Musicophile Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Qobuz just started a great special offer on 80 DG albums, and there are some true must haves in there. If you are a Sublime subscriber, some of the high-res are now really amazingly cheap, e.g. €6.99 for Argerich's Debut remastered in 24/96, but even without the Sublime subscription the prices remain attractive. I just went on a shopping spree to get the high-res remasters of several DG classics I admire: Argerich's legendary debut recital (24/96 remastered) Martha Argerich - Debut Recital | Compositeurs Divers par Martha Argerich – Télécharger et écouter l'album Brahms Piano concertos with Emil Gilels and Jochum (24/96 remastered), an absolute must have Brahms: The Piano Concertos, Fantasien Op. 116 | Johannes Brahms par Emil Gilels – Télécharger et écouter l'album Rach 2 and Tchaikovsky 1 piano concertos with Sviatoslav Richter (24/96 remaster) Rachmaninov & Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos Nos.2 & 1 | Compositeurs Divers par Sviatoslav Richter – Télécharger et écouter l'album Pollini's Chopin Etudes, that remain the reference to this day. The original is not that well recorded, I'm curious if the 24/96 remaster is any better. But at less than €7 it was worth the risk. Chopin: Etudes | Frédéric Chopin par Maurizio Pollini – Télécharger et écouter l'album Overall, I'm usually pleased with the 24/96 remasters by DG; I have the CD versions of all of the above, so I'm looking forward to see how much of an improvement the remasters give me. And finally, I bought two new releases that I had on my list for a while but was waiting for a discount: Netrebko's version of Tchaikovsky's Ioalanta (24/48), I red some great reviews when it came out, so I'm just curious to expand more into Russian opera, a major gap in my library: Tchaikovsky : Iolanta | Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky par Anna Netrebko – Télécharger et écouter l'album And the recent re-recording of Lutoslawski's piano concerto with Zimerman and Rattle. I read several reviews claiming this recording is potentially better than the original, again with Zimerman and the composer conducting himself. Well, I'll find out: Lutoslawski : Piano Concerto, Symphony No.2 | Witold Lutoslawski par Krystian Zimerman – Télécharger et écouter l'album And as a sublime subscriber, I got all of the above for €56. Not bad. And for the record, I'm not affiliated with Qobuz in any way (although I start thinking I should be, I keep promoting them quite a bit...) Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicophile Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 Here are some more albums I already own and highly recommend from the same special offer: Ludwig van Beethoven : Symphonies n°5 & n°7 | Ludwig van Beethoven par Carlos Kleiber – Télécharger et écouter l'album A legend. Johannes Brahms / Clara Schumann | Compositeurs Divers par Lisa Batiashvili – Télécharger et écouter l'album A really good version of Brahm's violin concerto. Georg Friedrich Händel : Orlando | Georg Friedrich Händel par René Jacobs – Télécharger et écouter l'album Excellent Händel opera with René Jacobs Anton Bruckner : Symphony No. 9 In D Minor | Anton Bruckner par Claudio Abbado – Télécharger et écouter l'album Gramophone's album of the year, see also my comment here: https://musicophilesblog.com/2015/08/27/the-gramophone-awards-winners-2015/ Time Present and Time Past | Compositeurs Divers par Mahan Esfahani – Télécharger et écouter l'album I really like this recent release with a mix of Baroque and contemporary. Rachmaninov Variations | Compositeurs Divers par Daniil Trifonov – Télécharger et écouter l'album This one got excellent reviews by many, I'm on the fence of buying it. Well 18 days left to decide Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 8 Unfinished | Franz Schubert par Carlos Kleiber – Télécharger et écouter l'album Kleiber's unfinished, also a legend. Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicophile Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 And finally, some bigger boxes where I'm on the fence: Thielemann's complete Ring (24/96) Wagner: Ring | Richard Wagner par Wiener Staatsoper – Télécharger et écouter l'album As a sublime subscriber, I could get it for the ridiculous amount of €34, but I read conflicting reviews of the cycle and am not a big Wagner fan in general. Karajan's 1960 Beethoven cycle in 24/96: Beethoven: 9 Symphonies | Ludwig van Beethoven par Herbert von Karajan – Télécharger et écouter l'album I already have too many Beethoven cycles, and I have this in redbook. On the other hand, this is my preferred Karajan one, and at €14 (with sublime discount), I may eventually get it anyhow. Beethoven: 9 Symphonies | Ludwig van Beethoven par Herbert von Karajan – Télécharger et écouter l'album And finally: Kubelik's complete Mahler with the Bavarians. An excellent cycle. Does anybody already have the 24/96 remaster and can comment? I have most of the cycle on redbook, and am hesitating. Mahler: Complete Symphonies | Gustav Mahler par Rafael Kubelik – Télécharger et écouter l'album Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholasg Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 How do you find these special offers? I can see on my favorites list most of the price of a lot of the DG downloads are in red type (which means special offer) but so are a lot of Chandos downloads. Is there a list somewhere are what is currently on special offer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowmonkey Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 How do you find these special offers? I can see on my favorites list most of the price of a lot of the DG downloads are in red type (which means special offer) but so are a lot of Chandos downloads. Is there a list somewhere are what is currently on special offer? If you have an account with Qobuz, you should get regular email notifications of their specials. Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. - Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatManDo Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 You can also check their promo page for updates: Promotions I wasn't aware that the Mahler/Kubelik set was available in hi-rez. But even if it is good, this will not make me get yet another Mahler set. A dozen is enough It's his 1st and 5th that usually get recommended. Claude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicophile Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 You can also check their promo page for updates: Promotions I wasn't aware that the Mahler/Kubelik set was available in hi-rez. But even if it is good, this will not make me get yet another Mahler set. A dozen is enough It's his 1st and 5th that usually get recommended. That's why I'm on the fence as well, even if I "only" have 7 or 8 complete sets (including this one in redbook) plus a multitude of individual recordings. Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guidof Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 OK, I gave in and bought the Brahms Piano Concertos (Gilels/Jochum) even though I already have the Redbook version. The playing is of course superb, but SQ wise I have to say the Redbook is still quite good, maybe even as good as the remaster. Anyway, thank you for alerting us to this Promo offer, musicophile. Regards, Guido F. For my system details, please see my profile. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicophile Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 OK, I gave in and bought the Brahms Piano Concertos (Gilels/Jochum) even though I already have the Redbook version. The playing is of course superb, but SQ wise I have to say the Redbook is still quite good, maybe even as good as the remaster. Anyway, thank you for alerting us to this Promo offer, musicophile. Regards, Guido F. While I agree the difference isn't night and day, I still prefer the remaster over the DG originals redbook version I have. More space especially around the piano, when listening via HD800. Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay-dub Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I've got the earlier Galleria RBCD of No. 2, and it sounds fine to me. Which RBCD are you comparing the download to, Guido? In my experience, the Originals remaster usually has a slightly better sounding antialiasing filter than the first CD release, but sometimes the de-hissing causes a slightly unnatural sound with a loss of space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guidof Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 While I agree the difference isn't night and day, I still prefer the remaster over the DG originals redbook version I have. More space especially around the piano, when listening via HD800. Yes, the remaster has a bit more air, I agree. For my system details, please see my profile. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guidof Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I've got the earlier Galleria RBCD of No. 2, and it sounds fine to me. Which RBCD are you comparing the download to, Guido? In my experience, the Originals remaster usually has a slightly better sounding antialiasing filter than the first CD release, but sometimes the de-hissing causes a slightly unnatural sound with a loss of space. Not the Galleria, but I really don't know which release. For my system details, please see my profile. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guidof Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 And on second listening . . . The remaster also has better orchestral balances. For my system details, please see my profile. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrotoy Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 And on second listening . . . The remaster also has better orchestral balances. How do you get Qobuz? I am also in NorCal, but get a message about being in the US and not being able to buy from them. Thanks, Larry Analog-VPIClas3,3DArm,LyraSkala+MiyajimaZeromono,Herron VTPH2APhono,2AmpexATR-102+MerrillTridentMaster TapePreamp Dig Rip-Pyramix,IzotopeRX3Adv,MykerinosCard,PacificMicrosonicsModel2; Dig Play-Lampi Pacific, mch NADAC, Roon-HQPlayer,Oppo105 Electronics-DoshiPre,CJ MET1mchPre,Cary2A3monoamps Speakers-AvantgardeDuosLR,3SolosC,LR,RR Other-2x512EngineerMarutaniSymmetrical Power+Cables Music-15KRecs(90%classical),1.7KR2Rtapes,1.5KCD's,500SACDs,50TBripped files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodford Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 How do you get Qobuz? I am also in NorCal, but get a message about being in the US and not being able to buy from them. Thanks, Larry send them an email, request an account. even better if you do it in bad french. worked for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guidof Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 send them an email, request an account. even better if you do it in bad french. worked for me. Yes, that's the ticket! For my system details, please see my profile. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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