Hires 24

This beautiful – and now legendary – recording date between iconic Brazilian vocalist Elis Regina and composer, conductor, and arranger Tom Jobim is widely regarded as one of the greatest Brazilian pop recordings. It is nearly ubiquitous among Brazilians as a household item. Regina's voice is among the most loved in the history of Brazilian music. Her range and acuity, her unique phrasing, and her rainbow of emotional colors are literally unmatched, and no matter the tune or arrangement, she employs most of them on these 16 cuts.

Since his stunning debut in 1974 with the now world-famous audiophile recordings for the Three Blind Mice label, Japanese pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto has built a career that now spans four decades. His brand-new trio album What A Wonderful World follows his previous release Gentle Blues (VHCD-1118), his first recording for Venus Records in 14 years. In fact, the 12 tracks in this CD were recorded on the day after 10 tracks on Gentle Blues were recorded. It is remarkable that Yamamoto and his trio recorded enough materials for two CDs in two consecutive days, but then again, he is a veteran pianist who doesn't like to repeat himself and prefers to record everything in a single take.

Valentin Silvestrov - Symphony No. 6
Beethoven Orchester Bonn - Roman Kofman
SACD ISO: 2,6 GB (Stereo + MCH DSD) | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 770 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Rec. Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 937 1478-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2007
Genre: Classical | Style: Contemporary

…the Bonn orchestra and the Ukrainian conductor create a performance that might conceivably do for Silvestrov what Bernstein did for Mahler: turn him into a superstar. As always, Musik Dabringhaus und Grimm's digital recording is as real as it gets.

Anton Bruckner - Symphony D minor "Nullte" WAB 100, 3 Pieces WAB 97, March WAB 96
Beethoven Orchester Bonn / Stefan Blunier
SACD ISO: 3,49 GB (Stereo + MCH DSD) | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 1,01 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Rec. Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Live" # 937 1673-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Orchestral

"This SACD is an essential purchase for Bruckner aficionados, as not only does it contain an eloquent performance of Bruckner’s early D minor Symphony WAB 100 (Nullte) in superb sound, but also some other rare orchestral music by the same composer. (…) Strongly recommended." 5/5 ~SA-CD.net

Georg Friedrich Händel - Sonatas For The Recorder
Dorothee Oberlinger / Ensemble 1700
SACD ISO: 4,44 GB (Stereo + MCH DSD) | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 1,42 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Rec. Info
Label/Cat#: Raumklang "Edition Marc Aurel" # MA SA 024 | Country/Year: Germany 2007 (2004)
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque, Recorder

…Yet these are not fragile or rarefied renditions, for Oberlinger and her companions are quite vigorous in the Allegro movements; the long, lyrical lines in the Larghettos and Adagios are always solidly supported through the soloist's unerring ornamentation; and the accompaniment is fully realized and strongly characterized, distributed throughout the works to a variety of basso continuo instruments. The illustrated booklet includes an informative essay on the recorder's history and Handel's music by Gerhard Braun, and the recording is absolutely clear in details and natural in reproduction. This disc is highly recommended.

Richard Wagner - Parsifal - Ein Bühnenfestspiel in drei Aufzügen WWV 111
Christian Elsner / Franz-Josef Selig / Rundfunkchor & Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Marek Janowski
4x SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 10,40 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 3,64 GB | 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

Richard Wagner - Lohengrin
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Rundfunkchor Berlin / Marek Janowski
3xSACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 9,24 GB | 3x24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 3,25 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Pentatone # PTC 5186 403 | Country/Year: Netherlands 2012 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Opera

"PentaTone have definitely established a winning formula for success with the ten Wagner operas they are currently recording in association with Deutschlandradio Kultur in Berlin. (…) The presentation of this set is excellent. Thankfully, it includes a well translated German/ English libretto (unlike the travesty supplied with the Bychkov version), a thought provoking essay on the opera by Steffen Georgi and full artist biographies. Though my own allegiance to the Bychkov version among recent recordings remains steadfast this Janowski account is unlikely to disappoint. It will surely be welcomed by avid Wagnerites and makes one eager for the next issue in what is proving to be a superlative series." ~sa-cd.net

Anton Bruckner - Symphony D minor "Nullte" WAB 100, 3 Pieces WAB 97, March WAB 96
Beethoven Orchester Bonn / Stefan Blunier
SACD ISO: 3,49 GB (Stereo + MCH DSD) | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 1,01 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Rec. Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Live" # 937 1673-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Orchestral

"This SACD is an essential purchase for Bruckner aficionados, as not only does it contain an eloquent performance of Bruckner’s early D minor Symphony WAB 100 (Nullte) in superb sound, but also some other rare orchestral music by the same composer. (…) Strongly recommended." 5/5 ~SA-CD.net