If you are like a great many Americans, perhaps you feel that 20th-century art music sounds mostly like a herd of cats dancing on the piano. Where's the melody? Where's the beat? Following one of Schoenberg's serialist compositions can be quite challenging. But not all of 20th-century music departs so abruptly from Western harmony. And the Classical: 20th Century Music compilation album available through iTunes' "Essentials" series provides an excellent starting point for the listener wanting to become familiar with the works of several well-beloved composers.
Twenty-five tracks bring the listener through a variety of styles including serialism (Boulez), nationalism (Sibelius), minimalism (Steve Reich, John Adams), American experimentalism (Charles Ives), music theatre (Kurt Weill), and Russian romanticism (Shostakovich). Featuring performances by some of the world's top orchestras, this album is a useful compilation both for the novice and the experienced:
1. Fanfare for the Common Man, by Aaron Copland, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
2. Adagio for Strings (arranged from the String Quartet, Op. 11), by Samuel Barber, performed by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic
3. Carmina Burana: I. O Fortuna - Coro, by Carl Orff, performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle
4. Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin, performed by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra and Leonard Bernstein
5. Concierto de Aranjuez: II. Adagio, by Joaquín Rodrigo, performed by the Chamber Orchestra Of Europe, John Eliot Gardiner, and Julian Bream
6. Trois Gymnopedies: I. Lent Et Douloureux, by Erik Satie, performed by Aldo Ciccolini
7. Short Ride in a Fast Machine, by John Adams, performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker
8. The Planets, Op. 32: IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, by Gustav Holst, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
9. The Unanswered Question, by Charles Ives, performed by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony
10. Rodeo: IV. Hoe-Down, by Aaron Copland, performed by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony
11. Festive Overture, Op. 96, Dmitri Shostakovich, performed by Christopher Lyndon-Gee and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
12. Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 - "Classical": I. Allegro con brio, by Sergei Prokofiev, performed by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Yuri Temirkanov
13. Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Fugue: Full Orchestra (Allegro Molto), by Benjamin Britten, performed by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra
14. Moritat von Mackie Messer, (Mack the Knife) [From The Threepenny Opera], by Kurt Weill, performed by John Mauceri, RIAS Kammerchor, Berlin and Ute Lemper
15. Candide Overture, by Leonard Bernstein, performed by Leonard Slatkin and the National Philharmonic Orchestra
16. The Lamb , performed by The Sixteen
17. Somewhere from "West Side Story" Symphonic Dances, by Leonard Bernstein, performed by Leonard Bernstein and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
18. Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast, by Steve Reich, performed by David Tanenbaum
19. Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47: II. Allegretto, by Dmitri Shostakovich, performed by London Symphony Orchestra
20. Finlandia, by Jean Sibelius, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir Adrian Boult
21. Sinfonietta: I. Allegretto-Allegro-Maestoso, by Leos Janácek, performed by the Deutsches-Symphonie Orchester Berlin and Eliahu Inbal
22. The Firebird: Finale, by Igor Stravinsky, performed by Alexander Rahbari and the Belgian Radio and Television Philharmonic Orchestra
23. Peter Grimes: Act II. Interlude 3, by Benjamin Britten, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
24. Naxos Quartet No. 3: IV. Fugue, by Peter Maxwell Davies, performed by the Maggini Quartet
25. Le Marteau Sans Maître: Commentaire i de "Bourreaux de Solitude", by Pierre Boulez, performed by Pierre Boulez
