Search - Sergey Rachmaninov, Ivan Fischer, Budapest Festival Orchestra :: Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2; Vocalise

My favorite SACD

W. Brekke | Silver Spring, MD USA | 04/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have about 30 Super Audio CDs and right now, this is my favorite. Partly because I think Rachmaninovs 2nd Symphony is the the most pleasurable symphony ever written, but also because of the playing and the sound quality. I've listened to the Askenazy/Concertgebouw version from the early 80s dozens of times. (I even heard him perform it with the Royal Philharmonic in Atlanta in the 80s), and the Askenazy version is very forceful and driving, but the sound is not as clear, as you might expect. I like to put on my fairly expensive Sennheiser headphones, turn off the furnace fan, and really listen. This version is recorded with the speakers in the front-middle of the orchestra where the conductor stands. None of this "narrow stage" stuff. This is close-up. The individual strings and groups of strings shimmer and tickle around you with amazing resolution (with headphones) especially if you bump the treble a little. This is pure DSD and I hope Deutche Grammaphone which seems to have a policy of only delivering stuff passed through a 24-bit process listens to this one from Channel Classics. Enough said."

Rocky with strength!

William Dodd | Castle Rock, WA USA | 04/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love Rachmaninoff's Third Symphony. I love "Isle of the Dead", and the "Symphonic Dances". The Second Symphony has always seemed syrupy to me-- perhaps because of the constant lifting of the big tunes into pop songs or movie soundtracks. I've had other recordings that I thought were fine--- Ormandy, Ashkenazy... I just didn't listen to them much. Then this one came along. This is heart with muscle! And while I'm not sure about how the Vocalise was miked, the Symphony was wonderfuly recorded. My highest recommendation for this wonderful disc."