Jean Sibelius – The Seven Symphonies – Wiener Philharmoniker, Lorin Maazel (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 04:05:37 minutes | 4.68 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | @ Decca

Sibelius’ reputation rests chiefly on his magnificent symphonies, seven spectacular creations, all with their particular points of grandeur and originality.
Originally released between 1963 and 1968 Maazel’s Sibelius cycle met with critical acclaim. Particularly praised is Maazel’s interpretation of the Fourth Symphony in the Vienna Philharmonic’s only recording of the work.
Decca has gone back to the original tapes to make a definitive transfer and present a set which includes the remastered recordings in 96 kHz, 24-bit – an unprecedented opportunity to hear these legendary recordings in the best possible audio quality.

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Szymanowski & Dvorak – Violin Concertos – Arabella Steinbacher, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Marek Janowski (2009)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96kHz | Time – 01:11:43 minutes | 1,24 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: pentatonemusic.com |  © PentaTone Classics
Recorded: Haus des Rundfunks, Berlin, 5/2009

Would you please write me a violin concerto? A truly original one, full of melodies and written for good violinists? Please, drop me a line!”
These words in a letter from the publisher Simrock to , dated January 27, 1879, resulted in the composition of his Violin Concerto in A minor. Although Dvorák concluded the work towards the end of the summer of 1879, after completing his exceedingly successful Slavonic Dances, a further four years would pass before the violin concerto finally appeared in print and actually received its première. With his reference to “good violinists”, Simrock (ever on the lookout for a good business deal) prob- ably had one person in particular in mind: Joseph Joachim. Two years previously, this violinist – who nowadays would enjoy the status of a megastar – had “launched” the violin concerto written by Johannes Brahms, following a period of intensive collaboration with the composer. So it seemed only logical that Dvorák – who was now also gaining an international reputation – would write the next concerto specifically for the famous virtuoso. During the summer, Dvorák and Joachim spent some “pleasant and delightful moments” together in Berlin. It seemed as if nothing would stand in the way of a rewarding and steady collaboration. Thus in the autumn of 1879, Joachim received the manuscript of the concerto. However, apart from his thanks for the dedication, his reaction was mainly to send back a list of requests for massive changes in both the formal structure of the work and the solo violin part. After meeting personally with him in April 1880, Dvorák decided to fundamentally revise the work, which he concluded the following May.

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Pique Dame – Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mariss Jansons (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 02:48:30 minutes | 1.51 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | @ BRmedia Service GmbH
Recorded: München, Philharmonie im Gasteig, 04.-13.10.2014

Mariss Jansons leads the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunkson on this live triple-album set, recorded in October 2014 in Munich at a semi-staged performance of Tchaikovsky’s late masterpiece Pique Dame (“The Queen of Spades”), a crime novel set to music. Jansons maintains the orchestra’s long tradition of presenting operas and assembled a group of singers for this performance, sung in the original Russian, who are all native speakers of the language and very familiar with the work.

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Giuseppe Verdi – Aida – Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 2:25:46  minutes | 2.39 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: highresaudio.com | @ Warner Classics
Recorded at the Sala Santa Cecilia, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, II.2015

This magnificent recording of Aida, made in Rome, rises to all the musical and dramatic challenges presented by Verdi’s richly-coloured Egyptian epic. Antonio Pappano, once again proving his mastery of Italian opera, moves between sumptuous grandeur and touching intimacy. The responses of the Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia are both immediate and vibrant, while the singers – Anja Harteros, Jonas Kaufmann, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Ludovic Tézier and Erwin Schrott – do justice to every facet of their roles.

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Antonio Vivaldi – Les Quatre saisons – Theo Bleckmann, Uri Caine, Aitor Hevia, Forma Antiqva, Aaron Zapico (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 00:52:57 minutes | 1.06 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | @ Winter & Winter

Aaron Zapico et Forma Antiqua interprètent les Quatre Saisons de Vivaldi avec une approche entièrement neuve, excitante, sensuelle, qui revivifie la partition et l’enrichit d’impressions nouvelles. Zapico et ses musiciens de l’ensemble baroque Forma Antiqua invitent à redécouvrir les éléments caractéristiques (éclairs, le soleil brûlant ou le bourgeonnement printanier…) que dépeint cette oeuvre si célèbre. Theo Bleckmann et Uri Caine rejoignent l’ensemble en parallèle pour donner le premier enregistrement mondial des Sonnets des Quatre Saisons, pendant de l’oeuvre de Vivaldi sous forme de film sonore fécond. Le peintre Marcel van Eeden a créé 8 nouveaux dessins correspondant à chacun de ces épisodes.

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