50 Best Romantic Classics

• Time: 216:05

Review

EMI's 50 Best Romantic Classics is loosely organized by regions, with the first disc devoted to French music, the second to Scandinavian and Eastern European classics, and the third to music from Italy and Spain. This arrangement is quite practical for beginners, who may appreciate the music's recognizable national styles before grasping more historical or theoretical aspects. Yet some understanding is needed of the term romantic, for not all of the music included in this collection fits within the Romantic era (roughly, the 19th century, with some overlapping of the early years of the 20th). With the inclusion of Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi and the modern film composer Nino Rota, it seems that a romantic feeling is suggested, rather than the Romantic period, and the majority of selections evoke song-like and emotional moods, so this package should be regarded as a collection of slow, relaxing pieces in a romantic vein. The artists gathered here are among the most distinguished ever to record for any label, and many enjoyed long careers recording for EMI. The recording dates range from 1959 to 2007, so there's a mix of analog and digital tracks, but they have been well-balanced in volume and tone for comfortable home listening. ~ Blair Sanderson, Rovi

Performances

Composer	Title	Time
Unspecified	Untitled CD-ROM Track	0:00
Giacomo Puccini	Turandot, opera (Nessun dorma)	4:14
Isaac Albéniz	Sevilla	5:22
Francesco Sartori	Time to Say Goodbye (Con te partirò), song	3:53
Pablo de Sarasate	Zigeunerweisen, for violin & piano (or orchestra) ("Gypsy Airs"), Op. 20	7:49
Antonio Vivaldi	Lute (Chamber) Concerto, for lute (or guitar), 2 violins & continuo in D major, RV 93 (2. Largo)	6:08
Giacomo Puccini	Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera (Vogliatemi bene)	7:56
Joaquín Rodrigo	Concierto de Aranjuez, for guitar & orchestra (2. Adagio (opening))	4:46
Nino Rota / Elsa Morante	Ai giochi addio	3:23
Francisco Tárrega	Recuerdos de la Alhambra, for guitar	3:57
Pietro Mascagni	L'amico Fritz, opera (commedia lyrica) in 3 acts (O amore, o bella luce del core)	2:32
Luigi Boccherini	Minuet in A major, arrangement (after String Quintet in E major, Op.11/5 [aka Op. 13/5], G. 275)	3:56
Claudio Monteverdi	L'incoronazione di Poppea, opera in 3 acts, SV 308 (Pur ti miro)	3:45
Antonio Vivaldi	Violin Concerto, for violin, strings & continuo in E major ("La Primavera," The Four Seasons; "Il cimento" No. 1), Op.8/1, RV 269 (1. Allegro)	3:42
Giacomo Puccini	La Rondine (The Swallow), opera (Chi il bel sogno di Doretta)	3:08
Isaac Albéniz	España, album leaves (6) for piano, Op. 165, B. 37 (Tango)	2:30
Giacomo Puccini	Gianni Schicchi, opera (O mio babbino caro)	2:07
Pietro Mascagni	Cavalleria rusticana, opera (melodramma) in 1 act (Intermezzo)	3:44
Franz Lehár	Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), operetta (Vilja)	4:52
Franz Liszt	Liebesträume, notturno for piano No. 3 in A flat major ("O Lieb, so lang du lieben kannst"), S. 541/3 (LW A103/3)	4:09
Frédéric Chopin	Nocturne for piano No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 9/2, CT. 109	5:18
Niels Gade	Jealousy	4:12
Frédéric Chopin	Berceuse for piano in D flat major, Op. 57, CT. 7	4:30
Claude Debussy	Pelléas et Mélisande, opera in 5 acts, L. 88 (At the Castle Gate)	2:53
Franz Liszt	Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S. 124 (LW H4) (2. Quasi adagio)	4:33
Frédéric Chopin	Les sylphides, ballet (arrangement) (Prelude in A)	3:22
Antonin Dvorák	Humoresque No. 7 for piano in G flat major, B. 187/7 (Op. 101/7)	3:04
Frédéric Chopin	Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, CT. 47 (2. Romance: Larghetto (opening))	3:53
Antonin Dvorák	Rusalka, opera, B. 203 (Op. 114) (Song to the Moon)	5:54
Edvard Grieg	Bryllupsdag på Troldhaugen (Wedding Day at Troldhaugen), lyric piece for piano, Op. 65/6	5:41
Antonin Dvorák	Symphony No. 9 in E minor ("From the New World"), B. 178 (Op. 95) (first published as No. 5) (2. Largo (opening))	4:46
Edvard Grieg	Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 (2. Adagio)	6:40
Bedrich Smetana	Má Vlast (My Fatherland), symphonic poems (6), JB 1:112 (Vltava [Excerpt])	5:01
Edvard Grieg	Peer Gynt, incidental music, Op. 23 (Morning)	4:19
Jules Massenet	Thaïs, opera in 3 acts (Meditation)	6:44
André Messager	Les Deux Pigeons, ballet	3:19
Léo Delibes	Sylvia, ou La nymphe de Diane, ballet (Intermezzo & Valse lente)	4:25
Erik Satie	Gymnopedie for piano No. 1	2:52
Gabriel Fauré	Chanson d'amour, song for voice & piano in F major, Op. 27/1	2:03
Georges Bizet	Carmen, opera (Entr'acte to Act 3)	2:35
Gabriel Fauré	Berceuse, for piano, 4 hands or orchestra (Dolly, suite), Op. 56/1	2:38
Camille Saint-Saëns	Romance for violin & orchestra in C major, Op. 48	5:55
Jean-Paul-Gilles Martini (aka J.P. Schwarzendorf)	Plaisir d'amour, for voice & piano (or orchestra)	2:53
Gabriel Fauré	Pavane, for orchestra & chorus ad lib in F sharp minor, Op. 50	6:50
Camille Saint-Saëns	Samson et Dalila, opera in 3 acts, Op. 47 (Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix)	5:21
Charles Gounod	Faust, opera (Les nubiennes (Ballet music))	2:25
Léo Delibes	Lakmé, opera (Flower Duet (Dôme épais))	4:52
Claude Debussy	Clair de lune, for orchestra or other arrangement (from "Suite Bergamasque" for piano), L. 75/3	5:12
Georges Bizet	Carmen, opera (Habanera (L'amour est un oiseau rebelle))	4:21
Camille Saint-Saëns	Carnival of the Animals, zoological fantasy for 2 pianos & ensemble (Le Cygne)	3:17
Jacques Offenbach	Les contes d'Hoffmann, opera in 4 acts (Barcarolle)	4:24

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