This handsome three-CD set from Classic FM pulls together some of the pieces which have featured most regularly in the radio station's annual Hall of Fame poll in the 10 years since the station was founded in 1992. The three discs are divided into "Hall of Fame at the Movies", "Hall of Fame at the Opera" and "Hall of Fame Classics". There's something for everyone here and even a few surprises, including music from John Williams' beautifully crafted soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ("Hedwig's Theme") and Howard Shore's score for The Lord of the Rings. The opera disc has plenty for Lesley Garrett fans to chew over, including Delibes' "Flower Duet" from Lakmé, Dvorák's haunting "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka and Mascagni's stirring "Easter Hymn" from Cavalleria Rusticana. The performances are all fine, with some outstanding ones: the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Enrique Batiz produces some beautifully transparent textures in the final movement of Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony (heard in the film Babe). --Warwick Thompson
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
A must for any classical collection! As a younger listener of classical music, I have found this album to be a wonderful collection of well loved pieces, all in one place. Perfect. Although previously I did not have much interest in opera, I have found the compositions on this album to be fantastic and I now have a greater appreciation for pieces like Bellini's Casta Diva, and Dvorak's Song to the Moon. I am only disappointed by one thing, and I am afraid that must be the appalling attitude of anon1659, who thinks that music must be serious... more info
Classic FM hall of fame Gold. This album is great! It is a fantistic compilation to get people interested in the classical world. Most of the operas have been heard by most pepole anyway. Anybody who says this is anti-intellecual obviously is a purist and is dissapointed in their own ability to appriciiate musical talent. Granted the movie scores and the greates choice to be on their but have you written anything better lately? Also to rubbish Mozart's "Don Giovanni" is an absolute disgrace to the classical world and the person who said... more info
Lazy compilation from the most appalling radio station Classic FM routinely displays a lack of respect for music and encourages laziness in investigating repertoire. This trashy compilation is no exception. Hackneyed excerpts are presented out of context, along with dull bits of the scores from recent Hollywood blockbusters. This sort of attitude drags serious music down to the level of advertisement soundtrack wallpaper, part of the vacuous consumer lifestyle epitomised by Classic FM's anti-intellectualism. Serious music demands serious attention - a... more info
Great music, if a touch commercialised This is an amazing album, with many great tracks that I love listening to again and again. I don't understand why Star Wars was necessary to be included, however, there are many other film soundtracks more worthy. Apart from that, really enjoyable and a necessary addition to an amateur 'classical' music lovers' collection.
Tracks:
Piano Concerto No.3 1st Movement (Shine) - Rachmaninov
Harry Potter Theme - John Williams
Symphony No 5 4th Movement (Death in Venice) - Mahler
Adagio for Strings (Platoon) -
Lord of the Rings Theme
Ride of the Valkyries (Apocalypse Now) - Wagner
Organ Symphony 4th Movement (from Babe) - Saint-Saens
