Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy – Elgar: Symphony No. 2 (2009) [Japan]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 55:06 minutes | Basic Scans included | 1,51 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Basic Scans included | 1,37 GB
or FLAC Stereo (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Basic Scans included | 1,14 GB
Far less frequently performed and recorded than the darker First Symphony, Edward Elgar’s Second Symphony in E flat major is a work written on an exceptionally grand scale. Elgar scored the symphony for an extended triple woodwind section, extra percussion, and even two harps. The first movement is filled with quintessential English pomp. This may be in part responsible for the unfavorable reactions that some have on first listening to this symphony. Beyond the first movement, however, Elgar’s gifts shine through with a marvelously lyrical, somber slow movement; a nimble, rhythmically sophisticated third movement rondo; and a boisterous but not pompous finale. Vladimir Ashkenazy, who was appointed principal conductor of the Sydney Symphony in 2009, puts his orchestra through its paces in this vibrant Exton album. Presented on a hybrid SACD, listeners enjoying Ashkenazy’s performance, enveloping sound filled with subtle detail and nuance, broad dynamic scope, and clear balance within the massive orchestra. Ashkenazy plays down the symphony’s moments of stuffiness and accentuates the work’s lyricism, harmonic richness, and abundance of colors achieved. The Sydney Orchestra rises to the occasion both technically and musically, providing listeners with an ideal recorded choice for this often overlooked symphony.
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Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy – Elgar: Symphony No. 1 (2009) [Japan]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 52:20 minutes | Basic Scans included | 1,43 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Basic Scans included | 1,3 GB
or FLAC 2.0 (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Basic Scans included | 1,08 GB
Vladimir Ashkenazy, who was appointed principal conductor of the Sydney Symphony in 2009, puts his orchestra through its paces in this vibrant Exton album. The first volume of Edward Elgar’s series features the Symphony No. 1, one of the composer’s two completed symphonies, which enjoyed enormous success after its premiere and has been beloved ever since.
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Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy – Elgar: Enigma Variations & In The South (2009) [Japan]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 51:33 minutes | Basic Scans included | 1,46 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Basic Scans included | 1,34 GB
or FLAC 2.0 (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Basic Scans included | 1,08 GB
Vladimir Ashkenazy, who was appointed principal conductor of the Sydney Symphony in 2009, puts his orchestra through its paces in this vibrant Exton album. This third volume of Edward Elgar’s series features Enigma Variations & In The South overture. The people at Exton, a Japanese audiophile label, have once again produced an impressive recording with plenty of headroom. The imaging is so natural that you can almost visualize the space between the instruments, but yet the orchestral sound is rich and full of impact. The strings shimmer in the high notes, and the bass drums, rather than being heard, are felt like distant thunder. Highly recommended.
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The Conga Kings – Jazz Descargas (2001)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 73:49 minutes | Front/Rear Covers | 4,28 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Front/Rear Covers | 2,2 GB
or FLAC Stereo (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Front/Rear Covers | 1,6 GB
Features Stereo and Quadrophonic Surround Sound | Label: Chesky Records # SACD 224
The Conga Kings are back with their second Chesky Records release to prove that these master congueros have more rhythmic tales to tell. Featuring Candido Camero, Carlos “Patato” Valdes and Giovanni Hidalgo, Jazz Descargas is a spontaneous celebration of modern rhythm and melody, a joyous colloquium of jazz and Afro-Cuban sounds by the likes of Machito, Dizzy Gillespie and Tito Puente. Historically, musically and conceptually, this rhythmic dream team is creating the genuine article. The Conga Kings are joined on Jazz Descargas by special guests Phil Woods, Mario Rivera, Chocolate and Jimmy Bosch.
On many levels, The Conga Kings’ Jazz Descargas is authentic Afro-Cuban jazz. For starters, Carlos “Patato” Valdes and Candido Camero have been Afro-Cuban music pioneers for decades. Patato is recognized as one of the first to tune his congas to a song’s dominant chord, which contributes harmony to the song’s melody as well as to the rhythm of a song (noteworthy because there is no piano, and therefore plenty of melodic space, on Jazz Descargas ), and has played with Art Blakey and Dizzy Gillespie. Camero has contributed Latin punctuation to groove sessions by Gene Ammons, Kenny Burrell, and even Tony Bennett (on the unique The Beat of My Heart, which featured the singer against a backdrop consisting of only percussion with the occasional wind instrument). Partnered with Giovanni Hidalgo, an alumnus of Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra, the combined influence of these three congueros on Latin Jazz has been profound. These three really could be The Conga Kings.
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The 52nd Street Blues Project – Blues & Grass (2004)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 & DST64 5.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 49:40 minutes | Scans included | 2,84 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Full Scans included | 1,19 GB
or FLAC Stereo (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Full Scans included | 1,01 GB
Features Stereo & Quadrophonic Surround Sound | Chesky Records # SACD 286
This collaborative effort between Queen Esther, Charlie Burnham, Mark Peterson, Aubrey Dayle and guitarist James “Blood” Ulmer reflects a singular, down-home vision of the blues and backwoods roots music. Blues & Grass is less about jamming and instrumentalists and more about chant and incantation, about old-time spirituals and story-telling.
Read more![Roxy Gordon - Crazy Horse Never Died (1988/2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download](https://i0.wp.com/imghd.xyz/images/2023/05/31/os13sbchosspa_600.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1)
Roxy Gordon – Crazy Horse Never Died (1988/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 30:07 minutes | 562 MB | Genre: Folk Rock, Lo-fi
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Paradise of Bachelors
Arrestingly singular and deeply moving, this 1988 album by Choctaw, Assiniboine, and Texan poet, journalist, artist, activist, and musician Roxy Gordon (First Coyote Boy) (1945-2000)-whose long out-of-print work has been acclaimed by friends such as Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, and Terry Allen-sets his cold-blooded, bone-lean reflections on the complexities and contradictions of American Indian (and American) history and identity to atmospheric, synth-damaged country-rock that skirts ambient textures and postpunk deconstructions.
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Maurizio Pollini – Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 28 & 29 (1977) [Japan 2015]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 63:09 min | Scans NOT included | 1,65 GB
or DSD64 2.0 (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Scans NOT included | 1,5 GB
or FLAC (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Scans NOT included | 1,27 GB
Deutsche Grammmophon / Esoteric Company, Japan # ESSG-90128
Because Beethoven’s late piano sonatas are universally revered, performances of these works often invite passionate disagreements about the proper way to interpret them. Such was the case with Maurizio Pollini’s recordings (1975-1977), and the controversy surrounding them has never fully abated. While these performances are polished to an extent seldom realized on other recordings, it was this pristine quality itself that invited criticism. Pollini was alleged to have objectified the music and detached himself emotionally from his performances, leaving only cold, analytical readings without a trace of feeling. In defense, it should be pointed out that many previous performances were overly burdened with Romantic interpretations and pretensions, and that Pollini performed a great service by presenting the sonatas in as accurate and clean a manner as possible, without grandiose effects. His performances are astonishingly lucid and flowing, especially in the many contrapuntal passages that regularly appear as features of these works.
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Hideaki Yoshioka Trio – Moment To Moment (2000) [Japan 2018]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 48:55 minutes | Front/Rear Covers | 1,44 GB
or DSD64 2.0 (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Front/Rear Covers | 1,29 GB
or FLAC (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/48 kHz | Front/Rear Covers | 590 MB
Funky jazz pianist Yoshioka Hideaki’s long-awaited first East Coast recording. Hideaki plays with Jamir Nasser and Jimmy Cobb who he was eager to co-star most. Includes “Don’t Take Your Love From Me”, “Blowin’ The Blues Away”, “Some One To Light Up My Life”, “Harlem Blues” and “Moment To Moment”, plus two Yoshioka originals. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio.
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Enigma – MCMXC A.D. (1990) [Reissue 2016]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 40:15 minutes | Scans included | 1,07 GB
or DSD64 2.0 (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Full Scans included | 963 MB
or FLAC (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/44,1 kHz | Full Scans included | 452 MB
MCMXC a.D. is the first studio album by the German music project Enigma, headed by Romanian-German musician Michael Cretu. It was released on 10 December 1990 by Virgin Records in the United Kingdom, and on 28 January 1991 by Charisma Records in the United States. Before he founded Enigma, Cretu had released several solo records, collaborated with various artists, and produced albums for his then wife, German pop singer Sandra. Following their marriage in 1988, Cretu developed an idea for a New-age music project and recorded MCMXC a.D. in eight months at A.R.T. Studios, his home studio in Ibiza, Spain. It is one of the first albums recorded onto a hard disk. Cretu makes extensive use of Gregorian chants, dance beats, and flute sounds.
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Dadawa – Sister Drum (1995) [Reissue 2014]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 43:47 minutes | Front/Rear Covers | 851 MB
or DSD64 2.0 (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Front/Rear Covers | 1,16 GB
or FLAC (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/48 kHz | Front/Rear Covers | 487 MB
Sister Drum is the second studio album by Chinese singer Dadawa, which is heavily influenced by the music of Tibet. The album is notable for being the first Asian album to ship over one million copies in China. In traditional Tibetan culture, Sister Drum, whose drumhead is made out of a pure girl’s skin, was used for honoring the god. This behavior has now been prohibited in modern Tibet. This studio ‘Sister Drum’ is based on this cruel context. Only the skin of a pure girl could be chosen to make the drumhead. To prevent them from disturbing in the real world, those girls are better mutes. If it is necessary, sometimes their tongues would be cut out.
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![Ravi Shankar - Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India (1976/2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz] Download](https://i0.wp.com/imghd.xyz/images/2022/05/26/iwmppl2fmi7la_600.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1)
Ravi Shankar – Ravi Shankar’s Music Festival from India (1976/2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 47:28 minutes | 525 MB | Genre: Folk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BMG Rights Management (US) LLC
George Harrison’s legendary record label Dark Horse Records releases a brand new remaster of Indian sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar’s 1974 Indian classic music revue Ravi Shankar’s Music Festival from India. Its presentation was the first project undertaken by the Material World Charitable Foundation, set up the previous year by ex-Beatle George Harrison. Long a champion of Indian music, Harrison also produced an eponymous studio album by the Music Festival orchestra, which was released in 1976 on his Dark Horse record label.
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Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Gerard Schwarz – The Shining (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:45:14 minutes | 3,98 GB | Genre: Classical, Opera
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © PENTATONE
Lyric Opera of Kansas City presents the world-premiere recording of Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s opera The Shining (2016). Based on the novel by Stephen King, this opera “elevates the tale from horror story to a human drama” (Wall Street Journal) thanks to Moravec’s atmospheric, electrifying score and Campbell’s deft libretto. While staged performances have received critical and public acclaim, this engaging masterpiece can now be enjoyed as a recording for the first time.
The Kansas City Symphony and Lyric Opera of Kansas City Chorus are led by the eminent conductor Gerard Schwarz and join forces with an excellent cast of soloists. The main role of Jack Torrance is interpreted by Edward Parks, who was part of the Grammy-winning recording of Mason Bate’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, released on Pentatone in 2018.
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