Most achingly-beautiful music

Terence Blanchard "A Tale of God's Will (a requiem for katrina)". This is an amazing and haunting CD, especially the second cut "Levees". I've had this in my cd player non-stop for the last week since it was delivered.

I bought this after reading a review of it in the Washington Post. It was released this month (Agust '07), and is a must have for all Jazz fans!

This is Beethoven at his peak. What a stroke of genius! The achingly beautiful spun-from-gold melody.... the dynamic build... the majesty and nobility... the first piano notes falling like a light misty rain over the orchestra.

For me-- the single greatest stretch of music of any kind ever penned. In the right hands, that is--- it's easy to rush it and ruin the thing entirely.

As for an aria-- the most beautiful sung thing I've ever heard is Beverly Sills' performance of 'Ruhe zanft... mein holdes leben' from Mozart's Zaide.
My god-- what incredible legato and breath. The voice is diamond-bright and radiant. Unearthly beautiful. Superhuman.

Sorry -- forgot to say it's the second movement of the Emperor-- piano concerto no. 5!!

Abramsmatch,

Can you recommend a version of this piece? There are so many!

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Dseid,
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I second the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto (The Emporer). It is just heavenly.
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Try Artur Rubenstein playing on CD RCA # 61260 (also available also on LP) with Josef Krips conducting the Symphony on Air. Rubenstein also recorded the 5th another time with Leinsdorf conducting the Boston Symphony ( (CD RCA # 5676).
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There is a version with Ashkenazy playing ( on CD) that is wonderful, but I don’t recall the Label..
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Rgds.
Larry
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