Tag: Friedrich Gulda

Title: Friedrich Gulda – Bach: Das wohltemperierte Klavier [4 SACDs] (1972-1973/2020)
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO

90th anniversary of Gurda’s birth and 20th anniversary of his death, one of Gurda’s greatest masterpieces recorded on MPS from 1972 to the following year. The latest reissue reproduces a variety of touches and textures better than ever before! Mastered only in the analog domain and converted directly to DSD! New reissue from the original MPS analog tape in Japan. Excellent recording. World’s first SACD release! This is a masterpiece among masterpieces, session-recorded by MPS, a former West German jazz label, from 1972 to the following year. The brilliant technique and rare inspiration of Goulda, who was in his early 40s at the time of recording, have long reigned as the top historical recording of the “law of averages” played on the piano. They have been reissued many times since the LP era, but their sudden revival on the MPS label in 2015 on CD brought back their fresh, crisp tone and made a huge impact on fans and non-fans alike. This latest reissue is not only the first SACD, but it is also a permanent reissue with the original jacket design. The MPS label was sold to Polygram in 1983, and in the CD era was reissued on the PHILIPS label, but in 2014 it was transferred to the Edel Group, which owns Berlin Classics and other labels. Later, in June 2015, the aforementioned CD, reissued from the original analog master tapes stored at MPS, was released, and as you know it was quite controversial at the time. The CD is no longer available, but for this reissue, the original MPS analog master tapes were used, and the mastering was done by the famous engineer Christoph Stickel, just as we have done for the previous Berlin Classics releases. The mastering was done with the utmost care to preserve the best possible sound quality in the package, so you can enjoy Gulda’s performance with more precision and density than ever before. The piano tone has a heavy weight to it, and the sound is more natural and easier to listen to than ever before. The more you listen to this superb masterpiece, the more deeply you will appreciate it, and it has been beautifully revived in high sound quality. 

For this reissue, the master tapes were flown from the label to Vienna-based mastering engineer Christoph Stickel’s studio, mastered in the analog domain, and then digitized using separate systems for DSD for the SACD layer and PCM for the CD layer. The project was then digitized into a product. This project realized the ideal method of mastering as far as currently conceivable. The effect is remarkable: it is possible to reproduce the quality of the master tapes with extreme fidelity, and the mastering in the analog domain only and direct DSD conversion have further enhanced the sound quality. The manual also includes a photograph of the outer box of the original analog master tape used in this project. ＜Mastering engineer (including DSD conversion): Mr. Christoph Stickel – in Vienna. He was in charge of mastering the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra’s self-produced recordings as well as the ECM SACD project (2017~) for Tower’s Jazz project. SACD layer: Directly converted to DSD after mastering in the analog domain from a new analog master tape in the home country CD layer: Similarly mastered in the analog domain. CD layer: Similarly mastered in analog domain, digitized at 96kHz/24bit in high quality, then converted to 44.1kHz/16bit Each digital data is not transmitted, but flown in on an optical disc 

hraudio | tower.jp | discogs

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