Flight of The Bumblebee

For those who want the most remembered passages of classical music's best-loved works, here's a package for you. On this bargain priced double-CD, you'll find music from 40 different classical composers; for the most part, the recordings excerpted here are some of the very best. Of course, you only get one Bach sampling (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, played by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra) and one Mozart (A Little Night Music conducted by Herbert von Karajan), but this is still a nice collection–perhaps the starting point for a budding collection of classical music. This set's downfall? Unfortunately, though the liner notes discuss the evolution of classical music chronologically, the tracks are programmed in alphabetical order by composer's last name. This makes for some startling transitions! Emil Gilels's reflective performance of the Adagio from Beethoven's "Moonlight" sonata is followed by the crashing cymbals and bombast of Carmen's "March of the Toreadors," a recipe for a heart attack if there ever was one. Still, there's something here for everyone and the liner notes even explain what movies this music can be found in. A nice touch. –Jason Verlinde

‘Close Harmony’ is the latest musical offering from Grammy Award winning and internationally acclaimed vocal group The King’s Singers. A combination of newly recorded works and tracks from their The Library EP series, the album takes a deep-dive into one of the most beloved and unique corners of their music library: the close-harmony arrangements. New arrangements feature from composers Daryl Runswick (such as an imaginative, exciting version of Rossini’s Barber of Seville Overture) and John Rutter (Jerome Kern’s The Way You Look Tonight) showcasing the diversity of both their talent and the repertoire they present.

First launched by EMI UK in 1988, The Classic Experience took the Britain by storm, riding high in the UK charts alongside the top rock and pop albums of the day. The recently launched CD format was just beginning to take-off and there was a new hunger for discovery of great classical music amongst the mass market. Three more volumes appeared over the following years making it one of the most successful classical compilation series of all time. The album covers were a particular point of interest, featuring specially commissioned artworks which includes visual references from the music featured on the discs. Listeners would spend hours searching the cover artwork looking to recognise the smallest of details! To mark the 25th anniversary of the launch of this series, all four volumes are brought together into one attractive 8CD clamshell box set.

First launched by EMI UK in 1988, The Classic Experience took the Britain by storm, riding high in the UK charts alongside the top rock and pop albums of the day. The recently launched CD format was just beginning to take-off and there was a new hunger for discovery of great classical music amongst the mass market. Three more volumes appeared over the following years making it one of the most successful classical compilation series of all time. The album covers were a particular point of interest, featuring specially commissioned artworks which includes visual references from the music featured on the discs. Listeners would spend hours searching the cover artwork looking to recognise the smallest of details! To mark the 25th anniversary of the launch of this series, all four volumes are brought together into one attractive 8CD clamshell box set.

Masters Of The Violin is a 2CD compilation honoring the elegance of violins in classical music. This was released by Deutsche Grammophon via Universal.

The original, genuine and best selling Pop-Classical crossover. Hooked on Classics was the first of a series of albums first released in 1981 and featuring the worldwide hit single that bears the same nomenclature. ELO arranger Louis Clark conducts a moonlighting Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing hooks from well-known classical pieces set to an up-tempo dance beat. Features not only the original 'Hooked On Classics' album but also the two follow ups 'Can't Stop The Classics' and ' Journey Through The Classics'.

The musical duo Perrey and Kingsley are pioneers in the field of electronic music. Before their collaboration, starting in 1965, electronic music was considered to be purely avant-garde. They were among the first to create electronic music for the general public.