The Legend of the Orchestra

Review

Virgin Classics' The Legend of the Orchestra is a collection of classical orchestral favorites that claims a "course of four centuries" but is centered mainly in one -- the nineteenth. That's not too surprising, as most short, encore length pieces that are popular were created in the nineteenth century, and this disc doesn't contain a lot of full length pieces, just mainly excerpts drawn from a wide swath of EMI Classics' catalogue. The sound and performance quality is uneven across the board -- the recordings, all stereo or digital, range from 1958 to 2006 -- however it does contain some pretty great readings of orchestral standards, just never for very long; Dukas "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is at 11 minutes the longest piece on the entire set by far. While it is a huge improvement on the 100 Musical Masterpieces sets sold on television in the LP era, The Legend of the Orchestra is similar in terms of it's marketing thrust and preparation. There are liner notes a panel long printed in a typeface so small it's near impossible to read, but most of it is neither accurate or informative anyway. Virgin Classics' The Legend of the Orchestra might be a decent gift for a child wanting to know some the key themes in classical music and to help expand their interest in it -- the 2-disc set sells for the price of one, so it's hardly likely to put one behind like a new Playstation might -- but be sure when you wrap it up to include a little magnifying glass as well. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

Tracks + Soundclips

Performances