Album of the Evening

[austinpop]

If there's one piece of music that deserves a well-made DXD release, it is Mahler's 8th Symphony. I'm waiting to buy the new NativeDSD release today until I get some questions answered. Until then, listening the the "gold standard" of Mahler's 8th:

 

 

Timeless!

[austinpop]

2 minutes ago, rickca said:

So what do you like for serious listening? 

 

Maybe I'm weird, but listening to Mahler's 8th gives me great joy. I don't consider it serious listening!

[austinpop]

2 minutes ago, ted_b said:

Can I help?

 

Sure Ted,

 

I'll send you a PM.

[austinpop]

10 hours ago, EuroChamp said:

 

makes me curious ...

 

Nothing that needs to be discussed publicly, but I will say @NativeDSD.com have incredible customer service.

[austinpop]

 

Excellent performance and sonics! And 96/24 on sale for $11 at eClassical.

 

This won’t replace your Karajan and Kleiber classics, but an excellent rendition by a chamber orchestra and conductor I hadn’t heard of until now.

 

Highly recommended.

[austinpop]

 

Continuing my exploration of the incredible ECM catalog on Tidal.

[austinpop]

[austinpop]

 

I've been on a Brahms symphony tear of late, so I was tickled to discover this "forgot to rip" SACD in my stack o' discs, as I was packing them away into storage.

 

After ripping, the import brought up this scathing writeup in Roon. A bit of Googling told me it was by one James Leonard, who noted (emphasis mine):

 

Plodding and even a little sloppy, Bernard Haitink and the London Symphony Orchestra's June 2004 performance of Brahms' Symphony No. 4 may not merit immortality. While both Haitink and the LSOhave both recorded superb Brahms' Fourths in the past, indeed, this one is a stinker. There are some fine moments -- one thinks especially of the cello theme in the Andante moderato -- but the performance as a whole is dull and labored, tired and turgid. Even the Allegro giocoso sounds tired and the closing bars of the finale are at the point of exhaustion. Even worse, the performance sounds sloppy, something one rarely hears from the LSO. The violins slip above the staff. The brass bleats above forte. The horns sound hollow in the opening of the Andante. The flute sounds limp in the finale. The ensemble sounds shaky throughout. Even LSO Live's sound is a little dim and a lot distant. There are dozens of better recordings of Brahms' Fourth. Try Carlos Kleiber's with the Vienna Philharmonic, but skip this one.

 

Well, gee, you don't see that every day!

 

I have to say - Mr. Leonard must have been in a really bad mood, or has it in for Haitink and/or the LSO. This is actually a very enjoyable 4th, with excellent sonics, worthy of DSD. Yes, it's not the best I've heard, but hardly a stinker! For the record, I do agree that the Kleiber version is memorable.

[austinpop]

I've been enjoying the German series Babylon Berlin on Netflix, so fired this up for a listen on Tidal last night:

 

 

I particularly like Zu Asche, Zu Staub.

[austinpop]

3 minutes ago, rando said:

Have you ever watched Deutschland 83?  This from someone who is adverse to television who found it quite different and enthralling.

 

 

Yes! If you liked that, also check out "Same Sky" and "Generation War."

[austinpop]

4 hours ago, Hugo9000 said:

Jean Sibelius

Symphony No. 1

Osmo Vänskä/Minnesota Orchestra

 

Current favorite recording of this symphony, although that changes, I have 6 other recordings I also love, and they each have something wonderful that the others don't quite match.

 

My favorite recording of these symphonies as well!

[austinpop]

 

Even as a Mahler fanatic, the 10th symphony was not one I had paid much attention to. After all, it was incomplete, right? Oh, I had heard the Adagio, but the idea of someone else's extrapolation of the work was just not appealing. Well, all that changed last week, when I attended a performance with Donald Runnicles conducting the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center in DC. They did the Deryck Cooke version, and I was just blown away, both by the piece, and the performance.

 

Since then I've been looking for a good, modern, high-resolution recording, and decided to buy the 24/96 Dausgaard/Seattle. I'm a big fan of Dausgaard's Brahms symphony recording.

 

I just listened to it today and ... me likee. Since I have not heard other interpretations of the Mahler 10th/Cook, I can't say if there are better, but this one is definitely satisfying to this untrained ear.

[austinpop]

Old favorite.

 

[austinpop]

On 3/9/2018 at 9:21 AM, Priaptor said:

Here is another Great Supertramp, particularly the first cut.  Not sure if you can find it on a download BUT if you can find the initial redbook release it is one of my favorites. 

 

On 3/9/2018 at 9:29 AM, freesteve said:

Austin... My favorite ST is Crime Of The Century, especially on the Japanese vinyl...

 

Guys, I have all the ST albums. Multiple versions.  My faves are the 24/192 remaster of the Crime of the Century, and the Japanese SHM-SACD of Breakfast in America.

 

I would love to see SHM-SACDs of Crisis What Crisis and Even in the Quietest Moments. Has anyone tried the SHM-CD (not SACD) versions?

 

7 hours ago, semente said:

Have you been worrying about Brexit?

 

I have enough worries in good ol' US of A for me to worry about other counties.  

[austinpop]

[austinpop]

 

10 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

4 hours ago, Musicophile said:

Looks interesting. Is it good?

 

Yes. The Organ Sumphony is not a piece I know well, but the Carnival of the Animals is, of course. Enjoyable performance.

 

I have an MQA DAC on loan in my system. I was playing this album MQA-decoded off Tidal, and the SQ is excellent.

 

Given the relative paucity of classical music on Tidal Masters, this was a nice find.

[austinpop]

 

This Solti Mahler 8th from 1971 is the one I always return to, and has pride of place in my (Roon) library. Get the 24/96 on Blu-Ray - it makes the most of the 1971 recording. Yes, there are sonically better recordings of Mahler 8th than this - the MTT/San Francisco comes to mind, but there is just something special about this performance that stirs the soul like no other.

[austinpop]

On 3/24/2018 at 8:46 AM, christopher3393 said:

Mahler: Symphony No.6

Osmo Vanska/ Minnesota Orchestra

 

 

http://www.eclassical.com/conductors/vanska-osmo/mahler-symphony-no6.html

 

"Albert Camus once wrote ‘when I describe what the catastrophe of modern man looks like, music comes into my mind – the music of Gustav Mahler’. If asked to specify a particular work, it is quite possible that Camus would have proposed Symphony No. 6 in A minor – the symphony that Bruno Walter claimed portrayed ‘a terrifying, hopeless darkness, without a human sound’."

 

I am a huge fan of Osmo - I guess that makes me an Osmonaut.  His Sibelius cycle on BIS are among the most treasured recordings in my library.

 

When it comes to Mahler though, both this release of the 6th, and the previous 5th on BIS - while they're both outstanding recordings - do not move me as much as my 2 favorite modern Mahlerians: Benjamin Zander and Michael Tilson-Thomas (MTT). Osmo's interpretation seems to be a bit too reserved and - dare I say it - Nordic - for my tastes. But this is a matter of taste. I'm sure many will disagree, and that's OK. Either way, there is no disputing these new Mahler BIS releases are sonic gems, and a worthy addition to any library.

 

In my case, this is the 7th recording of the Mahler 6th in my library.

[austinpop]

Exploring MQA classical albums on Tidal, and found this gem:

 

 

Really enjoyed the Sibelius, haven't heard the Walton yet.

[austinpop]

2 hours ago, rando said:

 

I feel just slightly pedantic, but you did use that awful three letter scourge of the upright and courageous prominently in your post.  

 

 

 

1 hour ago, ted_b said:

Have you, by chance, compared it to the SACD (or DSD rip)?

 

I am staying out of the religious wars.

 

I merely have a nice MQA-capable DAC in house for a few weeks, so wanted to explore what was out there on Tidal, especially in the classical genre.

 

So Ted - I don’t own this recording in any other format to be able to compare.

 

What I will say is the classical pickings are slim, but there are some nice gems, that I will post here as I find and enjoy them.

 

Finding stuff is a bear too, but I found this list (http://www.meridianunplugged.com/downloads/MQA_List.csv), in conjunction with the Tidal desktop app’s little M designator, to be fairly useful.

[austinpop]

4 minutes ago, elcorso said:

 

Has anyone listened the 24/96 DL from Qobuz?

 

Thanks,

 

Roch

 

I don't have Qobuz yet. Was waiting for US debut, whenever that happens. I know I can signup with VPN, foreign address etc etc, but such a hassle.

[austinpop]

7 minutes ago, Norton said:

 

Likewise:

 

 

Yes! I found and bookmarked this too, for listening tonight. A classic, for sure.

[austinpop]

7 hours ago, Norton said:

 

Likewise:

 

 

I misspoke. This album is not available in MQA - at least not in the US. This doesn't detract from the fact it is an outstanding performance, of course!

 

The MQA du Pré album I had bookmarked was the Schumann/Saint-Saëns:

 

 

I just listened to this, and it is brilliant too.

[austinpop]

9 hours ago, Norton said:

 

I didn't realise Tidal has territorial variations.  For UK at least the MQA (96KHz) is catalogue # 79657598.

 

Yes indeed - these territorial restrictions are a real annoyance.

[austinpop]

17 minutes ago, Norton said:

 

Just listened to this, a great recommendation.  Sibelius is one of the few great composers I've struggled to get into, but  I heard this piece  first at Proms last year, very appealing. Any recommendations as to which of the symphonies to try (I like a big tune)?

 

For the longest time, the only Sibelius symphony I could get into was the 2nd. Now I love them all. I credit the Osmo Vänskä/Minnesota cycle on BIS. Just buy them on eClassical and be done with it. Tidal has them, but not in MQA.

 

 

Quote

From my explorations  of Tidal/MQA, I find this hits the spot:

 

 

especially #7 which I find very fine.

 

For me, Bruckner is the composer I've struggled to get into. I'll give this a listen.

 

I'm thinking we need a separate thread to discuss Tidal MQA Classical Gems. I will create one.