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After a year of agonising over the > USD100 price and listening to clips on Amazon, I've decided to splurge on the 4 JSACD set of Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues performed by Gustav Leonhardt on the harpsichord: an analogue to DSD transfer.
As HMV allows you to add a second title with free shipping, I included another SACD which I've been fancying for some time: Peter Jablonski performing Prokofiev piano sonatas on Exton.
Meantime, I also ordered three SACD's of Haydn symphonies by Adam Fischer. Fills a void as I only have two good Haydn symphonies on SACD and both are on Pentatone; one by Colin Davis and the other by Gordon Nikolic.
Was in London recently and visited the HMW at Oxford Circus which seems to be a throwback to a time when people still valued good classical music. I could not believe my eyes: Classical CDs were being sold at full price! Who buys these, apart from people like us?
Anyway, picked up a few things on offer, including Colin Davis' Messiah on LSO Live, Paavo Jarvi's Mahler 4th on BMG and volumes 7 & 8 of Mozart's violin/piano sonatas by Rachel Podger and Gary Cooper on Channel Classics.
What disturbed me greatly was seeing a great number of redbook CD's being packaged in round-edge SACD cases. Not that this made it tougher for me to identify the SACD's, it seems they've made too many of these cases and not enough SACDs to sell them in. These distinctive cases used to be the icon that stood for SACDs. Now they have been taken over by redbook CDs like hermit crabs, shoving SACD's identity into further obscurity. Sobering.
But the music from the SACD's always makes me smile: pure, realistic, dynamic, expressive, colourful, delicate; in a way redbook, MP3 or WMA cannot be.
Just received the JSACD's
The Bach 48 is certainly very well recorded. Book one was recorded in 1972 and the recording is very clean and clear. Captures every nuance from the harpsichord so you really enjoy the flow of Leonhardt's playing.
Book two was recorded in 1967 and sounds a bit more distant and resonant due to a more reverberant environment and further miking. A very nice alternative recording style.
For the Prokofiev Sonata's, Jablonski's playing is polished, subtle and controlled to the max. He has a very clear and original idea of the sonatas and his interpretations are 100% convincing, transparent, compelling and clear. Very intelligent and business-like, no mucking about, no flowery stuff, no bombast. Just pure dramatic momentum in which the flow of ideas drives inexorably forward. Exton's recording captures all the subtle gradations of Jablonski's exquisite and delicate touch.
Very good music that fully deserves to be recorded and reproduced through SACD.
DId you get to Harold Moore's? If so, what's it like. (Going to London in Sept.)
Not sure about Harold Moore's, but I did step into a few small classical music shops which, miraculously, seem to be thriving in this day of fleeting sound bytes & MP3's.Like New York & Tokyo, London seems to be one of the last strongholds of classical music. It should be on the pilgrimage list for classical and Jazz music lovers.
Interesting that these cities are also home to many of the great ensembles.
Edits: 07/04/09
Yes, I have tickets for two Wigmore Hall concerts. Haven't looked at Barbican yet, but there's nothing on at Covent Garden that interests me. I also plan on Proms in the Park, a lot of fun, and as many Evensong services I can get to at the cathedrals in London and other cities. Music will be a big part of my visit.
I'm sure you'll enjoy the music in London.
If you'll be going up north to the Scottish highlands, the gorgeous mountains, glens and lochs are alive with a music of their own.
Otherwise, the T-Rex in the Museum of Natural History Dinosaur exhibit is truly something to behold.
Hadn't thought of the T-Rex. Since I'm a dinosaur fan, I may look him/her up. Thanks for the tip.
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... many magnificent performing ensembles do continue to thrive in places other than these SACD-rich cities.
I've expanded my original statement to clarify this.
CD's in cases with rounded corners, and some SACD's in regular (square-cornered) CD cases. I do think the rounded-corner cases are superior in terms of their resistance to breakage, so perhaps it's a good thing that they're moving into more widespread use.
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