Recent BIS SACDs (and one more non-BIS) - Doktor Brahms - Hi-Rez Highway

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Recent BIS SACDs (and one more non-BIS)

Doktor Brahms

Thought I would share my experience with some recent SACD acquisitions.

1. Brahms/Ligeti Horn Trios (BIS): A wonderful-sounding disc. The perspective might be a bit distant for some tastes, but this allows the sound of the horn to expand in all its room-filling glory. Tempos are on the brisk side, excessively so in the final movement of the Brahms, which sounds more hectic than exuberant. Still, a keeper.

2. Sibelius: Symphonies 2 and 5 (BIS): This disc has stirred no little controversy in the SA-CD.net forum, and I can see why. Vanska makes some very odd choices in the familiar 2nd Symphony, and not to the music's benefit, IMHO. The 5th is terrific: I don't think I've ever heard a better coda to the final movement. The 5th also sounds terrific, but the 2nd suffers from a quirk that afflicts many Vanska/BIS recordings, i.e. pianissimo passages that hover on the threshold of complete inaudibility. I know this subject has been debated in this forum before (especially in the context of Vanska's Beethoven cycle), but it's just not to my taste--and it does not square with my own experience as a veteran concert-goer.

3. Rachmaninov: Symphony 3/Paganini Rhapsody (BIS): We've needed a first-rate 3rd Symphony on SACD, and here it is. (DeWaart? Don't get me started....) I recall that a reviewer in High Fidelity magazine referred to this as Rachmaninov's most "Mahlerian" score, and this recording/performance shows that the comparison is apt. The Paganini Rhapsody is also a cracking performance in superlative sound. The recording allows numerous orchestral felicities to beguile the ear (at this point in his career, Rachmaninov was really on top of his game as an orchestrator). Performance-wise, Sudbin and his colleagues pull off the challenge of making a familiar work sound fresh without being eccentric. I doubt we'll hear a better Rachmaninov SACD all year.

And here's another SACD that you really should consider acquiring: Saint-Saens: Ballet Music (Melba). The music is colorful and immensely entertaining, and the sound is absolutely gorgeous. Melba, an Australian label, really knows how to put out a superlative product. Definitely worth seeking out.

Thanks for allowing me to share my opinions. Happy listening!!

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Topic - Recent BIS SACDs (and one more non-BIS) - Doktor Brahms 08:38:33 03/14/12 (14)

RE: Recent BIS SACDs (and one more non-BIS) - flyingdutchman 16:22:35 03/17/12 (1)

RE: Recent BIS SACDs (and one more non-BIS) - Chris from Lafayette 00:09:28 03/19/12 (0)

I have no issues with the Dynamic Range of the Beethoven Cycle, sounds great to me. nt - oldmkvi 17:56:59 03/14/12 (0)

RE: Recent BIS SACDs (and one more non-BIS) - Fitzcaraldo215 17:50:13 03/14/12 (5)

Vanska Sibelius No. 2 - Doktor Brahms 08:07:01 03/15/12 (4)

RE: Vanska Sibelius No. 2 - gussclarinet 07:24:18 03/24/12 (0)

RE: Vanska Sibelius No. 2 - Fitzcaraldo215 07:11:03 03/16/12 (2)

Uniquely personal is a great description - TGR 08:38:12 03/16/12 (1)

RE: Uniquely personal is a great description - jazz1 23:45:46 03/16/12 (0)

RE: Recent BIS SACDs (and one more non-BIS) - ted_b 12:48:25 03/14/12 (3)

Stereo only. - Doktor Brahms 13:03:25 03/14/12 (2)

RE: Stereo only. - ted_b 17:34:39 03/14/12 (1)

RE: Stereo only. - Tony Lauck 21:07:36 03/14/12 (0)

RE: Recent BIS SACDs (and one more non-BIS) - ahendler 09:52:54 03/14/12 (0)

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