I don’t understand Sony. Thomas Schippers’ recording of Alexander Nevsky is terrific; it has enjoyed a reasonably large following over the years, and an excellent new transfer to CD would be welcome. So why, given the time and expense Sony seems willing to accept in remastering the performance for release as an SACD, does the label not simply release it as a multichannel/stereo hybrid so that the vast majority of folks who don’t own SACD players–or couldn’t care less–have the option of purchasing the disc and enjoying it too? It makes absolutely no sense.
That said, if you do have SACD capability you will enjoy these performances very much, both for the crack playing of the New York Philharmonic and for Schippers’ conducting, which among other things features a rip-roaring Battle on the Ice in the cantata and one of the grandest of all versions of The Great Gate of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition. The remastering focuses the sound a bit too much in the center channel, but it’s not anything as bad (for example) as Chandos’ first batch of SACDs (which sounded like mono!), and it’s head and shoulders above any sonics that these performances have enjoyed previously. It’s just a pity that the vast majority of music lovers have been denied the opportunity to get reacquainted with these well-loved readings in their latest form.
