Sunier

Isaac Albeniz - Suite Espanola
New Philharmonia Orchestra / Rafael Frühbeck De Burgos
EAC+LOG+CUE | WV: 174 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: First Impression Music # FIM XR24 068 | Country/Year: US 2005, 1968, XRCD24
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

…FIM put a great deal of loving attention into this reissue, and it has paid off. Some of the original lines notes are reprinted and the front cover is a frame for a reproduction of the original LP’s cover. The music is currently available on a Decca CD coupled with Falla’s Love the Magician, and at less than half the cost of this xrcd, but sonically it doesn’t come even close. In fact, I found the xrcd to actually surpass the Cisco vinyl Super Analog Disc reissue on most counts. It is cleaner, has a more extended frequency range, and not the slightest troublesome surface noise or even hiss – the vinyl having both…

Ole Bull - Violin Concertos
Annar Follesø / Norwegian Radio Orchestra
WV (image) 24 bit/192 kHz: 2,47 GB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: 2L # 2L-067-SABD | Country/Year: Norway 2010
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic | Source: 2L

…The latest of the series of audio-only Blu-rays (paired with a SACD of the same material) from Norwegian audiophile label 2L has again a strong Norwegian slant as well as leading the pack in the pursuit of the highest-resolution audio files. What other labels have offered any discs with lossless surround sound at 192K/24bit? We’re lucky to get 96K from a few, and most DVDs and Blu-ray movies are only 48K…

Arthur Fiedler & Boston Pops - Hi-Fi Fiedler
Works by Rimsky-Korsakov, Chabrier, Rossini & Tchaikovsky
SACD ISO: 3,08 GB (Stereo + MCH DSD) | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 1,35 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Rec. Info
Label/Cat#: RCA Red Seal "Living Stereo" # 82876-67895-2 | Country/Year: Europe 2005, 1956-1960
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

…Fiedler conducted the Boston Pops for 50 years and became the best-selling conductor in history. His 78rpm disc of the tango Jalousie had been one of the top-selling classical records in history – one million copies. He had a lifelong goal of bringing light classical music to the millions. (…) Never before has the general public had the opportunity to hear these examples of his work as the RCA engineers heard them in the control room – from the original three channel tape playback. The soundstage is deepened and widened. Even a mint vinyl copy of the original pressing on a quality turntable doesn’t equal the impact of this three-channel hi-res digital disc.

Benda was headquartered in Berlin and his lifetime encompassed the latter three-quarters of the 18th century. He was one of those who ws fairly well known in his time — especially for his stage works — but is all but forgotten today. His harpsichord concertos received considerable attention during his life. They show the attributes of works composed during the time that the Baroque period was winding down and the Classical period opening. Benda did not just label these as just keyboard concertos but was specific that they were for the harpsichord, which was an important member of the Baroque orchestra.

Jacques Loussier Trio - The Brandenburgs
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 287 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Telarc Jazz # CD-83644 | Country/Year: Europe 2006
Genre: Jazz, Classical | Style: Crossover

The CD is a return to the Trio’s roots in Bach via a new jazz interpretation of the entire six Brandenburg Concertos, in order. But this time a rather new approach is in the works. As described by Loussier himself: “Whereas my older recordings were about adding to Bach, this record is about reducing his music to its essence, taking the main themes and working with them as any jazz musician might in playing a theme, an improvisation, and a return to the theme.”