Lang Lang/ Gina Alice/ Andris Nelsons & Gewandhausorchester: Saint-Saens (UHQCD dublu)

At the heart of this release is ‘Carnival of the Animals’, in which star pianist Lang Lang explores the many facets of French classical music with the Gewandhaus Orchestra and conductor Andris Nelsons, who are equally masters of their craft.

As well as ‘Carnaval’, the programme includes Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2, a highlight of the Romantic period, various classics by Ravel, Fauré and Debussy, and the ‘Flower Duet’ from the opera Lakmé. The voyage of discovery is rounded off with works by five French composers, including Lili Boulanger’s impressionistic „D’un jardin clair”.

UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. Unlike conventional CDs, UHQCDs are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. Another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied to the softer photopolymer for scratch protection. The combination results in significantly reduced reflection of laser light inside the CD and an unmatched precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with standard CD players. Musically, the result is a sound image strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.

While Universal Music Japan’s first UHQCD series relied on the DSD data of previous SHM-SACD releases, with increasing popularity, albums that had not previously been released as SHM-SACD are now appearing. Typically, the Universal Archive master tapes are re-converted to DSD for this purpose. UHQCDs are ideal for music lovers who want to get as close as possible to the sound of the recording, but do not own an SACD player.

Lista pieselor

CD 1

Camille Saint-Saens – Le Carnival des Animaux R. 125

1. Introduction

2. Marche royal du lyon

3. 2. Poules et coqs

4. 3. Hémiones animaux véloces

5. 4. Tortues

6. 5. L’éléphant

7. 6. Kangourous

8. 7. Aquarium

9. 8. Personnages à longues oreilles

10. 9. Le coucou au fond des bois

11. 10. Volière

12. 11. Pianistes

13. 12. Fossiles

14. 13. Le cygne

15. 14. Final

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.2 in G minor, Op.22

16.

I. Andante sostenuto

II. Allegro scherzando

III. Presto

CD 2

Maurice Ravel

1. Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19 (Version for piano)

Claude Debussy

Petite Suite, CD 71a

2. 1. En bateau. Andantino

3. 2. Cortège. Moderato

4. 3. Menuet. Moderato

5. 4. Ballet. Allegro giusto

Gabriel Fauré

6. In paradisum

Léo Delibes

7. Lakmé: Flower Duet

Camille Saint-Saens

8. Toccata d’après le 5ème

Gabriel Fauré

9. Pavane, Op. 50 (Version for piano)

Louise Farrenc

10. Etude No. 10 in F sharp minor

Charlotte Sohy

11. Romance sans paroles

Germaine Tailleferre

12. Valse lente

Mélanie Bonis

13. La toute petite s’endort

Lili Boulanger

14. D’un jardin clair

Camille Saint-Saens – No. 13 from Le Carnival des Animaux R. 125

15. Le Cygne

Format	UHQCD dublu
Gen muzical	Muzică clasică