Editorial Reviews

EMI's Classical Destinations: An Armchair Guide to Classical Music is a double-disc compilation that guides listeners to great works in a simple travelogue format. But beyond its appealing musical examples, there is little to be learned of locales from this package, and perhaps even less to be gleaned about the significance of nationalism in the careers of the composers represented here. After the glitzy "Classical Destinations Theme" by Paul Terracini -- a gratuitous introduction that contributes nothing to this set's stated purpose except a splashy opening -- the program features famous pieces associated with Austria, Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), Germany, Italy, Russia, Norway, and Finland, presented in fine performances by several of EMI's talented performers, including such artists as Vladimir Ashkenazy, John Eliot Gardiner, Willi Boskovsky, András Schiff, and others. As far as the educational plan goes, this is a satisfactory introductory set for beginners, and the tracks are well chosen, though some are a bit obvious (naturally, a Strauss waltz and some Mozart excerpts represent Austria), while others require a stretch of the imagination (Monteverdi's "Psalm 126" from the Vespro della Beata Vergine probably isn't the first classical work one associates with Italy.) But on the whole, a person can acquire a fair amount of repertoire from listening to this generous collection, and start developing an appreciation for the historical connections between countries and their most celebrated composers. Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

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