The 25 Thunderous Classics

OK, this is not a great musical experience, but a hodgepodge of the loud, vigorous and stirring parts. For what it is, and purports to be, it deserves 5 stars.If nothing else, it has the best cannon fusillade of any 1812 overture I have heard. It also includes some of the best versions ever of several compositions, such as Kunzel's rendition of the Fucik favorite, Entry of the Gladiators.MP3 is execrable for all the nuances and subtleties of most classical music, but this album survives the ravages of MP3 quite well, and is on my Ipod playlist.I also keep it in the car to avoid drowsiness. It is better than bellowing An die Freude with the windows down. And gets fewer stares.For the most part, the performers are well known, world class artists, and those who are not still do a great job.I agree with all who mention the drawback of not hearing the whole composition, but for the purposes I mentioned, it serves quite well. And, after all, everybody who enjoys the excerpt from, say, Mahler's Titan might find the whole thing a little less interesting.

I have two young boys (2 and 3 years old) and I play this CD for them when they ride in my car. They love the surprises the composers put into these pieces - they laugh and act surprised and smile at each other - and they always clap when each song is done. My favorite CD - I've uploaded the songs to my smartphone and listen to them when I travel - great to drown out airplane engine sounds. Not to mention I feel more sophisticated for listening to classical music sometimes. Overall quality of the recordings is top notch. None sound like they were dubbed from tape or vinyl. My musical background is playing saxophone for 12 years (5th grade thru college) and choir through my first two years of college. I wouldn't say I'm a complete music nerd, but I think I have a good ear for quality.

These works are all very beautiful and energizing, however I would have preferred to have the whole song of each work on the CD. Instead they took the most robust part of each piece and played it for three minutes. For me, it detracts from the beauty or energy of the song, but for others who may not want to listen to the whole song, it is very well put together.

I feel like a broken record (pun intended) in my reviews of these music collections. As stated before, these are subjective choices and we can wonder why one piece is included while another is omitted. Easily explained: Music is personal. If you are looking for a nice selection of what is considered "thunderous" music, this is it. Many of these pieces are rousing and exciting and stir the juices. The sound quality is fine and the price is great. Sit back and enjoy.

What a fun classical music album. I finally have the names for music I enjoy each time I hear it. of course Wagner is a favorite and he is featured of course as well as lesser known( to me) composers whose music is quite invigorating. this would be a great way to introduce younger audiences to classical music as it's rousing and fun and some are a little spooky!

The recordings on this disc are pretty good. However, the editors selected only the *loud* parts, as indicated by the title. I was pretty disappointed to find that the pieces are, in many cases, edited to reflect the most famous themes, etc, instead of including the whole work. In general, I would recommend this to the classical music novice, or someone who wants to expand their knowledge of classical music in general. Those who already are familiar with these pieces will probably feel gypped.

I used this product to find songs that were difficult to find in other album sites.

I guess I wasn't paying much attention to the description when I purchased this disc, but it's not much good for your listening pleasure. just when you start to hear a piece and get into it, it switches to something else and you have to refocus. I guess it has some use, if you're trying to introduce a group of Attention Deficit Disorder individuals to the classics.

We love this to listen to this while on a long drive. It really perks you up!

Outstanding!

meh