Hu Nai-Yuan, Violin
EMI 5 57714 2
Taiwanese violinist Hu Nai-yuan claims to be so captivated by Vienna that he's put together this CD of music for violin and piano associated with the city, with many of his own photos of the place in the accompanying booklet, together with a not altogether appropriate quotation on dreams from Sigmund Freud. With Claude Cymerman at the keyboard, Hu runs through a wide variety of items, many by composers few listeners will have heard of. Both musicians play with great panache, however, making this an enjoyable album of popular, accessible and tuneful music.
Daniel Barenboim 50th
Anniversary Concert Live from the Teatro Colon
2000EMI Classics 5 57416 2
Daniel Barenboim was born in Argentina, and gave his first public concert in Buenos Aires as a child prodigy at the age of seven. At 57, and by then an international celebrity, he returned to pay tribute to the land of his birth with a repeat solo performance, though with partly different music. The original recital hall no longer existed so he chose instead the grand Teatro Colon. This live recording of the concert contains a range of music from Mozart to Schumann, plus Latin American composers Resta, Ginastera and Villa-Lobos. It appears from the accompanying notes that Barenboim played all the music from memory, and even chose the items spontaneously while on stage.
Gentle Dreams
Julian Lloyd Webber, Cello
Philips 476 1296
Andrew Lloyd Webber's brother Julian is a classical cellist, and these two CDs present him playing tuneful items culled from his many recordings. In order to lure a wider audience a few numbers more evocative of smoky saloon bars than concert halls have been included at the beginning and end of each CD, including a version of Your Song with Elton John on piano.
All in all these CDs will please those who enjoy undemanding classical snippets, together with a few other items, all highly suitable for late-night background listening.
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