Sviatoslav Richter – Sviatoslav Richter plays Mussorgsky & Tchaikovsky (2016)
SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 01:18:01 minutes | 1,06 GB | Genre: Classical | © Praga Digitals
Richter’s creative flair lifts hitherto neglected pieces by Tchaikovsky to the level of Mussorgsky’s mighty ‘Pictures’ in recordings from Moscow to New York.
A Russian pianist known for the depth of his interpretations, virtuoso technique, and vast repertoire, Richter is considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century and his approach resulted in some of the most distinctive and individual performances of the piano repertoire ever recorded. In later life he took to playing at very short notice in small, most often darkened halls, with only a small lamp lighting the score. Richter said that this setting helped the audience focus on the music being performed, rather than the performer’s grimaces and gestures.
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Sviatoslav Richter & Leningrad PO, Kurt Sanderling – Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (2012)
SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 01:14:41 minutes | 1,17 GB | Genre: Classical | © Praga Digitals
Richter only played Rachmaninov’s first two concertos before embarking on his international career in 1960. A logical compilation of two live performances plus four Préludes which were to remain his favourites for the next 50 years. A unique programme which today’s cutting edge techniques have attempted to render in all their original glory. Richter n’a joué les deux premiers concertos de Rachmaninov qu’avant sa carrière internationale qui n’a réellement débutée qu’en 1960. Couplage désormais logique et unique de deux lives complété par quatre Préludes qui resteront, eux, ses favoris pendant près d’un demi-siècle. Un programme unique que les techniques les plus récentes tentent ici de reproduire dans leur vérité première.
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Sviatoslav Richter – Dvorak, Grieg & Schumann: Piano Concertos (2012)
SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 38:30 + 58:59 minutes | 4,18 GB | Genre: Classical | © EMI Classics
MWC says: I really don’t understand these people at EMI Abbey Road! Besides making DSD from PCM 24/96 they have Quad masters of this recording, but produce only a Stereo SACD?
The Signature Collection is a brand new series from EMI Classics featuring the finest catalogue recordings released for the 1st time ever in high resolution format. The 1st batch of 10 titles which include Jacqueline du Pré’s Elgar Cello Concertos, Giueseppe Di Stefano’s Neapolitan Songs & Walter Gieseking’s Debussy: Complete Piano Works, offer listeners more clarity & detail than ever before. The expert engineers at Abbey Road Studios who remastered the original EMI recordings on Hybrid Super Audio CDs have breathed new life into these iconic catalog recordings. Each title in the Signature Collection is beautifully presented in a full-color illustrated hardback book. The liner notes explore not only the rich music but also the story behind original LP covers. Also included are never before seen photographs of the original master tapes.
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Sviatoslav Richter – Deutsche Grammophon Concerto Recordings (2019) [Japan 2019]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 219:09 min | Scans incl. | 8,88 GB
Features 1958, 1959 & 1962 Recordings | Deutsche Grammophon / Tower Records, Japan # PROC 2196~8
From the heyday of Svyatoslav Richter, all the concertos recorded by DG from 1958 to 62 were assembled into 3 pieces (except Disc 3, these are 1st time on SACD). Features the works by Robert Schumann, W.A. Mozart, Sergey Prokofiev, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Sergei Rachmaninov & P.I. Tchaikovsky. This is a Sviatoslav Richter’s special collaboration with Wittold Lovitki, Kurt Sanderling, Herbert von Karajan, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, etc. Features the new mastering from the original analogue master tapes.
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Suzanne Vega – Suzanne Vega (1985) [Japan 2018]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 36:00 minutes | Scans included | 1,53 GB
or FLAC (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Full Scans included | 879 MB
Suzanne Vega is the self-titled debut album by Suzanne Vega. It was well-received by music journalists in the U.S. and reached platinum status in the United Kingdom. Produced by Lenny Kaye and Steve Addabbo, the songs feature Vega’s acoustic guitar in straightforward arrangements. In 1989, Rolling Stone magazine listed Suzanne Vega at number 80 on its “100 Best Albums of the Eighties”. It is also mentioned in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
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Kaoi Sinfonetta Tokyo, Tadaaki Otaka – Takemitsu: How Slow the Wind (2001)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/176,4 kHz | Time – 01:11:36 minutes | 2,75 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BIS
Recorded: 2000-02-09/11 at Kioi Hall, Tokyo, Japan
This recording spans music from the composer’s early days and his Requiem, overflowing with humanity, and ends in the days of the musician’s maturity, with his expansive view of nature that supports the echo of the mourning bells, analogous to prayer. Perhaps, unexpectedly, the disc offers, a glimpse of a rare artist’s whole life.
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Hüsker Dü – Tonite LONGHORN (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:25:58 minutes | 2,09 GB | Genre: Rock, Hard Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Reflex Records
A 2 CD set of rare, early Hüsker Dü live recordings with original flyers and artwork. Drawn from the historical Hüsker Dü recording archives of Terry Katzman, this double disc live set is an indispensable companion to the band’s Savage Young Du Box Set. While the SYD release mainly featured studio demos, the 28 tracks presented here are the aural and enchanting equivalent of a time machine that thrusts the listener back to Husker Du’s embryonic shell alive on stage. Page A dates from July 1979. Page B gives us a full annual development until July 1980, while pages C and D land the listener in September 1980. Perhaps a total of 120 people watched these three Longhorn performances. So far, at most a handful have heard the backing tracks. So, rare and fresh, it’s all here: the songs, the driven performances, the little club intimacy of being in front of selected friends, fans and colleagues, with a fair shot to get it right. These four pages make it absolutely clear that you can’t doubt that you did it.
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Hiroshi Yoshimura – Surround (1986/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 39:52 minutes | 373 MB | Genre: New Age, Electronic, Ambient
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Temporal Drift
Temporal Drift proudly presents the long-awaited, first-ever reissue of Surround, Hiroshi Yoshimura’s sought-after ambient classic.
Originally released as an album in January 1986, Surround was recorded by Yoshimura as a commission from home builder Misawa Homes, intended to function as an “amenity” designed to enhance the company’s newly built living spaces. A pioneer in the field of environmental music, Yoshimura’s previous works included Music For Nine Post Cards (1982), originally produced to be played back inside a museum space, and designing sound environments for public spaces and subway systems. Surround was recorded almost concurrently with the acclaimed and popular Green (1986); the two albums are described by Hiroyoshi Shiokawa in his liner notes as being Yoshimura’s yin and yang.
In his original notes for the album, Yoshimura recommends that Surround be placed in the same family of sounds “as the vibration of footsteps, the hum of an air conditioner, or the clanging of a spoon inside a coffee cup.” And, as he suggests, “with the addition of city noise from outside the window,” you may hear Surround in a completely new way.”
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Harry Dean Stanton with The Cheap Dates – October 1993 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 36:11 minutes | 229 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Omnivore Recordings
Herrliches Country-Album des verstorbenen Twin-Peaks-Stars mit Mitgliedern der Bands von The Kingbees, Stray Cats, The Doobie Brothers und Iggy Pop oder David Bowie. Mit vier Studio-Tracks und fünf Live-Aufnahmen aus dem legendären Troubadour in Hollywood.
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Taj Mahal – Giant Steps/De Old Folks At Home (1969/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:10:42 minutes | 761 MB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia
In less than 24 months, Taj Mahal (guitars/vocals/banjo/harmonica) had issued the equivalent of four respective long players. The electric Giant Step (1968) was released alongside the acoustic and decidedly rural De Ole Folks at Home (1968). The nine cuts on Giant Step feature support from the instrumental trio of Jessie Ed Davis (guitar/keyboards), Gary Gilmore (bass) and Chuck Blackwell (drums). They back Taj Mahal on a wide selection of covers ranging from Carole King and Gerry Goffin’s “Take a Giant Step” to the upbeat and soulful reading of the Huddie Ledbetter blues staple “Keep Your Hands off Her.” The arrangements are unique and offer the artist’s distinctive approach. Nowhere is this more evident than the practically jovial mid-tempo “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” or the freewheeling abandon that is brought to the 18-wheeler anthem “Six Days on the Road,” recalling the version of “Ain’t That a Lot of Love” from Taj Mahal’s preceding effort Natch’l Blues (1968). Additionally, Blind Willie Johnson’s “You’re Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond” stands out with a strong and soaring gospel-flavoured score. Giant Step concludes with “Bacon Fat,” a number attributed here via Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson of the Band. That said, it may be better-known from the man they called Mr. Rhythm, Andre Williams, whose scattered down-home spoken interludes punctuate his February 1957 Top 10 R&B hit – which incidentally was created under the working title “Diddle, Diddle Womp, Womp.” Parties searching for an apt introduction when discovering Taj Mahal’s voluminous catalogue are encouraged to consider Giant Step as a highly recommended reference point. ~ AllMusic Review by Lindsay Planer
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Gerardo Teissonnière – Schubert: The Complete Impromptus (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:12:53 minutes | 1,12 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Steinway and Sons
Pianist Gerardo Teissonnière follows up his highly acclaimed Steinway & Sons debut recording with an album of Franz Schubert’s complete Impromptus, an important cornerstone of the entire piano literature.
“Franz Schubert has occupied a very special place in my heart since I first became acquainted with his chamber music and piano works. He has been my great friend ever since, and my love for his music only grew in scope after my studies with two disciples of the Austrian composer’s great champion and interpreter, Artur Schnabel. The Impromptus are an exemplary and important cornerstone of the entire piano literature, and a natural choice after my album of the last Beethoven sonatas.”
“An impressive Schubert interpreter, Teissonnière approaches the literature with confidence, understanding and skill. These Schubert scores are masterful explorations in complexity of rhythm and mood and contrast in light and dark. Teissonnière met the challenges.”
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Joni Mitchell – Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975) (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 05:51:35 minutes | 3,56 GB | Genre: Pop, Indie Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino – Elektra
Joni Mitchell’s ongoing Archives series has been an overwhelming success and the third volume somehow manages to outdo its predecessors. Where Volume 1 gave a raw, warts-and-all look at a developing talent wrestling with her creative identity and Volume 2 showed that talent operating at an astonishingly high level, Volume 3 documents Mitchell’s transition from a truly gifted artist pushing the boundaries of the rock-culture zeitgeist into a mad genius staking her own sonic territories. This set, probably more than any other that has been or will be part of this series, is dynamic and revelatory, like pulling back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz and finding an actual wizard doing real wizardry. While Vol. 3 falls short of giving blow-by-blow documentation of the incredible studio-as-an-instrument work Mitchell did to transform For the Roses, Court and Spark, and—most triumphantly—The Hissing of Summer Lawns from jazz-inflected pop-folk records into towering artistic statements (most of the songs here are presented in either spare embryonic versions or funky, recalibrated live takes, with little middle ground).
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Joe Bonamassa – Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 42:37 minutes | 517 MB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © J&R Adventures
After 20 Years blues rock icon Joe Bonamassa has recorded a follow-up to his successful Blues Deluxe album, that came out in 2003.
Blues Deluxe Vol 2 is a brand-new studio album, that starts off with ‘Twenty-Four Hour Blues’, a cover of the amazing Bobby “Blue” Bland song. The original is releases on one of Joe Bonamassa’s favorite albums of all time, “Dreamer”. Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 features eight cover versions of songs by artists, such as Fleetwood Mac, Guitar Slim, Albert King and more. The album is completed with two original tracks, Hope You Realize It (Goodbye Again) and Is It Safe To Go Home. It is a true successor to the original Blues Deluxe album.
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Joe Bonamassa – Blues Deluxe (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 51:26 minutes | 609 MB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © J&R Adventures
To celebrate 2003 “Year of the Blues,” Bonamassa released Blues Deluxe, featuring nine cover versions of blues classics along with three originals. For years, fans had asked whether Joe would ever do a classic blues album. So when the So, It’s Like That tour ended, Bonamassa entered the studio with producer Bob Held and engineer Gary Tole (David Bowie, Jimmy Vaughan, Bon Jovi) and recorded some of his favorite blues covers just to “blow off steam.” The resulting masters were so compelling that Bonamassa and his label decided to finish the record and release Blues Deluxe.
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Jeroen Van Veen – Simeon ten Holt: Complete Piano Works (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 20:58:11 minutes | 14,72 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Brilliant Classics
The most complete collection ever issued of the Dutch Minimalist master, including the famous Canto Ostinato but also many previously unreleased recordings, all made by a pianist with an international reputation in the field of Minimalism.
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