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I bought this SACD because I heared a track of it on the radio station 'Classic FM' in the UK. What I heared was absolute brilliant piano playing like I never heared before, and I decided I wanted to get this on SACD as I have a 5.1 multi-channel system set up at home. After waiting like a little child for the delivery. I played it immediately after it arrived. The virtuosity of young Asian pianist Sa Chen can not be described, but can only be heared to be believed. Her interpretation of phrasing and dynamics are almost from another planet! The recording itself I would rate a 7 out of 10 for the orchestra parts, but a 9,5 out of 10 for the piano part. Just sometimes the sound became a bit blurry, especially when the timpanies joined in the forto sections. Being a high class recording engineer myself, I know it was not my system, nor the accoustics of the location causing this problem, but the positioning of the microphones (or maybe 'lack of positioning properly'near the timpanies. Also I didn't experience of the width of the stereo field to be as optimal as it could be. The sound it reproduced gave me the impression of a very narrow centgre stage. The effect of creating the ambiance or simulation of the hall's accoustics with wall reflections from certain instrument groups worked well in my opinion and set-up, and feel natural to me. All in all, if it's a great rendition of her piano playing you want reproduced in your living / listening room, then this is the one for you! If you are seeking a well-balanced recording of an orchestra and solist, with a broad, wide sound stage, this may not be the ideal SACD for you. I rated this SACD 4 out of 5, but only just. My initial intentions were 3 out of five, which is still adequate for the label 'sufficient', the artist at the piano made up for so much tyhat I decided to change my 3 points into a four points out of 5. Had the timpanies not rumbled into an irritating accoustic resonance, the album would have obtained a 5 star rating as far as I'm concerned. I trust my set to the fullest, and hundreds of both classical and popular SACD's have been played on this set. Never before had I experienced a 'rumble' which then turns into an annoying accoustic 'feedback' like sound. At first I doubted whether or not it could be exactly the frequency of the free-air-resonance specifications of my cones, but a spectrum analyser soon prooved that not to be the case. So, concluding, the technical staff could have done a better job. The performing staaf did a brilliant job. Pianist Sa Chen hypnotises the listener from the very first bar she plays, and keeps you hypnoticed until the very last note on the SACD has been played. If you love to hear some of the best piano playing ever, then go out and get your copy today!Read full review
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