Various - A to Z of Classical Music at Music Hills.com

Music CD 1

Adams: Short Ride in a Fast... - Nova Schola Gregoriana
Bach: Double Violin Concerto - Oxford Camerata
Bartok: 44 Duos for Two Violins - Oxford Camerata
Beethoven: I. Grave - Red Byrd
Berlioz: IV. Marche au supplice - Capella Istropolitana
Brahms: III. Poco allegretto - Capella Istropolitana
Britten: II. Playful Pizzicato - Laurence Cummings
Chopin: Impromptu No. - Takako Nishizaki
Debussy: No. 2: FÃ?Âªtes - Miroslav Kejmar
Dvorak: III. Allegretto grazioso - Capella Istropolitana
Elgar: IV. Where Corals Lie - Scholars Baroque Ensemble
Greig: II. Adagio - Capella Istropolitana
Handel: For unto us a child is... - Failoni Orchestra
Haydn: III. Finale: Allegro - Capella Istropolitana
Janacek: IV. Allegretto - Jeno Jando
Liszt: No. 2: Gnomenreigen - Ernst Ottensamer
Mahler: Von der Jugend - Hungarian State Opera Chorus

Music CD 2

Mendelssohn: Andante con moto... - Ingrid Kertesi
Monteverdi: Occhi, un tempo mia. - Pinchas Steinberg
Mozart: II. Larghetto - Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Palestrina: Hodie Christus ... - Idil Biret
Prokoviev: IV. Vivace - Alexander Rahbari
Schicchi: O mio babbino caro - Uwe Mund
Rachmaninov: Prelude in G minor, - Alexander Rahbari
Rossini: Sinfonia - Budapest Symphony
Schoenberg: II. Langsam - Ondrej Lenard
Schubert: IV. Theme and Vari... - Balazs Szokolay
Schumann: I. Allegro vivace - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Shostakovich: I. Waltz - Keith Clark
Strauss: No. 1: FrÃ?Â¼hling - Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Stravinsky: Russian Dance - Idil Biret
Tchaikovsky: Valse: Allegro - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Telemann: IV. Presto - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Verdi: Act III. La donna Ã?Â¨ mobile - Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Vivaldi: III. Il sonno - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Vivaldi: IV. Sorge l aurora - Adele Anthony
Wagner: Isolde s Liebestod

Music reviews of A to Z of Classical Music

Music Review: At this price, how can one complain?
Rating: 4 Stars

Still, any possible weaker performances are of little importance after you get your hands on the fat booklet with over 500 pages. The booklet offers a short intro about the great composers, a glossary of musical terms, a list of works used in films and dozens of illustrations of several composers.

Overall, at this price, this is a must-have pack for any beginner, and might be useful for the occasion "quick check" of the work of many composers. Do not expect many detail, nor references to all the works of some composers; I often got frustrated with the lack of detail in some cases, but in general, the booklet is very effective for a quick reference.
You will need more titles that offer more complete information, and you won't truly learn to love classical music just by reading it, but it is small and compact.

It really puzzles me why Naxos did not include a full index of composers, a serious omission. To find a particular composer you will have to look for it yourself in over 500 pages. Also, the separation of the text is not so good, making the search even a bit slower. The lack of the index is truly annoying and I am sure it will be corrected in future editions.

Even with a few weaker pieces and the lack of the index, at this price, there isn't much to argue about. This is truly a bargain that you should not miss. I would also recommend the A-Z of Opera, which offers a bigger booklet with over 700 pages, focusing on opera works and mentioning several composers that are absent from the A-Z of Classical. That other booklet has a very complete index, and much clearer text layout and separation, that's the way both booklets should have been designed.