The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music consists of famous selections performed by the
London Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of
David Parry, with additional appearances by violinist Pieter Schoeman, pianist
Finghin Collins, and guitarist
Craig Ogden. While the term "greatest" may be debatable in the instance of some of the pieces, "popular" is a description that's easier to support, for there's no denying the staying power of these pieces. Most of the tracks are excerpted sections from longer works, such as operas, concertos, symphonies, and choral works. In this way, the masters from
Bach and Vivaldi to
Rachmaninov and
Mahler are generously represented, so even though the album gives merely a sample of what each composer's music is like, the quantity of tracks makes it a broad introductory survey.