Nodoka Okisawa & Saito Kinen Orchestra – Brahms: Symphonies 1 & 2; Strauss: Don Juan (UHQCD dublu)

In 2024, the renowned Saito Kinen Orchestra celebrated its 40th anniversary with the release of “Brahms: Symphony No. 1 and No. 2 & Strauss: Don Juan”. This live recording, conducted by Nodoka Okisawa at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival 2024, is very special: firstly because Okisawa was appointed the first principal guest conductor in the history of the festival by its director Seiji Ozawa, and secondly because the Brahms symphonies are a central component of the SKA. These were performed in their entirety during the orchestra’s early international tours and shaped the artistic direction of the orchestra in its founding years. The debut performance of Brahms and Richard Strauss’ symphonic poem “Don Juan” with Nodoka Okisawa as Principal Guest Conductor was met with frenetic applause and also received great international acclaim.

Seiji Ozawa and the SKO have an extensive recording history, which was crowned by the 2016 release of Ravel’s “L’enfant Et Les Sortilèges” on Decca Classics, which won the 58th Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. The most recent release by the Saito Kinen Orchestra was a live recording of the Deutsche Grammophon 125th anniversary special gala concert conducted by Ozawa’s long-time friend, conductor and composer John Williams, released by Deutsche Grammophon in May 2020.

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

UHQCD 1

1. Brahms: Symph. No. 1 – 1. Satz (Un Poco Sostenuto – Allegro)

2. Brahms: Symph. No. 1 – 2. Satz (Andante Sostenuto)

3. Brahms: Symph. No. 1 – 3. Satz (Un Poco Allegretto E Grazioso)

4. Brahms: Symph. No. 1 – 4. Satz (Adagio – Piu Andante – Allegro Non Troppo, Ma Con Brio)

5. Strauss: Don Juan

UHQCD 2

1. Brahms: Symph. No. 2 – 1. Satz (Allegro Non Troppo)

2. Brahms: Symph. No. 2 – 2. Satz (Adagio Non Troppo)

3. Brahms: Symph. No. 2 – 3. Satz (Allegretto Grazioso, Quasi Andantino)

4. Brahms: Symph. No. 2 – 4. Satz (Allegro Con Spirito)