This stereo-only Direct Stream Digital recording was produced before Telarc began recording in multi-channel surround. But two channels are plenty enough to demonstrate the sonic improvements engendered by DSD/SACD. The enhanced clarity and greater presence adds an aspect of tangibility and tactility to the sound that gets us one step farther away from George Szell’s withering yet philosophically astute maxim that listening to music on records is like being kissed over the telephone.
La Péri’s opening brass fanfares take on a new brilliance and bluster, an effect similar to wiping away accumulated dust from your TV screen and then marveling at the newly vibrant colors. In all three works you experience a solid, three-dimensional sound picture that precisely places instrumental groups, and especially soloists, in real space. The low frequencies, double-bass notes in particular, emerge cleanly, with distinct directionality. You can even distinguish between the timpani mallet hitting the skin and the resulting resonance. However, that certain dryness and tendency toward dullness at the top end, common with Telarc’s Cincinnati-based recordings, remains, and apparently can be attributed to Cincinnati’s Music Hall itself.
The CD version of this recording was previously appraised by colleague Luca Sabbatini (type Q660 in Search Reviews), and while my own reactions to López-Cobos’ performances tend to be a bit more favorable, Martinon’s powerful and incisive readings are classics of their kind, and remain unchallenged. Nevertheless, if you missed the CD version of this release and want to hear these vibrant and colorful works in the best possible sound, then this is the Dukas for you.
