Philipps

Telemann: Bl���serkonzerte (Wind Concertos)
$17.98
Wind-instrument players are small-muscle athletes. Their virtuosity is based on innate physical endowments. Like it or not, it's so. The velocity of recorderist Michael Schneider's tongue-and-finger biathlon, on Telemann's Concerto in E minor, outpaces an ordinary person's fluency as much as Lance Amstrong's legs outpeddle us. Telemann's 100 or so concerti - many for woodwinds or brass - offer Olympic musical hurdles for wind players, and that's where the fun comes from.

But Telemann also seems infallibly to grasp the expressive potentials of the instruments he writes for, and to exploit them idiomatically. Did he perhaps play every instrument in the orchestra? It sounds as if he might have. The Concerto in D minor for Two Chalumeaux, for instance. The chalumeau was a brief experiment that quickly evolved into the clarinet and basset horn of Mozart's time. It lacks much forte potential, and its range is less than two octaves, but it has a wonderful, broad, cello-like tone. That's what Telemann chose to exploit, that woody tone, by writing most of this concerto as an exposed duet for the chalumeax, with the orchestra entering only at exclamation points. The Baroque trumpet, on the other hand, was a superbly evolved instrument with centuries of technique behind it - a radically different instrument from the valved modern trumpet, and in many ways more expressive and capable of greater virtuosity. If you don't believe me, listen to what Telemann has written for the instrument in his Concerto in D major, and what trumpeter Friedemann Immer is able to do with only his "chops"!

The word "chops" is universal wind-players' slang for embouchure and by extension for physical technique. The six concerti on this CD are all examples of magnificent chops. Violinist and director Reinhard Goebel plays second fiddle to Friedemann Immer on the final Concerto for Trmpet and Violin, but in the wider world of violin virtuosity, Goebel is second to no one, living or dead. His ensemble, Musica Antiqua Koeln, never fails to match Goebel's high standards. This CD is the height of elegant Baroque "easy listening", full of novelty and variety.

Maple pen in Box with engraved name Philipp
$19.99
These Classic Maple or Rosewood Rollerball Pens offer a sophisticated look for any business employee or student and are great for personalization. These pens are made from quality woods that laser dark. Each pen comes with a German ink cartridge and has a ceramic ball for smooth writing.

Berlioz - Benvenuto Cellini
$29.99
'A mix of futurism ��� la Metropolis, fantasy ��� la Batman and quotes from Piranesi's Carceri, juxtaposed in the form of photo montages, enhanced with robots, a helicopter, a shark and the winged vehicle of a pop star Pope', was how the Neue Z���rcher Zeitung described this astonishing Salzburg Festival production of Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini. The high-calibre cast, headed by Burkhard Fritz as the temperamental Renaissance artist and the 26-year-old Latvian soprano Maija
Kovalevska as Teresa, the woman with whom he tries to elope, is conducted by Valery Gergiev who 'pulled out all the stops. He whips the Vienna Philharmonic into
a delirium similar to that which possibly took hold of the composer'. (Der Standard)
This is French grand opera at its fast-paced and spectacularly-staged best.

All About Me Teenage Edition: The Story of Your Life
$12.95
I bought this book for my friend's 15 year old daughter and wasn't sure how she would enjoy it. She hasn't put it down since and writes in it all the time. The two things she liked most about this journal? The questions aren't immature or kiddish but very original and are things she sometimes hasn't even though about but likes to. The fact that it is already started for you allows her to write about topics that directly affect her without having to use a daily blank filled journal. I would recommend this book to any teen.