I have been a big fan of the "99" series of the Stockholm-based X5 Music Group. They have been turning out quality sets of classical music for remarkable prices here on Amazon for some time. Especially their composer-themed sets featuring full-length works have been tremendous bargains, although other themes such as "Relaxing", "Allegros", "Darkest", etc have also been worthwhile.



That's why I was surprised to see that this new "99 Must-Have" set of classics for $1.99 on Amazon is released by the Los Angeles-based Cobra Entertainment. It looks like someone has decided to give X5 some competition using this tried and true model.



These are not performances by the best-known stars of classical music -- although there are some pretty good players such as Hungarian pianist Jeno Jando or the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fischer, who was until recently principal conductor for many years at the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington. I think it's fair to say that a lot of these recordings are by respected Eastern European orchestras and performers -- a model that often works both economically and artistically.



The benefit for the consumer of having a new supplier in town is that these are generally a different universe of recordings than on the X5 sets, which as buyers of the series know can be repetitive. I haven't gone over every single track, but I looked at many and so far I'm not finding any tracks that feature the same music by the same performers as any of the X5 collections I have purchased.



This is clearly a "best of classical" type collection, so a lot of this is music you will have heard before, including on the X5 sets, but a lot of it is different and there is a good proportion of short but full-length works (important for me as I don't particularly care for excerpts). And while there are a lot of "greatest hits", there is also quite a bit of music that is off the beaten path. I can't say I was too familiar with Jean Baptiste Loeillet or Zdenek Fibich, or had much Henri Wieniawski in my collection.



I must say Cobra has done a better job of staying "on topic" than X5 has sometimes. You can't always depend on all the tracks of a "99 Most Relaxing" set to really be relaxing, for example, and there are plenty of tracks on the "99 Most Romantic" collection that would surely kill any hopes for an amorous trist. But this one really does all seem to contain 100% chill out music. Very soothing. I'm thinking of it for my new baby's nursery at bedtime. Or maybe even for myself at bedtime.



My biggest criticism is a lack of attention to detail on things like opus or catalog numbers so the listener can tell what is really playing. One example -- there is a pretty nice string orchestra reworking of a Chopin Nocturne, identified only as "Nocturne in E flat major" (track 35). Some digging reveals that it's Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 9. But it would have been nice not to have to dig. A glance at the track listing shows this kind of labeling is the rule rather than the exception.



But this is a good deal with good music. Yes, a lot of it is sliced and diced and pre-processed, but it's good and lives up to the promise of the title.



The track listing, as always on Amazon, doesn't show you the composers. Here they are by track number:

1. Bach - Air (from Orchestral Suite No.3)

2. Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.14 "Moonlight Sonata": I. Adagio sostenuto

3. Boccherini - Menuet

4. Bizet - Intermezzo (from "Carmen")

5. Mendelssohn - Spring Song, Op.62 No.6

6. Haydn - Serenade op.15 No.7

7. Mozart - Piano Concerto No.21 in C major K. 467: II. Andante

8. Berlioz - Dance of the Sylphides

9. Beethoven - Für Elise

10. Schubert - Ave Maria

11. Grieg - Peer Gynt: Morning

12. Mendelssohn - Duetto in F major, op.38 Nr.6

13. Tchaikovsky - Chanson triste op.40 No.2

14. Offenbach - Barcarole (from "The Tales of Hoffmann")

15. Brahms - Romance in F major Op.118 No.5

16. Zdenek Fibich - Poème op.41 No.6

17. Mendelssohn - A Midsummernight's Dream: Notturno

18. Mozart - Clarinet Concerto in A major K.622: II. Adagio

19. Brahms - Waltz in A major, Op.39 No.15

20. Dvorak - Symphony No.9 in E minor "From The New World": II. Largo (Excerpt)

21. Schubert - Rosamunde: Intermezzo in B flat

22. Francisco Tarrega - Lagrima

23. Grieg - Notturno Op.54 No.4

24. Tchaikovsky - Elegie (from "Serenade for Strings")

25. Puccini - Manon Lescaut: Intermezzo

26. Chopin - Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor op.21: II. Larghetto

27. Dvorak - Melody (Songs My Mother Taught Me)

28. Mussorgsky - The Old Castle (from "Pictures Of An Exhibition")

29. Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Toy Flutes (from "Nutcracker")

30. Grieg - Peer Gynt: Ases Death

31. Dvorak - Humoresque in G flat major, Op. 101

32. Rubinstein - Romance in E flat major op.44

33. Schubert - Symphony No.3 in D major: II. Allegretto

34. Schumann 0- Abschied (from "Waldszenen")

35. Chopin - Nocturne in E flat major

36. Albeniz - Suite Espagnole No.1 op.47: I. Granada (Serenata)

37. Grieg - Piano Concerto in A minor op.16: II. Adagio

38. Puccini - Menuet I

39. Mendelssohn - Song without words in E major op.19,1

40. Handel - Largo (from "Xerxes")

41. Vivaldi - Mandolin Concerto in C major: II. Largo

42. Bach - Jesu, joy of man's desiring

43. Gluck - Dance Of The Blessed Spirits

44. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons: Concerto No.4 "Winter" (II. Largo)

45. Bach - Piano Concerto No.5 in F minor BWV 1056: II. Largo

46. Jean Baptiste Loeillet - Trumpet Sonata in G Major: Lento Dolce

47. Handel - Water Music: Suite No.1 (VI. Air)

48. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons: Concerto No.1 "Spring" (II. Largo e pianissimo sempre)

49. Mozart - Piano Concerto No.23 in A major: II. Adagio

50. Beethoven - Menuett (Minuet)

51. Schubert - Rosamunde: Ballet in G major

52. Beethoven - Violin Romance No.2 in F major, Op.50

53. Mozart - Laudate Dominum K 339

54. Schubert - An die Musik

55. Brahms - Cradle Song

56. Beethoven - Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor "Pathétique": II. Adagio cantabile

57. Grieg - Peer Gynt: Anitra's Dance

58. Dvorak - Serenade for Strings: I. Moderato

59. Liszt - Romance in E minor

60. Puccini - Crisantemi

61. Donizetti - Andante

62. Bruch - Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor: II. Adagio

63. Grieg - Arietta, op.12 No.1

64. Bizet - Nocturne (from "Carmen")

65. Henri Wieniawski - Romance (from Violin Concerto No.2)

66. Mendelssohn - The Venetian Gondola

67. Dvorak - Waltz op.54 No.1

68. Tchaikovsky - Barcarole (from "The Seasons")

69. Verdi - La Traviata: Prélude Act 1

70. Schubert - Ständchen

71. Schumann - Träumerei

72. Dvorak - Romance in F minor for violin and orchestra Op.11

73. Liszt - Love Dream

74. Grieg - Peer Gynt: Solveig's Song

75. Schubert - Moment musical D 780 No.3

76. Rubinstein - Melody in F Op.3 No.1

77. Puccini - La Boheme: Rodolfos Aria (Instrumental)

78. Johann Svendsen - Romance in G major Op.26

79. Schumann - Des Abends

80. Grieg - I love you, Op.5 No.3

81. Puccini - Tosca: Vissi d'arte (Instrumental)

82. Schumann - Romance in F sharp major Op.28 No.2

83. Dvorak - Waltz in D minor op.54 Nr.7

84. Verdi - Nabucco: Choir of the Hebrew Slaves (Instrumental Version)

85. Rimsky-Korsakov - Capriccio Espagnol Op.34: Variations

86. Schumann - Einsame Blumen

87. Tomaso Giordani - Caro mio ben

88. Puccini - O mio babbino caro (Gianni Schicchi)

89. Grieg - To Spring Op.43 No.6

90. Tchaikovsky - Romance, Op.5

91. Saint-Saëns - Le cygne (The Swan) (from ""Le carnaval des animaux")

92. Henri Wieniawski - Légende in G minor, op.17

93. Schubert - Symphony No.8 in B minor "Unfinished": II. Andante con moto

94. Scriabin - Nocturne For The Left Hand, Op.9

95. Mahler - Adagietto (from "Symphony No.5")

96. Saint-Saëns - Aquarium (from ""Le carnaval des animaux")

97. Sibelius - The Swan of Tuonela op.22

98. Tchaikovsky - Chant sans paroles (Souvenir de Hapsal) Op.2 No.3

99. Samuel Barber - Adagio