Hi-Res Downloads

96kHz/24-bit FLAC, Decca 478 5346 (supplied by www.highresaudio.com)

In 2007 Vladimir Ashkenazy decided to relinquish playing the pianoforte in public but has continued to make studio recordings. (That same year, at 24 Visontay became joint leader of the Philharmonia Orchestra.) Simultaneously released in Aug ’13 as a CD and via high-res outlets, this programme realises his dream of recording all of Rachmaninov’s music involving piano, which Ashkenazy began 50 years ago for Decca with the D-minor Concerto. The evergreen Vocalise is heard here in the original key of C-sharp minor with violin/piano, while ‘Dream’ is a transcription by the cellist from the Six Songs, Op.38. The sound – gorgeous in ‘Dream’ – blooms, with the trio decently set back with wide spread in Potton Hall. A must for the Rachmaninov lover. CB

Sound Quality: 85%

Hi-Fi News Lab Report

Recorded at 96kHz, the contrast in ‘natural’ harmonic bandwidth with the adjacent album could not be more obvious. Here we see powerful piano overtones extending no further than ~22kHz – a realistic range. PM