A Night With Elise

Classical Moods is a four-disc collection of short pieces of classical music put together with the thought of soothing listeners with nice melodies. The collection has all the big names, like Mozart, Debussy, Bach, Gershwin, and Rachmaninov, and their big hits, like "Swan Lake," "Clair de Lune," "The William Tell Overture," "Sabre Dance," and "Rhapsody in Blue." Each disc contains a great deal of music, as many of the pieces are excerpts and movements taken from larger works. The set may be a nice starting point for a new fan of classical, as all the great melodies are here and presented on a platter for easy consumption. More sophisticated fans of the music won't have much use for it.

The Cure’s 30th anniversary re-issue of ‘Paris’ has now been expanded with the addition of 2 previously unreleased live tracks “Shake Dog Shake” and “Hot Hot Hot!!!”. ‘Paris’, a live set recorded at Le Zenith de Paris in October 1992 was originally released as a 2LP in 1993, and includes the singles “Lovesong”, “Catch”, “A Letter To Elise” and, fan favourite “Play For Today”. In tribute to this milestone, Abbey Road Studios presents a remastered cut by Robert Smith and Miles Showell.

Vince Guaraldi was a well-respected jazz pianist whose greatest success came from avenues usually closed to contemporary jazz artists: he enjoyed a hit single at a time when jazz had largely been exiled from the pop charts, and he scored a series of very successful animated television specials (namely the Charlie Brown seasonal specials scores and soundtracks for which his name has become synonymous), a medium where cookie-cutter pop music was traditionally the order of the day.

In 'Songs from the Planet of Life,' composer Helge Iberg uses poems of the taoist tradition to shed light on the ecological situation. An impressive handful of soloists come together with The Norwegian Radio Orchestra for this touching musical reflection on the present state of the planet and humankind. Norway's biggest newspaper Aftenposten, describes the work as "Heavenly! Iberg's concept gave us a night we will never forget!" An all-night Concerto Grosso for five soloists, narrator and symphony orchestra; extensive, grand-scale and correspondingly powerful a new Das Lied von der Erde inspired by Gustav Mahler's iconic art piece. The piece consists of 9 movements. Vocal artist Sidsel Endresen narrates the poems together with LiuTiegang, actor and leader of The National Theater of China in Beijing. Elise Batnes's interpretation of Tale of Sorrowful Song is outstanding. Christian Ihle Hadland's piano-playing is equally poignant in Lotus Dance, while Marianne Beate Kielland and Frank Havroy spellbind us in Long Autumn Night contrasted by Tom Ottar Andreassen's alto flute, all safely guided by conductor Kai Grinde Myrann.

Show featured mostly hit singles; Paris features the songs that built their cult, including "Close to Me" and "Letter to Elise." Consequently, most fans will find this the more interesting of the two live albums, and, out of the two records, it is the more consistent and satisfying. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine