This album arrived in my life right when I needed it. They say these things happen. It came bundled with a couple other ones from the hands of a friend who knew me too well, and knew how to help me through the period of grief our family is going through after the recent passing of my dad.

When I played the album for the first time, I was touched like I felt touched when I first listened to M83 not too long ago, or when I discovered Sigur Ros in 2001. Max Richter, borrowing influences from Arvo Part, Brian Eno, Philip Glass and Steve Reich, is a new breed of composer, who blends in modern compositional styles with electronic sounds. He creates a sound that resembles minimalism, avoiding being self-indulgent, and keeping the listener involved and engaged with some of the most touching music you will run into.

When listening to Max Richter for the first time, I thought of Craig Armstrong. The latter was involved with Massive Attack, while the former was involved with Future Sound of London. But Richter comes from a much denser and sophisticated musical place. When I think of him, I think more like Craig Armstrong meets Philip Glass. It's that good!

No track in the album is better. The entire piece is outstanding and worth every minute of it and every penny you put into it. I wish you all the same musical joy this album has brought to my life.

Max Richter has created a modern masterpiece in 10 tracks; each stunning, completely unique and mesmerizing. If you're reading this review, you're considering this album for one reason or another, and all I can do is tell you that you must.

I find myself craving 'Shadow Journal,' 'Vladimir's Blues,' 'Horizon Variations,' and 'The Trees' every single night and I've had this album for about a month already. Every piece of this album adds layer upon layer of strings, utterly gorgeous piano, and the slightest electronic element that comingle so perfectly you'll wonder how your luck got so good that your ears have stumbled upon this sonic heaven.

The genius that is Max Richter has another album out that I wish was available here on Amazon.

This is the one that did it for me in 2004, alongside perhaps Arcade Fire.

19th C. Romantic right up to the line of pretension, while never crossing. Minimalist to the point of (um?) exhaustion. It's like the soundtrack to the film you always thought you'd make.

The solo viola with simple back synth, and the traditional quartet, stark piano (though one relatively croony track, 'Horizontal Variations".) A few moments of dry romance(this is definitely a European record, I can't see this being made in the States), tracks that I've put on mix cd's as openers or closers. But mostly a record that rewards the 40-minute session.

I am slightly confused that I've introduced this record to so many hipster friends but never had it introduced to me.

Anyone who buys this and doesn't like it after a couple listens, I'll buy your copy.

3 1/2

Carrying the torch of such minimal maestros as composer Arvo Part, this beautiful, meditative piece of neo-classical music flows nicely as an album but hardly digs as deep as some of the more profound moments powerfully demonstrate. The lush piano and violin centered minimalism begins and ends with the most powerful "sketches", as most of the remaining brief half hour mulls over a few melodic themes while interspersing appropriate spoken word to this strange little disc. A unique, at times sacred experience onto itself, the fleshed out tracks still massively outshine the constant filler, albeit filler of a supremely classy order.

I don't fancy myself an expert on classical music but this is one of those records that somehow manage to generate word-of-mouth in indie circles and thus I became aware of its existence. If you think about it, many people became acquainted with John Zorn in the same way and he's yet another example of a `composer' that has a lot of fans among indie music fans.

As for the music itself, the words that best describe the sound contrived by Max Richter on 2004's `The Blue Notebooks' are dreamy and blissful.

This is, in short, an achingly beautiful classical album made of short compositions built with a relatively stripped-down orchestration. It's one of my favourite albums and, as such, it gets near-constant playing at my place.

Frankly, I don't get all the reviews that label Max Richter as a post-classical composer (is it because he uses some electronics?), nor do I understand why so many people are putting him in the same bin as Philip Glass or Steve Reich. Max Richter doesn't seem to be interested in `wild' experimentation, nor is he a minimal composer. Speaking of the latter point, you won't find boombastic orchestration here, the general mood is altogether different, but then, nor will you find minimal composers' penchant for trance-like repetition.

This is not `complex' stuff, it's just plain beatiful.