Midnight Adagios

• Booklet languages: English
• Time: 158:34
• Release Date: 2003

Review

In the mid-'90s, Deutsche Grammophon scored a hit with Adagio, a single-disc compilation of slow orchestral movements led by the late conductor Herbert von Karajan that were programmed to help take your mind off the daily grind. While Decca is well aware that the average listener no longer knows the difference between a symphony, an overture, or a concerto, they are hoping that the general consumer will remember that an adagio is a slow musical piece. At least Decca is banking on that to the tune of ten double-disc Adagio sets, in which Midnight Adagios is a single entry. All ten releases sport Sierra Club-calendar quality covers and feature recordings drawn from the combined resources of the Universal Music Group classical label holdings: Decca, Philips, and Deutsche Grammophon. Midnight Adagios is drawn mostly from recordings from the Decca side of the vault and extends its program in favor of a few vocal selections in addition to the expected instrumental ones. The range of nocturnal offerings here is extensive and eclectic, featuring slow movements ranging from an obscure Baroque oboe concerto by Benedetto Marcello to the entire 11-and-a-half minute second-movement Adagio from Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez. Collecting slow movements from larger works into a single entity is a time-honored practice; even in the eighteenth century, publishers such as John Walsh used to smack them together in low-budget editions for sale to the general public. Given its scope, generous program, and top-notch artists, Midnight Adagios is a safe bet for musical enjoyment, in addition to providing the relaxation trumpeted on the front cover. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis , Rovi

Performances

Composer	Title	Time
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major ("Eine kleine Nachtmusik"), K. 525 (Romance: Andante)	5:43
Ludwig van Beethoven	Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ("Moonlight"), Op. 27/2 (Adagio sostenuto)	6:09
Edward Elgar	Pieces (2) ("Chanson de matin" & "Chanson de nuit"), for violin & piano (later orchestrated), Op. 15 (Chanson de nuit)	3:41
Gabriel Fauré	Pavane, for orchestra & chorus ad lib in F sharp minor, Op. 50	6:37
Alexander Borodin	String Quartet No. 2 in D major (Notturno: Andante)	8:18
Johannes Brahms	Wiegenlied ("Guten Abend, gut Nacht"), song for voice & piano, Op. 49/4	2:32
Fritz Kreisler	Berceuse Romantique, for violin & piano, Op. 9	4:34
Antonin Dvorák	Rusalka, opera, B. 203 (Op. 114) (O silver moon)	6:17
Ludwig van Beethoven	Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major ("Emperor"), Op. 73 (Adagio un poco mosso)	7:46
Johann Sebastian Bach	Sonata for viola da gamba & keyboard No. 3 in G minor, BWV 1029 (Adagio (excerpt))	3:14
Georges Bizet	Carmen Suite for orchestra No. 1 (assembled by Ernest Guirard) (Intermezzo)	2:35
Antonio Vivaldi	Lute (Chamber) Concerto, for lute (or guitar), 2 violins & continuo in D major, RV 93 (Largo)	5:11
Ralph Vaughan Williams	Variants (5) of 'Dives and Lazarus' for string orchestra & harp (or harps) (Excerpt)	5:17
Frédéric Chopin	Nocturne for piano No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 9/2, CT. 109	4:01
Joseph Canteloube	Baïlèro, folksong for voice & orchestra (Chants d'Auvergne, Series 1, No. 2) (Excerpt)	3:34
Erik Satie	Gymnopedie for piano No. 1	3:31
Johann Sebastian Bach	Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 (Air on a G string)	5:14
Claude Debussy	Clair de lune, for piano (Suite Bergamasque No. 3), L. 75/3	5:26
Jules Massenet	Thaïs, opera in 3 acts (Méditation)	5:40
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major ("Elvira Madigan") K. 467 (Andante)	7:57
Franz Schubert	Quintet for 2 violins, viola & 2 cellos in C major, D. 956 (Op. posth. 163) (Andante (excerpt))	5:40
Max Bruch	Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 (Adagio)	9:27
Alessandro Marcello	Concerto for oboe, strings & continuo in D minor, SF. 935 (often transposed to C minor) (Adagio)	4:24
Antonin Dvorák	Serenade for string orchestra in E major, B. 52 (Op. 22) (Larghetto)	6:08
Joaquín Rodrigo	Concierto de Aranjuez, for guitar & orchestra (Adagio)	11:32
Franz Liszt	Consolation, for piano No. 3 in D flat major "Lento placido", S. 172/3 (LW A111a/2/2)	3:54
Sergey Rachmaninov	Suite No. 1 ("Fantaisie-tableaux") for 2 pianos in G minor, Op. 5 (La Nuit, l'Amour: Adagio sostenuto)	6:23
Dmitry Shostakovich	The Gadfly, film score, Op. 97 (Romance)	3:51
Jacques Offenbach	Les contes d'Hoffmann, opera in 4 acts (Barcarolle)	3:58

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