Sacd

Frederic Chopin - Hardy Rittner - Complete Etudes
Hardy Rittner plays a Conrad Graf Piano (c. 1835)
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 196 MB | Full Artwork: 87 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Scene" # 904 1747-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2012
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Piano, Period Instrument

"…Outstanding. I cannot recommend this disc highly enough." "…This is a remarkable recording which reveals Chopin in a new light." ~SA-CD.net

Carl Maria von Weber & Sigismund Neukomm - Klarinettenquintette
Eric Hoeprich / Ensemble Les Adieux
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 239 MB | Full Artwork: 93 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: NCA # 60170 | Country/Year: Germany # 2007, 1993
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School, Early Romantic

"Dass die Aufnahmen der beiden Klarinettenquintette Webers und Neukomms schon 14 Jahre alt sind, merkt man der Mehrkanalfassung nicht an: mit üppigem Raumklang und großer Präsenz genießt man die erlesene Kunst Erich Hoeprichs und der drei Streicher des Ensembles Les Adieux, das ihm schon seit Jahren zur Seite steht. Mit vehementem Zugriff und inniger Wärme schlägt Webers Klarinettenquintett in seinen Bann, in allen seinen Stimmen auf Originalinstrumenten fein ausgearbeitet, wobei Hoeprichs Klarinette zu recht mit betörendem Klang dominiert…"

Camille Saint-Saëns - Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 5
Anna Malikova, Piano / WDR-Sinfonieorchester Köln / Thomas Sanderling
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 218 MB | Full Artwork: 28 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Audite # aud 10.012 | Country/Year: Germany 2007
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

"The five piano concertos of St.-Saens are not frequently heard and that is a shame in view of the endless repeats of the Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Schumann warhorses. They are all well-composed examples of the best of French instrumental music of the later 19th century and full of lovely melodies that would appeal greatly to concert audiences. I hadn’t enjoyed any of them for some time and it was a pleasure to have these two concertos in enveloping hi-res surround. … Orchestration is very colorful, with solos originating in the winds and strings." 4/5 ~audiophile-audition

VA - Sounds of Hollywood Vol. 2
Vogtland Philharmonie / Stefan Fraas
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 315 MB | Full Artwork: 135 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Ars Produktion # ARS 38 120 | Country/Year: Germany 2012
Genre: Classical, Pop, Stage & Screen | Style: Modern Classical, Soundtrack

This is the second album of themes from famous Hollywood films as well as pop classics in the film music genre, performed in spectacular hi-res surround sound by this Bavarian orchestra. (…) Great fun for movie music/hi-res surround fans!" 4/5 ~audiophile-audition

Franz Liszt - Christus Oratorio
Beethoven Orchester Bonn - Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno - Roman Kofman
EAC+LOG+CUE | 3xFLAC: 547 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 937 1366-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2006
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Sacred, Oratorio

…I already indicated the excellent qualities of the soloists especially Franziska Hirzel and Birgit Remmert who sing with that important ethereal intensity. Kofman conducts with the ideal tonic and lets the music move along quite magically. The SACD sound comes out trumps on my Sony SACD-11 player and I really have nothing but an unqualified recommendation for this beautiful set.

Franz Liszt - Tasso, Totentanz, Piano Music
Claudius Tanski (Piano) / Beethoven Orchester Bonn / Stefan Blunier
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 200 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 937 1678-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

Happy birthday, Franz Liszt! The Beethoven Orchestra Bonn under its conductor Stefan Blunier and the pianist Claudius Tanski present orchestral works and piano music by this Austro-Hungarian great, including the overture to Goethe’s Torquato Tasso and the Totentanz of 1849, on the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of his birth. A finely nuanced extra comes in the form of an orchestration of La lugubre gondola by John Adams.

Richard Wagner - Das Rheingold WWV 86a
Tomasz Konieczny / Christian Elsner / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Marek Janowski
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 628 MB | Full Artwork: 829 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Opera

"…Janowski's pacing and preparation of the orchestra is masterly. Reacting with sensitivity to the score, the tender & reflective scenes are given space to breathe without taxing the singers into strained tone. (…) The more one hears, the more one appreciates the vocal acting as well as the superlative orchestral contribution (make no mistake, there are at least 3 world class orchestras resident in Berlin today). This listener (at least) is eagerly awaiting the next installment of the Ring." ~sa-cd.net

Richard Wagner - Parsifal - Ein Bühnenfestspiel in drei Aufzügen WWV 111
Christian Elsner / Franz-Josef Selig / Rundfunkchor & Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Marek Janowski
4xCD | EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 913 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Pentatone # PTC 5186 401 | Country/Year: Netherlands 2012
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Opera

"…This dramatic and involving 'Parsifal' raises Marek Janowski's epic Wagnerian journey to a new level of excellence that one hopes will be maintained in the performances and recordings yet to come - an exciting prospect for all Wagnerites!" ~sa-cd.net

Beoga - Live At Stockfisch Studio
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 282 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Stockfisch Records # SFR 357.4053.2 | Country/Year: Germany 2010
Genre: Rock, Folk, Jazz | Style: Irish Folk, Contemporary Acoustic

"…Stockfisch has reproduced the live feel of this extraordinary group with great precision. The separation of the instrumentation (especially between guitar and violin, and accordions) eliminates the occasional dint of live recording. The balance of the sound seems proportionate. Vocals never impinge on the music, and vice versa. Live At Stockfisch Studio is a towering achievement." ~audiophile-audition