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Yuja Wang, Andris Nelsons conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra

Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2; solo piano works

Music

Sound

Yuja Wang Shostakovich

Label: Deutsche Grammophon GmbH

Produced By: Shawn Murphy

Engineered By: Shawn Murphy, Nick Squire, Cole Barbour

Mixed By: Shawn Murphy

Mastered By: Tim Martyn (Phoenix Audio); Brian Losch, Nick Squire

Lacquers Cut By: N/A

By: Mark Ward

July 27th, 2025

Genre:

Classical

Format:

Vinyl

Scintillating Shostakovich with Superstar Pianist Yuja Wang in Audiophile Sound

Legendary Producer/Engineer Shawn Murphy brings the heat

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) in the 1930s (Photo: N.V.Lukyanova)Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) in the 1930s (Photo: N.V.Lukyanova)

Okay, so I knew from other reviews of this release, and the general buzz that accompanies all things Yuja Wang, that this was going to be, at the very least, a really good listen.

But then I dropped the needle (as we used to say back in the day), and…

In the words of the immortal Bette Davis in All About Eve: 

“Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

From the opening kinetic flourish of the First Piano Concerto this thing takes off like a rocket, and the fireworks keep coming for all 50 or so minutes.  Yes, I’ve loved these concertos going back to my teenage years, so I knew what was coming, but still this thing pinned back my ears and kept them there for the duration.

My second Big Gasp came as the full force of Ms. Wang’s piano sound hit me in the solar plexus.  The bass is so rich and vast you feel like you can literally sink into it, even as you’re still taking the curves at 150mph.

I immediately cast an eye over the credits to see who had recorded this thing, and thus all was revealed.  “Produced and Engineered by Shawn Murphy”, only one of the tip-top sound Meisters of the last several decades (please read the hyperlinked Shawn Murphy interview originally published in The Tracking Angle magazine in 1995_ed. 

Shawn MurphyShawn Murphy

But he is known primarily for his work in film soundtracks and a host of film soundtrack records (seek out the exquisite John Barry retrospective, Moviola, and any number of superb John Williams outings).  And Mr. Murphy has liberally sprinkled tinsel town magic all over these recordings.  They are big, fat, glittering, rich, detailed, warm, precise, 3-strip Technicolor widescreen, and all the yummier for it.  The warm acoustic of Boston’s Symphony Hall, and the effulgent orchestral sound of 1970s BSO that I (and my colleague Michael Johnson) have been relishing on a slew of the best sounding Original Source vinyl reissues is here given a digital update that retains all the positives and adds its own thrilling new spin.

That piano sound - I just couldn’t get over it.  It’s enormous, like you’re actually in the piano, and yet somehow the orchestra is still there, laid out precisely in the soundstage.  Okay, so maybe the piano isn’t entirely natural in its proportions, but who the hell cares when it sounds this good, this exciting, and, under the fingers of Ms. Wang, supernaturally virtuosic.

Yuja WangYuja Wang

Yup, it’s getting to a point now where I’m starting to wonder if Ms. Wang - like Robert Johnson and Doktor Faustus before her - didn’t come to a little arrangement with Mephistopheles at the crossroads.  Her playing is so supremely virtuosic that the most demanding of passagework is almost ho-hum in its perfect execution.  Which leaves her free to communicate the music under the cascades of notes.  And communicate the music she does to the max.  The thing is that her mastery of the keyboard is so complete, her finger and arm strength and powers of articulation so all-encompassing, that she gives the impression she doesn’t even have to think about the formidable technical challenges of actually playing this stuff.  She just does it - like breathing. In music like this, with cascades of notes, you hear all the layers so clearly, yet she is also to find the musical line throughout.  No effort whatsoever. And with that ease comes pure musical and emotional communication: direct, no fuss - and utterly compelling.

This being the classical music world, there have always been those all too ready to dismiss young players possessed of such stunning preternatural talent and virtuosity as “shallow”, great at dashing off a ton of notes, but lacking in depth.  They’re especially prone to dismiss  young female players whose looks etc. are pushed by the marketing folks to sell records and concert tickets.  (If you care to do so, you can take a really deep dive online into the whole aspect of the Yuja Wang phenomenon that has nothing to do with her music making).

But Yuja Wang is the real deal, and SO much more the real deal than her fellow, older Chinese keyboard phenom Lang Lang, whose recordings I gave up on long ago.  He is just so annoyingly ingratiating, and thus cloying, working over every phrase like it’s as interesting as he thinks he is.  (His contemporary Yundi Li, another DG artist, is far more genuinely beguiling and substantial).

Not only would I recommend this record to the fervent collector, I would also recommend it to the classical newbie.  It is such easily attractive and engaging music, with thrilling rhythmic drive, and more likely to appeal to those more familiar with jazz and rock than, say, a Mozart or Brahms concerto.  Wang & co. relish the modernity of the music, while also fully keeping it contained within its neoclassical framework - a style of 20th century music which had composers like Stravinsky integrating formal and aesthetic aspects of the Classical era (ie. Haydn and Mozart) while also writing in a decidely post-expressionistic, modern idiom.  In other words, this is music that sounds familiar in some ways, but “new” in others.  Seasoned classical listeners will hear echoes of Hindemith and Poulenc most of all.

One of the “new” things in Shostakovich’s First Piano Concerto is the fact that there is a substantial solo part for trumpet, not something you would encounter in any late Romantic concerto, but a tipping of the hat to the multi-instrument concertos of the Baroque and Classical eras, which adds a lovely spice and frisson to the proceedings.  The recording nicely brings out the trumpet while keeping it integrated within the orchestral canvas.

Principal Trumpet of the BSO and Soloist in the Shostakovich 1st Piano Concerto, Thomas RolfsPrincipal Trumpet of the BSO and Soloist in the 1st Piano Concerto, Thomas Rolfs

The work actually started out as a trumpet concerto, but once Shostakovich decided to include piano as well, that instrument quickly became the prominent one.  The blend of piano, trumpet and a purely string orchestra represents a piquant (and very typically neoclassical) blend of sonorities. 

The composer was, like Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, a formidable pianist. 

Dmitri Shostakovich (from collection of Laurel Fay)Dmitri Shostakovich (from collection of Laurel Fay)

In his student years he made money on the side by accompanying silent films, which is probably where he acquired the knack for quoting other pieces of music seamlessly in his scores, nowhere more so than in this concerto, which quotes Haydn and Beethoven (“Rage over a Lost Penny”), and liberally evokes jazz and the music hall.  When the solo trumpet plays the melody to a popular Viennese song from 1800, “Ach, du lieber Augustin” - an hommage to a popular balladeer and bagpiper of the times who entertained with his dark sense of humor -  it offended the prudish Soviet musical establishment.

Shostakovich at this time (1933) was happy to offend, cheekily mocking the overt seriousness of the grand Romantic piano concertos of his forbears like Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov.  He was really feeling his oats.  His recent First Symphony had been a triumph, and he had just completed his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk, a strident, challenging psychological drama of nerve-grating intensity and searing emotion.  He had yet to experience the severe official blowback that this opera would engender (resulting in his withdrawal of the opera and the just completed 4th Symphony), and the fear (for his life) and anxiety which would result in a radical about-turn in his compositional style that announced itself in the 5th Symphony (1938).

Yet beneath the glittering surface of the concerto is that vein of melancholy so characteristic of Shostakovich’s music, nowhere more so than in the poignant slow movement, fashioned as a waltz.  Yes, there is always the ironic twinge, but beyond that something darker and more sober clings.  Anyone who thinks Yuja Wang is all surface brilliance will have that notion dispelled here, as she brings out all the music’s variety of expressive modes, beautifully supported as she is by the sweet Boston strings.

The brief, bridging third movement leads us into the knockabout Finale, a veritable roustabout whose final pages are tossed off with a joie de vivre which will have you jumping out of your listening chair.  (You will literally levitate at Wang’s note-cluster chord that erupts during the trumpet’s brief diversion into a more languid, albeit ironic, aside to the dominant helter-skelter progress of the movement).  Throughout this performance the trumpet playing of BSO Principal Thomas Rolfs is a bright, strong, thrilling counterpart to Wang’s virtuosity.  The final peroration, trumpet fanfaring over Wang’s repeated chords (with echoes of the end of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella), is like fireworks bursting across the sky.  Man is this fun: music as fresh and vital as it must have sounded in 1933!

Wang, Nelsons and the BSO in full flight during the Shostakvich 1st Piano Concerto (Photo: Aram Boghosian)Wang, Nelsons and the BSO in full flight during the 1st Piano Concerto (Photo: Aram Boghosian)

Twenty years passed before Shostakovich returned to the piano concerto form, and those intervening years saw him live through the unspeakable horrors of the Stalin purges, the disappearance of numerous friends and colleagues, and his own personal struggle to somehow survive both physically and emotionally, let alone as a creative artist trying not to compromise his ideals or personal truth while facing constant official scrutiny.  His music underwent radical aesthetic shifts to avoid censure, and himself being carted off to the Gulag.

With the death of Stalin in 1953, the thaw in the cultural climate led Shostakovich to pen probably his greatest symphony, the 10th, complete with its unvarnished portrait of the finally deceased dictator - red in tooth and claw in the second movement.  Other major works like the First Violin Concerto and Sixth String Quartet were recently completed, the 11th Symphony underway, when the composer composed the Second Piano Concerto as a 19th birthday present for his son Maxim, who gave its first performance in May 1957.  (Maxim would go on to a fine career as a conductor; his EMI/Melodiya rendering of his father’s final symphony, No. 15, remains unequalled in the catalogue and, unusually for recordings of this provenance, is a certifiable audiophile gem that should be in every collection of the Shostakovich enthusiast).

Father and Son: Dmitri and Maxim ShostakovichFather and Son: Dmitri and Maxim Shostakovich

Acknowledging that his son, no mean pianist, was nevertheless not on his father’s level, the solo part is less demanding and obviously virtuosic, with many of the barnstorming passages written in octaves.  The work represents a “break’ from the intensity of those other contemporaneous works, and is charming in the way you’d expect a present from father to son to be.  Shostakovich’s writing for full orchestra here brings a lithe piquancy to the wind and brass textures.

After a hushed introduction the slow movement brings forth one of the composer’s most beautiful and engaging melodies, colored by unexpected, gorgeous harmonies - lending a heart-stopping quality that would not be out of place in a Hollywood movie of yesteryear.  (Remember that Shostakovich wrote many exceptionally fine film scores, not least for a famous Soviet Hamlet in 1964 by director Grigori Kozintsev).  Shostakovich channels Rachmaninov and Prokofiev here, and fully equals them, without ever veering into bombast.  As critic Robert Layton commented: “the composer was able to operate at a level of self-mockery and serious poetic comment at one and the same time.”

The Finale is another of Shostakovich’s effervescent helter-skelter dashes, full of youthful high spirits and unabashed joy.  Wang tears through this with gay abandon, matched at every turn by conductor Andris Nelsons and his Boston players.  You will gasp at the power and  precision of Wang’s repeated notes in the final bars.

If that weren’t enough, DG offers some filler gems in the form of extracts from Shostakovich’s Bachian cycle of 24 Preludes and Fugues, op. 87 (plus one scintillating Prelude from his earlier op.34) - one of the great 20th century masterpieces of the solo piano repertoire.  Wang is (again) almost casually brilliant here, and I can only fervently hope and expect she will release a complete recording of this essential cycle.  This is all music ideally suited to her musical temperament. (Until then I direct readers to Shostakovich’s own recordings of these on the Classical Russian Revelation label - there are several discs of the composer's own recordings of his piano music - along with Vladimir Ashkenazy’s complete 1999 cycle on Decca, one of the glories of his catalogue).

Hitherto, my usual vinyl go-to for the Shostakovich piano concertos has been - since I bought it when it was first released in 1975 - Brazilian pianist Cristina Ortiz’s luminous, incisive rendering in vintage EMI sound with Paavo Berglund and the Bournemouth Symphony.  (All the Berglund/EMI records are serious classical collector essentials, in my view).

Shostakovich Piano Concertos Ortiz Berglund EMI

But listening to this excellent record next to Yuja Wang only serves to illuminate just how meteoric and unique a performer Ms. Wang truly is. She and the Bostonians (and the engineering team) just take everything to the next level.  

No, I will not be jettisoning Ortiz, nor my copy of Shostakovich himself playing these works, nor a few other CD favorites (Leif Ove Andsnes, Lise de la Salle, and Martha Argerich in the First Concerto).  But after listening several times to the immaculate pressing of this Yuja Wang firecracker, I can only echo the words of Jed Distler reviewing this set in The Gramophone:  “Yuja Wang’s performances are of a wholly individual character and brilliance that discourages comparison.” 

And yes - this is indeed a new audiophile classic (at least in its vinyl incarnation).

Shostakovich Piano Concertos Yuja Wang Nelsons BSO DG

One of Yuja Wang's justly celebrated encores... (Amidst the flurry of notes listen to how the musical line is crystal clear - this has to be heard to be believed!):

Music Specifications

Catalog No: 486 6957

Pressing Plant: Optimal

SPARS Code: DDA

Speed/RPM: 33 1/3

Weight: 180 grams

Size: 12"

Channels: Stereo

Presentation: Single LP

Comments

  • 2025-07-27 09:41:31 AM

    Jacob Heilbrunn wrote:

    Given that it was recorded in digital, why listen to it on vinyl?

    • 2025-07-27 11:55:32 AM

      Come on wrote:

      Fair question!

      In my experience (assumed vinyl and digital rig are of similar quality and tonality) there are several cases when this can makes sense or not:

      1. the vinyl edition is mixed and/or mastered differently (mostly better). Then it usually makes much sense to choose the vinyl edition (example: Jaervi Beethoven box, MTT Mahler SFS box)

      2. the vinyl release is produced from higher resolution files than the digital edition available. Rare, but then vinyl usually makes sense, too (for example for folks who still use CD drives, no hires)

      3. the music benefits from vinyl production and playback artifacts (welcome distortion, leading to a more natural sound quality perception) and from other superior qualities of the vinyl rig more than it suffers from additional production steps. This can be mainly the case with acoustical instrument recordings. Then the vinyl release can make sense, too.

      4. the vinyl release mainly suffers from vinyl production and playback artifacts. This can mainly be the case with electronic instrument recordings. Then the vinyl release often makes less sense.

      5. the vinyl release is produced from lower resolution files than the digital release. This unfortunately is quite often the case when mastering studios who are contracted for the vinyl release, don’t have higher resolution gear than mastering from say 24\48, but the original recording was for example DXD. Then vinyl makes no sense at all.

      I guess the recording here falls somewhat in category 3. or it makes hardly any difference if played from vinyl or digital media.

    • 2025-08-07 06:55:46 AM

      Jack Pot wrote:

      Analogue and digital "present" music in very different ways. Analogue is much closer to the live experience than digital. The whole industry knows it. Proofs:

      1. I have both a carefully setup top of the line cdsacd system and a top of the line vinyl rig. CD does not come close to vinyl. SACD makes an honourable attempt. And yes, LPs from digital tapes sound more emotionally coherent than anything digital. Discard this argument coming from a blinkered, subjective vinylista.
      2. Some SACDs are much better at conveying the musical emotion than others. I can recommend all TRPTK SACDS and some Esoteric ones. Why is that? TRPTK and Esoteric probably understand digital recording much better than their colleagues. Try them out and be amazed (TRPTK offers streaming). They both illustrate the shortcomings of middle-of-the-road digital (99% of what is out there).
      3. dCS and Wadax now offer eye-wateringly expensive digital rigs which they claim are "revolutionary". Everything digital before that is mediocre? Obviously! They are in hot pursuit of analogue! In the meantime, vinyl reproduction is still making incremental advances, witness the plethora of new turntables, arms, cartridges coming to market. But the basic "right" sound is embedded in the LP, even mastered from digital files.
  • 2025-07-27 01:16:41 PM

    Thomas Ream wrote:

    I have managed to see Ms. Yang perform live a few times (with MTT and the SFS) - and IMHO she is the real deal. I was supposed to hear her in the Brahms First as well but the Covid lockdown intervened. I heard her play Ravel and Prokofiev - and I would love to hear more.

    • 2025-07-28 06:20:18 PM

      Mark Ward wrote:

      I envy you seeing her live. Every time I try to get tix here in LA it is impossible.

  • 2025-07-27 04:35:06 PM

    EAD wrote:

    Thanks, Mark for the excellent article and review!! I have just ordered this Yuja Wang recording. I finished listening to a couple of CD boxes, so I can now better justify for myself this new purchase and the Karajan box of the 2nd Viennese School (preorder) ;-).

    Finished listening to the very enjoyable Michel Béroff box and I am half way the equally enjoyable Peter Serkin box that you mentioned. Highlights for me, Béroff’s superb Mussorski (“Pictures at an Exhibition”), Messiaen and Prokofiev. The Peter Serkin Messiaen’s “Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus” is simply stunning.

    While I type this, I am listening to Kristian Bezuidenhout’s Mozart box (half way now). He plays on a fortepiano (Anton Walter & Sohn 1805 replica made Paul McNulty, website https://www.fortepiano.eu/mcnulty-fortepianos/ ), which is recorded wonderfully and that is an understatement. Great performance also. Very refreshing and utterly enjoyable to hear Mozart this way.

    Just started with the Carlo Maria Giulini Warner box, which you recommended: His Beethoven’s 7th is now my favourite with the Carlos Kleiber.

    So thanks again for your article and recommendations. Best wishes to you.

    • 2025-07-27 04:56:00 PM

      EAD wrote:

      And that Prokofiev encore by Yuja Wang in the youtube video is simply stunning!

    • 2025-07-28 06:47:22 PM

      Mark Ward wrote:

      I love the Beroff recordings. I have many of them on French/German EMI and that is the only reason I have hesitated to get the CD box - but I still might. (The LPs turn up regularly in the used bins). So glad you managed to get the Serkin box and are enjoying his recordings. I think he is really special, very underrated, and those CD remasterings are exemplary. He is great in both the traditional and modern repertory - I must re-listen to that Messiaen. I've never heard of that fortepianist - a little forte piano goes a long way with me, but I will investigate. Yup, that Giulini box is top of my list - the LPs I have are very special. I am awaiting the Beecham box as I type. The second Ormandy stereo box has been getting a lot of play here too - amazing.

  • 2025-07-27 04:40:10 PM

    Thomas Ream wrote:

    I was conflating her name, wasn’t I? Wang, of course!

  • 2025-07-28 04:18:16 AM

    Jennnifer Martin wrote:

    I've heard her twice, once in SF and once in LA (Prokofiev and Liszt). Her reputation preceded her, of course, but I actually WANTED to dislike her. "All flash and no substance" I imagined. MAN, was I wrong?! Simply incredible. I have the digital files of this (from Qobuz), which sounds good. I look forward to getting the LP. Thanks as always, Mark.

    • 2025-07-28 06:48:05 PM

      Mark Ward wrote:

      I am so envious you managed to get tix!!!

  • 2025-07-28 08:33:04 AM

    Jim wrote:

    This recording has been on repeat play on my streaming app. And I have recommended it to some audiophile/ classical agnostic friends to test their systems. But, for me, as a Shostakovich enthusiast this performance came as a shock and revelation! Not so much because of any thought that Ms. Wang would disappoint but due to questions over how Belsons would conduct the piece. Well the BSO is a thrilling co-conspirator with Ms. Wang’s iconic performance. A magnificent listening experience. And I appreciated the nod to Maxim who seems to generally ( and undeservedly) be given short-shrift by most music critics. Wonderful read, per the usual!

    • 2025-07-28 08:35:29 AM

      Jim wrote:

      Oops!: Nelsons

    • 2025-07-28 06:52:57 PM

      Mark Ward wrote:

      Thanks! I find Nelsons very hit and miss, and I think he has been WAY over recorded by DG. That Bruckner cycle is a total snooze. I need to pick up Maxim's complete Shostakovich cycle on (I think) Supraphon. That 15th on EMI is something I listen to often - wonderful piece, superb recording.

      • 2025-08-02 08:13:32 AM

        Jim wrote:

        I think you will appreciate the cycle on Supraphon.

        • 2025-08-02 08:21:10 AM

          Jim wrote:

          PS: I forgot to mention that there are a good number of the symphonies out on Melodiya( and licensed labels) of Maxim conducting USSR orchestras before he defected to then West Germany.

  • 2025-07-28 10:22:11 PM

    Wishful Listener wrote:

    Thanks for another great review!

    What's not to like? Wonderful music and a great performance by a fantastic artist captured in a flawless recording. Happy to be experiencing all these new records done right today, also the revised/improved old ones (e.g. Original Source Vinyl Series). Thanks to everyone who is making this possible, especially the folks at DG.

    • 2025-07-29 05:17:21 AM

      Mark Ward wrote:

      Yes, DG is really knocking it out of the park right now after a number of years when they seemed kinda lost. I think the Original Source Series is really putting both DG and other major companies on notice with regards to really prioritizing sound quality (and embracing vinyl). And let's not forget that it is Rainer Maillard who has doggedly pushed for analogue and vinyl for decades, even when it was not fashionable.

  • 2025-07-29 03:32:05 AM

    PeterPani wrote:

    Living in Vienna, I can be happy that Wang is playing here very often. It is always a pleasure to listen to her virtuousity. To me the greatest pianist, I can see live, is Vikingur Olafsson. Wang does not play Mozart very often. And I think, she is very clever to avoid the deeper digging e.g. Mozart requires, and goes for the firework pieces. Last year Olafsson and Wang played on two pianos (and in the encores on one) in our Musikverein. It was very interesting to see, how difficult it was for them to get in the same mood. Olafsson played somehow the lead and Wang was always on fire to start her tunes, could not wait to overroll the themes with energetic outbreaks. Try to see Olafsson live. Wang makes you amazed. But Olafsson makes you cry in his search for the humanity between the notes.

    • 2025-07-29 05:14:08 AM

      Mark Ward wrote:

      Well I have yet to see Olafsson live too (again, not for want of trying), but I will say he is the only pianist (along with Leif Ove Andsnes) whose every single recording I buy automatically. I remember getting his Philip Glass and first Bach records, and being utterly blown away by them. If I I had to take one piano record to a desert island, that Bach record would probably be it. I must confess I thought pairing Olafsson and Wang together seemed like a total mismatch, but maybe it (kinda) worked..? Yup, you said it perfectly in contrasting the two. I would be most curious to hear Olafsson in some of the more fiery virtuoso repertoire that Wang excels in... and yes, I VERY much want to see him live, more than anyone else, even Wang. Lucky you to be in Vienna!

      • 2025-07-29 09:40:05 AM

        PeterPani wrote:

        Both had their fun in the Musikverein that day. I (and my friends, too) wondered, whether they went for dinner afterwards. I am pretty sure, they had a lot of fun. Two years ago Olafsson played Mozart here and it was overwhelming. Mozart can be played rather mechanically. But if somebody breathes with his music, Mozart is on top of all the others. There were many tears in the audience, because of beauty and warmth and somebody understanding that it is the search for the soul of being, that counts.

      • 2025-07-29 12:51:27 PM

        PeterPani wrote:

        Regarding desert island record: mine would be the Mozart KV 331 of Kathryn Deguire ‎on Esoteric Records of the mid'50s. On the original black label this is a 12/12 rating record. It is my best sounding one and it sits on the top of my vinyl collection since years. It is the record that ignited my interest for music and audio by hearing the first single note played on a high quality system in the british home of the former boss of an ex-girlfriend. A single first note, still resonating in me after 30 years. (sadly the Olafsson Mozart is an 11 for music, but for sound a 6 only. That's a pity - it really distracts the listener).

      • 2025-08-07 05:56:55 PM

        Come on wrote:

        I love his Mozart, but after hearing his mechanical piano-like Goldberg variations, I thought Mozart might be what makes sense.

  • 2025-07-29 12:25:12 PM

    Andrew Kemp wrote:

    Oh dear, there goes another £30! Mind you, I knew it would be good, as I saw her do the 2nd with Michael Tilson Thomas in Aldeburgh four years ago. But of course another perceptive review from Mark (is there any other kind?) has probably now pushed me over the edge.

    • 2025-08-07 08:29:13 PM

      Mark Ward wrote:

      Apologies for depleting your bank account - all in a good cause! I assume that concert in Aldeburgh was in the Snape Maltings, my favorite concert hall in the UK. I spent a very happy couple of weeks as a Hesse student at the Festival in my "Gap" year, way back in the day. Saw Murray Perahia direct and play Mozart piano concertos in that hall, and it was as if the music was coming directly from "Wolfie" to the musicians. Transcendent. I saw Peter Pears in his car during the intermission crying - it was only a few years after Britten's death. Superb acoustic, as witnessed by a number of Britten's own records as pianist and conductor for Decca. And thank you for the kind words.

  • 2025-08-05 04:23:06 PM

    Azmoon wrote:

    Excellent sonics. Anyone recommend any other Yuja albums, in CD or LP? The Berlin Recital sounds good on Spotify. Is this good on CD sonically? Any others?

  • 2025-08-07 08:05:51 AM

    Jack Pot wrote:

    Finally a review of a living, breathing classical music artist! Without income from concerts and royalties, these artisits can barely support themselves. If we want to keep the genre alive, we must give them all the support we can, and reviewers must grant them all the exposure they can. Ok, Mark Ward went for the most famous of them all. Still massive progress from reviewing long dead artists. Nothing against them, yet there is a brave new world out there. May I recommend astounding LPs? Hahn in Ysaye and Ginastera (Eclipse, on sale!) on DG, Ott in the Chopin Preludes (DG, weird but it works), Krystian Zimerman's latest (DG, also on sale!), Chamayou in Satie (Erato). Shall we give Original Source a breather, and explore living artisits on vinyl?

    • 2025-08-07 08:22:58 PM

      Mark Ward wrote:

      Ah, I hear you! But alas none of us work for TA full-time and our writing has to be squeezed in when it can be. The priority for coverage has to be genuine AAA vinyl, followed by well-executed DDA (and CDs/SACDs which can sound very good indeed) - and the Original Source series not only fits into that first category, but is leading the way in terms of what classical labels can be doing with their back catalogues if they do it right. In the process DG and EBS have redefined posterity's judgment on the "DG sound". Having said that I have actually tried to cover releases by "living, breathing classical artists" when I can, and so have others here (I highly recommend you read Paul Seydor's recent, excellent piece on Maria Duenas, and Michael Johnson's on the Mozart Requiem - plus anything written by John Marks). If you click on my name at the top of this piece you will get a list of my past reviews and will see everything listed, including some excellent releases from the BPOs own label with its current music director, Kirill Petrenko. Love your suggested titles - I am a massive Zimmerman and Chamayou fan, and both those releases are on my "to buy" list. Will see what I can do - and thank you for chiming in!

      • 2025-08-08 02:41:00 PM

        Jack Pot wrote:

        Thanks for making time to reply. I will follow your leads. I ordered the Yuja Wang record, my first. I just bought the Hamelin LP on Hyperion. This will be fun.

  • 2025-08-08 03:30:03 PM

    Jack Pot wrote:

    Mark Ward just commented on the redefined DG sound, thanks to the EBS effort. I too enjoy the DG Original Source (OS) series, but rather for the excellence of the interpretations. I owe a massive DG vinyl collection from the 80's and can testify to the poor sound. OS is a leap forward. However, on my rig, OS often sounds "thin", especially in the orchestral violin sections. No matter what I try, for instance the just reissued DG Giulini Bruckner LPs sound "better". Or Hahn in Ginastera (DG, Eclipse), mastered from digital. So I bought a "white label" OS, Tchaikovsky's Winter Dreams, to compare it with my OS nr 3224 (out of 3350). No numbering of the "white label" (supposed to be 1-500), very poor overall presentatoon, not even a side indication on the label!, not even an LP sleeve to keep the various bits together. So far, so bad at... double! the price. What about the sound? Shocking. 3D with plenty of detail, marvelous strings and this beautiful deep bass. Vinyl at its very, very best. Now please follow my argument. The fist 500 pressings are stellar. Then the quality degrades. By the time of pressing nr 3224, the OS is only a shadow of its former self. I bet that Rainer has never listened to one of his "end of pressing" records. He confines himself to the master cut. What about pressing 501? Probably as good as white label, with a beautiful presentation, and at half the price. So pressings 501 to 750? 1000? go to friends and family and... to reviewers. The rest goes to the hoi polloi. Cynical marketing at its saddest..

    • 2025-08-08 05:27:18 PM

      Mark Ward wrote:

      That quality of "thinness" you describe, especially in the violins, is definitely a feature of the DG sound (probably something to do with the microphones used). I find it mitigated substantially in the OSS releases, though some more than others. I can tell you that my, Michael Johnson's and MF's review copies have run the complete range to the pressing runs, and I have no reason to believe that copies 1-500 are any different from those later in the run. As to those expensive white label editions, I've never heard one of those. They do sell out, so somebody likes them!

      • 2025-08-09 05:12:36 AM

        Jack Pot wrote:

        I compared the Winter Dreams OS and OS white label (OSWL) side by side. It cost me an additional(!) euro 120. Much to my dismay, the OSWL spatial presentation and sound quality are far superior to OS. Even the violin "thinness" is no longer an issue, perhaps laying to rest the microphone hypothesis. I cannot afford more OS vs OSWL comparisons. I decided that, rather than purchasing all the OSs as they come out, to only purchase selected OSWLs. Also regarding new issues (eg Zimerman Brahms Quartet White Label LP, anyhow the standard vinyl edition was... sold out!). Anyhow, this issue of first pressings vs subsequent pressings of such small batches needs investigating. Why is that? And why charge double the price in very poor packaging? Tracking Angle is ideally positioned to ask Rainer, or DG, these awkward questions

        • 2025-08-09 03:40:28 PM

          Come on wrote:

          Your observation is interesting.

          And I agree, that a 10 or 11 sound quality rating for a DGG can mostly just be a ranking within the DGG sound quality cosmos.

          Dynamics, transparency, soundstage and bass impact/control can be outstanding, but strings or piano tonality usually just gets an “ok” rating at best.

          Regarding the white label topic, this usually can just be test pressings of the first runs of a stamper and I see no reason why they would differ from the first runs of a next stamper. They are 130g instead of 180g, but this shouldn’t give the results you heard either.

          I believe you heard what you heard, but we still need some clarification from DGG (over Mark?).

          • 2025-08-09 09:06:46 PM

            Come on wrote:

            But one of my phonostages makes even the thinner DGG sound sing.

            • 2025-08-10 01:57:19 AM

              Jack Pot wrote:

              I agree. One swallow does not make spring. Is the Winter Dreams OSWL vs OS a one-off? DG apparently thinks not, happy to monetise the myth? around WL. Tracking Angle is best placed to investigate. I know, this is boring stuff but no-one else can get to the bottom of this. If TA can debunk the WL myth, we can all go back to buying more OSs. At present, I do not want to dish out euro 60 for an OS LP when the euro 120 OSWL sounds "twice as good". I will simply buy 50% less DG LPs.

              • 2025-08-10 05:42:24 AM

                Mark Ward wrote:

                I know that the folks at DG and EBS read these reviews (eventually) and comments, and may or may not chime in. I do take mild exception to the somewhat accusatory tone that DG is "monetizing the myth", as if by releasing these very limited quantity while label promos they are somehow shortchanging the regular releases. This is not, I think, a matter for "investigation", something that someone needs to "get to the bottom" of - as if something nefarious is going on. This is a for-profit company, and if they decide to market a product then so be it. If no-one buys that product, then that is a gamble gone wrong. If people do buy them (and clearly hardcore collectors like yourself do) then they have found a niche audience within a niche audience that feels they are getting something extra for their money and good for them. From what you write, you feel you now have something that sounds even better - and that is great! DG is not in this business to lose money. Whether these white label promos are indeed sonically superior is not something I can speak to - if you find them to be so then you have made a great investment. My own experience with this whole area is very limited - whether white label promos or early run pressings THESE DAYS (and this emphasis is important vs. back in the 60s, for example) are really so far superior to later numbers - I simply cannot tell you. This may be a situation where MF has some historical perspective - he's been listening critically to this stuff on better equipment than I for much longer. I am very happy that you have found a sweet spot in your collection of the OS releases by investing in these white label promos - if the white labels sound better to your ears then that is great. Does anyone else have experience with these? For myself, I am happy with the regular releases - which are, after all, the ones I review and the ones most people buy. Even with the releases that do not quite hit the highest marks for me, either musically or sonically, I know they have hit the highest marks for others - and that is exactly how I would expect it to be. My greatest wish is that DG's success here will spur on the other classical labels to embark on their own audiophile vinyl reissue series, mixed, mastered and cut AAA.

          • 2025-08-10 05:20:54 AM

            Mark Ward wrote:

            My rankings are always universal, no matter which label - I am never thinking "within the DGG sound quality cosmos". I often agonize over these, and always want people to judge them within the context of also carefully reading the review. As to this whole white label topic, I feel somewhat at a loss to comment since I have never done the comparison. My feeling is that this must be up to the experiences of individual listeners.

            • 2025-08-10 06:26:59 AM

              Come on wrote:

              Thanks Mark, yes, I know your ratings are meant in absolute terms and due to your great descriptions I know how to take this for me personally! I really adore quite a few of them and I’m able to play most of the sets I have in very good sound quality.

              I like what DGG does, everyone can make choices. And the white label topic would simply be interesting from a technical perspective (is it just normal first run test pressings, corresponding with those of upcoming new stampers used?). DGG is so transparent with their communication so far, I’m sure they will address it.

    • 2025-08-10 11:04:56 AM

      Michael Fremer wrote:

      There are a few serious misconceptions in your post (IMO). First of all "numbered editions", from every label all the time are not packaged in pressing order! So if you get #500 it is certainly not the 500th record off the press. Sad but true. Secondly, sonic differences are more likely caused by when the record is pressed more than by supposed stamper wear. First records off the press in the morning are most often tossed. Then the press gets it all going and there are good records. Depending upon the effectiveness of the heat exchanger/chiller, by midday in a scorching environment, sound quality often takes a slight hit. Pressing sound quality is not a linear thing based upon how many records come off a particular stamper. While I get many DGGs as promos I have purchased many including the Wang and Maria Dueñas titles reviewed here. I can't compare to a promo copy but but both of these sound great and considerably better than the streaming version.

      • 2025-08-10 11:52:21 AM

        Come on wrote:

        Given the sound quality difference between normal and one step releases, many of us might have experience with, the differences Jack heard seem even much bigger (but should be smaller due to the technical impact of one step [bigger] vs. differences of more or less used stampers [smaller]). Mysterious. I'm curious to hear what DGG has to say.