Shostakovich - Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9 - Caetani · Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi

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Shostakovich - Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9 - Caetani · Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi

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Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 and 9 powers onto the Blu-ray format with an excellent 7.1 mix encoded with the DTS-HD Master Audio codec at a 24/96khz bit and sample rate. This recording is powerful, subtle, exquisite, and rancorous. The violins and lower strings are vivid sweet and airy, woodwinds light and colorful, brass big and powerful, and trumpets blow through the air with power and authority. The sonic picture features a wide arc of musicians situated in an unusual fashion. I am used to hearing the first and second violins to the left, and the lower strings to the right. On this recording they are switched which took my ear sometime to get used to. The bass drum is so powerful I could feel each bass wave projected into the room as it is struck. Every detail and nuance is captured with crystal clear clarity. Imaging is huge in every direction, with the ambience of the recording location vividly rendered. The front sound stage is deep, and laterally wall to wall wide. The rear sound stage can be aggressive, with instruments and ambience being perceived strongly along the rear and side walls. While listening to this recording, you get the uncanny feeling that you are right in the hall, or the musicians are in the room with you. The tonal quality of each instrument is finely represented; even harmonics are audible when you listen carefully. During quiescent moments the noise floor is not heard, so instruments sound like they are coming out of sonic "darkness" when called on. The mix on this disc is first-rate, and audiophiles are sure to get pleasure out of listening to it.