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| Pieces in a Modern Style | 
 enlarge | Artists: Samuel Barber, Ludwig Van Beethoven, John Cage, Ferry Corsten, Henryk Gorecki, George Frideric Handel, Pietro Mascagni, Maurice Ravel, Erik Satie, Andre (aka Atb) Tanneberger, Antonio Vivaldi, William Orbit
Label: Maverick
Category: Music
List Price: $11.98
Buy New: $1.72
You Save: $10.26 (86%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $1.72
Avg. Customer Rating:  (94 reviews)
Sales Rank: 14313
Format: Enhanced
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 47596
UPC: 093624759621
EAN: 0093624759621
ASIN: B000046S1W
Release Date: February 22, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A bright flash, then something to offend anyone. December 2, 2003
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I suppose most will be drawn to this disc due to airplay/club play of the F. Corsten remix of Barber's Adagio, which can stand on its own. But rather than simply let that suffice, Orbit tapped the generosity of several other composers (via their publishers) for similar material, which was then arranged - or deranged - for samplers, synths, and a chill-seeking audience.Among the "pieces" on the first disc, only the Adagio, Handel's Xerxes, and Beethoven's Opus 132 emerge remotely connected to their classical roots. While not the aural train wreck you might expect from other reviews - Orbit knows his way around electronica - the voicings, tempos, and liberties taken with the original melodies in most of these selections are jarring to say the least. Cavalleria Rusticana, for example, begins with a lush pad/bell statement of the very beautiful and simple melody, but then devolves abruptly into an arpeggiated cartoon that borders on the unlisteneable. And there is little to be added to Ravel's Pavane, which sounds thin and far too mechanical. Mining classical music for contemporary audiences is not new, and will - and should - continue. Deodato, Laws, Carlos, and Tomita have all introduced orchestral works to modern audiences. This isn't one of the better efforts, though. It'll piss off the great-aunt Mary you were trying to impress, and face it, the originals just aren't that bad. Take a chance, buy some Debussy, Faure, Ravel, Satie, etc. Likely as not you'll find them even more entrancing than this collection.
 Careful February 26, 2003
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Most people tore this CD apart. I think you just have to know what you're buying. This is NOT, I repeat, NOT, a high-energy, fast BPM CD. It's extremely relaxed, and much of the music is taken from classical music. So if you're a 16-year old wannabe raver punk, don't buy this...it's that simple. You won't like it. Go get one of Aphrodite's CDs instead. Guarentee you'll love them. This CD is mellow...very beautiful. Pick it up, if you're into mellow stuff.
Work of genius July 2, 2002
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
Not often do you come accross works that generate such disparate reviews as this one. In general, reviewers give it 4-5 or 1-2: very few 3's. When that happens, I have found (and this is no exception) that the work being reviewed deserves being heard. My first approach to "Pieces in a Modern Style" after having heard some of the more electronica-driven works of William Orbit was no less than a beautiful rendition of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings," one of the most beautiful adagios in musical history (most people will remember this track from the movie 'Platoon'.) I was hooked immediately.Other tracks that I found extremely fascinating were Ravel's "Pavane Pour une Infante Defunte," Vivaldi's "L'inverno," Beethoven's "Triple Concerto" and Gorecki's "Pieces in the Old Style" (both). In general, except for a few songs, the album sounds more like Jean-Michel Jarre's new age music, rather than "regular" ambient music, but it's not bad... in fact, it's a work of genius in my opinion, lacking cliches and momentarily departing from his typical line of work to experiment adding a modern style to some classic tracks from the world's most famous composers. That cannot be qualified as a work that a ... kid can come up with on his [inexpensive] Casio keyboard!
 Plasticky . . . but if you like JohnTesh, go ahead May 1, 2002
4 out of 12 found this review helpful
I'm very disappointed. I thought that this cd has promise, but the tracks here sounded as if a deaf kid is playing with a $99-dollar keyboard. What's flabbergasting is the fact that Mr. Orbit thinks that he was being a genius creating this plasticky, jarring collection of electronic noise. C'mon, don't be fooled by his pretentiousness. I cringed listening to this CD.
redefining 'Trance' music.... March 28, 2002
William Orbit- Pieces in a Modern Style (Maverick/Warner)A true innovator, William "Strange Cargo" Orbit offers us a piece of the future, or the past as it were. "Pieces in a Modern Style" is Orbit's homage to the string arrangements of Beethoven, Gorecki and Vivaldi amongst others, and provides us with his reinterpretation of classical music done to a contemporary chill-out vibe. It's touted as being a blissed-out compilation of sparkly, beatless remixes with a trancey flavour. Along with the visually stunning packaging , the record comes with some exclusive reworks of "Barber's Adagio for Strings" by Ferry Corsten and ATB. Corsten's remix provides the listener with a cohesion of banging, building progressive techno, fused with the epic Adagio sample. This is a prime example of Orbit's conceptual vision, that behind all the breakdowns, the buzzes and fizzes of trance music, the sweeping strings of classical music are just waiting to get out.
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