About MercuryPress ReleasesHome


RELEASES - DETAILS

Title: Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos nos. 2 & 3
Composer: Rachmaninov
Works: Piano Concerto No.2* / Piano Concerto No.3 / Prelude in C sharp minor, Op.3 no.2 / Prelude in E flar major, Op.23 no.6
Artists: Byron Janis (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra / Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra* / Antal Dorati
Duration:

75.18

Disc Content:

SACD 3-Channel Stereo / SACD Stereo / CD Audio

Recorded:

Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis, 17 & 18 April 1960 (Piano Concerto No.2 & Preludes) / Watford Town Hall, 16 & 17 June 1961 (Piano Concerto No.3)

Recording Format:

Three channel DSD recording [Left, Right, Centre]

SACD #: 470 6392 6 MSA

 

These celebrated performances of the 2nd and 3rd piano concertos of Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) were among several outstanding recordings from the American pianist Byron Janis (born 1928), made for the American audiophile classical label, Mercury Living Presence. Accompanying the Pennsylvanian-born virtuoso was one of MLP's principal conductors, Hungarian-born Antal Dorati (1906-88), directing the London Symphony Orchestra in No.3, recorded in Watford Town Hall in 1961, and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in No.2 , recorded in the Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis, in April 1960. The disc is completed by two short Rachmaninoff solo piano works, including the ever-popular C sharp minor Prelude. The performances rapidly attained classic status.

As with the great majority of MLP's stereo releases, the actual recordings were made using three microphones - a stereo pair, plus a central microphone. The LP (and subsequent CD) stereo releases mixed the centre channel into the two outer channels. Now - and for the first time -- SACD's multi-channel capability enables all three discrete channels to be present on the disc, allowing the listener to hear the recordings as they were originally taped (and as they were always intended to be heard, when future technology permitted). Enhancing this new opportunity is the significant additional fidelity gained through direct-to-DSD transfers from the original half-inch analogue masters, via DSD's much greater resolution, frequency response and dynamic range.

In addition to this first-time presentation of the three-track original recording, the SACD also contains a high-resolution DSD stereo soundtrack, mixed to match as closely as possible the original LP stereo mixes. Finally, as all Mercury Living Presence SACDs will be 'hybrid' releases, the SACD also includes a CD stereo soundtrack (Wilma Cozart Fine's original CD transfer), thus making the disc compatible with all CD players.

The covers and packaging have been kept within the famous Mercury Living Presence tradition, maintaining the logo banner, cover art and, where possible, original liner notes.

Return to top

Back to Home Page

Decca Music Group Copyright 2004 Decca Music Group Decca / Philips SACDs Decca / Philips SACDs