Minus One

Here, in a beautifully remastered version, is an MMO classic: much of the best literature and favorite selections for the violin. They will challenge and delight the performer. Your accompaniment, the Stuttgart Festival Orchestra conducted by Emil Kahn. Reference versions are performed by noted American violinist Geoffrey Applegate. Includes a second compact disc containing accompaniments at a special slow practice tempo.

Carl Maria von Weber, great innovator and orchestrator who paved the way for such Romantic giants as Wagner and Liszt, wrote this famous and oft-performed 'little concerto' in 1811. Lovely sonorities, beautiful themesin short, a great piece for clarinet and orchestra. Also featured in this MMO edition, Beethoven's beautiful, warm-toned Piano Trio No. 4 is a treasure-trove of possibilities for the clarinetist. Lovely themesyoung Beethoven at his best!

Here is a collection of symphonic excerpts showcasing the solo violinist in ensemble situations. This album provides a necessary introduction to the experience of soloing in an orchestral ensemble and will give you a thrilling environment in which to do it. Great music from the worlds master composers. American virtuoso Geoffrey Applegate performs these works and then you take his place alongside the Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra conducted by Emil Kahn.

Based on a now-lost concerto for oboe and violin, this beautiful Baroque work relies heavily on the two pianos for effect, with a lovely but subdued string accompaniment. Bach dispenses with the strings altogether in the lovely central movement, then ends with an exhilarating fugue. In short, it is a gem! The concerto's companion-piece on this album, Robert Schumanns Andante and Variations, is a striking and unusual piece written in chamber music style for a small ensemble. It illustrates Schumanns daring experiments with the pianos possibilities. A totally unique and beautiful experience, filled with beautiful instrumental textures and wonderful writing for the two pianos.

Mozart's well-known concerto for flute & harp is a beautiful and masterfully written combination of two instruments that require extreme delicacy in combination and against an orchestral backdrop. Mozart composed it in Paris for a French Count and his daughter, and it has a distinctly French style, with a magically interwoven fabric of sound which utilizes both instruments to their fullest. It was the only time Mozart would write for the harp. C'est magnifique! This deluxe 3CD set includes a slow-tempo practice version of the minus harp accompaniment to help you get up to speed.

Hoffmeisters viola concerto is one of the first major concerti to feature the viola as a virtuoso solo instrument. One of the most popular of this prolific composers works, it is a beautiful piece in the classical tradition.

Schumann's concerto for violoncello, written in 1850, is one of the great pieces for this instrument. Schumann cast this piece (which he called a concert-piece) in connected movements which give it an almost fantasia-like character. The accompanying concert pieces on this album are gems of the romantic repertoire. Glorious music!

This wonderful and unique Baroque concerto features four magnificent violin parts with string orchestra. A masterpiece in Vivaldi's uvre and a great learning tool, as each of the four violin solo parts is of varying difficulty. You pick the part thats right for you and we supply the rest. Tremendous fun with a sumptuously beautiful classic! This deluxe 2CD set includes a slow-tempo practice version of each accompaniment to help you get up to speed.