Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition; Saint-Saens - Symphony No 3

Another excellent RQR album from Pentatone. Waart had an phenomenal ability to create naturally flowing music. Everything moved in a balanced way without forcing. Saint-Saens's 3rd Symphony requires a multi-channel sound in order to achieve the best results. The immersive 4-channel sound from the days of quadro has been masterfully remastered by Polyhymnia. Mussorgky's Pictures at an Exhibition is even more impressive. In "Gnomus" the sound of the xylophone pings clearly. Wilhelm Hellweg did a great job with this remarkable technology. In summary: Highly recommended album that should be part of every audiophile's library. - Performance: ***** - Recording: ***** (Multichannel)

Although de Waart may not always seem the most charismatic of conductors, he has a rare ability to generate excitement without hysteria, in a compelling way. The first (two) movement(s) of the Saint Saens is impressively Lisztian and the last (two) movement(s) combine thrilling power with gentleness and joyousness. His name isn't perhaps the first you'd associate with Moussorgsky either, but by god he and his Rotterdam players are good. He manages to make each picture idiosyncratic whilst maintaining a grip over the whole. The fact that there's so much detail shouldn't disguise the fact that this is also a powerful performance, not just a powerful recording.I have the Sony SACD of Szell's Pictures and love the performance, but de Waart is as good in his own (more picaresque) way and the recording simply knocks spots off the Sony.The sound throughout is magnificent, - rich and warm and powerful. If only Pentatone could get this much warmth into their own DSD recordings !!!! The surround layer brings an extra richness and depth to every texture and instrument, compared to the stereo layers. Timpani, organ and all the other "big bang" instreuments are clearly there in the surround mix (I felt the organ's vibrations though floor and chair as well as through the air) but so too are the delicate sounds of the piano and harp. This is a disc that could convince anyone that M/C is the way to go. Superb!

Saint-Saens' 'Organ Symphony' and Muossorgsky's 'Pictures' - orchestral version, were recorded in 1976 and 1974. The performances are good/very good - with virtually inaudible tape hiss.Of the two, 'Pictures' has a much livelier and more interesting acoustic but despite their quadrophonic origins neither (in stereo) delivers much in the way of layering or stage depth. Both betray their age in the form of limited dynamic range, with the opening of the 4th movement of the organ symphony in particular being entirely robbed of any impact by compression/limiting. Similary, upper string tone has that harsh, steely quality typical of poorer recordings of that era.This is the first Pentatone disc auditioned, and I won't be rushing out to buy any more. Buy the 'Penguin Guide' and get a second opinion - it's cheaper in the long run!