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

[Yuen A.]

Debussy La Mer Ravel La Valse Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Mariss Jansons RCO Live 08001 SACD

This recording of Ravel's La Valse is the most thrilling one that I have heard. The sound is astoundingly realistic. The Daily Telegraph say it all: "The Concertgebouw Orchestra has the subtlety of colouring to bring something of its own to the music, from the pastel-edged tints of its solo woodwind to the velvety warmth of its strings and the edge of its brass."

 

[Yuen A.]

Denis Matsuev Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 Marinsky Orchestra/Valery Gergiev Marinsky Label 0599 SACD

Wow, to me, these are the most exciting Rachmaninov/Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 for a good long while and they surges with heart-in-mouth emotion from start to finish. Matsuev and Gergiev handle the opening movement of the Rachmaninov in weighty and vociferous manner, with appropriate speed and with great virtuosity. The grand piano sounded so real.

 

[astrotoy]

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Denis Matsuev Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 Marinsky Orchestra/Valery Gergiev Marinsky Label 0599 SACD

Wow, to me, these are the most exciting Rachmaninov/Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 for a good long while and they surges with heart-in-mouth emotion from start to finish. Matsuev and Gergiev handle the opening movement of the Rachmaninov in weighty and vociferous manner, with appropriate speed and with great virtuosity. The grand piano sounded so real.

We heard Matsuev play the Prokofiev PC2 with the Mariinsky Orch and Gergiev back in 2017 in Berkeley when they were on tour in the US. Fabulous pianist. I think this is the first time we had heard the Mariinsky Orchestra under Gergiev. We had heard Gergiev many times conducting the LSO in London when he was the principal conductor. Larry

 

[Yuen A.]

Kreisler: Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice op.6. Penderecki: Capriccio (2008). Prokofiev: Sonata in D for solo violin op.115. Reger: Prelude and Fugue in D minor for solo violin op.117 no.6. Schnittke: A Paganini (1982 version). Strauss: Daphne-Etüde. Weinberg: Sonata no.2 for solo violin op.92. Ysaÿe: Sonata in E for solo violin op.27 no.6. BIS SACD-2492

There is rarely, if ever, a perfect performance/recording. However, to me, this SACD is one! This SACD is the most realistic recording of solo violin pieces. Every nuance, micro detail and color Park draws from her Ferdinando Gagliano violin of 1785 is heard via my sound system and made possible only after I installed the new XMOS firmware. Park's violin is dead center and the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, is ideally resonant and dead quiet. Park's virtuosity is obvious and Park's violin has terrific presence.

 

[Yuen A.]

Denis Matsuev (piano) Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 1 Mariinsky Orchestra/Valery Gergiev Mariinsky Label 0587 SACD

Matsuev once again gave us a scorching account of the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 1! The outer movements leave one breathless and stunned with his pianistic fireworks and yet in the Andante he is able to bring great warmth and delicacy to the music with his nuanced playing. The Mariinsky Orchestra alert accompaniment is both electrifying and, where appropriate, sensitive. The grand piano and orchestra come alive via my sound system.​

 

[Yuen A.]

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 Schulhoff Fives Pieces Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Manfred Honeck Reference Recordings 752 SACD

I just want to comment on Schulhoff Five Pieces. Wow, Reference Recordings recording of this particular work is truly state-of-the-art! The orchestra sounded so real via my current sound system. Every instrument here has terrific presence. I can hear the hall acoustic and instrumental timbres clearly without any veiling (just like the real thing)! The soundstage is immense. The width is especially wide. There’s plenty of energy here. The percussion is awesome!

 

[Yuen A.]

Dvorak Requiem / Symphony No. 8 Krassimira Stoyanova (soprano), Mihoko Fujimura (alto), Klaus Florian Vogt (tenor) & Thomas Quasthoff (bass) Wiener Singverein Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons RCO Live 10001 SACD​

Marris Jansons' tempos are well judged throughout and I love it! He is also very well accompanied by excellent choral singing and orchestral playing. The recordings are three dimensional, spacious, vivid, transparent, very detailed and dynamic. I especially love the air and space surrounding the soloists.

 

[Yuen A.]

Edward Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.16 Sergei Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 Sa Chen, piano Lawrence Foster, Orquestra Gulbenkian. PentaTone Classics PTC 5186 444 SACD

All my comments here relate to the Grieg Piano Concerto. Sa Chen's grand piano was closely mike and hence you can hear all the micro details including its harmonic envelopes. The recording provides a big, full, spacious, ambient aural presentation with luxuriant washes of sound. Bassline has the rich, warm and reverberant bloom you hear in a concert hall setting. The piano especially has terrific presence.

 

[Yuen A.]

Mozart Requiem in D minor K626 Genia Kühmeier (soprano); Bernarda Fink (alto); Mark Padmore (tenor); Gerald Finley (bass)
Netherlands Radio Choir Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Mariss Jansons RCO LIVE RCO 14002 SACD

To me, this SACD is the best of the best Mozart Requiem! The performance is so sensitive and beautiful. The sound of the orchestra is velvety and sumptuously rich, very refined, very detailed and delicate, very tender, plenty of bite and clarity, very transparent, very vivid, very dynamic and has terrific presence. The soundscape is huge, immersive and three dimensional.

 

[Yuen A.]

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MAHLER Symphony No. 6 in A Minor Budapest Festival Orchestra/Ivan Fischer Channel Classics CCS SA 22905 SACD

Wow, an excellent test disc to determine how lifelike your sound system is to the real thing! Via my updated DAC, the orchestra sounded flawless, effortless and realistic. The strings, woodwinds, brass and the percussion, including the timpani, sounded just like what one would expect it to sound like in a reverberant hall. The highest frequencies seem to soar without limit. There is no sense of dullness or roll off. Instrumental timbre sounded so right. The performance is likewise world class.

 

[Yuen A.]

Edward Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 (Original Version)
Nocturne (from 6 Pieces for Piano, Op. 19/4 transcr. composer) Andante Cantabile (from String Quartet No. 1, Op. 11 transcr. composer) Pezzo Capriccioso, Op. 62. Johannes Moser (cello) Orchestre de la Suisse Romande/Andrew Manze PENTATONE PTC5186570 SACD (A Relisten)

Wow, to me, via my updated DAC, this is the best and the most dynamic, most lifelike, most vivid presence of the cello/orchestra, most detailed sonic image, most three dimensional, most overwhelming and heartbreaking Elgar Cello Concerto recording!

 

[Yuen A.]

Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben, Op.40 Macbeth, Op.23 Frankfurt Radio Symphony/Andrés Orozco-Estrada PENTATONE PTC5186 582 SACD (A Relisten)

A truly state-of-the-art recording and performance. This is one of the most lifelike recording ever. The orchestra dazzles and the performance of the soaring strings especially are astonishing (as sweeping and luxurious as it can be). Andrés’ Ein Heldenleben is exquisitely beautiful and also intense. The horn is magnificent and the harps are rich, woodwind is crisp and the cadenza for solo violin are beautifully played. The Battle Scene is explosive.

 

[Nemal1]

Just ordered the mazell pines of rome esoteric Sacd. It may be the same recording as the original mofi mfqr album. It will be an interesting listen.

 

[LL21]

View attachment 125430f

MAHLER Symphony No. 6 in A Minor Budapest Festival Orchestra/Ivan Fischer Channel Classics CCS SA 22905 SACD

Wow, an excellent test disc to determine how lifelike your sound system is to the real thing! Via my updated DAC, the orchestra sounded flawless, effortless and realistic. The strings, woodwinds, brass and the percussion, including the timpani, sounded just like what one would expect it to sound like in a reverberant hall. The highest frequencies seem to soar without limit. There is no sense of dullness or roll off. Instrumental timbre sounded so right. The performance is likewise world class.

I have really enjoyed Ivan Fischer's Mahler series to date...particularly his Mahler 2 which was the very first one I got and still my favorite so far.

 

[bonzo75]

I have really enjoyed Ivan Fischer's Mahler series to date...particularly his Mahler 2 which was the very first one I got and still my favorite so far.

His Mahler 2 was a good recording for SACDs. The Mahler 3 was poor. But on LPs performances were just much superior.

this is Klemperer
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This is Mehta performance is average I don’t like the way he hurries towards the end of this clip

 

[Yuen A.]

Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons RCO Live 05005 SACD (A Relisten) ​

As expected, the string tone is especially rich, the woodwind airy and enchanting, and the brass is brassy. Their performance of this symphony is marked by an unusually fine control of tension and release as well as refinement and without any excesses. The recording is transparent, three dimensional, immediate and vivid.​

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[Audiocrack]

View attachment 125671

Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons RCO Live 05005 SACD (A Relisten) ​

As expected, the string tone is especially rich, the woodwind airy and enchanting, and the brass is brassy. Their performance of this symphony is marked by an unusually fine control of tension and release as well as refinement and without any excesses. The recording is transparent, three dimensional, immediate and vivid.​

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Yuen, I admire your persistence as regards sharing with us the (sacd) recordings you think are very special, sonically as well as musically. Although the reactions are not ‘overwhelming’ on WBF I am pretty sure that quite a number of WBF members are following your recommendations. Thanks for this.

 

[Argonaut]

Yuen, I admire your persistence as regards sharing with us the (sacd) recordings you think very special, sonically as well as musically. Although the reactions are not ‘overwhelming’ on WBF I am pretty sure that quite a number of WBF members are following your recommendations. Thanks for this.

I wholeheartedly concur , and I have been remiss myself in not responding to Yuen’s enthusiasm for this format more than I have.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...I save the cover art pics to my phone and find them later on Qobuz, or wherever, and purchase. Good stuff. Many thanks!

 

[Yuen A.]

...I save the cover art pics to my phone and find them later on Qobuz, or wherever, and purchase. Good stuff. Many thanks!

Hi guys, thank you so much for all your positive responses and encouragements! I do really appreciate it.