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Strauss: Symphonic Fantasy on Die Frau ohne Schatten - Seren

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Oct 30, 2012

Richard Strauss revived some of his less well-known scores in later years, turning his richly imaginative fairytale opera Die Frau ohne Schatten into an attractively compact orchestral tone-poem. Strauss preserved the storyline and tuneful highlights of both this and his Diaghilev-commissioned ballet Josephs-Legende, which describes a biblical drama in soaring themes and splendid orchestral effects. The charming and lyrical Serenade for Winds, written when Strauss was only 17, drew the composer to the attention of Hans von Bulow, whose support and influence was of importance to Strauss's early career.

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Strauss: Symphonic Fantasy on Die Frau ohne Schatten - Seren
Naxos Oct 2012
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Johann Strauss II at the Opera

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Sep 09, 2014

Johann Strauss II the ‘Waltz King’ was the most famous and enduringly successful of 19th c. light music composers, captivating not only Vienna but the whole of Europe and America with his tuneful dances and marches. Of these dances none was more of a ‘snapshot’ of contemporary musical life than the quadrille. Its six distinct sections invited the use of musical highlights from the latest theatre hits, and Strauss the Younger was at the forefront of those writing quadrilles using the themes of others, from Balfe’s The Bohemian Girl to Offenbach’s Orpheus, and his own operetta masterpiece Die Fledermaus.

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Johann Strauss II at the Opera
Naxos Sep 2014
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin & Schumann: Fantasies

Haenssler Classic

$15.99 ~~$20.99~~ Save 25% Nov 15, 2024

I think of fantasy as a creative force that has united composers across the centuries, to which each composer has miraculously had access, then transposed it over time. In each composer we find characteristics typical of the time in which he lived, others typical of the composer, and sometimes phrases, ideas, fragments, which seem to come out of time and space, into another dimension compared to everyday life. Here is where the genius lives, where the connection with the devine, through the creative force of fantasy, allowed the composers to go beyond their human nature." Margherita Santi

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Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin & Schumann: Fantasies
Haenssler Classic Nov 2024
CD
~~$20.99~~ $15.99

Fantasie Op. 17/ Sonate B-Dur
Orfeo Jul 1995
CD
$16.99

Waldmeister (Operetta)

CPO

$18.99 Jan 30, 2026

Just in time for the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II on 25 October 2025, cpo is releasing the complete recording of a comedy that will itself celebrate it's 130th anniversary on 4 December. In Waldmeister, the undisputed king of the waltz once again pulls out all the stops and delivers a delightful comedy whose scandalous mix-ups ultimately dissolve in a high-proof punch. It's distinctive taste features a hero with a botanical title (Galium odoratum) and a series of evergreens - above all, the leitmotif and proverbial "Trau schau wem" ("Trust, but check"), which is enthusiastically taken up by friend and foe alike. This live recording was made during the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz's guest performance in Vienna and whose new production contributed to this year's Austrian Strauss celebrations.

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Waldmeister (Operetta)
CPO Jan 2026
CD
$18.99

Mix & Match

Johann Strauss: Perpetuum mobile

BR Klassik

$16.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 15% Sep 18, 2026

In addition to the popular potpourri overture to Johann Strauss II's operetta The Gypsy Baron (1885) and the musical joke Perpetuum mobile, the programme of the new CD from BR-KLASSIK features mostly lesser-known, yet no less rousing, compositions by the 'Viennese Waltz King,' all of them studio productions. Johann Strauss II inherited his father's entrepreneurial passion and artistic mastery. He succeeded in further refining and expanding the repertoire, particularly in the form of the grand concert waltz. This CD features the Revolutionary March, Op. 54 (1848), as well as Perpetuum mobile - A Musical Joke, Op. 257 (1861), and the Intermezzo from the operetta 1001 Nights (1871/1906). The waltz Carnevalsbilder, Op. 357 (1873), and the fast polka Vom Donaustrande, Op. 356 (1873), are both based on melodies from the operetta The Carnival in Rome. The waltz Nordseebilder, Op. 390 (1879), the overture to the operetta Der Zigeunerbaron (1885), and the Csárdás from Strauss's only opera Ritter Pásmán (1892) are also included, as is the musical prelude Klange aus der Raimundzeit, Op. 479 (1898). The CD also has several surprises in store (as bonus tracks)!

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Johann Strauss: Perpetuum mobile
BR Klassik Sep 2026
CD
~~$19.99~~ $16.99

Liszt: Piano Concertos; Fantasies for Piano & Orchestra
Capriccio Mar 2011
CD
$21.99

COMPLETE FANTASIES & CHORAL

Aeolus

SACD

$21.99 Mar 16, 2018

Johann Gottfried Müthel may be counted among the most important and individual keyboard composers of northern Germany. Even though we know relatively little about his life and his oeuvre, Müthel‘s works are considered to be the most important representatives of his epoch. His expressive tonal language and his individual way of composing can be experienced through his organ works, which are interpreted by Léon Berben in a stupendous manner. Leon Berben was the harpsichordist of Musica Antiqua Koln from 2000 until the ensemble dissolved in 2006. He has given concerts all over the world, and has recorded several albums both with his former ensemble and as a solo artist.

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COMPLETE FANTASIES & CHORAL
Aeolus Mar 2018
SACD
$21.99

FANTASIE

HARMONIA MUNDI

$18.49 Apr 28, 2023

A lover of historical keyboard instruments, Alexander Melnikov has already successfully met the challenge of exploring 'Four Pieces, Four Pianos' on record and in concert back in 2018. Today, he has chosen to perform seven emblematic works of the fantasia genre on harpsichord, fortepiano, tangent piano, early grands, and so on. In this journey through the keyboards of time, we can discover these pieces as they sounded at the time of their creation, but also grasp the invisible thread that links them to each other.

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FANTASIE
HARMONIA MUNDI Apr 2023
CD
$18.49

FANTASIA UND FUGE
Myrios Classics Apr 2006
CD
$20.99

Opera Fantasies / Ensemble Wien Berlin, Stefan Vladar
Sony Masterworks Dec 2009
CD
$17.99

Strauss: Die Fledermaus

Andromeda

$8.49 ~~$16.99~~ Save 50% May 27, 2014

•Conductor Herbert von Karajan leads the Choir and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera in this New Year's Eve performance of Johann Strauss's (1825-1899) ever-popular Die Fledermaus. This unique live recording insplendid sound features a spectacular cast of singers including Hilde Güden, Walter Berry, Rita Streich and a special guest appearance by Giuseppe di Stefano.

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Strauss: Die Fledermaus
Andromeda May 2014
CD
~~$16.99~~ $8.49

Scenes & Fantasies

Challenge Classics

SACD

$20.99 Jun 01, 2018

The three works on this release span a period of fifteen years- years in which the young Schumann suffered forcible separation from his beloved Clara, followed by their marriage and a brief period of relative calm, to the increasing bouts of mental instability which were to close him off from the world around him until his death. The piano Fantasiestucke op. 111 was composed in 1851 during atime of deteriorating mental health and increasing disillusionment with his post as Music Director of the Dusseldorf Music Society. In contrast to the youthfully extroverted Fantasiestucke op. 12 of 1837, these three untitled pieces are “of a serious and passionate character,” as Clara described them. The Fantasie in C major op. 17 is one of Schumann’s most powerful large-scale piano works, composed during the bitter period of his enforced separation from Clara. Schumann completed his cycle of nine forest piano miniatures, Waldszenen, in 1849, while struggling with increasing bouts of mental instability and depression. Each piece is headed by a descriptive title. These masterly tone paintings display Schumann’s genius in creating miniature images consummate in expression, characterization and mood. Critics have praised Einav Yarden’s previous recordings for Challenge Classics: “She pairs Beethoven with Stravinsky to striking effect, merging that unlikely couple with imagination and exceptionally vivid playing.” (The Washington Post) “Yarden plays a wonderfully exuberant, vibrant Haydn, glowing, transparent, adventurous, at times intimately chamber-music-like, at times grand and orchestral. A voice for Haydn!” (Fono Forum)

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Scenes & Fantasies
Challenge Classics Jun 2018
SACD
$20.99

Pfitzner, H.: Symphony in C Major / Strauss, R.: Don Juan /
Profil Feb 2007
CD
$13.99

Der Traum ein Leben & Die Prinzessin von Tragant

CPO

$18.99 Jul 17, 2026

Nine years before achieving an enduring worldwide success with the operetta A Waltz Dream, Oscar Straus scored a notable success in March 1898 in Mainz-where he was then earning his living as a conductor-with his symphonic poem based on Franz Grillparzer's play Der Traum, ein Leben. As the local press rightly observed at the time, the "very appealing composition, distinguished by it's melodic flow and subtle harmonization... earned the composer, who was present, warm ovations and repeated curtain calls." Today, the work has, quite incomprehensibly, been omitted even from the most exhaustive encyclopedias. Only slightly better was the fate of The Princess of Tragant, a ballet-pantomime that in November 1912 even opened the doors of the Vienna Court Opera to Straus. Although the title has not entirely vanished, the charming tale of a decidedly choosy princess and her suitors-so warmly received by audiences at the time-was soon cast into the impenetrable shadow of A Waltz Dream.

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Der Traum ein Leben & Die Prinzessin von Tragant
CPO Jul 2026
CD
$18.99

Mix & Match

SCHUMANN: FANTASIE, OP. 17 - CARNIVAL SCENES

HARMONIA MUNDI

$22.00 ~~$22.01~~ Save 0% Feb 06, 2026

From the Fantasie Op. 17 - a pinnacle of lyricism and virtuosity - to the irresistible Carnival Scenes from Vienna, via the Humoreske that bubbles over with invention, Nikolai Lugansky explores three of Schumann's iconic masterpieces for piano: a compelling panorama of an intensely personal musical world, mingling passionate outbursts with ironic daydreams and poetic depths.

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SCHUMANN: FANTASIE, OP. 17 - CARNIVAL SCENES
HARMONIA MUNDI Feb 2026
CD
~~$22.01~~ $22.00

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Meyer-Olbersleben, M.: Fantasie Sonate / Rietz, J.: Flute So
Genuin Jan 2005
CD
$13.99

Fantasies

Signum Classics

$15.99 ~~$20.99~~ Save 25% Apr 25, 2025

The youngest musician ever to win the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division, exciting American cellist Zlatomir Fung has collated an album of opera fantasies including Fantasy on Jenufa which he arranged himself and a Fantasy written especially for him - Fantasia Carmen - by composer Marshall Estrin. After extensive research Fung found these fantasies for cello used recognizable tunes from famous operas to create a free medley and that there are few rules beyond the pure expression of the composer's personality, interests, and strengths as a cellist. But it's more unconventional elements reimagine the notion of the fantasy itself, proving that the genre's possibilities are far from exhausted-and, indeed, may only be in their infancy. After his Tchaikovsky competition win, Fung has garnered accolades, critical acclaim and standing ovations at performances around the world, more and more widely recognized as one of the preeminent cellists of our time. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, the 25-year-old has already proven himself a star among the next generation of world-class musicians.

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Fantasies
Signum Classics Apr 2025
CD
~~$20.99~~ $15.99

Fantasies, Rhapsodies & Daydreams / Steinbacher, Foster, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic

PENTATONE

SACD

$21.99 Sep 09, 2016

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Thrilling flights of fancy abound from violinist Arabella Steinbacher in Fantasies, Rhapsodies and Daydreams Spectacular virtuoso playing, bravura passagework and show-stopping melodies are balanced with wistful lyricism and sublime tone painting in this irresistible programme of perennial favourites, played with elan by the violinist Arabella Steinbacher with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, conducted by Lawrence Foster in this new release from Pentatone.

From the high jinks and outrageous showmanship of Franz Waxman's Carmen Fantasie and Pablo de Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen, to the fearsome technical demands of Ravel's Tzigane and the exquisite refinement of Saint-Saens' Havanaise and Introduction et Rondo capriccioso, this album harks back to an earlier era of violin playing.

REVIEW:

Were someone to ask me to suggest a disc to introduce them to the violin, I might well steer them in the direction of this one. I rather like the way she pushes on in the central section of The Lark Ascending, and it cleverly elides into the beginning of Saint-Saens's Havanaise. This, the Introduction and Rondo capriccio, and Ravel's Tzigane are given excellent performances. The standout performance comes with the Meditation from Massanet's Thais, done with breathtaking beauty, a turn-on for any newcomer to the violin.

– Gramophone

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Fantasies, Rhapsodies & Daydreams / Steinbacher, Foster, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic
PENTATONE Sep 2016
SACD
$21.99

Schumann: Fantasie - Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor
Berlin Classics Sep 2010
CD
$18.99

Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 1 - Schubert: Fantasy in C / Kantorow

BIS

SACD

$15.99 ~~$21.99~~ Save 25% Nov 01, 2024

Although by no means Brahms’s very first composition, the Sonata in C bears the number ‘Op. 1’ and is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant débuts in musical history. No wonder no less than Robert Schumann saw Brahms as the savior of German music. To accompany what is in every respect a dazzling work, another masterpiece was needed, and what better than Franz Schubert’s famous ‘Wanderer Fantasy,’ the most virtuosic composition in his entire output. With it, Schubert opened up new expressive possibilities with his ‘orchestral’ writing, leaving Beethoven in the shade and seeming to anticipate Franz Liszt. The latter composer-pianist, with his transcendental virtuosity, also had to be present on this disc, and we find him with his masterly transcriptions for piano of five Schubert lieder.

In 2019, when Alexandre Kantorow, at the age of 22, became the first French pianist to win the Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky competition, his program included no fewer than three works by Johannes Brahms. So it was with great anticipation that we were looking forward to his recording of the German composer’s works. With this release, Kantorow concludes his cycle dedicated to Brahms’s piano sonatas, the previous installments of which garnered the highest praise from the music press around the world, as well as the most prestigious awards, such as Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice, Diapason d’Or, and Choc from Classica.

REVIEWS:

Kantorow’s playing can be torrential but it’s never reckless; his sound can be full but his playing is often laced with delicacy; and because of his uncanny ability to balance inner lines, he manages to untangle Brahms’s thickest passages.

— Gramophone, Editor's Choice - November 2024

It is nice to hear how Kantorow can channel Schubert’s lighthearted humor just as successfully as he can evoke deeper emotions. In all of his previous recordings, he has proven more than able to integrate musicality and artistry with fine technique and virtuosity. This album continues the trend, and wonderfully so.

— TheClassicReview.com

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Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 1 - Schubert: Fantasy in C / Kantorow
BIS Nov 2024
SACD
~~$21.99~~ $15.99

Ries: Grande Sonata Fantasia"l'Infortunee"; Fantasies

Piano Classics

$21.99 Sep 06, 2024

New recordings of large-scale but little-known works by one of Beethoven's most influential students. Born like his teacher-to-be in the German city of Bonn, Ferdinand Ries studied with Beethoven in Vienna for several years during the first decade of the 19th century. He also worked for Beethoven as a copyist and secretary, and in 1838, shortly before his own death at the age of 53, published the first authoritative account of his master's life. But Ries was far more than a mere amanuensis, as a series of releases on Brilliant Classics has documented, with valuable modern recordings of solo, chamber and instrumental music. Ries's own instrument was naturally the piano, and his catalogue of works for the instrument spans light-hearted miniatures and ambitiously scaled, dramatic sonatas, much as Beethoven's did. In the latter category falls the Grande Sonata Fantasia which Ries composed in 1811 (the same year as Beethoven's Seventh Symphony). It is easy enough to hear the turbulent textures and melodic shapes of his teacher's famous 'Pathetique' Sonata in the background, but Ries could exercise his own imagination, which in any case was shaped by travel far beyond the lands around Vienna, unlike Beethoven. The weight of the sonata's singular form falls on the huge Presto finale, making considerable demands on the artist, which Gianluca Faragli conquers with the aid of a superbly conditioned modern Fazioli piano. The sonata's designation as a 'fantasia' indicates that Ries was anticipating the Romantic era's preoccupation with personal expression as the over-riding concern of creative art, and Faragli has coupled Op.26 with three more fantasies. Two of them are based on themes from Mozart's 'Marriage of Figaro': display pieces, but by no means frivolous, any more than the darker subject of Schiller's poem 'Resignation' which inspired Ries to compose one of his most inwardly affecting works, written in the south London suburb of Clapham in 1821. In a lighter vein, Faragli adds the gypsy-style Introduction and Rondo composed once Ries had returned to Vienna with his English wife and three children. Thus the album surveys the course of Ries's creative life, as the pianist Alessandro Taverna elucidates in a detailed booklet essay. - Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) was born in Bonn and moved to Vienna in 1801, where his life became closely related to that of Ludwig van Beethoven (also a native of Bonn.). Ries studied piano with him, copied his scores and was the interpreter of several new works, notably the premiere of the Third Piano Concerto. Ries also wrote the first biography of Beethoven, an invaluable source of first-hand information. - Ries' style inevitably is modeled on that of his master Beethoven, he was however strong enough to stand on his own. Ries also enjoyed a brilliant career as a virtuoso pianist. "Ries is rightly celebrated as one of the finest piano performers of the present day", a London reviewer declared. "His hand is powerful and his manner confident and often surprising. But it is his way of playing that makes him stand out from all the others, above all for his romantic wildness". - This new recording presents original piano works by Ries: the substantial "Grande Sonata Fantasia "L'Infortunee", Op.26, a Fantasia on Schiller's pem Resignation, a Fantasia on Mozart's Nozze Di Figaro and an exciting Introduction and Rondo Zingaresco. Music of great pianistic invention and instrumental brilliance! - Played by the young Italian pianist Gianluca Faragli on a modern instrument.

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Ries: Grande Sonata Fantasia"l'Infortunee"; Fantasies
Piano Classics Sep 2024
CD
$21.99

Strauss II: Waldmeister / Salvi, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra

Naxos

$29.99 Sep 10, 2021

Johann Strauss II’s operetta Waldmeister(‘Woodruff’) was staged for the first time in December 1895.The plotline – a case of mistaken identity somewhat reminiscent of Die Fledermaus– is lively, but the libretto itself proved to be less than satisfying. However, the vivacious and immaculately orchestrated music featuring several pieces that would go on to become famous, including the waltz Trau, schau, wem and the polka Klipp-Klapp-Galopp, earned Strauss immense admiration. Attending the opening night with Johannes Brahms was Vienna’s leading critic Eduard Hanslick who hailed the new work by asserting that ‘Mozart’s golden sound reigns in [Strauss’s] orchestra’.

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Strauss II: Waldmeister / Salvi, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra
Naxos Sep 2021
CD
$29.99

J. Strauss Jr.: Famous Overtures / Walter, Slovak State

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Apr 01, 1999

The waltzes of Johann Strauss II (‘The Waltz King’) remain de rigueur concert fare for the annual New Year’s Eve celebrations occurring throughout the world. Opera overtures number far less in his oeuvre but are of equal attraction and popularity. Bookending this nine-track Naxos CD overture selection conducted by Alfred Walter are the openers to Die Fledermaus and Die Zigeunerbaron, with the Eine Nacht in Venedig overture among the seven additional Viennese delights on offer.

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J. Strauss Jr.: Famous Overtures / Walter, Slovak State
Naxos Apr 1999
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Liszt: Opera Fantasies

Piano Classics

$10.99 ~~$21.99~~ Save 50% Jul 29, 2016

Pianist Klara Wurtz has an impressive oeuvre of recordings, with over 35 CDs to her name. For this new release, her fourth with Piano Classics, she has chosen music from Janacek and Kodaly. Wurtz has chosen this program largely in part to the intimacy these works present, and their close relation to their native country’s folklore. Klara Wurtz’ previous releases have attained critical acclaim. Of her prior Schubert recording with Piano Classics, Classicstoday.com writes, “Klara Wurtz’ intelligence, technical finesse and innate musicality serve the Schubert Impromptus well.”

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Liszt: Opera Fantasies
Piano Classics Jul 2016
CD
~~$21.99~~ $10.99