Hires 24

Notorious for shunning concert performances, Steely Dan's improbable live reunion in the mid-'90s eventually turned into a full-fledged reunion album. Since Steely Dan fans went two decades without even the hope of a new record, the very prospect was a delight, but it was also a little worrying, since a botched comeback would tarnish the band's legacy. Fortunately, Two Against Nature is as seductive and alluring as the best of Steely Dan's later work, with a similar emphasis on classy atmosphere and groove.

Johann Sebastian Bach - St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244
The Netherlands Bach Society - Jos van Veldhoven
3x SACD ISO: 9,07 GB | 3x FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 2,85 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Rec. Info
Label/Cat#: Channel Classics # CCS SA 32511 | Country/Year: Netherlands 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque | Hoster: Filepost & Uploaded

…Whatever other recordings you may have in your library, Veldhoven’s inspired reading, with its exceptional blend of committed musicianship and scholarship should definitely be auditioned by all who love this work. This is without doubt a top recommendation and anyone receiving this set, as an Easter gift, will surely be delighted.

This SACD transfer of Anne-Sophie Mutter’s Beethoven violin sonatas, taken from a series of live recordings from 1998, does not transcend the questionable interpretations. In each of these famous sonatas, Mutter takes excessive liberties with respect to dynamics and phrasing, and while some listeners may appreciate the thought and care she puts into these readings, it sounds as if she is trying a bit too hard to be “musical”. For example, just before the exposition repeat of the “Spring” sonata, several instances of disproportionate agogic pauses, inconsistent use of vibrato, random adherences to sforzando markings, and a sporadic disregard for (or recasting of) dynamics combine to produce an overly fussy performance that lacks momentum and a sense of direction.

Sergei Prokofiev - Alexander Nevsky
Marina Domaschenko / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Frank Strobel
SACD ISO: 3,15 GB (Stereo + MCH DSD) | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 944 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Rec. Info
Label/Cat#: Capriccio # 71 014 | Country/Year: Europe 2004
Genre: Classical, Stage & Screen | Style: Soundtrack, Contemporary Classical

…Overall, I find this a must-have and a stunning interpretation regardless of whether it's an SACD or not. Lovers of this piece should not hesitate to get this. The SACD has 27 tracks and is about 55 min long. The interpretation is exciting, flexible, and lithe, and that's all anyone could ask for in a Prokofiev piece as great as this. That I'm inspired to watch the movie again is a testament to the performance and the movie because, to me, it's so hard to separate the two.

Miah Persson / Joseph Breinl - Portraits: Songs by Clara and Robert Schumann
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 2,74 GB | 24B/88,2kHz FLAC (2.0): 937 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: BIS # BIS-SACD-1834 | Country/Year: Europe 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

BIS engineers have produced a very naturalistic recording of piano and singer in the former Academy of Music hall in Stockholm. However, the large hall is very obviously empty, from its notable resonance, tending to reduce the perceived image of the players somewhat. These songs were meant for drawing rooms and salons, not large reverberant auditoriums, and personally, I felt that the essential intimacy of a lieder recital was somewhat lacking, and the 5.0 multichannel version rather emphasised this. The resonance does contribute to blurring the singer's diction and also tends to cloud some of the rapid piano figuration. These are minor points, and can be partly overcome by raising the playing volume level.

Dmitri Shostakovich - Mandelring Quartett - String Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 4
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,30 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,12 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Audite # 92.526 | Country/Year: Germany 2006 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Contemporary

"A triumphant start to what heralds to be one of the best Shostakovich quartet cycles imaginable. (…) Highly recommended." 5/5 ~sa-cd.net