These EMI SACD's are beginning to show up on Amazon as pre-issues and some of them are available for pre-order via Amazon Prime

I just ordered this one - click on the cover picture below to see the information on Amazon.

Three discs, SACD, remastered Klemperer for $33.13 doesn't sound too bad!

The Amazon information says that they are SACD only, but the information from England says that they are definitely hybrid discs and playable on CD players. (and if you enlarge the picture on Amazon, you can just about make out the words "Hybrid SACD")

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

On SACD, I am a big fan of the Nott/Bamberg recordings.
http://www.sa-cd.net/covers/3858.jpg http://www.sa-cd.net/covers/2668.jpg http://www.sa-cd.net/covers/3429.jpg http://www.sa-cd.net/covers/3180.jpg
or
http://www.sa-cd.net/covers/6998.jpg

Here's the (excellent) disc I have of these harpsichord works (well, some of them - 1063, 1064, 1065). Picked this up when it first came out in the early 90s... and have always been gobsmacked by the complexity-come-musicality. Really a treat for the ears!

Would be very interested to compare the CD to the Album given the heavy-weights involved with both efforts.

Also, Julian, I did an image search on that "Cembali" pictured on your album... nothing of note came of it, sadly.


http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image...d69d0210.L.jpg

:nono: C'mon, Andy...gotta have some love for the Prancing Horse, no? :D

http://www.unfinishedman.com/wp-cont...-Sculpture.jpg

Speaking of Italians, how about a little Antonio Vivaldi, this morning?

Psalm 126 "Nisi Dominus"
English Chamber Orchestra
Teresa Berganza (Born in Spain although I suspect Italian lineage given the spelling)

Beautiful music and vocals that can't quite drown out the landscapers buzzing about on mowers outside... :icon_thumbsdown: BTW, Julian, there are enough new thread members that my cornering of the market on this disc/album may eventually pay off! :D

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7_aZpQb7lK.../s320/capa.jpg

Lots of LP and SACD recommendations here. As I build my system one question. I'm probably not going to go vinyl (never say never) but is SACD that much better for 2.1. And how does this relate to HD downloads.

Don't answer this. I'll start a new thread. But I want to start buying music and have hesitated given not sure about some of this.

I like the Gustav Leonhardt recordings. I would love to hear the Pinnock/Gilbert recordings, but I've never heard Archiv digitally mastered vinyl that didn't sound edgy, sterile and strident. Although most of the digital vinyl of the 80s -- in my experience -- has that problem. Ugh.

J.S. Bach, "Sämtliche Cembalokonzerte"
Leonhardt Consort; Concentus musicus Wien; Gustav Leonhardt
Telefunken 6.35049 (5 LP)

http://78.46.76.238/pix/20100217/170443831822.jpg

Not for those who disdain harpsichords but this is a killer recording:
http://www.classicrecords.co.uk/photos/SXL2259.jpg#

From one potentially grating instrument (harpsichord) to the next (all brass)... depending on one's musical predisposition :scratch2:

Actually, these are some absolutely wonderful performances - "landmark" as some have noted. And this is indeed an excellent transfer to SACD. Interestingly, this is SACD only (as they tended to be back in the early days of DSD disc offerings before hybrid dual-layer became fashionable).

Now here's an odd issue with this particular disc wrt my current audio setup. I temporarily have an Oppo 93 player connected to my W4S DAC2 via digital coax. This configuration does not allow for DSD level resolution (because the oppo will down-convert DSD to 16/44 before pushing it out the SPDIF port). But I can live with that while I wait for more goodies (components) to arrive.

ANYWAY... while the Oppo seems to play this disc ok (according to the track/time counter), the DAC2 is not locking to the SPDIF data. Weird. First time I've seen that happen. I have a few more of these DSD-only discs from the way-back machine that I'll try as well.

Sorry for the tangent... just thought I'd share my traumatic experience with those who care ;)

Bottom line... this is a phenomenal presentation of these wonderful ~50 year old performances.


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Back to easy to listen to music! Haydn is often so innocuous that frequently his compositions make Muzak sound lively - but, his music is uniformly beautiful!

And, I love this box set .. . .

Listening to . . . Haydn - 12 Name Symphonies

A six LP box set by Philips

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields - Neville Marriner, Conductor

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

And now for a wake-up call -

Listening to Mahler: Symphony No. 7

New York Philharmonic - Leonard Bernstein, Conductor

The original 1965 Columbia LP Box Set

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Mahler's 7th is probably my least favorite of his great symphonies, but this 1965 live recording is, IMHO, about as good as you can get on that work of music.

As the New York Times said about the concert: