The Ultimate Most Relaxing Music for Strings in the Universe

{^The Ultimate Most Relaxing Music for Strings in the Universe} may look like a double-disc collection of popular short pieces and excerpts from larger works for bowed strings, but a substantial portion of the program is actually filled with guitar music, a fact not suggested by the appearance of a violin on the cover. Listeners who expect mostly orchestral or {chamber music} for strings can find some here, but 10 of this twofer's 22 tracks are guitar music, which {@Denon} has sufficiently covered in several of its compilations already. In the universe of {classical} music, there is a vast wealth of great works for violin, viola, cello, and bass -- not to mention {string quartet}, quintet, sextet, on up to string orchestra -- so this unnecessarily mixed program is poorly planned and deficient in key works from the repertoire; since even arrangements of piano music have been included, the serious fan of string music may well pass this collection by. For those who do give it a try, this album provides respectable performances by skilled artists, such as guitarist {$Sharon Isbin}, violinist {$Chee-Yun}, the {$Festival Strings Lucerne}, {$I Solisti Italiani}, and others, so the selections are played well and are serviceable as pleasant background music. ~ Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide