Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Donald Runnicles, Elizabeth Bishop :: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 [Hybrid SACD]

A dud from Telarc

Tim C | Phoenix, AZ | 12/29/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this performance of Beethoven's 9th by a no name conductor conducting a non name orchestra at a no name hall -- *only* because it was in the SACD format from the legendary TELARC. I have telarc's 1812 overture among others in SACD , and boy, it dazzles in the brilliance of it's recording! I put a lot more importance in the quality of recording than in the actual performance; yes performances vary a lot , but it won't affect your enjoyment of music as much as the quality of recording. This one is a dud. The strings are all muddy and the highs are practically non existent, though the drums ok. It sounds more like a CD from the 80s than a state of the art SACD. On the whole I am seriously underwhelmed by this recording and regret buying it. If you have a DVD Audio player, try Barenboim's version of the 9 symphonies. They are hard to find and for good reason -- each one is an absolute gem.

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