Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture etc. / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops (Multichannel Hybrid SACD)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

First, let's start out by admitting this was meant to be a demo disc. Since the LP was invented, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture has been used to show how close audio reproduction is getting to "perfection" - whatever that is.

This 6.0/5.1-channel SACD does not disappoint. The cannons are so realistic that my dog was arching her head to try to figure out where the sound was coming from (the only other time that happened was in the "barking" sequence of the remastered "Hey Bulldog").

Since cannons come out of all four corner speakers, it made quite an interesting scene. My multichannel SACD player directed the low bass to the LFE channel - make sure to set your bass management properly on your multichannel SACD player, such as the Sony SCD-CE775, before playing the disc. The equalization and levels are very consistent with other multichannel SACDs.

The orchestra sounds very realistic, as you would expect with a multichannel SACD. The orchestral recording is designed to surround the listener rather than have discrete points, unlike the cannons.

In addition to the 1812 Overture, the disc also contains a number of Tchaikovsky's other works. At the end of the multichannel SACD are 6 tracks of test tones for help in balancing the SACD player. I found the LFE track to be invaluable and better than the player's test tones. The voice used to introduce each tone is sure to bring a smile to any face.

The reason the 1812 SACD is listed as a 6.0/5.1-channel disc is that the orchestral part of the disc contains an "upper center" channel output instead of LFE output. This really isn't a problem as long as the disc is played with the multichannel SACD player's bass management set properly and the subwoofer's (LFE) low pass filter is enabled. The test tones, however, are output in 5.1 channels, which allows the disc to setup a normal 5.1-channel system. If I had a choice I would have made the whole disc 5.1-channel to avoid confusion, but Telarc didn't ask me.

The disc also contains a CD layer, for playing stereo output on a regular CD player. The multichannel SACD is easy to use, unlike DVD-Audio discs. The player's internal LED display shows the name of the disc and the name of each track as it is played.
Basically, it works just like an enhanced CD.

Overall, the multichannel SACD test tones would make this disc a must have by themselves. On top of that is some of the most realistic sounds yet available for the home audio system.

A "must have"!

Note : Some earlier version of this multichannel SACD may have been stereo only. The multichannel SACD has Telarc catalog number SACD-60541.

Telarc International made recording history in 1978 when they used digital audio technology to record the 1812 Overture. With its live cannons and phenomenal dynamic range, it quickly became a favorite demo disc in many audio stores, and the ultimate test for my new CD player and system.

The advent of multi-channel discrete surround sound and high-definition audio recording systems such as 24/96 PCM and the DSD system, with its frequency response extending beyond 100 kHz and the availability of Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio, were enough to coax Telarc to create a new recording of the 1812. The new recording is even more taxing on your sound system than the original.

Deciding to release the recording on the latest DSD recording equipment, the music, Civil War-era cannons, and the church bells were captured in different venues.

The recording is mixed to include optional height information using the LFE channel. Telarc's height information is used to drive a pair of elevated side, preferably dipole, speakers. The height information does add to the overall effect, particularly with the cannons. Even without the height effects, this is a great demo disc, one I demo frequently for myself when my wife is out of the house - the pictures are straightened before she returns!

This disc was among those on my list for when I finally got my hands on an SACD player. I was very excited when I finally put it in and pressed play.

Then I was a little disappointed. The orchestra seemed dull....almost far away in the mix. The volume on the recording is very low, and I found myself turning up the volume just to hear the detail in the strings.

What's more, I found the perfomance a wee bit uninspired. Maybe a little too slow for my tastes. (My favorite recording of the 1812 is Claudio Abbado and the Cleveland Orchestra....now that would make a truly great SACD)

Then came the cannons....wow! But, far far too loud when compared to the rest of the mix. The orchestra and chorus are practically drowned out by them, and I also found myself having to turn down the volume at that point just to avoid speaker damage.

The cover does warn you to be aware of the volume when the cannons blast, but had the orchestra been mixed a little louder, i would not have had my volume up past the usual point where all music has depth and power, thus necessitating me to turn it drastically down just for the cannons.

I determined that a safe level for my system was around 66....but when i listened from the beginning at that volume setting the orchestra and chorus were far too soft to be heard clearly.

All in all, I just felt that the balance between the sounds was poorly engineered. It seems as though Telarc was more interested in the exploding cannons than in the quality of the music.

This disc is great to show off your system and have some fun blowing things up, but it is hardly a great recording of great music.

Let's just hope someone else gets it right next time around.

I absolutely adore Tchaikovsky in all his various incarnations, and on this disc he'll blow you away.

In respect to the 1812 Overture, Erich Kunzel made a wonderful choice including the choir, and the cannons are incredible, especially on the right equipment, as another reviewer exhaustively explained. Apart from 1812 Overture, there are plenty of treats from the well-known Polonaise from Eugene Onegin to the lesser-known Cossack Dance (a real treat) and the Festival Coronation March (some signature Tchaikovsky bombast).

You will not find a better engineered recording of any of these pieces, however I believe that Capriccio Italien and Marche Slave have been better-played in a variety of places. Kunzel is just too free with the tempos, and the whole concept of a march is somewhat lost. On the cannon end of things, it seems that Kunzel has arranged the blasts from worst to best as the piece progresses. The first much-anticipated cannon shot is a letdown in that it sounds like you dropped a metal trash can lid. However, by the time we reach the end, there has been one shot that sounds incredibly like a cannonball flying inches above your head and the final shot which resonates like the planet exploded.

Overall this disc is wonderful, especially if you have the right equipment, but a better choice for the typical CD player (the cannons and the bells seem to have more of a raw oomph! to them) is Antal Dorati's 1950s recording with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra on the Mercury Living Presence label. Somehow, there is something in Dorati's interpretation that doesn't need today's fancy equipment to make it sound fantastic. Buy Kunzel's and buy Dorati's and decide for yourself. My choice is Dorati, but Kunzel is a very close second.

This Multichannel SACD is incredible. Played back on a properly configured system the experience is as true to life as it gets in your home. The CD is very natural and the cannons are mixed very well. If you have ever experienced a live performance of the 1812 overture with live cannons this is as close as it comes. This SACD and other Telarc SACDs have me spoiled. Details, details, details great job!

Over the years I've enjoyed watching Eric Kunzel lead the National Symphony Orchestra on the 4th of July celebrations in our nation's capital. His arrangements on these pieces is equally energizing and enjoyable. As others have mentioned, the cannon sound effects are startling. War vets might have to "take cover" if they're not prepared to hear such sharp cannon fire in the comforts of their own home. Contrary to others, I find the test sounds a needless, even annoying, extra. I like to load 5 SACDs on my player and then let it play non-stop, even let it repeat. The test sounds interrupt the "mood" of good listening.

I was a little worried about this SACD, because I'd read user reviews that said the canons were mixed far too loud, forcing you to either miss the orchestra or else bleed from the ears when the canons go off during the finale. Nothing could be further from the truth on my system. The orchestra is at a suitable level, and is wonderfully detailed. I own quite a few SACDs, but I was still suprised by the quality of this recording, especially of the 1812 Overture itself. If you close your eyes it feels like you are there live!

For reference, I have a very good reciever and a Klipsch RF-35 based surround system; I don't know how this sounds on other setups, but it is fantastic on mine.

I have several recordings of 1812 overture, and this is one of my favorite because it's the only one that's in surround. Hearing the cannons go off all around you really makes you feel like you're in the middle of a battle. This is a great CD to use to test out your super audio setup, or to just have fun listening to.

Sure, the blockbuster item is the 1812 overture, but that accounts for less than 16 of the 61+ minutes of music on this disk. So I'd like to focus on the other 6 tracks, bearing in mind that many others have weighed in on the 1812. Of course I'll say a word or two about the biggie, but I haven't really much to add.

First, let me make it clear that I'm reviewing the stereo CD version of this recording, labeled Telarc CD-80541. I don't have a DVD-Audio or SACD player. I listen most often via headphones, so any more than 2 channels would be a waste, and I don't want to fuss with the geometric complexities of positioning 5 or more speakers--and myself. (The higher audio standards of SACD or DVD would be nice, though. Maybe if I win the lottery...)

Now, about the 1812: I like it. What fun this audiophile showpiece can be! And with a lot of really good music to boot. That Tchaikovsky was no stranger to writing music for popular appeal is clearly evident in nearly all his major works. Though he revered Mozart, he was himself a romantic through and through, and he used the wide timbral palette of the modern symphony orchestra to convey, often exquisitely, all kinds of moods and feelings. So lean back and enjoy. That's what it's for!

The remaining pieces present a very good selection to accompany the headline work. I personally was glad to get to know the unfamiliar Festival Coronation March, whose character fits well with the celebratory mood of the disk. (It doesn't quite match, however, the musical value of the other pieces.) The Polonaise and Waltz from Eugene Onegin are glittering operatic dance music quite well rendered here. The Marche Slave may not be a monumental work, but it is a familiar standard and a pretty fine composition, persuasively delivered. The less familiar Cossack Dance is light and brilliant, displaying Tchaikovsky in his best role as purveyor of music for the dance. The Capriccio Italien is one of T's very best orchestral pieces, and the Cincinnati Pops makes it sound quite lovely, with its fine tunes and catchy rhythms. Kunzel conducts it cleanly--perhaps less than brilliantly--overall, but I don't like the very last tempo change in the coda: it is simply too fast and robs the ending of its intended effect. (Compare Doráti's handling on the Mercury disk cited below.)

All in all, this is a kind of recording landmark. In spite of the complexity of organizing and synchronizing all the separately recorded bits the final effect of the 1812 is totally convincing and spontaneous-sounding, a remarkable engineering achievement. And the program displays the Pops at their best, presenting showy, enjoyable, and less than profound music. The sound is sensuous and beautiful, the playing is fine, and the conducting--too cautious to be as exciting as these pieces call for--keeps the forces together and presents a reasonable take. The five stars are well-earned: the players, singers, and engineers outdo themselves.

The program notes, in both English and German, are pretty good, with lots of stuff about the special effects, a modest treatment of the pieces themselves, and about 3-and-a-half pages (!) on Mr. Kunzel.

Listeners of a certain age will perhaps remember the great old 1958 Mercury Living Presence recording of the 1812 with Doráti conducting the Minneapolis Symphony. (I still remember the excitement with which I listened to my LP of it.) In its time it was more than the equivalent of this disk, and many feel that it remains superior even today. (Doráti was a much finer conductor, I'd argue.) Luckily the old disk is still available, in re-mastered CD form and sounding better than ever, though not a digital capture. The programs differ: the earlier mates the 1812 with the Capriccio and Beethoven's Wellington's Victory; it also uses the 1812's original scoring without voices. I'm pleased to have both in my collection, for while I love the singing, the superior sound reproduction, and the selections on the Telarc, I still get a major thrill out of Doráti's fine and exciting presentations on the Mercury disk.

Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops' rendition of Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture' is one of the best i've heard, and the detailed liner notes describing each composition are excellent as well (also with a good explanation of the recording process for this release). I finally 'took the plunge' recently, and decided to purchase a 'universal player' (upconverting DVD, SACD, HDCD, and 'redbook CD'), so that I could play all my 'redbook' and HDCD CD's, and to see what all the fuss was about concerning the superior audio quality of SACD, which I had never heard before. So I decided to 'christen' my SACD player with this disc (I listen in 2-channel stereo... call me a 'purist'). Suffice it to say the experience has elevated listening to a whole new level, and I was moved to tears!

Listening gear (this week- LOL!):

*Magneplanar MG12/QR planar speakers, Velodyne subwoofer
*Oppo Digital DV-980H universal player set to 2-channel SACD mode
*McIntosh MC162 amplifier
*Parasound P/HP-850 preamp
*HD Labs 'Silver Sonic' T-14 speaker cabling
*Straightwire 'Symphony' interconnects