Akeo Watanabe, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra - Sibelius: complete symphonies <recorded 1981> (ORT mastered 2024) - Japan 4 SACD Hybrid

Credits:

Akeo Watanabe, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra

Description:

The 12th in the DENON ORT-mastered SACD series] Winner of the 1981 Recording Academy Award. This monumental masterpiece is the culmination of Sibelius specialist Watanabe's work. The ultimate masterpiece with Ayao Watanabe and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, a milestone in Japanese Sibelius performance, has finally been released in high sound quality! In 1962, Ayao Watanabe (1919-1990) completed the world's first stereo recording of the complete Sibelius symphonies, which became a worldwide sensation. The Sibelius symphonies are the most important in Watanabe's wide-ranging repertoire, and after long and deep study, he again recorded the complete works with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in 1981, which won the Record Academy Award that year. This is the first SACD release of the complete works recorded in high-resolution using Nippon Columbia's proprietary ORT mastering technology. The sound field and quality have been vividly improved, and the CD layer also uses this mastered sound source.The ultimate masterpiece with Ayao Watanabe and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the milestones of Japanese Sibelius performances, is finally available on SACD! These two albums, recorded by the same duo and on the same Columbia label, are not only the culmination of Watanabe-Akio's career at that time, but are also important albums that set the standard for Sibelius performances in Japan even today. Watanabe's Finnish father, who was also involved in the founding of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and his longstanding strong relationship with the orchestra as its permanent conductor and music director, have made this album the culmination of a long and fruitful collaboration. The recording technology of Nippon Columbia, which was an early pioneer in digital recording at the time, was also highly acclaimed in the market at the time of its release. The awarding of the Recording Academy Award is proof of this. The first recording was a visionary and market introduction, and this second recording shines brightly as a source that maximizes the Sibelius performances that both parties have cultivated to preserve for the future.The recordings were made over a period from June to September 1981, in hot venues and under the careful supervision of Akio Watanabe himself. It is not clear whether the temperature at the time of recording affected the Sibelius performance or not, but the performance is hot and cool-eyed throughout. This is certainly a recording that Japan can be proud of, with its firm assertiveness and the Nippon Philharmonic ensemble, which has raised the level of its performance, built in the language of Sibelius. In the SACD version of this digital recording, which is part of the ORT project, the atmosphere and meticulous subtleties of the time can be heard. We hope you will be able to directly experience the overwhelmingly masterful performance that has left its mark on history. The jackets of this box set are the same as those of the complete LPs, and the commentaries and other materials use the jacket designs of the LPs at the time of their release (some are in black and white). (1/2)