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Classics at the Movies

RCA

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1. Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zoroaster), tone poem for orchestra
2. Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major ("Eine kleine Nachtmusik"), K. 5
3. Symphony No. 4 in A major ("Italian"), Op. 90~Saltarello, music used in
4. Kaiser-Walzer (Emperor Waltz), for orchestra, Op. 437 (RV 437)~As used
5. Symphony No. 9 in D minor ("Choral"), Op. 125~Finale (excerpt), music u
6. Rhapsody in Blue, for piano & orchestra (orchestrated by F. Grofé)~Exce
7. Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major ("Elvira Madigan") K. 467~Andante, mus
8. Canon and gigue, for 3 violins & continuo in D major, T. 337~Canon musi
9. der schönen, blauen Donau (On the Beautiful, Blue Danube), waltz for or
10. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Introduction and 24 Variations), for p
11. Finlandia, tone poem for orchestra, Op. 26~Finale, music used in the mo
12. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra~O for
13. Adagio for strings (or string quartet; arr. from 2nd mvt. of String Qua
14. Boléro, ballet for orchestra~Conclusion, music used in the movie "10"
15. Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b~Ride of the Valkyries, music

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Hollywood's ode to the classics

Few Americans go out of the way to listen to classical music, yet Americans love movies, and many of the best American movies used classical music for their soundtracks. This CD takes some of the most famous scores from some of the most famous movies, and puts them together onto one very long album. The pieces span the Classical, Baroque, Romance, and Modern eras of classical music, with pieces such as Pachelbel Canon, Bolero and Beethoven's 9th symphony. The movies include dramas (Amadeus), romance (10), action (Die Hard), sci-fi (2001) and comedy (A Midsummer night's sex comedy). All in all, a good disc.

An excellent collection of classical greats

For anyone who is looking for simply a wide variety of classical hits on one CD, I highly recommend CLASSICS AT THE MOVIES. Highlighted on this CD are such compositions as "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY); Pachelbel's "Canon in D" (ORDINARY PEOPLE); "Serenade No. 13" (AMADEUS); Paganini's "Rhapsody" (SOMEWHERE IN TIME); and "Boléro" (10).

When I first bought the CD, I hadn't seen more than half of the films mentioned on it. But I have no doubt they are heavily complimented by including this kind of classical music in their scores. (I wish more films had this.)

Unfortunately, when you have a CD with this kind of title and tracks which are labeled with certain films containing the respective pieces of music, the buyer is automatically under the impression that it will be the exact same music featured in the film he or she saw. For instance, when I first purchased this CD, I did so (having virtually no knowledge of classical music at the time) under the impression that the track labeled "Die Hard" would contain the classical music featured in the movie DIE HARD. Well, not exactly. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is rather long, and the piece I was looking for (and the piece used in DIE HARD) was "Ode to Joy". Well, "Ode to Joy" is not on this CD at all. Instead, it's a piece from Beethoven's 9th which was not even featured in the movie DIE HARD. If you're looking for "Ode to Joy" or, better yet, the entire Ninth Symphony, I highly recommend the CD MAD ABOUT BEETHOVEN.

A similar thing occurs with track #12: "O Fortuna!" (GLORY). The piece on the CD is the most common version--actually, the official version. This piece had a slightly different arrangement when James Horner used it in the Civil War epic. Anyone who purchases this CD because they enjoyed the version they heard in the movie will be disappointed if they purchase this CD. Instead, they ought to simply purchase the soundtrack to the movie GLORY.

Overall, this is a great classical CD. All of the music on here is both relaxing and enjoyable.

Classics at the Movies a Big Hit!

As a classics fan of many years, I thought my wife's purchase of this CD may have been a waste. Now I'm buying a copy as a Christmas gift. The classical works picked by movie directors can be marvelous. When I saw "Platoon", the music just after an all-night battle haunted me for years. Then I found it on this CD. Anyone who appreciates the "Platoon" music should hear the Adagio for Strings on this CD.