Berlin Classics' Sensitive Sounds is a sampler of slow movements from Baroque and Classical works, with one fast excerpt -- the opening Allegro from J.S. Bach's Violin Concerto in A minor -- presumably thrown in for a little contrast. With that exception, the music is quite calm and relaxing, and seekers of a good chill-out CD may find that this album suits their needs. Drawing on Edel's backlist of performances dating from 1960 to 1989, the tracks are a mix of analog and digital recordings that are reasonably well-balanced, and the sound quality is quite high from track to track. The playing is never less than fine, and in many cases it is exceptional, since the roster of performers includes such excellent ensembles as the
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the
Dresden Staatskapelle, and the
Kammerorchester Berlin, among others, and such distinguished conductors as
Herbert Blomstedt,
Kurt Masur, and
Václav Neumann, to name just a few. If there's one criticism to be made about this collection, it has to be the over-representation of the best-known composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart appears three times and J.S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and George Frederick Handel each show up twice, while Franz Joseph Haydn, Christoph Willibald Gluck, and Giovanni Battista Viotti are given single tracks; surely there could have been a better balance on the program, or a few more composers considered, aside from the usual suspects. Still, for what it is, this budget disc will probably satisfy most casual listeners and it may be very practical for beginners.