Van Cliburn – Tchaikovsky: Concertos No. 1 / Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 2 (2004) {SACD ISO + FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz}

Van Cliburn – Tchaikovsky: Concertos No. 1 / Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 2
Kondrashin, RCA Symphony / Reiner, Chigaco Symphony
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,23 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,26 GB | Full Artwork: 26 MB
Label/Cat#: RCA Red Seal “Living Stereo” # 82876-61392-2 | Country/Year: US 2004
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Early 20th Century

What a stunner of a disc! My favorite SACD, out of the several hundred I now own.

The performances are simply to die for. I have scores of alternative versions (Argerich, Ashkenzy, Horowitz, …, Volodos), and no one holds a candle to Cliburn in the Tchaikovsky.

Yet, the real surprise is the Rach. 2. Here, Reiner’s synergy with Cliburn raises the performance up several notches, resulting in an absolutely thrilling performance.

Even the normally sedate Penguin Guide refered to the Rach. 2 recording as if it was “recorded yesterday”, and I have to agree.

Forget the wimpy Telarcs or the bright Membranes or the acerbic Naxos SACDs. What you have here is a 50 year old pair of recordings that sound like they were recorded yesterday, with performances that will be just as timeless a 100 years from now.

Five stars in sonics as well as performance. If the recordings sound bad, something’s wrong with your system! Played through a full dCS stack with BAT VK 51Se and a Krell 600c and Harbeth Monitor 40s, this SACD sounds stunning, with amazing dynamics and spectacular piano sound. sa-cd.net

Tracklist:

Tchaikovsky
1 Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso    20:51
2 Andantino Simplice 7:04
3 Allegro Con Fuoco 7:02
Rachmaninoff
4 Moderato; Allegro 10:56
5 Adagio Sostenuto 11:28
6 Allegro Scherzando 11:45

Chicago Symphony
Fritz Reiner, conductor
RCA Symphony Orchestra
Kiril Kondrashin, conductor
Van Cliburn, piano

These were originally 3-track stereo recordings; in SACD surround mode, the music will be heard only from the front left, centre & right channels.

Two complete Living Stereo LPs on a single disc! Van Cliburn’s history-making gold medal at the 1st Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at the height of the cold war helped his Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 to become classical music’s 1st platinum record. Tchaikovsky Concerto new to the Living Stereo series line on CD!

Pianist Van Cliburn performing Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 & Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, with Kiril Kondrashin & Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony.

These were originally 3-track stereo recordings; in SACD surround mode, the music will be heard only from the front left, centre & right channels.

SACD ISO

mqs.link_VanCliburnIS.part1.rar
mqs.link_VanCliburnIS.part2.rar
mqs.link_VanCliburnIS.part3.rar
mqs.link_VanCliburnIS.part4.rar

FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz

mqs.link_VanCliburnFLAC.part1.rar
mqs.link_VanCliburnFLAC.part2.rar