Martha Argerich - Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 / Ravel: Piano Concerto in G, Gaspard de la Nuit - Japan 2 SACD Hybrid Limited Edition

Credits:

Martha Argerich

Description:

＜The first two DG recordings of Argerich and Abbado in their mid-twenties, the superb masterpieces and four concertos, have been newly mastered for this release. Newly mastered 4 concertos, newly reissued from analog master tapes in their home country for this release! Claudio Abbado (1933-2024) and Martha Argerich (1941-) first performed together on the DG label in Berlin in 1967, recording Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Ravel, and Chopin and Liszt in London the following year, The following year, Chopin and Liszt recorded their respective Piano Concertos No. 1 in London, and these two recordings are the originals of the two great works. Both of these recordings have been reissued many times and released on SA-CD, but on this occasion of the 10th anniversary of Abbado's death, these analog recordings from the early stages of his career have been reissued with the aim of achieving the highest sound quality ever achieved. For this reissue, instead of using the original masters, we went back to the analog master tapes in the original country for high-resolution recording, and mastered them at the latest Emil Berliner Studio (EBS).These four concertos have long been a central part of Argerich's concerto repertoire, which is not very large, and several recordings of them exist. Among them, the DG recordings of the four concertos are exceptional, and even today they reign as absolute masterpieces that cannot be called simply the originals. Argerich has since recorded concertos on other labels, including other works, and he also re-recorded Ravel's piano concertos with Abbado on the same DG label during the digital recording period, but the reputation of these four pieces with Abbado, recorded in his mid-20s, will remain unshaken in the future. These two albums have been released individually on SA-CD, but this time they have been collected together as a 2-CD set, including the related pieces. Enjoy the latest mastering of these amazing performances, which can be said to have been completed in a sense, while still being lively at the time. For this reissue, we went back to the original analog master tapes in the country of origin and digitized them in new, high-quality sound. Not only this time, but also the top-grade flat master was used, resulting in a very excellent presence.The texture and localization are remarkably clear and distinct, and with the added benefit of DSD, the sound quality is superior than ever before. The original analog master tapes were physically maintained and restored, digitized (PCM) at high quality (192/24), and then mastered by the label's dedicated engineers at Emil Berliner Studios in Berlin, in a meticulous and time-consuming process. The SA-CD layer offers high-definition master sound, and the CD layer has also undergone state-of-the-art digitization and mastering, making it distinctly different from the sound quality of the previous discs. This release features a new preface commentary. Other original jacket designs are also included in color within the commentary. This 37th release of the "Vintage SA-CD Collection" will feature a total of three titles.