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I have been unable to find this info on the Web so far, so thought I would try this forum. I have 30 different Sony classical single-layer titles in my collection and was hoping that I was close to acquiring them all. I would also like to know the last year the single-sided SACDs were issued by Sony.
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Use the Search facility on this site and look up Sony Classical. Check each disc to see if it's single layer or not.
Can you recommend any of your favourites?
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Thanks for the tip. Looks like I'm about halfway there. Just going off the top of my head, I thought the Ormandy Verdi "Requiem" sounded surprising good. My favorite Szell discs are the Rossini Overtures and Schubert Symphony #9. In general, I found the sound on the Szell discs disappointing. I always wondered why so many of his discs were reissued at the outset of the SACD era. Although better than the LPs (with typically noisy pressings) they pale in comparison to most of the RCA, Mercury and Decca recordings from the same period.
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Post by Claude March 9, 2012 (4 of 8)
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I'm also a fan of those early Sony classical SACDs, and I grabbed most of them before they went OOP, at very reasonable prices ($10-15). Now you are a bit late into the game, as some have reached very high second hand prices.
Sound quality varies a lot, depending on the recording. Some Szell discs tend to sound a bit harsh, and the sound is generally not as good as the Living Stereo or Mercury recordings of the same era.
Soundwise, the Verdi Requiem is easily the best. A close-up, very spectacular and dynamic recording.
The selection of titles was a bit odd, as many of those Szell and Ormandy recordings were previously only reissued by Sony in their budget CD series "Essential classics", so apparently Sony didn't consider them as premium titles a couple of years before releasing them on SACD. Now many titles have been reissued as DSD-mastered CDs.
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Post by seth March 9, 2012 (5 of 8)
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Despite the limitations of the Epic/Columbia/CBS recordings in general, the SACD versions tended to be a moderate to huge step up from previous LP and CD releases, especially of ones that never received much previous remastering. For example, Szell's Slavonic Dances sounds night and day better than previous version -- all versions on CD sound downright awful.
So if you're a fan of these performances, the SACDs are the way to go.
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Post by Iain March 9, 2012 (6 of 8)
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seth said:
Despite the limitations of the Epic/Columbia/CBS recordings in general, the SACD versions tended to be a moderate to huge step up from previous LP and CD releases, especially of ones that never received much previous remastering. For example, Szell's Slavonic Dances sounds night and day better than previous version -- all versions on CD sound downright awful.
So if you're a fan of these performances, the SACDs are the way to go.
No intent to hijack thread cause this isn't "Classical" recording, but I'm keen to compare previously released recordings of Brubeck's "Time Out" to the single-layer SA-CD.
Is this SA-CD a "moderate to huge step up from previous LP and CD releases"?
BTW, I'm OCD of this title (LOL!!).
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Post by Claude March 12, 2012 (7 of 8)
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Arnaldo said:
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps, L'Oiseau de Feu - Stravinsky
Your post made me check the disc page again a few days ago. I had removed it from my wish list long ago because prices had gone through the roof.
To my surprise, there was a copy available for 25 Euro on the Amazon Marketplace, so I ordered it.
But today, the order was canceled, and the cheapest copies are 80 euro.
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Post by dcramer March 12, 2012 (8 of 8)
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I have a handful of these I originally purchased at the local Best Buy, my favorite being the Walter/Beethoven Pastoral - even better than the original Columbia "6 eye" LP IMO. I'm very disappointed I missed the Bernstein/Copland and Boulez/LaSacre discs; my preferred performances of these compositions.
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