Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue - Fiedler - Living Stereo 82876613932 (2005)
SACD rip via PS3 to iso (3.69GB) | 24bit/88.2kHz flac, 2ch (1.61GB), 3ch (2.46GB) | Hybrid Mch | DST |


Perfect antidote for classical (& audio) snobbery 
By Lawrence A. Schenbeck - Published on Amazon.com

Attention all music snobs! This SACD is just what you need to clean out your ears, & your soul. I just finished listening to it after spending a dispiriting morning with a 2004 multichannel release of a major, very serious violin concerto from a major label, major soloist, major orchestra & conductor. On that disc, tepid music-making, oh-so-careful recording & mastering. Oh so boring.

Now here's the real thing. Made back when people enjoyed making & hearing "light classics" -- & it really shows. Although I'm a boomer, I was not familiar with earlier iterations of this famous Boston Pops recording. Therefore I can't comment on whether it's as good as this remastering or that original shaded dog or whatever.

All I can say is, wow! This 3-channel SACD really hits the spot. The pianist, Earl Wild, is probably unmatched in this repertoire. The orchestra, under its founding conductor, plays with matching exuberance. Everyone seems to be having a ball, 1st measure to last. When's the last time you heard a classical recording like that?

The recorded sound is open, colorful, engaging, & totally persuasive. Sure, the soloist is brightly lit, & there's a bit of suspect reverb. But I can hear the hall, the imaging is pretty good, & it's just so involving! Bless you, Richard Mohr, Lewis Layton & all the rest. Why can't they make 'em like this anymore?

So, unconditionally recommended. Once you've heard this, you can go back to your Magnus Lindberg or Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach or Pierre Boulez or 13th-century Moldavian motets or whatever & feel like one of the few, the precious few again. But at least you will have had some fun.

I have enjoyed many of the Living Stereo SACD remasterings, but this one is quite special.

----------http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/2674

Two complete Living Stereo LPs on a single disc! With the addition of the Cuban Overture, this best-selling Living Stereo compilation now offers both landmark Fiedler-Gershwin recordings complete, in demonstration-quality DSD audiophile recordings.

Newly remastered in DSD (Direct Stream Digital) from the original source tape by the award winning Soundmirror engineering team headed by John Newton. Living Stereo recordings were made with only 2 or 3 microphones, which represented the best recording techniques of that era. Today, with the advent of SACD & multi-channel sound, the listener can hear left, center & right channels exactly as the recording engineers heard them at the original recording sessions.

     Tracks: 

George Gershwin (1898-1937)
1     Rhapsody in Blue
2-4 Concerto in F
5     An American in Paris
6     Variations on "I Got Rhythm"
7     Cuban Overture

     Musicians: 

Earl Wild, piano
Boston Pops Orchestra
Arthur Fiedler, conductor



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