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Some Recent SACD Acquisitions

I thought I would report on a few recent SACD acquisitions. I’ve been somewhat disappointed with three classical discs I’ve recently added to my collection. First, the Reference Recordings Strauss tone poems disc (Honeck/Pittsburg Symphony) is a bit of a let-down, mainly because of the extraordinary claims for the sound and the performances in various reviews I’ve read. Both the recording and the music-making strike me as basically routine—nothing remarkable. Could be my system, but the Strauss leaves me cold. Perhaps the failure is in me. Lots of other folks love this disc; I can’t explain my relative lack of enthusiasm.

Likewise the Linn Mahler 2 with Zander. Praised to the skies by several critics, this album again leaves me unmoved. Zander’s conducting is too fussy; he reports on the music—conductors like Bernstein live the music. One review of Zander’s Mahler 6 likened Zander’s conducting to “proofreading a suicide note.” This Resurrection is very much along those lines. And the recording strikes me as uninvolving. Yet another disparity between critical opinion and personal experience.

Finally, let me mention Vanska’s Sibelius 1 and 4 on Bis. Here I cannot fault either the sound or the performances, except to say that I’m not a fan of the Bis “house sound.” (Or is it Vanska’s house sound? It’s hard to say.) I’m referring particularly to the exaggerated dynamic levels, especially at the quiet side of things. I’ve heard many people say that this is an accurate reflection of the dynamics of a live performance. I must disagree. I attend about 20 symphonic concerts a year, and I never hear in the hall what I hear on Bis recordings. The near-inaudible stretches of quiet music on the SACD are not true to what I hear live. Very much a matter of taste, to be sure, so I will not gainsay anyone who loves the Bis Sibelius recordings. YMMV.

There's happier news to report on the pop side of things. I recently acquired Donald Fagen’s Nightfly, even though it's been available on SACD for some time. It sounds terrific--very much an improvement over RBCD. Finally, I ordered the recent SACD release of Tom Waits’s Rain Dogs from CD Japan. Rain Dogs is one of my favorite non-classical albums of all time, and the new SACD sounds great. But then the regular CD sounded pretty good as well, as does the vinyl. This is and has always been a great-sounding recording. The JSACD is quite expensive, but the remastering is excellent and the packaging is super-elaborate. If you treasure this album, you should definitely consider getting the SACD.

(Disclaminer: all discs auditioned in 2-channel only.)


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Topic - Some Recent SACD Acquisitions - Doktor Brahms 11:21:30 06/20/14 (79)

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