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Still from Formidable (below)

Dear <<First Name>>,

This would have been a very boring update of our weekly e-mail party at the NativeDSD Music Store, if it wasn’t for Reference Recordings and Channel Classics Records; providing us with 2 Exclusive Early Releases and an introductory discount on both. So now? Today has suddenly become a very exciting DSD News day! ;)

• Brahms: Symphony No. 4, MacMillan: Larghetto for Orchestra

  Reference Recordings release a brand new album in their Fresh! series, with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It’s an Exclusive Early Release and comes with a temporary & automatically applied 15% introductory discount.

• Formidable! French Chansons (pictured above)
  Channel Classics Records teamed up with baritone Thomas Oliemans and Amsterdam Sinfonietta to record French chansons from Jacques Brel, Charles Aznavour, and many others. It’s an Exclusive Early Release and comes with a temporary & automatically applied 15% introductory discount.

Furthermore please checkout our: ‘Gramophone says they’re among the very best! - And they really are’ selection by Bill Dodd, Album of the week, audio Gear store highlight and DSD to Vinyl Availability.

Kind regards,

The NativeDSD Music Team
Floor, Jonas, Jared, Brian, Tom, Ted, Bill, and Marian

Brahms: Symphony No. 4, MacMillan: Larghetto for Orchestra

Reference Recordings proudly presents the Symphony No. 4 of Johannes Brahms, with James MacMillan’s Larghetto for Orchestra, in exceptional performances from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. We are excited that this release coincides with the orchestra’s 2021-2022 season and triumphant return to live concerts! These works were recorded live in beautiful and historic Heinz Hall, now celebrating its 50th Anniversary season.

Formidable! (French Chansons)

“I have had French chansons in my head for as long as I can remember: on a scratchy car radio or a cassette player, in the back seat for hours on end on the way to the Vendée or Dordogne, or softly issuing from a gramophone record in my father’s study below my bedroom, probably a compilation such as Vive La France or Jean Ferrat sings Aragon.

When I started to learn the piano and got into the habit of singing along, it was obviously French chansons that I picked up by ear and sang entirely phonetically. Julien Clerc with his franglais of This Melody, and Brel with his La chanson des vieux amants. The French teachers at my secondary school put me in for the Concours de la Chanson, which I promptly (and nearly by accident) won. And all of a sudden, the path opened up for me to become a professional singer or pianist, or at any rate a musician. It led me primarily into the world of classical singing, in opera, lied and oratorio, in which I felt there was much to discover for my further development.

But the chanson was never far away. Indeed, at almost each stage of my musical development it appeared to grow with me. (...)”

- Thomas Oliemans, voice & piano

Watch and listen to this song on the album page, recorded live from Concertgebouw Amsterdam!

Gramophone says they’re among the very best!
- and they really are;

Founded almost 100 years ago (1923), Gramophone is one of the world’s most important music publications. Over the past few weeks Gramophone has posted on social media lists of the top recordings of works by various composers. It should come as no surprise that we can find many of these recordings at the NativeDSD Music Store.

The selected albums include music from Beethoven, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Mozart, Handel, Dvorák, Bartók, and Vivaldi.

Gramophone:
“It comes as no surprise to find these marvelous Budapest musicians moving the Pastoral Symphony downstream along the Danube from the woods by Heiligenstadt to the countryside beyond Buda. (...) It is all-pervasive. (…) a reading of the finale which is unashamedly devout.”
And in the Fourth? “… the feel of a performance which has zest and humour...”

Bill Dodd:
"All of the Ivan Fischer/BFO Beethoven albums have met with praise from critics, but this one is my favorite!"

Gramophone:
“For some, Valery Gergiev’s dark, pumped-up Seventh might prove to be the high point of his Mahler cycle. (…) The playing is consistently assured; the sound powerfully immediate. The reading has a monolithic drive that is nothing if not distinctive.”

Bill Dodd:
"You will hear (and read) many critics belief that Mahler’s Seventh is his “problem” symphony. One that doesn’t really work. I can only say that after decades of collecting and listening to Mahler’s symphonies, the Seventh has become the one I listen to most often. I love it. And I thoroughly enjoy both Gergiev’s performance, and that of Iván Fischer with the BFO."

Gramophone:
“A splendid recording from the hugely impressive Julia Fischer. There’s power and poetry in spades, and the orchestra accompany with thrilling commitment.”

Bill Dodd:
"I totally agree. Julia Fischer was amazing at this age for her technique as well as her ability to deliver a performance which one might expect from a much more mature artist. This is wonderful music making and an outstanding recording."

Gramophone:
“Fischer and his decidedly classy Budapest orchestra treat the Variations as an affectionate tribute to Haydn… Finely sprung and nicely styled… A superlative recording helps. And what of the symphony…? This too is a vibrant affair, stylish and alert, played with clarity and sheen (…) This is a more extrovert reading than many of you will hear, less burdened.”

Bill Dodd:
"My own thoughts are simple. This is exciting, even thrilling Brahms. Clear and intelligent. It rises to the top level of Brahms symphony recordings. And Channel Classics' recording quality is unsurpassed."

Gramophone:
"Arabella Steinbacher and Marek Janowski offer us Bartók in 3D, the three dimensions not only spatial but emotional as well. I can’t think of a version of the Second Concerto, past or present, where structure and content are more thoughtfully balanced, of where significant points in the score are more lovingly underlined."

Bill Dodd:
"I came late to Bartók. I hadn’t explored his music much until about 10 years ago when I was introduced to the piano concertos and the violin concertos. If you haven’t discovered Bartók, I urge you to start here. This recording of the two Violin Concertos lacks nothing for superb musicianship and audio quality."

Gramophone:
"What really shoots this recording straight to the top of the pile, however, is the sheer joy of it, the spontaneity and the tireless, surging musical energy of its many sudden feints and sallies."

Bill Dodd:
"This album is on the list of all-time best sellers on Native DSD for good reason. All of Rachel Podgers Vivaldi recordings have received the highest praise. Her Bach as well! And I mean all of them."

Album of the Week

“I am a huge fan of this recording. It is one of the best in terms of recording quality I have ever heard. Pace, rhythm, tone, and soundstage are just off the charts.”
— Joe Whip, Audiophile Style

The Utah Symphony Orchestra celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2015 by commissioning three significant and adventurous works by leading composers Augusta Read Thomas, Nico Muhly and Andrew Norman. Performed at concerts throughout the year, the pieces were recorded live and released on this acclaimed audiophile album in April 2016. World-renowned percussionist Colin Currie joins the orchestra on Norman’s Switch.

Ballade Pour La Nuit (One Microphone Recording)

Watch and listen to this song on the album page, recorded live from the One Microphone Recording session in Hilversum!

Each week, we select one incredible DSD Album from the catalogue, and offer it at 25% Off for 7 days.

New in the Gear Store

iFi Audio Pro iDSD Signature

Comes with 5 free DSD albums from NativeDSD.com. Learn more.

The Pro iDSD Signature is iFi’s new flagship reference class DAC and then some! The Signature edition builds on the strengths of the original, multi-award winning Pro iDSD.

The Pro iDSD Signature has:

• a sonically darker background and a punchier bass

• upgraded power -supply components to lower the overall system noise by 300%

• precisely matched NOS GE5670s tubes

• added support for USB1.0 (PS4/PS5)

• a new aluminium remote control

• a top-of the range iPower Elite power supply included

3 reasons to get your gear from NativeDSD

• Free DSD album downloads with your order. Learn more.

• Free worldwide shipping on orders over 300 euros.

• Free returns within 30 days.

Vinyl available from NativeDSD

Thank you for reading our newsletter. Have a great weekend!