Romantic Adagios II

Disc 1
1	Orchestral Suite No. 3 in / Johann Sebastian Bac
2	Piano Concerto No. 23 in / Wolfgang Amadeus Moz
3	Symphony No. 2 in E minor / Sergey Rachmaninov
4	Piano Sonata No. 8 in C m / Ludwig van Beethoven
5	Crisantemi (Chrysanthemum / Giacomo Puccini
6	Violin Concerto in D majo / Johannes Brahms
7	L' Arlésienne, suite for / Georges Bizet
8	Carmen Suite for orchestr / Georges Bizet
9	Piano Concerto No. 1 in C / Ludwig van Beethoven
10	Horn Concerto No. 4 in E / Wolfgang Amadeus Moz
11	Etude for piano No. 3 in / Frédéric Chopin
12	Romeo and Juliet, fantasy / Pyotr Il'yich Tchaik
Disc 2
1	Prelude to Tristan und Is / Richard Wagner
2	The Sleeping Beauty, ball / Pyotr Il'yich Tchaik
3	Romance for violin & orch / Ludwig van Beethoven
4	Concerto for 2 violins, s / Johann Sebastian Bac
5	Cello Concerto in E minor / Edward Elgar
6	Liebesträume, notturno fo / Franz Liszt
7	Prélude à l'après-midi d' / Claude Debussy
8	Piano Concerto in A minor / Edvard Grieg
9	Vocalise, instrumental ar / Sergey Rachmaninov
10	Fantasia on a Theme by Th / Ralph Vaughan Willia
Romantic Adagios II
1.	Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068: Air (Air on the G string) 5:23
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Conducted by Neville Marriner
	Performed by Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
2.	Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488: Adagio 7:06
	Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
	Performed by Clifford Curzon and London Symphony Orchestra
	Conducted by István Kertész
3.	Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27: Adagio 14:19
	Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
	Conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy
	Performed by Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam
4.	Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor ("Pathétique"), Op. 13: Adagio cantabile 5:02
	Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
	Performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy
5.	Crisantemi (Chrysanthemums), elegy for string quartet 7:11
	Composed by Giacomo Puccini
	Performed by Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
	Conducted by Riccardo Chailly
6.	Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77: Adagio 9:13
	Composed by Johannes Brahms
	Performed by Joshua Bell and Cleveland Orchestra
	Conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi
7.	L' Arlésienne, suite for orchestra No. 1, from the incidental music: Adagietto 3:13
	Composed by Georges Bizet
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra
8.	Carmen Suite for orchestra No. 1 (assembled by Ernest Guirard): Intermezzo 2:37
	Composed by Georges Bizet
	Conducted by Charles Dutoit
	Performed by Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Robert Langevin and Dorothy Weldon Masella
9.	Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15: Largo 11:10
	Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
	Performed by Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Radu Lupu
	Conducted by Zubin Mehta
10.	Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K. 495: Romanza: Andante 4:58
	Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
	Performed by English Chamber Orchestra and Barry Tuckwell
	Conducted by Barry Tuckwell
11.	Etude for piano No. 3 in E major, Op. 10/3, CT. 16 4:25
	Composed by Frédéric Chopin
	Performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy
12.	Romeo and Juliet, fantasy-overture for orchestra in B minor (3 versions): Love Theme 3:14
	Composed by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
	Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Herbert von Karajan
13.	Prelude to Tristan und Isolde, for orchestra 10:37
	Composed by Richard Wagner
	Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Georg Solti
14.	The Sleeping Beauty, ballet, Op. 66: Rose Adagio 6:37
	Composed by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
	Conducted by Richard Bonynge
	Performed by Nation Philharmonic Orchestra
15.	Romance for violin & orchestra No. 2 in F major, Op. 50 7:53
	Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
	Performed by Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam and Arthur Grumiaux
	Conducted by Bernard Haitink
16.	Concerto for 2 violins, strings & continuo in D minor ("Double"), BWV 1043: Largo ma non tanto 6:45
	Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
	Performed by Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hirons and Jaap Schroder
	Conducted by Christopher Hogwood
17.	Cello Concerto in E minor (also arr. as Viola Concerto by F.Salmond), Op. 85: Adagio 5:19
	Composed by Edward Elgar
	Performed by Julian Lloyd Webber and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Yehudi Menuhin
18.	Liebesträume, notturno for piano No. 3 in A flat major ("O Lieb, so lang du lieben kannst"), S. 541/3 (LW A103/3) 3:59
	Composed by Franz Liszt
	Performed by Misha Dichter
19.	Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun), for orchestra, L. 86 10:07
	Composed by Claude Debussy
	Conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy
	Performed by Cleveland Orchestra and Jeffrey Khaner
20.	Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16: Adagio 6:43
	Composed by Edvard Grieg
	Performed by Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Jorge Bolet
	Conducted by Riccardo Chailly
21.	Vocalise, instrumental arrangement, Op. 34/14 6:58
	Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
	Performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy and Lynn Harrell
	Additional Notes: arranged for cello & piano
22.	Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, for 2 string orchestras 14:34
	Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
	Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Roger Norrington

Barnes & Noble

A double meaning is at play in the title of Romantic Adagios II, a collection of pieces from the Romantic era that are long on candlelight-dinner sentiment as well. The languid, dreamy slow movement became most ardently romantic during the 19th century, as this two-CD compilation proves. Favorite adagios by composers from Beethoven and Mozart to Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Brahms will quench any listener's thirst for yearning melodies, expressive harmonies, and relaxing tempos. Also available: Romantic Adagios, Vol. 1

All Music Guide

The title is "Romantic Adagios II." The description is "Over 2 1/2 hours of the world's most passionate music." What these are, in other words, are two discs of seduction music, which is fine. Using music for seductive purposes is the oldest ploy in the world. From Orpheus up to Ol' Blue Eyes, music hath charms to arouse, inflame, and incite lascivious and lubricious behavior. The whole purpose of this disc is to ensure a successful seduction. It sure isn't because sticking all of these Adagios together doesn't make any sort of musical sense. How could Wagner's "make love and die" Prelude from "Tristan" possibly be followed by anything except "Tristan," much less by the smarmy Rose Adagio from Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty"? How could Debussy's "imagine naked nymphs" "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune" possibly be followed by Grieg's tenderly sentimental Adagio from his piano concerto? And how could Rachmaninov's "song of sweet despair" "Vocalise" be followed by Vaughan Williams' transcendent "Tallis Fantasia"? None of this fits and the selected performances don't make any sense. Why couple Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Concertgebouw Orchestra's throbbing Adagio from Rachmaninov's "Symphony No. 2" with Riccardo Chailly's dreary "Crisantemi" by Puccini? Why couple Arthur Grumiaux's exquisitely lyrical "Romance No. 2" by "Beethoven" with Jaap Schroder's austere and severe Largo from Bach's double violin concerto? Why couple Clifford Curzon's ethereal Adagio from Mozart's "Piano Concerto in A major" with Misha Dichter's mundane "Libestraum No. 3" by Liszt? Does it work as seduction music? Some of the music can't miss, such as the Rachmaninov Adagio, Wagner's Prelude, and Debussy's Prelude. Some of it seems unlikely to succeed, such as the Elgar Adagio and Brahms' Adagio. James Leonard