Search - Gabriel Faure, Alexander Glazunov, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart :: Tranquil Moments: French Horn

Breathtaking......

Abby | Tennessee | 11/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A friend of mine bought this for me a while back. I loved this cd! Some may not though.....it's got rainwater and other relaxing sounds in the background. The horn playing is so artfully executed that the noise in the background just adds to the relaxation this cd brings. The artist resonates in every piece, and you can hear the emotion he puts into it. The piano accompanist is outstanding. This cd is perfect for a rainy day, when you want to relax, or if you just love horns."

With Rain???!!!

Michael W. Cleveland | Omaha, NE | 08/04/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"OK, I confess. I bought my copy at a yard sale. I also confess up front that I'm a musical snob and generally have no use for fragged excerpt recordings like this, but as a former Horn player, I couldn't resist (and for only a buck...). If nobody reads this review, I'll get my buck back on my own next yard sale. The rain and thunderstorn background is possibly the silliest thing I've ever heard. It doesn't match, complement, or enhance the music in any way (and the music is what it's all about). It's just a silly gimmick, and it's a fairly irritating one. The performance is mixed. For the most part, Mr Fischer's performance is excellent (but I'm not sure the accompanying piano was tuned for this recording). I'm less fond of the pinched nasal sound of the horn, though that seems to be in vogue among some players, and it's purely a matter of personal taste. I prefer a more open sound, but it's not important against a nice performance. The keyboard accompanist didn't seem to know when to quit hammering the keys. In the Andante from the Strauss Concerto No. 1, she butchers the lovely duet between horn and what would have been clarinet in an orchestral accompaniment, by stomping through it like a Cossack infantry troop (that was just the final straw. The hammering goes on nearly throughout the recording). Still, Mark Fischer is a fine Hornist, and I could have appreciated this more if they had just left out those silly rain and thunder sound effects (did I not mention twittering birds? AHHRRGGGGHHH.) On the other hand, if you might make it to my yard sale, this is the best horn recording I've heard in a month of Sundays.

A basis for my rating: For the horn performance alone: 5 stars; for the clutsy (piano) accompaniment, 3 stars; for the superfluous sound effects, a very generous 2 stars."