Chopin Argerich

Yundi Li goes from strength to strength. Deeply thoughtful and formidably virtuosic, he makes light work of Prokofiev’s nightmarish technical demands. This is a really superb disc. As for Seiji Ozawa, he comes in for some bad press these days but here he is a quite wonderful accompanist, coaxing haunting, unforgettable sounds from the Berlin Phil.

Liszt brought new meaning to the term “virtuoso.” His works for piano are some of the most difficult ever written. This album presents not only the dazzling technical side of Liszt but also his beautiful piano melodies including Liebestraum, La Campanella and Un Sospiro, played by some of the greatest pianists including Daniil Trifonov, Martha Argerich, Vladimir Horowitz and Daniel Barenboim.

With more than 7 hours of tender music by Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Debussy, Puccini and more, performed by greats like Luciano Pavarotti, Andre Previn and Jose Carreras, this set can complete any romantic evening at home. And if we can't play upon your heart strings, 100 classics for this low price is quite a deal.

"111 Classic Tracks is the ultimate compilation of artists and recordings from Deutsche Grammophon's huge catalogue, ranging from an aria sung by Enrico Caruso in 1907 to a Richard Strauss song recorded by Measha Brueggergosman in 2009 (and not previously released). It features 111 artists, from Claudio Abbado to Krystian Zimerman, who have contributed to the label's glorious history."

The intent of this set is pretty clear from the titles of each of the six discs: Meditations; Orchestral Fireworks; Invitation to the Dance; Nocturne; Pomp & Circumstance; Grand Opera. This is mood or 'theme' music designed to provide either a background or a sequence of 'tasters' initiating the person who comes fresh to classical music with a sampling from the 'great and the good'. True the 'great and the good' are all from the core repertoire; not even a scintilla of Janacek, Nielsen, Adams, Reich which is a shame.