Edward Elgar Pomp

VA - The Last Night of the Proms 2003
FLAC, EAC, LOG & CUE | Lossless Artwork | Size: 622 MB
Label/Cat#: Warner Classics 2564 61552-2 | Country/Year: Europe 2004
Genre: Classical | Hoster: Filesonic/Uploaded/Filepost

Many people's perception of the Proms is taken from the Last Night, although this concert is very different from the others. It usually takes place on the second Saturday in September, and is broadcast in the UK on BBC2 (first half) and BBC1 (second half). The concert is traditionally in a lighter, 'winding-down' vein, with popular classics being followed by a series of British patriotic pieces in the second half of the concert. This sequence traditionally begins with Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 (Land of Hope and Glory), and continues with Sir Henry Wood's Fantasia on British Sea Songs, which culminates in Thomas Arne's Rule, Britannia!….

Great Britain’s famous Proms concerts usually end with a program that is British to the core, featuring many favorites that English audiences expect in the same way that Viennese audiences expect their Radetzky March on New Year’s. Let’s make this clear, then, from the start. This is not an actual Proms performance but a studio recording of music that is usually heard at that event. It is English to the core; about four tracks in, you’ll feel like you should be saluting as the Queen passes by.

Following the "Band Aid" initiative of Bob Geldof, we approached Lorin Maazel two and a half years ago to ask him to organise a big classical music event with prestigious artists. He accepted without hesitation and quickly became the moving spirit behind "Classic Aid."

Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann, formerly of the underrated German heavy metal band Accept, focused his love of classical music into a fascinating instrumental solo album, Classical. Yngwie Malmsteen is probably the only other metal guitarist who has tackled classical music in a serious way. A marriage of metal and classical, Classical includes interpretations of famous compositions by Georges Bizet, Edvard Grieg, Peter Tchaikovsky, Bedrich Smetana, Maurice Ravel, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Edward Elgar. Hoffmann plays all the guitars and he's joined by a handful of guests like Damn Yankees and Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Michael Cartellone, Giant and country music session bass guitarist Mike Brignardello, keyboardist Al Kooper, and bass guitarist Peter Baltes, a former Accept bandmate. In the liner notes, Hoffmann explains that he gives his versions a twist on the originals. Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is transformed into flowing hard rock. Bizet's "Habanera" (from "Carmen") effectively weaves classical guitar and meaty electric guitar lines.

Classic FM: Hall of Fame - The Great Composers (4CD Box set) 2004
MP3 320 CBR kbps | Tracks: 50 | 04:59:18 | 717 Mb
Genre: Classical, Instrumental | Label: Classic FM

Album with a superb range of classical compositions that can satisfy any fan of classical music. Classic FM has gathered the cream of classical talent, and produced four large disks that cover the masterpieces of different eras. Orchestras from all corners of the globe: London Philharmonic orchestra, the orchestras of Prague and Philadelphia.