24K Gold & 24 High Bit Remastering = the definitive edition!
Paul W. | KL, Malaysia | 01/25/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There are several different editions of Amadeus soundtracks ranging from single-disc to 3-disc sets available all at the same time, and it can be quite confusing at first.
After some research I ended up debating on whether to get the cheaper 1991 3-disc standard edition (ASIN: B000000XBV) or this 2002 2-disc special edition with '24 High-Bit' remastering. I had initial doubts that the latter contain the same 30 tracks, since it is only a 2-disc set, and decided to take a chance only after visiting the label site to confirm that it contains all 30 tracks as well.
Just a few days ago, it arrived from Amazon in a double-cd jewel case with a 30-page well-designed booklet, which has the movie sypnosis, individual narratives of almost all tracks, 2 articles about the movie and interspersed throughout with colourful scenes from the movie.
I discovered that the two '24K Gold' cds are able to contain the same number of tracks as the 3-disc standard edition because each disc is literally jam-packed to the brim, at 78.07 and 79.28 minutes respectively!
Due to the new '24 High-Bit' remastering, the sonic quality is excellent and perhaps die-hard fans of the earlier standard edition may even want to include this in their collection as well.
For those who are thinking of owning only one edition, this is the definitive edition to get if you really enjoyed the music in Amadeus and want the very best quality possible."
It is miraculous!
Carl Tabet | Paris, France | 06/06/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"So said Antonio Salieri to Mozart's wife about his music, and this Special Edition Gold Cd set understands this statement. More precisely though, it is Sir Neville Marriner, the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and the various opera singers who should receive all the praise for this superb achievement. I have never heard such an authentic and high-quality recording of Mozart's music before. Thanks to the 24-bit encoding and the exceptional quality of the recording, the beauty of Mozart's music sounds as I believe it should. You can hear even the slightest or faintest of strings. Other recordings are simply lesser because of the tempo that is either too slow or too fast and the average clarity of the instruments. If you want to discover Mozart's music for the first time or complement your copy of Milos Forman's magnificent film, this is the set you have to get because it quite simply gets it right. The high price is all worth it as you get transported by this awesome music. It's a pity that classical music is now perceived to be reserved for a niche of artsy and boring people. That couldn't be farther from the truth! If people could just take the time to listen, just for a few minutes."
Amadeus is a great movie and an equally great soundtrack!
Madmarge | 07/02/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have to admit, I didn't like classical music before I saw the movie Amadeus. After seeing how they used the music in the movie I had to have the soundtrack. I debated for a day or two over which version to buy, and finally chose this one, since it has Salieri's march to welcome Mozart. Not a huge addition, but it's the complete soundtrack, which is what I was after. Before I received the cds, I was wondering "What's the big deal about them being gold cds?" The sound quality is magnificent, you hear all the music clearly, even the softest strings. These cds capture the sound as it was in the movie (possibly even better...)The booklet that comes with it is full of information and pictures, including a synopsis of the film, and detailed information about the musical selections. I would recommend this to anyone who liked Amadeus, or anyone who loves Mozart's music.
The only negative thing about these cds is that the tracks were labelled incorrectly, repeating the title of one song many times instead of having the correct titles. It was easy enough to fix in my media player but it was frustrating. Don't know if I got a bad copy or not, but the track listing shown on Amazon.com helped me to fix it."