[cma29]

Originally Posted by tima

Dear Cyril, Randy, Carlos, Bart, Graham and reader friends - my sincere thanks to each of you for reading and for your kind words.

Graham I took advantage of your musings on non-cognitive listening and thank you for those. Cyril, thank you, I responded off-line. Bart and Carlos you have that Maazel/VPO Sibelius 1; I'd love to know your thoughts in the Classical thread.

Hi, Tim. Yes, the Sibelius SACD is outstanding. Here are my thoughts from the Classical Music thread:

Originally Posted by cma29

Now this...

Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E minor Op. 39, Karelia Suite Op.11
Wiener Philharmoniker, Lorin Maazel



This is the Esoteric SACD remastering of the 1963 classic. The performance by the VPO is outstanding, but what sets this disc apart is the sheer quality of the 50+ year-old recorded sound captured by Decca engineers at the Sofiensaal. The transparency and presence is remarkable, but what steals the show here is the brass section which sounds live.

This disc is discontinued, but Ivan was able to secure a copy for me at the regular retail price (which is not cheap).