Yevgeny Mravinsky, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra - Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6 "Pathetique", Francesca da Rimini, Glazunov: Suite "Raimonda" (K2HD mastered in 2023) - Japan 2 SACD Hybrid

Credits:

Yevgeny Mravinsky, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra

Description:

Second release to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Mravinsky's birth, the second installment of the JVC Digital K2HD SACD project! First SACD release of the rare live recording from Gostele Radio with the latest mastering! The one and only Tchaikovsky is a late masterpiece with excellent sound quality! Raimonda is also included in this 2-disc set. The latest SACD release using K2HD mastering from Victor's digital masters! Mravinsky at his peak of maturity is reproduced on SACD! The master tapes were made in 1989 from the treasured collection of Mravinsky's resident engineer, Mr. Shugal, which had lain dormant in the tape warehouse of the Leningrad Broadcasting Station. The release of these previously unreleased recordings, from the 1960s to the last recorded recording of Shostakovich's 12th Symphony in 1984, had a huge impact on listeners. These recordings were only stored digitally, but on this occasion, using the master recordings, FLAIR Mastering works Kazushige Yamazaki has up-converted and mastered them with the latest in Victor's renowned K2 technology to finally release them as SACDs for the first time. Following the previous 3-CD set of symphonies by Beethoven and Mozart, the second release will finally reissue two symphonies by Tchaikovsky and Wagner (NCS88025), the mainstay of Muravin's art. The three Tchaikovsky symphonies reissued here are not only rare performances from Mravinsky's final years, but are also highly valuable in that they are the last recordings of each piece. The two stereo recordings of the Melodia and the Melodia No. 5 are also available. It is comparable to Melodia's two stereo recordings, the Vienna Live in 1978 and the Leningrad Live on November 6, 1982, as well as the most famous Vienna session recording with DG in 1960 (reissued in September 2023 on Tower's PROC 2377). It is said that there are 17 different recordings in total. The most significant difference from the DG recording, which is regarded as the best in terms of sound quality, is in the arrangement of the instruments.Of course, the original performance in the opposing arrangement in normal performance is the original form, and the way it sounds differs accordingly. The same is true of the "Pathetique," and it may be said that this recording is close to Mravinsky's insatiable pursuit of the music and his ideal performance of it. As for the balance, however, it is undeniable that the brass is a bit strong, as is the case with other recordings. In this latest mastering, the original sound quality has been respected, so there are no major changes, but the upconversion in K2HD seems to have eased the tendency in the overall enlarged balance. (1/3)