Brightman, Zucchero
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Advantages: Perfect performances, funny in the right places, genuinely heartfelt effort. Disadvantages: Not for thos who prefer Eels the rock band
..., on with the review.
The tour previous to this one had been a dark, heavy and manic. Mark Everett decided it would be interesting to see what would happen if the traditional rock band layout was replaced with a stringquartet, and then having different instruments placed around them. You will see in this DVD, the use of an auto harp, a double bass, piano, toy piano, melodica, slide guitar, a vibrator covered in tinfoil (I?m not joking either) and a drum kit composed of two bins and a suitcase. Everybody is very smartly dressed, and it all screams at you, from every conceivable angle, that this is designed to be a gentleman's evening and not a heavy metal concert.
This presents something of a watershed concept to be honest. For fans whose vocabulary is limited to the words "Dude", "Hardcore", "You sold out man!" and "Wooooooo!", this will go...
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Advantages: The writing, the setting, the music Disadvantages: The characters are not sow ell defined or likable
...I bought this book, An Equal Music by Vikram Seth, for the grand sum of one penny on the basis of a review written by Floon. I was enchanted by his description of the storyline and the author?s writing style. I was not disappointed.
The author, Vikram Seth states, in an author?s note located on the last page of the book, that, ?Music to me is dearer even than speech?. To convey this, he focuses his novel on the world of music and its performance.
The central character, Michael Holme, is the second violinist in a London-based stringquartet. His life has settled somewhat into a rut. He plays his violin; teaches the violin; makes love to one of his students, Virginie; rings his father; all as a matter of routine.
His comfortable lifestyle is suddenly disturbed by a series of events each connected and occurring in parallel...
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Advantages: Fantastically realised world, focused plot Disadvantages: Minimalist detail, not a cohesive collection
...The Earthsea Quartet compiles Ursula Le Guin's first four novels set in the Iron Age styled world of Earthsea. The first three books of the original trilogy were published over four years, from 1968 to 1972. A fourth book was released in 1990, erroneously subtitled the last tale of Earthsea but it ended up being the springboard for further tales.
The four books are set in the known lands of Earthsea; made up of a central archipelago encircled by four polar reaches and the Kargad Lands. Areas outside the provided map are unknown; however a land of the dragons is speculated to exist in the far west.
Earthsea is mostly populated by a dark-browned skinned people. The white Kargs are given a slightly more barbaric presentation than other races, shown to be less literate and superstitious of the practise of magic. Different characters from...
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helpful 08.05.2009
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