Album

Cantabile was previously issued as Night Music 5, one in a series of relaxation albums from Naxos. Above-average performances make this compilation much better than aural wallpaper, and the selections are more imaginative than one usually finds on "chill-out" collections from the major labels. Yet even here are some overly familiar pieces, such as Vivaldi's Adagio molto from The Four Seasons—"Autumn" and Schumann's "Träumerei" from Kinderszenen, and the space they occupy might have been filled with less standard fare. With that said, there are many worthwhile items to engage attention and possibly lead the listener to explore the works in full. Capella Istropolitana presents a delightful reading of the Andante cantabile from Mozart's Symphony No. 41, and its performances of Handel's "La paix" from Fireworks Music and Bach's "Forlane" from the Orchestral Suite No. 1 are equally enjoyable. Also worth hearing are Peter Nagy's warm performance of Paderewski's Mélodie in G flat major and Takako Nishizaki's fine playing of Paganini's Cantabile, with Ichiro Suzuki on guitar. Apart from its use as background music or as a sampler of the many interesting titles in the Naxos catalog, this disc may also be recommended as a good introduction to classical music for beginners.

© Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

CD 1
Jacques Offenbach Composer Les contes d'Hoffmann (opera)...Act 4 (performed as Act 3 in some version) Work Ondrej Lenard Conductor, CSR Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) Orchestra
1	1.Belle nuit, o nuit d'amour ('Barcarolle')	3:21			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.8 in C-, Op.13 ('Pathétique') Work Jenö Jandó Piano
2	2.Adagio cantabile	4:45			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer L'autunno (Autumn) in F, RV293, Op.8, No.3 Work Stephen Gunzenhauser Conductor, Capella Istropolitana Ensemble, Takako Nishizaki Violin
3	2.Adagio molto ('Ubriachi dormienti')	2:47			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Symphony No.41 in C, K.551 ('Jupiter') Work Barry Wordsworth Conductor, Capella Istropolitana Ensemble
4	2.Andante cantabile	11:26			$1.99
Max Bruch Composer Violin Concerto No.1 in G-, Op.26 Work Mariko Honda Violin, Keith Clark Conductor, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
5	2.Adagio	9:30			$1.49
Ignace Jan Paderewski Composer Mélodie, for piano in Gb, Op.16, No.2 Work Peter Nagy Piano
6	Mélodie, for piano in Gb, Op.16, No.2	4:42			$0.99
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer 8 Slavonic Dances, B.147, Op.72 (after piano 4-hands version) Work Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Zdenek Kosler Conductor
7	4.Allegretto grazioso in Db	5:45			$0.99
George Frideric Handel Composer Music for the Royal Fireworks in D, HWV351 Work Bohdan Warchal Conductor, Capella Istropolitana Ensemble
8	3.La paix: Largo alla Siciliana	3:43			$0.99
Niccolò Paganini Composer Cantabile in D, for violin and guitar, MS109 Work Takako Nishizaki Violin, Ichiro Suzuki Guitar
9	Cantabile in D, for violin and guitar, MS109	4:37			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Horn Concerto No.4 in Eb, K.495 Work Milos Stevove Horn, Capella Istropolitana Ensemble, Jozef Kopelman Conductor
10	2.Romanza: Andante cantabile	4:23			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Orchestral Suite No.1 in C, BWV1066 Work Capella Istropolitana Ensemble, Jaroslav Dvorak Conductor
11	4.Forlane	2:40			$0.99
Robert Alexander Schumann Composer Kinderszenen, Op.15 Work Jenö Jandó Piano
12	7.Traumerei (Dreaming)	3:13			$0.99
Georges Bizet Composer Carmen Suite No.2 (assembled by Guirard) Work Anthony Bramall Conductor, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
13	3.Nocturne	5:08			$0.99