Rudolf Buchbinder / Christian Thielemann & Berliner Philharmoniker – Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 (UHQCD)

Der Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder begann im Alter von nur fünf Jahren seine Ausbildung an der Wiener Hochschule für Musik, besuchte zwölfjährig die Meisterklasse von Bruno Seidlhofer und gewann mit 15 den ersten Preis beim ARD Musikwettbewerb. In seiner langjährigen Karriere spielte er mehr als 200 Aufnahmen ein. Für diese Aufnahme aus dem Jahr 2016 in der Berliner Philharmonie arbeitet Buchbinder mit dem befreundeten Dirigenten Christian Thielemann zusammen. Auf beeindruckende Weise dokumentiert diese UHQCD die intensive Beschäftigung Buchbinders mit den Werken Ludwig van Beethovens.

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.