SACD

Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Phiharmoniker – Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6 (1985) [Japan 2019] [SACD / Esoteric Company – ESSG-90197/9]

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Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Phiharmoniker - Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6 (1985) [Japan 2019]

Title: Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Phiharmoniker – Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6 (1985) [Japan 2019]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Recordings of such important music entities as the Vienna Philharmonic and Herbert von Karajan are always going to be of importance, and this set is no exception. It highlights a conductor in the twilight of his career with repertoire he was acutely familiar with, and had recorded many, many times. Japanese Esoteric label have produced to be the definitive issue of such recordings.

This recent reissue project by Esoteric, is admittedly a little out of left field. Of the many recordings receiving the audiophile treatment in recent years, one does not hear much about recordings (especially digital) from the 1980s. Listening to a few, one does not have to wonder why. The early digital technology labels were using in the 1980s yielded somewhat unpleasing results to my ears, with recordings that sound rather glassy, with dull strings and somewhat boxy and unrealistic sounding wind instruments. Sure, the dynamics could be stellar thanks to the CD and its lack of potential for tracking errors, but phrasing and texture were sacrificed, at least in the early days. I do not have an original CD or LP of this recording to compare this SACD release to, but I do have a few 80s digital Deutsche Grammophon LPs, and if those are anything to compare, Esoteric has certainly worked wonders with the engineering. According to their own liner notes, this set was mastered at 96/24bit from an original digital master that was done at Redbook 44/16bit. Getting a good sounding recording on a DSD format out of such a low resolution master is certainly a daunting task. So, how does this set sound? Well, pretty dark, which is no surprise coming from a Karajan recording, that was his usual standard, especially in his later years. The dynamics are pretty impressive, with the climaxes and percussion hits sounding rather earth-shaking. The problem I run into, is that for some reason the loud sections sound rather boomy and lacking in definition. For instance, whenever the percussion are prominent, the boomyness takes over the soundstage and blurs out any definition in the brass, or orchestra as a whole, you no longer hear instruments, but instead you here “loud”. Also the strings lack the texture here that make them sound like real vibrating instruments in a hall. Particularly, the starts of notes or phrases kind of “fade” in rather than beginning. Finally, in the big sections, the winds sound rather hard, there is a real digital graininess or sibilance that makes the sound rather fatiguing to listen to at concert volume. All of these problems, I doubt are the fault of Esoteric. It is a label that has consistently put care into its masterings, and this is certainly the best 80s digital recording I have ever heard from Deutsche Grammophon. That being said, I don’t think this recording can escape from the limitations of its birth, which is a harsh early digital sound, mixed with a lack of realistic instrument timbre, particularly noticeable in the string and woodwind sounds. How far can one take such a limited original product? I think this might be the answer to that question. – Review by audiophilia-com

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SACD

Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker – Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (1984) [Japan 2019] [SACD / Esoteric Company – ESSG-90215/7]

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Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker - Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (1984) [Japan 2019]

Title: Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker – Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (1984) [Japan 2019]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

This three SACD set contains Richard Strauss’ opera “Der Rosenkavalier” performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan, and the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor, led by Helmut Froschauer. Sung in German. This reissue series of classical music masterpieces by Esoteric has attracted a lot of attention, both for its uncompromising commitment to recreating the original master sound. This series marks the first hybrid SACD release of historical recording selections that have been mainstays of the catalog since their initial release.

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SACD

Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker – Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (1988/2018) [SACD / Esoteric Company – ESSG-90181]

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Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker - Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (1988/2018)

Title: Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker – Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (1988/2018)
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

A wonderful reading it is, as authoritative as its predecessors and every bit as well played but somehow more profound, more humane, more lovable if that is a permissible attribute of an interpretation of this Everest among symphonies. […] It is the sense of the music being in the hearts and minds and collective unconscious of Karajan and every one of the hundred and more players that gives this performance its particular charisma and appeal. Richard Osborne, Gramophone, October 1989

Recorded the year before he died, this might stand as a spiritual testament to Karajan’s relationship with this work. ~ Record Review / James Jolly, Gramophone (London) / 01. December 2005 Herbert von Karajan identified with the 8th perhaps more intensely than with any other score in the repertory; it is significant that in February 1989, in what proved to be his last performances outside of Austria, he brought it to New York with the VPO & made it the centrepiece of a 3-concert engagement. The air of finality was heavy at those concerts, & Karajan, determined to go out as a conqueror, did just that. This 1988 recording comes very close to recapturing the experience of that live performance. Karajan’s careful pacing gives the 8th time to unfurl, allowing the mystery & tenderness of Bruckner’s vision to radiate from some place deep within the paroxysmal intensity of the symphony’s argument. The cumulative effect is shattering. Throughout, the Viennese play beyond their limits, as if their lives depended on it. The recorded sound is vivid & of very wide dynamic range. . . . a wonderful reading it is, as authoritative as its predecessors & every bit as well played but somehow more profound, more humane, more lovable . . . at its best, the recording surges with an almost animal impulse that recreates the pull of a live performance & puts most recordings – by anyone, including Karajan himself in the shade. ~ Richard Osborne, Peter Quantrill, Christian Hoskins, Gramophone, March 2016 . . . this 1988 Karajan account holds a special place . . . it was in the 8th Symphony that, for me, Karajan achieved the greatest recording of his last decade . . . Whether one comes to this performance as a doubter or believer, an impalpable ‘something’ runs through it that no other modern recording has. ~ Huntley Dent, Fanfare, August 2016

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SACD

Herbert Von Karajan, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra – Dvorák: Symphony No.8; Brahms: Symphony No.3 (1962/65) [Japan 2011] [SACD / Esoteric Company – ESSD-90036]

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Herbert Von Karajan, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorák: Symphony No.8; Brahms: Symphony No.3 (1962/65) [Japan 2011]

Title: Herbert Von Karajan, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra – Dvorák: Symphony No.8; Brahms: Symphony No.3 (1962/65) [Japan 2011]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Karajan was associated with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London from the early 1950s and made recordings with this orchestra for EMI. From 1959, Karajan also started recording with the Berlin Philharmonic for Deutsche Grammophon and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (VPO) for Decca. At that time, the recording industry was gaining momentum because of newly introduced stereophonic technology and consequently Karajan began to dominate the market. In particular, Decca’s recordings, which were made with the VPO in collaboration with the great producer John Culshaw, resulted in many remarkable tracks for the diverse orchestral compositions including pioneering recordings of “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and “Planets” and for complete operas with superb musicians and vocalists, in addition to the standard symphony recordings of the time. Among Decca’s recordings, ESOTERIC has produced a coupling of Dvorák’s Eighth Symphony and Brahms’ Third Symphony, recorded in 1961, to offer two highly admired performances on a single CD.

The reissuing of the Decca masterpiece series has attracted a lot of attention, both for its uncompromising commitment to recreating the original master recording and for using our hybrid Super Audio CD/CD re-mastering technology to improve sound quality. This series marks the first hybrid SA-CD/CD release of two selections that have been mainstays of the Decca catalog since their initial release on LP, later making their way on to CD. These new re-mastered audio versions feature newly created DSD master.

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SACD

Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker – Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.3 ‘Polish’… [Japanese SHM-SACD 2016] [SACD / Deutsche Grammophon – UCGG-9015]

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Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.3 'Polish'... [Japanese SHM-SACD 2016]

Title: Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker – Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.3 ‘Polish’… [Japanese SHM-SACD 2016]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Herbert von Karajan leads the Berliner Philharmoniker in a wonderful performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s unique five movement major key Symphony No. 3 plus Marche Slave & Capriccio Italien. Dispite this SHM-SACD marked as Original Japanese SACD, every performance on this disc, including “Marche Slave” and “Capriccio Italien”, are identical to the featured on the “Karajan Conducts Tchaikovsky” box set.

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SACD

Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan – Tchaikovsky: 6 Symphonies (1979) [Japan 2017] [SACD / Deutsche Grammophon – UCGG-9102/4]

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Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan - Tchaikovsky: 6 Symphonies (1979) [Japan 2017]

Title: Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan – Tchaikovsky: 6 Symphonies (1979) [Japan 2017]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Herbert von Karajan conducts this performance of Tchaikovsky’s Six Symphonies by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Although Karajan recorded the last three symphonies many times, he did not turn to the first three until the end of the 1970s. No doubt the reason these early symphonies sound so fresh is because the Berlin orchestra was not over-familiar with them – this belied by the sheer refinement of the orchestral playing. Recorded at the Philharmonie between October 1975 and February 1979, Karajan’s Berliner Philharmoniker cycle is presented on three SHM-SACD, mastered from the analogue recordings, transferred & edited in PCM, then converted to DSD.

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SACD

Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op.40 (1959) [Japanese SHM-SACD 2014] [SACD / Deutsche Grammophon – UCGG-9062]

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Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra - Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op.40 (1959) [Japanese SHM-SACD 2014]

Title: Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op.40 (1959) [Japanese SHM-SACD 2014]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Say what you want about the egomaniacal Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan, he was far & away the best postwar interpreter of German composer Richard Strauss’ megalomaniacal Ein Heldenleben. In this 1959 Deutsche Grammophon recording with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Karajan approaches the work as a portrait painted in sound of the artist as a young world conqueror. Though Karajan draws playing of tremendous fire & daring out of the Berlin musicians & though Deutsche Grammophon captures the performance in immediate stereo sound, the real hero of this Hero’s Life is Karajan himself. He has the measure of the score, knows when to apply pressure & when to pull back, when to let the brass go & when to reign them in, when to let the harmonies bloom & when to cut them off. But more importantly, Karajan believes in the music. Other postwar conductors could give convincing performances of Ein Heldenleben — one thinks, of course, of Fritz Reiner & the Chicago Symphony’s high-powered 1954 RCA recording — but Karajan isn’t performing the work: he’s living it. The sweep & swagger of the opening theme, the imperious power of the battle music, the expansive monumentality of the closing pages: this isn’t an act for Karajan; this is life itself.

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SACD

Herbert Von Karajan, BBerlin Philharmonic – Sibelius: Symphony No.2, The Swan Of Tuonela, Finlandia (2011) [SACD / Esoteric Company – ESSE-90058]

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Herbert Von Karajan, BBerlin Philharmonic - Sibelius: Symphony No.2, The Swan Of Tuonela, Finlandia (2011)

Title: Herbert Von Karajan, BBerlin Philharmonic – Sibelius: Symphony No.2, The Swan Of Tuonela, Finlandia (2011)
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

The reissue of classical music masterpieces by ESOTERIC has attracted a lot of attention, both for its uncompromising commitment to recreating the original master sound, and for using hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) technology to improve sound quality. This series marks the first hybrid SACD release of historical recording selections that have been mainstays of the catalog since their initial release on LP, until the present digital age of CD. These new audio versions feature ESOTERIC’s proprietary re-mastering process to achieve the highest level of sound quality.

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