The "Edition 100" series was launched in 2004 by the Bertelsmann Club in Germany to publicize the SACD format by offering bargain-priced multi-channel discs (for about 10 EUR apiece) without a stereo SACD layer. The release programme consists mainly of BMG and Sony recordings, but some other labels appear to have become involved as well. All releases so far (produced by Sonocord) have been analog and digital material converted into multi-channel SACDs. Bertelsmann provide almost no technical data (not even the date of the recording in most cases) or any other information, and the discs are not even marked as SACDs on the Bertelsmann Club website. Living in Berlin, I have picked up some discs of this series in my local Bertelsmann Club store. The sound quality is quite satisfactory overall, with smooth strings and solid bass, but it varies depending on the age of the recording. The series contains a number of SACDs that are definitely worth buying, e.g. Brahms Symphonies Nos 3 and 4 (Günter Wand, NDR Symphony Orchestra), Smetana Ma vlast (Vaclav Neumann, Gewandhaus Orchestra), Sibelius Symphonies Nos 1 and 4 (Sir Colin Davis, LSO), Piano Concertos by Mozart, Grieg and Rachmaninov (Artur Rubinstein), Bruckner Symphony No. 4 (Otmar Suitner, Berlin Staatskapelle), Beethoven Overtures and works by Richard Strauss(Eugen Jochum, Bamberger Symphoniker), Rossini and Verdi overtures and music by Mussorgsky (Abbado, LSO), Mozart overtures (Sir Colin Davis, Dresden Staatskapelle), Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 (Leonard Bernstein, NYPO). I think you have to join the club to buy these records unless you find some other option, e.g. Ebay.
|