Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A Minor Op.50 The Borodin Trio

Deutsche Grammophon's 2010 reissue of Mikhail Pletnev's recordings of the symphonies and major orchestral works of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky is a seven-disc trimline box set that presents the music in a logical fashion and meets expectations of what this admired conductor can do. Pletnev leads the Russian National Orchestra with confidence and clearheaded thinking, and his interpretations of Tchaikovsky definitely lean to the rational side of Romanticism: as passionate and emotional as the works are in the public imagination, Pletnev always remembers that Tchaikovsky was at heart a classicist, so he is careful not to neglect the formal concerns and gracefulness of melody that are the soul of the music.

Ultimate Classical Chill Out: The Essential Masterpieces basically delivers what it promises: a large selection of mellow classical music appropriate for unobtrusive background listening. The pieces are from a variety of genres, including orchestral, symphonic, vocal, chamber, and keyboard music. Most are gently lyrical and are from the Romantic and post-Romantic periods, but there are also pieces from the Baroque, Classical, and Modern eras. The performances come from Decca's extensive archive and are consistently top-notch in quality, and the notes identify the performers of each piece. The sound ambience varies somewhat from track to track, but it is never less than very good. This five-disc set with over six hours of music is a good bargain for anyone looking for a broad assortment of quiet classical pieces.

This is a Great Classical piece for the lovers of classical, as well as the ones who may hate it. These Adagios CDs get beter and better each time there is a new release. I must warn you there some good as well as some bad ones. There is a certain Adagio flavor for everyones.