State-of-the-Art Recordings of Classical Works (SACDs)

[Yuen A.]

Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op 98 James MacMillan Larghetto for Orchestra Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Manfred Honeck
REFERENCE RECORDINGS FR-744 SACD

This recording of the fourth symphony is the best in my collection in both performance and sound. Here, Honeck delivers a very passionate and dynamic reading. "In this outstanding performance of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony, Manfred Honeck draws a wonderfully rich, almost Central European string sound from the Pittsburgh Symphony, matched by equally mellifluous and wonderfully blended colours from the woodwind and horns." The soundscape is huge and transparent. All orchestral instruments have awesome presence. The dynamics here are off the charts.

 

[Yuen A.]

Brahms Symphony No. 4; Hungarian Dances Nos 3, 7 & 11. Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Iván Fischer Channel Classics CCS SA 35315 SACD

The ebb and flow of passion is evident throughout the performance but somehow it still lacks ferocity/energy. The strings are sweet and the orchestra has awesome presence.

 

[Yuen A.]

Antonin DVOŘÁK Symphony No.6 in D, Op.60; Vodnik, Op.107 Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra/Yakov Kreizberg. Pentatone SACD PTC 5186 302 (A Relisten)

This is one of the most realistic recording of a symphony orchestra in my collection. The superb acoustic of the Yakult Hall in Amsterdam could be plainly heard via my updated DAC. The playing is world-class and I really enjoyed Kreizberg's interpretation here - very passionate and dynamic. Gramophone says: "Kreizberg here demonstrates what a fine orchestra the Netherlands Philharmonic is, even rivalling the Royal Concertgebouw in the refinement and precision of the playing. .... Kreizberg's reading consistently brings out the fact that not a bar could have been written by any other composer but Dvorák."

 

[Yuen A.]

Frédéric CHOPIN Études, Op. 25 Nocturne in E flat, Op. 55 No. 2 Nocturne in F, Op. 15 No. 1 Grande valse brillante in E flat, Op. 18 Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise, Op. 22 Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. Posth. Waltz in D-flat, Op. 64 No.1 “Minute”. Lang Lang (piano) SONY CLASSICAL 88875171542 SACD

Lang Lang's performance here can be a bit mannered, but fresh, very dynamic, high on pathos and ethereal. Lang Lang’s piano sounds well judged, clear and focused, with excellent body and impact but not as resonant as I wish.

 

[Yuen A.]

Frederick DELIUS Appalachia* Variations on an Old Slave Song with Final Chorus The Song of the High Hills† for chorus and orchestra Olivia Robinson (soprano)†; Christopher Bowen (tenor)†; Andrew Rupp (baritone)* BBC Symphony Chorus BBC Symphony Orchestra/Sir Andrew Davis
CHANDOS CHSA 5088 SACD

The joy and exhilaration one feels in the mountains, and also the loneliness, the melancholy and the grandeur are all conveyed in this very lifelike recording! The BBC Symphony and the BBC Chorus performed superbly.

 

[Yuen A.]

Berlioz ‎Symphonie Fantastique, Op 14; La Mort de Cléopâtre Wiener Philharmoniker / Valery Gergiev. Philips 470 632-2 SACD (A Relisten)

ClassicsToday rightly says: ""The March to the Scaffold has an aptly menacing character, with very clearly voiced timpani and plenty of panache to the brass playing. The finale begins quite quickly and never lets up; it has the special Berliozian frenzy that so many versions never manage to capture." The recording is likewise excellent - huge and transparent soundscape, rich timbre, very detailed and very dynamic sound.

 

[Yuen A.]

Debussy Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; Nocturnes; La mer; Berceuse héroïque Women of the May Festival Chorus; Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Järvi. TELARC SACD-60617 (A Relisten)​

These recordings are some of the most realistic on disc. The most striking thing about the acoustic of Music Hall, Cincinnati, is the warm and enveloping resonance of the space. Via my updated DAC, that’s the thing that immediately grabs me. The bass line sounded so real and satisfying. "The violin solo is tender and fragile. The oboe solo ushering in the coda is achingly beautiful."

 

[Yuen A.]

Claude Debussy: Images pour orchestre; Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune; La Mer. Singapore Symphony Orchestra/Lan Shui BIS-1837 SACD

The sound is very spacious, detailed, enchanting, shimmering and lifelike. Given the quality of this orchestra and the wonderful acoustic of the Esplanade Concert Hall, Shui's interpretation is both soothing and exciting. Gramophone says:

This new version fits snugly into an all-Debussy programme, revealing as it does a genuine feel for the music's fluidity of pulse and shading together with its mix of mysterious mists and gusty surges. The atmosphere is well conjured up, the palette of instrumental colours aptly deployed ... there is plenty of character to these stylistically astute Singapore performances.

 

[Yuen A.]

Samuel Barber Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 22 Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 6 Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 Christian Poltéra (cello) Kathryn Stott (piano) Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Litton BIS-1827-SACD (A Relisten)

I will only comment on the Sonata and the Adagio for Strings. The recording quality is excellent - transparent, spacious, three-dimensional, warm and dynamic, The performance by Christian Poltéra (cello) and Kathryn Stott (piano) is passionate, powerful and thrilling. Poltéra's 1675 Guarnerius cello and Stotts' piano have a gloriously rich and full tone. Litton's Adagio for Strings is heartbreaking and beautiful!

 

[Yuen A.]

Bach Motets, BWV225-230. Nederlands Kamerkoor/Peter Dijkstra Channel Classics CCS SA 27108 SACD ((A Relisten)

A mixed choir with 26 members, the Nederlands Kamerkoor sang superbly. The performances here are world-class. This DSD recording that uses Meitnerdesign AD converter is totally transparent and lifelike. During the listening session, I was transported to the recording venue!

 

[Yuen A.]

Johann Sebastian BACH Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004 Lera AUERBACH par.ti.ta for violin solo Johann Sebastian BACH Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006 Eugène YSAŸE Sonata in A minor for solo violin, Op. 27 No.2 Vadim Gluzman (violin) BIS-SACD-1972 (A Relisten)

"The Sendesaal acoustic is richly resonant, and with both detail and atmosphere this is a recital of masterpieces performed by a master craftsman, and one to relish." My updated DAC's lower noise floor allows me to hear more air and space around the instrument, much more low level detail, better pin-point focus (much better), quicker transient response, better dynamic range, and therefore more lifelike. Even the violin mechanical bow noise sounded more lifelike. Play loud.

 

[Yuen A.]

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3; Violin Concerto (version for piano). Olli Mustonen (piano and conductor), Tapiola Sinfonietta Ondine ODE1123-5 SACD (A Relisten)​

This performance of the 3rd piano concerto is controversial but I like it for its freshness. Furthermore, Mustonen's mastery of the keyboard is unquestionable. The Guardian says: "Mustonen's performance of the Third Concerto, however, is one of the finest on disc: big-hearted and free from the Haydnesque prissiness that some interpreters bring to the work. The Tapiola Sinfonietta's playing is sensational, too." "Mustonen plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3 with a spiky, red-hot touch, fiery with poetic anger, running silky trills straight into dazzling scales and letting fly with accents in unaccustomed places like an orator emphasising prepositions for rhetorical effect. It is a thrilling listen." (The Sunday Times) The recording is lifelike, rich, detailed, transparent and has amazing presence.

 

[Yuen A.]

Tutta Sola Rachel Podger (violin) Channel Classics CCSSA 44422 SACD​

Gramophone says: "Throughout, Podger is a perfect guide, her intonation unfailing and her musicianship and violinistic personality illuminating this intriguing music at every moment." The recording is amazingly lifelike.

 

[Yuen A.]

Sergei RACHMANINOV Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op.31 (1910) Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir/Kaspars Putniņš BIS-2571 SACD

Wow, Rachmaninov’s rich harmonic texture is so beautifully captured here and with enough acoustic depth to give it that halo of sanctity but not too much to muddy it. The Estonian's choir sounded very natural and real!

 

[Yuen A.]

Beethoven String Trios, Op. 9 Nos. 1-3; Trio Zimmermann: Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Antoine Tamestit (viola), Christian Poltéra (cello) BIS SACD 1857 (A Relisten)​

The playing by the Trio Zimmermann is dazzling, expressive and fiery. The recordings here are transparent, detailed, dynamic, three-dimensional and pleasingly resonant. Play very loud.

 

[Yuen A.]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 Christiane Oelze, Petra Lang, Klaus Florian Vogt, Matthias Goerne Deutscher Kammerchor
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen/Paavo Järvi RCA 88697576062, BVCC-10004 SACD (A Relisten)

ClassicsToday rightly says: "No performance of the Ninth with chamber forces has ever done it justice, and good as this is, it’s no exception." However, Järvi’s phrasing and tempi here are spot-on and very exciting, revealing much entrancing detail. The recording sounded transparent, immediate, focused and has excellent spatial separation of orchestral instruments. The timpani is played with maximum power - explosive and impactful. The orchestral bassline sounded deep, full and with great clarity. Baritone Mathias Goerne is simply superb!

 

[Yuen A.]

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Piano Trios in C minor Op. 1, No. 3 & B-flat Op. 97 ("Archduke"). Kempf Trio (Freddy Kempf, Pierre Bensaid and Alexander Chaushian) Steinway D Piano BIS SACD 1172 (DSD Recording) (A Relisten)

Wow, this is a very enjoyable disc! The playing is exceptionally delicate, dazzling, nuance, intense and refined. The sound is very transparent, dynamic, spacious, immediate, warm, full-bodied and ravishing. The timbre is very pleasing and natural. MusicWeb International rightly says: "This is the finest Beethoven chamber playing I’ve ever heard, certainly the finest "Archduke" and even more important, the finest Op 1, #3, with whose variations movement they also work miracles. They have taken this music, a step below the top, and taken it over the top by sheer artistry, stunning musicianship, and personal conviction." (Play very loud)

 

[Yuen A.]

Beethoven Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat, Op. 1 No. 2; Piano Trio No. 5 in D, Op. 70 No. 1 "Ghost" Storioni Trio, Bart van de Roer, Wouter Vossen, Marc Vossen. Pentatone PTC 5186 071 SACD (A Relisten)​

The recording is intimate, transparent, three-dimensional, warm and detailed. However, I wish the playing be more forceful.

 

[Yuen A.]

Beethoven: Symphony No 9 Royal Flemish Philharmonic/Philippe Herreweghe. Christiane Oelze (soprano), Ingeborg Danz (mezzo-soprano), Christoph Strehl (tenor), David Wilson-Johnson (bass-baritone); Collegium Vocale Gent; Academia Chigiana Siena. PentaTone PTC 5186 317 SACD

Philippe Herreweghe’s Ninth provides a vivid accounts of the first two movements with a quick opening and at a tempo indicated by the printed metronome mark (and I love it). The third movement is sweet, flowing and pleasant. Then, in the finale, Herreweghe’s opening is striking. The chorus and David Wilson-Johnson (bass-baritone) are particularly good. And the finale’s coda is very well done. The recording is very transparent and lifelike.

 

[Yuen A.]

Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 NDR Radiophilharmonie, Andrew Manze Pentatone PTC 5186814 SACD​

This is a very refreshing and enjoyable disc. Gramophone says: "Honestly, it’s been a while since I’ve heard interpretations where everything seems to be in its right place. The NDR Radiophilharmonie play superbly for Manze, with characterful woodwind solos, welcome hints of period bite from brass and timpani, and a string tone of substantial body and lustre. The engineering, too, is beyond reproach. Enthusiastically recommended." The sound is excellent - warm, immediate, detailed, dynamic and transparent.