Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky - Piano Concertos Nos. 1&3 [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Technically this is not a Blu-ray Disc but a dual-layer DVD which uses the AVCHD and DTS-HD Master Audio codecs in order to play in a Blu-ray Disc Player. And play it does, within reason. Using 3 current high-end Blu-ray players (LG BD390, Samsung BD-P2500 and Panasonic DMP-BD80), all with the latest firmware applied, the results are mixed. On 2 of the 3 players, set to "bitstream" mode, I was eventually able to pass a DTS-HD Master Audio stream to a compatible preamp/processor via HDMI for playback of the audio track. (BTW, there *IS* no video track here -- it's an audio-only Blu-ray Disc). When working properly, the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 channel 24-bit 96Khz track here sounds phenomenal and the performance is clean and enjoyable. Those with compatible gear are in for a treat. But if you want your player to be able to do the decoding, this is where the trouble begins.

On the Panasonic BD80 (firmware 2.2), set to PCM mode (internal decoding), the sampling rate drops down to 48 Khz - still good quality but not the 96 KHz as advertised. On the Samsung BD-P2500, any attempts to decode the track internally fail with a nasty crackling sound. On the LG BD390, I was unable to get sound from this disc in any mode: bitstream, PCM stereo, DTS re-encode and multi-channel PCM modes all failed to pass a valid stream to my preamp/processor for decoding.

This is one of only a couple of recordings available which use full 7.1-channel 24-bit 96 KHz DTS-HD Master Audio sound, and perhaps for good reason, because decoding it internally seems to be a task beyond the capabilities of most current players, even those that are supposed to support internal decoding of DTS-HD MA and which do behave properly with other DTS-HD titles.

Unless you can confirm that your specific player and receiver or processor will work with this title in advance then it may not be worth a purchase.

I literally grew up on this music. I have easily played it over a 100 times if not closer to 200. As for the performances, they are classics and you certainly can't go wrong with them - though I wouldn't say they are the 'best' for either of the respective pieces. Konstantin Scherbakov is an extraordinary pianist. The first thing you notice on hearing these two excellent performances is his amazing ability to play at high speed with no loss of control or shapeliness of phrasing. While never short-changing the virtuoso elements (particularly in the finale), has a give-and-take that few other versions match. There are a couple of brief spots in the first movement where the tension does drop a bit as Scherbakov lapses into dreamy reverie, but otherwise this is as persuasive a performance of this warhorse as any on disc. The orchestra and conductor have just as much to offer as the soloist, being totally at one with the interpretive concept and wholly characterful in their collective response.
I am very happy to report the DTS-HD version is the best that will ever be available for this recording and looking forward to see more music titles with this superior audio quality.

Purchased this Bluray twice and both times it failed to play--very, very disappointing. There is something very wrong with this particular production. Purchased the Rachmaninov and it played great. Be careful about this particular Bluray. I complained about it, but, of course, no one bothered to heed and I am sure there are others out there. Beware!!

I purchased this so called Blu-Ray disc twice but both discs
were immediately rejected by my Panasonic BD-55
Blu-Ray player. There was something very wrong with a company releasing
titles that were authored incorrectly like this. I had to return
the defective products at my own expense to get a refund back.

This is an excellent recording. The music audio quality is excellent. The Blu-ray disk is audio only (as the title says). This Blu-ray disk does have a strange problem, it will not play through without loosing audio output (somewhere in Chapter 5). If you restart chapter 5 playing, all is fine. Maybe it is just this disk???

I am very upset for this product.
This is not a real Blu Ray disc but a Blu Ray recorded (something like a CD-R).
I have a Sony PS3 and a beautiful Denon DVD-A1UD hi-end player but this disc disc do not works (both the players are updated at the last firmaware).
It is a SHAME that Amazon sell an "home made" blu ray that is absolutely different in comparison of industrial quality products.
I am sendin back this fake disc.
PS: The cover and the label disc are printed with a copier and PC printer!!!!

I have five other Surround Record 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio that play just fine, although one will play on a Panasonic BD30 and not on a Panasonic BD60, both with current firmware updates. The Tchaikovsky recording does not play on either Panasonic BR player. One other one, the Bach had three noticeable defects on the recording that were not the result of a scratch, but actually encoded in two of the recordings that I had to return. Another one, the Mussorgsky was another recording that would not play at all on either Panasonic BR player. I suppose that I should keep my fingers crossed because I have never had a BR DVD film that did not play, so that is aggravating to run into problems that have to do with an all audio recording. e-mails to Surround Records have been unanswered. So, some work and some don't. When a Surround recording runs, it is fantastic, when it doesn't, it is highly disappointing.

I bought several blue ray 7.1 channel classical music titles from Amazon in 2009-2010, none of them live up to my expection. They simply do not play all the way through and for the part that they play, the audio is well below my expection. Those purchases were a waste of money for me and may be the technology or the available recording is not yet ready? (IMHO).

So far, not what I had hoped for. I might need to give it a couple more listens for it to grow on me.

I wanted a good piano recording to experience with my blu-ray player and new sound system and after a lot of web searching and reading reviews, I decided on this recording. The new 7.1 DTS-HD sound is a magnificent upgrade from stereo and even 5.1, with much greater presence and definition in the sound field. Linked together with the magnificent artistry of the soloist and his accompanists, this should remains among the the most treasurable piano recordings -- and now one of the best sounding recordings available -- of the Tchaikovsky.