Track Listing

1. Icarus Dream Fanfare
2. Cavalino Rampante
3. Fugue
4. Prelude to April
5. Toccata
6. Andante
7. Sarabande
8. Allegro
9. Adagio
10. Vivance
11. Presto Vivace
12. Finale

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53132 in Music
• Released on: 2000-11-07
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
Domestic reissue of Malmsteen's 1998 album entitled 'Concerto Suite For Electric Guitar And Orchestra In E Flat Minor Opus 1'. Standard jewel case. 2000 release.

Customer Reviews

Yngwie should do more like this
This recording is a landmark for Yngwie and for electric guitar. I say it is a landmark because very few electric guitarists have actually composed and recorded a concerto for their instrument. Fewer still have performed their work with a world class philharmonic. I hope to see more like this from Yngwie and from other electric guitarists as it will advance the young instrument further beyond mere pop-culture music.

My only gripe (a minor one)about this recording is that Yngwie (as usual) overplays at points. There is an extended acoustic solo (which by Yngwie's own admission is improvised) that borders on obvious "wanking." Such is inappropriate for this kind of music. Improvising is great as long as it doesn't sound like mere improvising - especially in this context.

Yngwie said in an interview that he had problems with the mix recording this live so he had to punch the guitar track in. This is too bad since it makes live performances of his piece less likely. He probably was too loud. I saw him last year after waiting for years to see him and was extremely dissappointed by his volume which was so lound and piercing, it hurt - and I could not wait to leave. What made it more dissappointing was that his playing was really good that night.

Anyone who likes this should love Uli Roth's "Prologue to Symphonic Legends." Uli is a major influence on Yngwie and has even more depth. If Yngwie would use a guitar like Uli's extended range Sky guitar, his classical performances would be even better.

All in all I would highly recommend this to guitar fans. This is probably the finest work from one of the world's top guitarists.

A Must Have
The scope of this project is incredible. Play classical guitar on an electric guitar with a quality symphony backing you. The production is eloquent in that the guitar and the symphony compliment one another, and Yngwie's playing is magnificent. You don't hear guys like Vai or Satriani or Johnson or Blackmore saying anything but glowing things about Malmsteen. This schtick about him only being a technician is not only wrong, it is short sighted. Playing classical music is about bringing the music alive... not about innovating NEW music or phraseology. That's why it's called "classical." No one else in the world could have pulled this off and Yngwie deserves all the credit that can be mustered. And to compare this effort to Metallica? With all due respect to Metallica... get serious.

Malmsteen,the maestro...
This is Malmsteen's best album in my opinion because he's finally done what he should have been doing all along, playing with an orchestra. I also think his strength is defintely as an instrumentalist. Malmsteen's rock albums are really good yet one will hear similarities in his songwriting and playing style. But at least he has good style and that has always put him in the top 10% of great guitarists. He's never had any bad muscians or singers in his bands but sometimes his lyrics arent up to par. I usually get the biggest musical thrills out of his instrumentals(Krakatau,Eclipse,Black Star,Evil Eye,Icarus Dream Suite,Golden Dawn,Brothers,etc). Many critics diss Malmsteen as a souless player without imagination who overplays, but that's just jealousy and inability talking more than anything else...The man can creatively play circles around most guitarists and he's got a ton of guts that goes into his playing too.