Gewandhauds-Quartett Schubert-Schumann-Spohr Set/Adam Fisher
– Mozart Symp. No. 7/Orgelwerk:
Liszt/Haselbock/Sa Chen –
Rachmaninov - Mussorgsky/Bruckner Symp. No. 8 – Simone Young
(Naxos SA-CDs w/NCA/DaCapo/PentaTone/Oehms)
Sound: B/B+/B/B/B+ Music: B (Young: B+)
While
some have declared the Super Audio Compact Disc (aka SA-CD) dead, I have been
supporting it ever since I heard it from day one and unlike competitor
DVD-Audio (now seeing six releases a year if that, while its MLP (Meridian
Lossless Packing) has been adapted as Dolby TrueHD for Blu-ray and other HD
video applications, SA-CD continues to thrive in a healthy enough way. Though it is not the monster success it could
be, dozens of titles are being issued a month and many include Jazz and Classical
Music titles. Naxos has been
distributing the format faithfully each month and here are five of the latest
for mid-2009.
Gewandhauds-Quartett In Concert (NCA) perform works by Franz
Schubert (String Quintet D 956 + 667), Robert Schumann (Quintet Opus 44) and
Louis Spohr (Concert for String Quarette & Orchestra Opus 131) in this
two-disc set that is pretty decent, but was not the best versions of the works
I was familiar as I listened. Still, the
recording is decent the musicians (Frank-Michael Erben and Conrad Suske on
violin, Olaf Hallmann on Viola, Juenjakob Timm on Cello) do a smooth job of
covering such extensive work. Recorded
in 2008, some of this is an analog recording and others digital recording, but
the 5.1 DSD (Direct Stream Digital) high definition sound is still very good
considering the sources and it offers more depth and detail than the Stereo 2.0
DSD or lesser 2.0 CD PCM tracks also on this hybrid.
Adam Fisher – Mozart Symp. No. 7 (DaCapo) was recorded February
2008, January 2009 and is the second-best sounding disc of the five. This is from the Danish National Chamber
Orchestra and they all do a very good job bringing these pieces to life. Oddly, there are no identifying marks or
notes as to the source of the original recordings, but it is impressive
sonically as well and the 5.1 DSD will make Classical and Mozart fans
happy. This is also a hybrid with lesser
PCM CD tracks.
Orgelwerk: Franz Liszt – Martin Haselbock (NCA) is an all digital recording
from October 2005 and is another hybrid SA-CD with lesser CD PCM 2.0 Stereo
tracks, but the source is likely PCM-based and is not up there with the best
DSD 5.1 mixes we have heard in general.
Still, it is a good performance and part of a series from the same label
with the same fine packaging.
Sa Chen – Sergei Rachmaninov – Modest
Mussorgsky (PentaTone)
takes familiar works of the Classical giants and turns them into piano
pieces. In the case of Mussorgsky, it
seems almost deconstructive, but where you might loose power and thrust, a
thoughtful articulation takes its place.
The Rachmaninov 6 Etudes Tableaux also work nicely this way. PentaTone issued this and the notes explain
that the recording was done with the participation of Polyhymnia, who
specializes in high-end recording. It
sounds it, yet this is not the most impressive piano SA-CD we’ve heard, but the
5.1 DSD on this hybrid is better than the CD PCM 2.0 Stereo tracks. Still, Chen is good and I would like to hear
more.
Anton Bruckner Symp. No. 8 –
Simone Young (Oehms)
is a hybrid and the only other double disc set here. This 5.0 DSD mix is the best of the five, was
recorded December 2008 and has demonstration moments of how good SA-CD can
sound and after listening to so many Blu-rays lately with DTS-MA and Dolby TrueHD
mixes, I am still strongly convinced DSD is the best digital sound playback
format. This is also a hybrid disc, but
the other tracks cannot compare and shows DSD and SA-CD are alive and well. Either a DSD or high-bit PCM source, I was
very impressed and is a great introduction to all. This is the one to order, but none are
outright disappointments, which is typical of the format.
All come
with multi-lingual booklets that are informative, if not always technically so.
- Nicholas Sheffo
