Post by hiredfox February 13, 2014 (1 of 24)
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As far as I know this is a first appearance on SACD of the CBSO and one sincerely hopes that they are here to stay. An international reputation as a world class orchestra was cemented by such notable conductors as Sir Adrian Boult and Sir Simon Rattle and enhanced more recently by Andris Nelsons - soon to head to Boston. For this series the CBSO is led by Edward Gardner, the fast rising star of British conducting who will take over from Andrew Litton at Bergen next year.
Gardner leads the CBSO in bright and spirited accounts of these three favourite works at pace and with a freshness and sensitivity that has sometimes eluded other exponents. Nothing ponderous about these interpretations with Gardner. Polly has picked up on what he regards as some mild eccentricities in orchestral placement by Gardner for these recordings which needs no amplification from me but I find it less distracting than he does. These are fine performances that promise much for the whole project.
The recording quality is another matter and is disappointing overall with a shrill harshness to the sound that spoils timbres especially in the upper strings and woodwinds, quite grating at times. In stereo the sound stage is lacking in depth although instrument positions are stable enough. It is another of those discs best categorised as "you are sitting here in Row 15 and the orchestra is over there". Chandos could and surely should have done better despite the unusual choice of venue. I have no idea how Birmingham Town Hall sounds but quite evidently is an inferior venue to Symphony Hall, regarded by many as the best in the UK.
On balance, I don't believe the SACD offers enough over CD from a SQ point of view in stereo - we listened to both - to justify the medium used although it is clearly an important release. 8/10 performance; 6/10 recording.
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Post by hiredfox February 14, 2014 (3 of 24)
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Polly Nomial said:
The CBSO are also to be found in their "home" here: Sibelius, Walton: Violin Concertos - Akiko Suwanai
I had overlooked this one. It is in our collection.
Readers should note that we discovered this morning that this is a 48/24 recording not 96/24 as stated on the sa-cd.net entry title page. It is printed on the rear coverwork of the disc .
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I've yet to find a satisfactory 4th in SACD or RBCD. Maag's 3rd sweeps the board in that symphony, which I know will be recorded on Chandos sooner or later.
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samayoeruorandajin said:
I've yet to find a satisfactory 4th in SACD or RBCD.
Good golly, there is a plethora of them in circulation. Surely one of them would satisfy.
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Euell Neverno said:
Good golly, there is a plethora of them in circulation. Surely one of them would satisfy.
I guess that's why I said, "I".
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Post by Simon V. February 15, 2014 (7 of 24)
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I'm still searching for a recording I like. I was hoping that Thomas Dausgaard would record it for the Opening Doors series.
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Post by undertone February 15, 2014 (8 of 24)
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hiredfox said:
I had overlooked this one. It is in our collection.
Readers should note that we discovered this morning that this is a 48/24 recording not 96/24 as stated on the sa-cd.net entry title page. It is printed on the rear coverwork of the disc .
It is neither: it is a DSD recording, which should come as no surprise as the Sibelius/Walton disc was recorded by the team that went on to form Pentatone!
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Post by nucaleena February 15, 2014 (10 of 24)
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