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CD Review: Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, The Classical Class

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The Classical Class Photo

Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, The Classical Class
Christopher Hobson

by Rachel Hellwig

Christopher Hobson’s Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, The Classical Class features arrangements of classical music from Schuman to Strauss to Shostakovich.

Among familiar ballet tunes you’ll find the buoyant “First Shade Variation” from La Bayadere, the whirling finale from Paquita, Prokofiev’s charged “Dance of the Knights” from Romeo and Juliet, the “Grand Waltz” from Les Sylphides, and “Siegfried’s Variation” from Swan Lake.

Other works include the luxuriant “Flower Duet from ‘Lakmé’” by Delibes for adage at barre, Malcom Arnold’s serene, skimming “Allegretto from ‘Scottish Dances ‘” for adage in center, Schubert’s quirky “Moments Musicaux” by for petit allegro, the lilting “Skater’s Waltz” for grand allegro, and Faure’s delicate, haunting “Pavane” for port de bras.

If you’re looking to incorporate more classical music in your ballet classes or seeking to supplement popular music, this collection is a good choice.

Preview tracks here and purchase on iTunes.

Modern Ballet Studio Melodies Volume 5 and Modern Ballet Studio Melodies: Original Compositions

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Unknownby Emily Kate Long

Today I’m excited to share two new class CDs from UK pianist Christopher Hobson: Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, Volume 5 and Modern Ballet Studio Melodies Original Compositions. Each features 32 non-repeating tracks of crisply recorded solo piano music.

I’ve reviewed Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, Volume 4 on 4dancers, and Volume 5 does not disappoint. Hobson’s latest has some instantly recognizable favorites like “Hit the Road Jack” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” along with some more obscure tunes. The music is familiar but the tunes aren’t intrusive or distracting. One of my favorites is his Debussy-esque treatment of Irving Berlin’s “Always” for plies.

Original Compositions has all the fun, flair, and flavor of Hobson’s popular tune albums. The music here has a nice balance of peppy numbers and more gentle, lyrical pieces, all simply and gracefully played. The tempi are consistent, but within that frame the phrasing is very sensitive and playful. I know it will become a staple in my classroom of intermediate and advanced students.

As with the first four Modern Ballet Studio Melodies CDs, these two feature more adagio music than on most ballet class albums. The allegro tracks have a pleasing range of speed and length, and both discs conclude with a cool-down and reverence.

These two collections are available on iTunes and on Christopher Hobson’s website, balletpiano.co.uk.

 

Review: Modern Ballet Studio Melodies – Sounds Of Christmas

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by Catherine L. Tully

What a delight! Christopher Hobson has really come up with lovely arrangements that work for ballet class here on “Sounds of Christmas“. I doubt it was an easy task to make these songs fit for barre and center, but the way he has done it–they sound totally natural.

51yOUBVxM+L._SL500_AA280_I can see this being a great fit for classes at any level. Children may recognize familiar Nutcracker tunes such as Waltz of the Flowers or the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. They’ll certainly know favorites such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells!

There is certainly plenty here for adults as well, with tracks such as Santa Baby and O Holy Night. Some are fun, some are beautiful–and all are extremely well crafted. Where a collection of Christmas music tends to make one worry about it being a campy bunch of poorly arranged tracks, instead Hobson has done the opposite and delivered a treasure trove of melodies for use in any ballet class.

Get yourself this Christmas gift–or give it to a teacher you know for the holiday. It’s terrific.

Available on iTunes.

Disclosure: MBSM advertises on 4dancers

Review: Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, Volume 3

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Yet another ballet class music CD by Christopher Hobson, and it does not disappoint. Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, Volume 3 has more of the excellent quality music that I have come to expect from his albums. Again, this CD is filled with unique arrangements of familiar music, such as “The Way We Were”, “Rehab”, “Misty” and more.

There are 17 tracks for the barre and 36 for the centre. Frankly, I think that owning all three of these CDs would be a great idea for any ballet teacher or studio owner. They add a bit of spice and verve to the class environment without being silly. It’s nice to change things up a bit here and there.

If you can’t have a live pianist, it pays to invest in good music that you will be able to use again and again. This CD of ballet class music qualifies–and it is available in the UK (as well as other places…see link below) – something that I get requests for all the time.

It’s obvious that Hobson plays for dancers. Not every pianist can arrange music so that it is paced correctly without taking the life out of it. He is able to maintain passion and energy while keeping proper time for the exercises. Well done indeed.

Keep an eye on what’s up with Christopher Hobson and his music by joining him on Facebook

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If you like, purchase Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, Volume 3 here.

Review: Modern Ballet Studio Melodies, Volume 2

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I reviewed Volume 1 of Modern Ballet Studio Melodies recently on the site and gave it a big “thumbs up”. This CD, Modern Ballet Studio Melodies 2 is another good choice if you are hoping for ballet class music that is different from the typical fare.

Again breaking out of the traditional box, Christopher Hobson puts out renditions of familiar songs such as “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'”, “The Swan, from Carnival of the Animals”, “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin”” and even the “Mexican Hat Dance”! Treat yourself to lovely arrangements of these favorites and spice up your ballet class a bit without taking things over the top.

Hobson is obviously a top-tier player, and he also has experience arranging and playing classical piano music for the ballet class. This is an important factor, and the tunes here work well for both barre and centre exercises. The barre has 18 tracks to choose from, including staples such as plie, tendu, round de jambe and grand battement, and the centre offers a lovely adage, as well as pirouettes, jumps and several allegros to choose from.

All in all this is really a successful CD, and it is available in the UK, which, from what I’ve heard has a dearth of good ballet class music out on the market. I really enjoyed both this CD and the previous one. There’s one more coming up–so stay tuned (argh!) to hear what that one has to offer in the coming weeks.

If you like, you can buy Modern Ballet Studio Melodies Volume 2 here.

 

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