So we'll also skip through this one quickly, to minimise the chance of me sounding like uncultured swine. At least this compilation is a bit closer aligned to my taste for violent, bloody classical music.
If only Khatachurian were were born a few hundred years later, Sabre Dance suggests he'd be writing oi-punk songs! Unfortunately, I find the songs all fury, and lacking in interesting musical ideas.
Mussorgsky's The Great Gate of Kiev also comes close for me. The brass intro has a wonderfully rich sound. The rest of the song, though, doesn't fire up my imagination unfortunately. It's probably more the fault of the listener than the song, but for me it would be better suited as a soundtrack to some visuals rather than a standalone song.
From the middle-eastern influence of the opening melodies to the build-up into an unstoppable juggernaught, Bolero is a timeless classic. This song contains the full spectrum of things I dig about classical music. A minor gripe with this version is that I felt the ending is not as powerful as it could be. But perhaps nothing on a CD can compare to a whole orchestra pouring every last ounce of strength into it, all live in front of you.
I wish I could rave about Tchaikovsky's Festival Overture 1849: Op 49, but unfortunately the headline melody has been flogged to death for me.
On the other hand, the riff for Ride of the Valkyries never fails to raise the hairs on the back of my neck. Meanwhile, the scene set by the rest of the orchestra perfectly sets the scene of a fearsome war for life, the universe, everything. Incredible.
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