Exton

Vladimir Ashkenazy, who was appointed principal conductor of the Sydney Symphony in 2009, puts his orchestra through its paces in this vibrant Exton album. This third volume of Edward Elgar's series features Enigma Variations & In The South overture. The people at Exton, a Japanese audiophile label, have once again produced an impressive recording with plenty of headroom. The imaging is so natural that you can almost visualize the space between the instruments, but yet the orchestral sound is rich and full of impact. The strings shimmer in the high notes, and the bass drums, rather than being heard, are felt like distant thunder. Highly recommended.

Sakari Oramo is among the best known and most heavily recorded Finnish conductors on the international scene. In 2003, he was elevated to principal conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO), where he remained until 2012. This release for Japanese Exton label includes Johannes Brahms' second & Ludwig van Beethoven's fifth symphonies.

Vladimir Ashkenazy, who was appointed principal conductor of the Sydney Symphony in 2009, puts his orchestra through its paces in this vibrant Exton album. The first volume of Edward Elgar's series features the Symphony No. 1, one of the composer's two completed symphonies, which enjoyed enormous success after its premiere and has been beloved ever since.

This 2 channel Hybrid SACD is a live recording from 2009 of part of a large "Composer Festival" featuring the music of Sergei Prokofiev. The award winning Ukrainian soloist Alexander Gavrylyuk performs the third and fifth, of the composer’s five piano concertos with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and its chief conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy.

This 2 channel Hybrid SACD is a live recording from 2009 of part of a large "Composer Festival" featuring the music of Sergei Prokofiev. The award winning Ukrainian soloist Alexander Gavrylyuk performs the first, second, and fourth (for the left hand), of the composer’s five piano concertos with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and its chief conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Once the least performed and recorded of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, due mostly to its taxing length, the Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" in C minor now appears with some regularity on disc and with increasing frequency on SACDs. This recording from Exton, featuring Zdenek Mácal and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, is remarkable for its spacious sound, close-up details, and wide-frequency range, and the interpretation is on a par with many other first-rate performances, so finding points of distinction between them is perhaps a futile endeavor, especially since only aficionados of this work will detect them. Mácal is certainly attuned to Mahler's extreme mood swings and a unique mix of innocent reverence and sardonic parody, and there is nothing lacking in the CPO's brilliant execution of the score, which displays many extended techniques and an extraordinary palette of tone colors.

Vladimir Ashkenazy, who was appointed principal conductor of the Sydney Symphony in 2009, puts his orchestra through its paces in this vibrant Exton album. Far less frequently performed and recorded than the darker First Symphony, Edward Elgar's Second Symphony in E flat major is a work written on an exceptionally grand scale. Elgar scored the symphony for an extended triple woodwind section, extra percussion, and even two harps.

Israeli conductor Eliahu Inbal has become known to many worldwide for both his concert performances and his numerous recordings, including the complete symphonies of several composers. From 2008 to 2014 he is served as the principal conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. This Exton release features Gustav Mahler's Seventh Symphony in E minor. One point microphone recording!

Israeli conductor Eliahu Inbal has become known to many worldwide for both his concert performances and his numerous recordings, including the complete symphonies of several composers. From 2008 to 2014 he is served as the principal conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. This Exton release features Gustav Mahler's 2nd Symphony "Resurrection".