SPOTLIGHT The classical music general discussion thread

[J. PUPSTER]

I've just finished playing this right now and in a word, it's the best classical surround release I've ever heard. I've got a number of classical releases that are mixed to a similar extent in terms of rear-channel usage, but none of them sound anywhere near as good; see below for some examples, and obviously not counting anything by Tomita.

Back to Shostakovich 5, what makes this particular release so great is that the surround mix is coherent with music from each speaker blending seamlessly with the music coming from the others; the overall sound is warm and inviting, with no harsh tones present whatsoever; the dynamic range is great as you can bring it up to boogie volume without bashing in your ears; the performance is excellent with energy and intimacy in all the right places; and, perhaps most importantly, it also has that je ne sais quoi that makes you want to hear it all over again.

I've heard this particular symphony a million times and I've seen it live here in Glasgow so I know it well. It obviously won't be my 'go-to' version when I'm on the go, as it were. But right here at home? Accept no substitutes, is what I say!

Multichannel mixes that, compared to this masterpiece, are (sort of) close, but (definitely) no cigar:

Mahler 2 by Zander
Mahler 10 - Rattle
The Planets - Susskind
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances/Stravinksky Petruska - Jansons

Well I guess I need to finally unwrap mine; thanks for the nudge guys

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Just got mine today. I haven't been able to audition the Atmos mix yet, but the 5.1 is fabulous. Great sound overall, and plenty happening in the surrounds.

Very spacious; what’s incredible is that this is a computerized representation recorded at Stanford University.

 

[mwhealton]

OK, Shostakovich 5 is a must.
To round out an even-number DV order, I'm looking for one more disk.
How do you all feel about the Bernstein Haydn Mass in Times of War multichannel mix?
(Right now it has a certain resonant timeliness, after all...)

 

[J. PUPSTER]

OK, Shostakovich 5 is a must.
To round out an even-number DV order, I'm looking for one more disk.
How do you all feel about the Bernstein Haydn Mass in Times of War multichannel mix?
(Right now it has a certain resonant timeliness, after all...)

I don't have the Haydn yet, but I was really knocked out by this one (if you don't already have it?)
https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CDLX7337

 

[humprof]

OK, Shostakovich 5 is a must.
To round out an even-number DV order, I'm looking for one more disk.
How do you all feel about the Bernstein Haydn Mass in Times of War multichannel mix?
(Right now it has a certain resonant timeliness, after all...)

I think the Haydn Mass is excellent. There's quite a bit of reverb (it was recorded in a cathedral, after all), but it's a really active mix: orchestra in front, choir behind...

The Symphony No. 96 mix isn't as dramatic, but it's still very good.

 

[mwhealton]

Thanks, I will consider it. I tend to shy away from excerpts and collections of individual pieces most of the time. This is entirely because of the loss of context when they are no longer embedded in the actual work. A single act of Götterdämmerung is ok to me, but just a 'hit single' approach seems like some terrible extraction of a living organ from a helpless body. Brünnhilde's "Oh, ruh.." is transcendent indeed - when you've made the journey with her throughout the opera.
Not beating up on your impression of the mix, to be sure. I appreciate the recommendation!

 

[humprof]

Thanks, I will consider it. I tend to shy away from excerpts and collections of individual pieces most of the time. This is entirely because of the loss of context when they are no longer embedded in the actual work. A single act of Götterdämmerung is ok to me, but just a 'hit single' approach seems like some terrible extraction of a living organ from a helpless body. Brünnhilde's "Oh, ruh.." is transcendent indeed - when you've made the journey with her throughout the opera.
Not beating up on your impression of the mix, to be sure. I appreciate the recommendation!

If you haven't seen Coronadämmerung yet: it's a must:

 

[windhoek]

OK, Shostakovich 5 is a must.
To round out an even-number DV order, I'm looking for one more disk.
How do you all feel about the Bernstein Haydn Mass in Times of War multichannel mix?
(Right now it has a certain resonant timeliness, after all...)

I'm so impressed with Shostakovich 5, I've now ordered Shoenberg's Gurrelieder. It's been on my radar since it was announced but because so many multichannel mixes have disappointed over the years I kept on putting it off as I didn't want to end up with another expensive dud. But if it's as good as Shostakovich 5 I'm in for a treat. Fingers crossed!

 

[humprof]

I'm so impressed with Shostakovich 5, I've now ordered Shoenberg's Gurrelieder. It's been on my radar since it was announced but because so many multichannel mixes have disappointed over the years I kept on putting it off as I didn't want to end up with another expensive dud. But if it's as good as Shostakovich 5 I'm in for a treat. Fingers crossed!

For his classical reissues, Michael Dutton has really favored active, discrete mixes. The Mahler 1st & 4th set, Carmina Burana, Boulez Conducts Stravinsky, Boulez Conducts Bartok, etc., ... Gurre-Lieder won't disappoint.

 

[ubertrout]

Thanks, I will consider it. I tend to shy away from excerpts and collections of individual pieces most of the time. This is entirely because of the loss of context when they are no longer embedded in the actual work. A single act of Götterdämmerung is ok to me, but just a 'hit single' approach seems like some terrible extraction of a living organ from a helpless body. Brünnhilde's "Oh, ruh.." is transcendent indeed - when you've made the journey with her throughout the opera.
Not beating up on your impression of the mix, to be sure. I appreciate the recommendation!

I think the cover is a bit unfortunate of that disc - it's really a full LP of Stokowski conducting his arrangements of Bach, with a new Quad mix by Michael Dutton of the Immolation Scene from Gotterdamerung as a bonus. Those arrangements aren't everyone's taste of course, but I suspect they're more a selling point than the Wagner excerpt.

 

[mwhealton]

If you haven't seen Coronadämmerung yet: it's a must:

Ach, meine Götter und Göttinnen! (Und auch ihre Katzegeschwister)! 'Bin froh, dass ich meinen Kaffee schon fertig geschluckt habe ...
Hmmm, never thought of adding vodka to it though..

 

[windhoek]

I'm now listening to disc 2 of the Shostakovich set from D-V and sadly, the 15th is tame lame affair compared to the magnificent 5th as far as surround treatment goes. And not for the first time do I get the feeling that Shostakovich only wrote one symphony and simply shuffled the notes and phrases around and presented them over the course of his career as 'new' symphonies; the 5th being the best anagram of course.

I'm still more than happy to say the 5th is well worth the price of admission and no-one should be put off from buying this set based on what I've just said about the 15th (unless you're a big fan of that particular symphony and don't care about hearing it in surround). Love or loathe the 15th, this set is highly recommended!

 

[mwhealton]

Oh, The Shostakovich 13 'Babi Yar' could be terrific in surround!

 

[windhoek]

Now that I've heard just how good classical music can sound in surround, how does the Steinberg performance of The Planets compare to Shostakovich 5 as presented in the D-V set? If it's as good, I'm in. If it's like the 15th, I'm (staying) out.

 

[humprof]

Now that I've heard just how good classical music can sound in surround, how does the Steinberg performance of The Planets compare to Shostakovich 5 as presented in the D-V set? If it's as good, I'm in. If it's like the 15th, I'm (staying) out.

There's a thread about this recording somewhere, Derek. (And there may be a separate thread with people weighing in on their favorite "Planets.") But it was a big deal when DG released it, and rightly so. This a reference recording for "discrete" surround classical--Planets a bit more so than Zarathustra, but both are good.

You may want to check out this thread, too:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...tra-or-ambient-hall-multichannel-mixes.26449/

 

[humprof]

This is Michael Tilson Thomas's 25th--and final--year with the San Francisco Symphony. In addition to being a charismatic conductor, an adventurous programmer, and a tireless educator in the Leonard Bernstein mold (although as far as I know, his personal life is far less turbulent!), Thomas has been a friend and advocate of surround recording. Of the dozens of discs released on the SFS Media label during his tenure, the majority are SACDs that include 5.1 mixes. (There are also some fine DVDs & Blu-Rays.) Mostly hall ambience--sometimes "big" ambience--but clean, spacious, and well engineered, just the same. I'm happy to have many MTT Mahlers and John Adamses in my collection.

The pandemic has scuttled the tours and gala performances that were supposed to mark this anniversary, but as a consolation prize, the orchestra has begun releasing live archival recordings from each year of the MTT era. One per day, through June 28th. Start here:
https://www.sfsymphony.org/MTT25/1995-96
And here's an assessment by the Times's classical music critic, Anthony Tommasini:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/arts/music/san-francisco-symphony-michael-tilson-thomas-mtt.html

 

[windhoek]

There's a thread about this recording somewhere, Derek. (And there may be a separate thread with people weighing in on their favorite "Planets.") But it was a big deal when DG released it, and rightly so. This a reference recording for "discrete" surround classical--Planets a bit more so than Zarathustra, but both are good.

You may want to check out this thread, too:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...tra-or-ambient-hall-multichannel-mixes.26449/

Cheers, my order is in

 

[J. PUPSTER]

This one I believe:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...971-quadraphonic-blu-ray-audio-from-dg.24435/

 

[H.A.L.]

I have his Schumann symphonies 1-4 in surround and really enjoy them -- if it were physically possible, I'd kick myself for not hearing him conduct in person when I lived in the Bay area! But there was always so much music going on. . . .

This is Michael Tilson Thomas's 25th--and final--year with the San Francisco Symphony. In addition to being a charismatic conductor, an adventurous programmer, and a tireless educator in the Leonard Bernstein mold (although as far as I know, his personal life is far less turbulent!), Thomas has been a friend and advocate of surround recording. Of the dozens of discs released on the SFS Media label during his tenure, the majority are SACDs that include 5.1 mixes. (There are also some fine DVDs & Blu-Rays.) Mostly hall ambience--sometimes "big" ambience--but clean, spacious, and well engineered, just the same. I'm happy to have many MTT Mahlers and John Adamses in my collection.

The pandemic has scuttled the tours and gala performances that were supposed to mark this anniversary, but as a consolation prize, the orchestra has begun releasing live archival recordings from each year of the MTT era. One per day, through June 28th. Start here:
https://www.sfsymphony.org/MTT25/1995-96
And here's an assessment by the Times's classical music critic, Anthony Tommasini:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/arts/music/san-francisco-symphony-michael-tilson-thomas-mtt.html

 

[ubertrout]

This is Michael Tilson Thomas's 25th--and final--year with the San Francisco Symphony. In addition to being a charismatic conductor, an adventurous programmer, and a tireless educator in the Leonard Bernstein mold (although as far as I know, his personal life is far less turbulent!), Thomas has been a friend and advocate of surround recording. Of the dozens of discs released on the SFS Media label during his tenure, the majority are SACDs that include 5.1 mixes. (There are also some fine DVDs & Blu-Rays.) Mostly hall ambience--sometimes "big" ambience--but clean, spacious, and well engineered, just the same. I'm happy to have many MTT Mahlers and John Adamses in my collection.

The pandemic has scuttled the tours and gala performances that were supposed to mark this anniversary, but as a consolation prize, the orchestra has begun releasing live archival recordings from each year of the MTT era. One per day, through June 28th. Start here:
https://www.sfsymphony.org/MTT25/1995-96
And here's an assessment by the Times's classical music critic, Anthony Tommasini:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/arts/music/san-francisco-symphony-michael-tilson-thomas-mtt.html

It's great how much of his art we've gotten in surround - from his early quad recordings both known (DV's 2-disc set of his Sony-controlled recordings: https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=2CDLX7369) and unknown (Penatone's releases of his Rite of Spring: HRAudio.net - Stravinsky: Le roi des étoiles & Le Sacre du printemps - Tilson Thomas) to all the recordings he made with the San Francisco Symphony in the past 18 years. I still think the Mahler cycle is a highlight, but there's a lot of good ones.