Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Wagner: Das Rheingold (2013) MCH SACD ISO

Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Wagner: Das Rheingold (2013)
PS3 Rip | 2x SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 02:27:42 minutes | Digital Booklet | 8,31 GB
Features Stereo and Multichannel surround sound

The first part of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, and the shortest opera in the cycle, Das Rheingold serves as an introductory evening performance that opens the series, followed successively by three full-length music dramas, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Die Götterdämmerung. However, this concert recording by Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra is the second installment in their Ring, following the early 2013 release of Die Walküre. By reviving Wagner’s music in Russia, which was banned during the Soviet era and remained little explored for decades, Gergiev has tapped into a rich vein of artistry that brings a fresh appreciation of the Ring’s drama and sonorities. The international cast, headed by René Pape as a powerful Wotan, features some of the best Wagner singers available, including Ekaterina Gubanova as Fricka and Nikolai Putilin as Alberich. The critically praised Mariinsky Orchestra has demonstrated its great skill in playing Wagner’s demanding score, and the SACD presentation gives it astonishing clarity, depth, and presence, all required to make these mythological music dramas come to life.

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Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Shostakovich: Symphonies 1 & 15 (2009) MCH SACD ISO

Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Shostakovich: Symphonies 1 & 15 (2009)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 75:45 minutes | Digital Booklet | 3,61 GB
Features Stereo and Multichannel surround sound

Valery Gergiev’s recordings of Shostakovich’s Sixth through Ninth symphonies were released on Philips, but this disc of the First and Fifteenth symphonies has been issued on the Mariinsky label, which is run by the St. Petersburg theater from which the label takes its name. The performances are disappointing, but not from a technical point of view; Gergiev is one of the finest living Russian conductors, and the Mariinsky Orchestra is one of the best Russian orchestras whose playing here is never less than superb. On an interpretive level, though, Gergiev and the Mariinsky leave much to be desired. The First Symphony lacks fire in the opening Allegretto, drive in the Scherzo, depth in the Lento, and drama in the closing Allegro molto. The performance of the Fifteenth is even less impressive. The composer’s last symphony calls for biting humor and bitter irony in the first and third movements, and enormous sorrow and tremendous terror in the second and fourth movements. Gergiev and the Mariinsky, however, deliver a straight-forward account that leaves the work’s stronger emotions untouched. Recorded in clear but oddly empty digital sound, this disc may satisfy Gergiev fans, but may not do much for fans of the composer.

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Valery Gergiev & Mariinsky Orchestra – Richard Wagner: Die Walkure (2013) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Valery Gergiev & Mariinsky Orchestra – Richard Wagner: Die Walkure (2013)
PS3 Rip | 4x SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 236:36 minutes | Covers & Digital booklet | 12 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Covers & Digital booklet | 3,84 GB
Features Stereo and Multichannel surround sound

The highly anticipated first release from the most finely crafted Ring cycle of modern times, Die Walküre features a sensational cast of Anja Kampe, Jonas Kaufmann, René Pape, Nina Stemme, Mikhail Petrenko and Ekaterina Gubanova.

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Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Massenet: Don Quichotte (2012) MCH SACD ISO

Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Massenet: Don Quichotte (2012)
PS3 Rip | 2x SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 111:35 minutes | Digital Booklet | 5,97 GB
an heroic comedy in five acts | Features Stereo and Multichannel surround sound

Massenet’s Don Quichotte has never quite established itself in the repertoire, not because of any deficit in the music, but because it’s not immediately evident exactly what it is dramatically; is it a comedy or tragedy or some more subtle blend of the two? The last option seems to reflect the usual approach to it, which makes it a hard sell for audiences. Valery Gergiev clearly envisions it a comedy, though one with a poignant ending, and the certainty of his vision make this an exceptionally compelling and coherent presentation of the opera. His position is supported by the program notes, which point out the extent to which Massenet filled the score with tongue-in-cheek parodies of operatic conventions, such as his send-up of Gounod’s pieties in the Don’s fervent entreaty to the Chief of the Bandits. Gergiev’s reading is energetically paced, and the vivacious playing and singing of the Mariinsky Orchestra and the Soloists’ Ensemble of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers convey boisterous vitality. This is one version of the opera that avoids the mawkish sentimentality to which most performances fall prey. Mezzo-soprano Anna Kiknadze is a youthful, warmly seductive, and high-spirited Dulcinée; her portrayal suggests what Carmen might have been like had she had a more bourgeois upbringing and better impulse control. Her full, colorful voice and lively acting makes it easy to imagine her as a vivid Carmen. Ferruccio Furlanetto has established himself as master of tragic Verdi roles like King Philip in Don Carlos and Silva in Ernani. He may not have the vocal gravitas of singers like Chaliapin and Christoff in the role, but he has plenty of power and he’s a terrific actor. He excels in comedy and convincingly establishes the tricky balance between the Don’s frail dignity and absurdity, and he makes him a character who’s not only sympathetic but believable. As Sancho, Andrei Serov, sings robustly and is an effective foil to Furlanetto. The smaller roles are consistently well taken. Although there are no French performers involved in the opera, Gergiev draws out performances that are idiomatically Gallic. The sound of Mariinsky’s SACD is well balanced, very clean, and clearly detailed. Overall, this exemplary performance makes the most compelling recorded case for Don Quichotte as an opera that deserves a place in the more standard repertoire.

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Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra – Ravel. Daphnis et Chloe, Pavane, Bolero (2010) SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra – Ravel. Daphnis et Chloe, Pavane, Bolero (2010)
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 78:36 minutes | Scans included | 4,15 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,38 GB

The first thing that will strike you when listening to this recording is its huge dynamic range. The opening bars of ‘Daphnis and Chloe’ (recorded in September 2009) emerge almost imperceptibly from inky black silence, and you may be tempted to immediately increase the volume setting, but beware, because as the music of the introduction rises to its climax (around 2’28”) the sound expands hugely, with the LSO trumpets cutting thrillingly through the massive orchestral and choral texture. Nevertheless this disc does need to be played at a high level to achieve the most realistic sound from it.

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Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra – Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 (2010) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra – Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 (2010)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 60:51 minutes | Digital Booklet | 3,65 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Digital Booklet | 1,2 GB
Features Stereo and Multichannel Surround Sound

Rachmaninov’s vast Second Symphony was composed when he was at the pinnacle of his career as a composer, pianist and conductor. Filled with emotion and brimming with beautiful melodies, it is a masterpiece and the epitome of the Romantic symphony. It is presented here in its entirety. All sympathetic listeners agree that the Second Symphony contains the very best of Rachmaninov. Deliberately paced and rhythmically flexible, it is, above all, propelled by the wonderfully fertile melody of which he was such a master. The orchestral sound is full and rich, but unlike such contemporaries as Strauss and Mahler, Rachmaninov is relatively modest in his orchestral demands.

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Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra – Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances – Stravinsky: Symphony In 3 Movements (2012) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra – Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances – Stravinsky: Symphony In 3 Movements (2012)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 58:33 minutes | Digital Booklet | 3,48 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Digital Booklet | 1,12 GB
Features Stereo and Multichannel Surround Sound

The Symphonic Dances, an orchestral suite in three sections, was the last work Rachmaninov completed and proved one of his most popular compositions. Although rarely sentimental, it draws on many of the composer’s reminiscences of Russia, from where he emigrated in 1917. Gergiev couples the Symphonic Dances with another work in three movements by a Russian émigré to the USA. Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements was written between 1942-45 and was the first work Stravinsky completed after his arrival in the USA.

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Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra – Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet (2010) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra – Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet (2010)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & DST64 6.0 >1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Front Cover | 7.78 GB
FLAC tracks 2.0 24bit/88.2 kHz | Front Cover | 2.14 GB

This 2008 live recording with the London Symphony Orchestra is Valery Gergiev’s 2nd complete recording of Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo & Juliet, the 1st being a 1991 Philips release with the Kirov Orchestra. This performance, like his 1st, is notable for its refinement & lyricism. It’s perhaps surprising that Gergiev, known for the wildness & ferocity of his performances of other Prokofiev works, like The Fiery Angel, shows such restraint here. Gergiev clearly understands the ballet as a work in which Prokofiev, writing originally for the Bolshoi, a theater known for its conservatism (although that production was canceled), tailored his score to follow in the tradition of the 3 great Tchaikovsky ballets. The composer certainly cuts loose when appropriate, as in the fierce Introduction to Act III & the various fights, but the score is exceptional in its delicacy & finely calibrated orchestration. Because it is a “numbers” ballet, made up of a series of discrete movements or sections, it’s easy for the complete, nearly 2.5 hour ballet to come across as episodic, especially without the visual element to hold the narrative together. Gergiev does an excellent job of keeping the dramatic momentum going at the same time as he gives loving attention to its many exquisite details, & even though his approach is refined, that doesn’t mean that it in any way lacks passion, intensity, & suspense. Another strong recommendation for this performance is the fact that it is the 1st recording of the ballet as the composer originally conceived it. In preparation for the ballet’s Russian premiere at the Kirov Theatre in 1940, Prokofiev reluctantly cut or altered some numbers & added others. This version, prepared for the Mark Morris Dance Group by Princeton musicologist Simon Morrison, restores the composer’s original intentions for the scenario & the music. Gergiev led the LSO in accompanying Morris’ British premiere of the restored version in 2008, & went on to conduct it in concert, the source of this recording. The sound of the SACD is clean, clear, & brilliant. This is a recording that should be of strong interest to Gergiev’s fans & anyone who loves the music.

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London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Debussy: La mer, Jeux & Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune (2011) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Debussy: La mer, Jeux & Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune (2011)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & DST64 6.0 >1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Front Cover | 3.29 GB 
FLAC tracks 2.0 24bit/88.2 kHz | Front Cover | 900 MB 

Valery Gergiev’s 1st recording of French music on the LSO Live label, Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Boléro, Pavane – Gergiev was characterised by an unexpected affinity for this music & a warmth of expression not usually associated with this conductor. This follow-up issue confirms Gergiev’s credentials as a Francophile conductor (as do his recent meticulous performances of the music of Henri Dutilleux at the Barbican.

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Valery Gergiev, Kirov Orchestra – Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (2002) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Valery Gergiev, Kirov Orchestra – Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (2002)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 62:10 minutes | Scans included (PDF) | 4,42 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included (PDF) | 1,16 GB
Features Stereo and Multichannel surround sound | Decca / Philips # 470618-2

Of all the conductors who were trained in the last days of the Soviet Union, Valery Gergiev is surely the hottest. With a stunning series of recordings of Russian operas — from Mussorgsky’s Boris to Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery — Gergiev and his Kirov Opera Chorus and Orchestra, along with the best singers in Russia, have produced the most exciting and revelatory opera performances in the past decade. Nor have Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra slighted the symphonic repertoire. They have recorded the works of Stravinsky, Scriabin, and Mussorgsky to great critical acclaim. This recording of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Shéhérazade, coupled with Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia and Lyapunov’s orchestration of Balakirev’s Islamey, is easily in the same league as Gergiev’s earlier recordings and is as good or better than the best recordings of the past. In Shéhérazade, Gergiev stresses the extravagant color and explosive movement of the score and finds the dramatic structure of the work in its balletic forms. When it comes to In the Steppes, Gergiev illuminates the magnificence of his compositional structure through the brilliance of Borodin’s orchestration. And in the riotous Islamey, the Kirov’s staggering display of ensemble virtuosity serves only to heighten the delirious excitement of the music. This is as great a recording of Russian music as has ever been made, with stupendous sound from Philips.

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Valery Afanassiev – Testament (2019) [Japanese Box Set] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Valery Afanassiev – Testament (2019) [Japanese Box Set]
SACD Rip | 6x SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 385:51 minutes | Scans included | 15,5 GB
or FLAC Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Some Scans included | 7,55 GB

Valery Afanassiev is a Russian pianist, writer and conductor. He was the winner of the Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1968, as well as 1st prize recipient at the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels in 1971. Afanassiev become widely known in the 1980s due to his musical partnership with Gidon Kremer. Their joint recordings of chamber works by Mozart, Schubert and Brahms were highly praised. His interpretations of solo piano works by Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven and the others have aroused controversy on account of Afanassiev’s tempi choices and idiosyncratic expressiveness. Afanassiev has recorded among others for such labels as Denon and Deutsche Grammophone. For this Japan only release by Sony Classical, Afanassiev performed the piano music by Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy and Prokofiev.

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Quartetto Italiano – Schubert: String Quartets Nos 14 & 13 (1980+77) [Esoteric Japan 2017] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Quartetto Italiano – Schubert: String Quartets Nos 14 & 13 (1980+77) [Esoteric Japan 2017]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 73:00 minutes | Scans included | 2,98 GB
or FLAC Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Scans included | 1,52 GB
Japanese SACD Reissue 2017 | Decca/Esoteric Company # ESSD-90170

The Quartetto Italiano is regarded as one of the finest string quartets of the twentieth century. The group generally focused on quartet-only repertory, avoiding performance with guest artists of quintets and other larger compositions. This Japanese reissue features Franz Schubert’s String Quartets No. 13 “Rosamunde” & No. 14 “Death and the Maiden”, recorded in 1980 & 1977 respectively.

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Quartetto Italiano – Schubert: String Quartets (1976) [Reissue 2016] MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Quartetto Italiano – Schubert: String Quartets (1976) [Reissue 2016]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 64:39 minutes | Front/Rear Cover | 2,64 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Front/Rear Cover | 2,54 GB
or FLAC Stereo (carefully converted & encoded to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Front/Rear Cover | 1,28 GB
Features Stereo and Quadrophonic Surround Sound | Label: Pentatone # PTC 5186232

This release in Pentatone’s Remastered Classics series reveals a remastered recording by the Quartetto Italiano, originally recorded by Philips in January 1976. On this album, the Quartetto Italiano performs Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 10 D87, which comes from his middle period as well as his String Quartet No. 13 D804, also referred to as “Rosamunde” from the late period, a great masterpiece and one of the most outstanding quartets of the entire string quartet repertoire.

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Quartet Equinox – Philip’s Wish (2009) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Quartet Equinox – Philip’s Wish (2009)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 43:04 minutes | Scans included | 2,57 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 841 MB
Genre: Jazz | Features Stereo and Multichannel surround sound / Truly recorded in DSD

Philip’s Wish is a very unique SACD featuring a mixture Flamenco grooves , Jazz improvisation and Brazilian and World music feel…

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Paavo Jarvi, NHK SO – Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, and more (2019) SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Paavo Jarvi, NHK SO – Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, and more (2019)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,8 MHz | Time – 72:53 minutes | 2,87 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 72:53 minutes | 1,48 GB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Artwork: Front cover 

Béla Bartók’s masterpiece trilogy that set the tone for music in the 20th century. Bartók is a composer who best fits Paavo Järvi’s agile and dramatic musicality. This album, which contains three major pieces for orchestra composed by Bartok in the European era, is an album that Jarvi longed for recording. “Music for Strings, Percussion Instruments and Celesta”, composed in 1936, is an unconventional organization that divides stringed parts into two groups and contrasts them with percussion instruments / Celesta. The overwhelming virtuosity of the NHK Symphony Orchestra has been demonstrated with unprecedented strength. Both are the first recordings for both Paavo Järvi and the Tokyo’s NHK Symphony Orchestra.

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