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Wand Bruckner 4th SACD

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Posted on November 7, 2009 at 06:34:44
jazz1
Audiophile

Posts: 959
Joined: October 30, 2000
 I really enjoy Wand Bruckner 4th, I see that it is issued on SACD (japan)
but at nearly 40$ it seems steep. Does anybody has the SACD and how do the audio compare to the cd, if it is only a small difference then why bother. I am not convinced that they are real alternative on SACD??

RE: Wand Bruckner 4th SACD, posted on November 7, 2009 at 09:47:15
Dave Billinge
Audiophile

Posts: 421
Location: Hampshire
Joined: June 7, 2005
 Yes - I have it. It did not seem very good to me. I sound a bit uncertain because I've been altering my system a lot since I bought it and I've yet to revisit the recording. One thing I can say is that it appears to be a MCH remastering of a non-DSD original. I can only guess what went into the mix but I'd lay odds that it was a standard stereo master which has been SBM treated. All in all I'd hold back. If you 'really' want to know, I'll have another listen now the system is sorted. Stereo or MCH sir ? :-)

Dave
RE: Wand Bruckner 4th SACD, posted on November 7, 2009 at 10:40:52
jazz1
Audiophile

Posts: 959
Joined: October 30, 2000
 Stereo it is. Thanks in advance.

RE: Wand Bruckner 4th SACD, posted on November 8, 2009 at 08:47:29
Dave Billinge
Audiophile

Posts: 421
Location: Hampshire
Joined: June 7, 2005
 Well, I intended to listen just to the 1st movement so as to report the sound. This performance is so good I have just sat through all of it and I emerge astounded at how absolutely 'right' Gunther Wand is with the work. This is taken from three live performances on 30th and 31st January, and 1st February 1998 at the Philharmonie in Berlin. It was first issued in August of that year, presumably on RBCD. The SACD reissue is the result of 'remastering and remix for multi-channel' by Japanese engineers under the direction of Gerald Gotze who was the original producer. They used Esoteric equipment for digital processing and a Tascam DA-98HR recorder. Heard in stereo the balance is distant but with all the details clear. The bass of the orchestra is weighty, as I suspect it sounds in the Philharmonie, and anyway they have such a huge cello & bass section I would expect weight. The drums are recessed and have impact only as part of the overall sonority. The playing of the brass is absolutely superb and they provide the large climaxes with a monumental quality that always sounds thoroughly Brucknerian. I own too many recordings of this work and can say that none surpasses this one and only one or two match it. The SACD transfer gives an ease at climaxes and allows one to hear the detail despite a warm and resonant sound. I am so pleased your request caused me to revisit this performance after an unsatisfactory first encounter some time ago. Your system will need to be transparent if you are not to be lost in richness. $40 is expensive but you might well feel it is well spent on a totally convincing conception of this masterwork. Do let me know what you think if you go ahead.

Dave
RE: Wand Bruckner 4th SACD, posted on November 8, 2009 at 23:17:39
jazz1
Audiophile

Posts: 959
Joined: October 30, 2000
 Thanks for the detailed report, looks like I will have to spend 40$
(+ shipping) oooch!!, but like you I think that Wand interpretation is out of this world. I heard quite a few different versions of the 4th but none does it for me like this one.

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