Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George Szell, Cleveland Orchestra :: Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 39 & 40; Exsultate, Jubilate [SACD]

Exemplary Mozart performance

01/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"George Szell's Mozart recordings are legendary, and this SACD verson presents a sampling of them in the best possible light. The previous reviewer was evidently referring to the Walter disc in this Sony series, but his remarks apply with equal force to this disc. The untampered DSD transfers preserve the aural profile of the master tapes and recreate faithfully the acoustic of Severance Hall -- a bit dry for some tastes, but allowing every strand of the musical texture to be heard. The transfer is so good you can ever hear pages being turned in unison and Szell audibly urging his forces on (e.g., in the finale to No. 40). Very highly recommended."

Charming & Splendid in every way

Jeremy Porter | NY, USA | 11/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The performance and sonic of this SACD will make you sit still on your listening chair, especially if you're a real fan of Mozart's music. Very good microphone placement. The CD version in Bruno Walter: The Edition sounds dry, opaque and blocked up in comparison. On SACD, it's very integrated, liquid and lots of high frequency information, breath and air. You can have a sence of the recording location's space from wall to wall and from ceiling to floor. Recommended."

Great SACD-but breathing into the microphone????

Jeremy Porter | 11/19/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The performance is impeccable and the fidelity of this SACD is excellent. Actually, there's so much detail you can hear someone (conductor, sound engineer?) constantly breathing into the microphone, which becomes really obnoxious during the more quiet parts of the performance (thus the 4 star rating)."