HiRez Poll Bach: Six Suites for Solo Cello - Janos Starker & Gyorgy Sebok [SACD]

Let's start the year off with some Classical titles! Thanks to Brian Moura for these suggestions! PLEASE, as always, do not vote in this poll unless you have these discs. (i.e. Do not vote a '1' because you do not like classical music)


Bach: Six Suites for Solo Cello - Janos Starker & Gyorgy Sebok (Mercury Living Presence B0002149-36) – SACD 3 Channel Stereo

I almost bought this set last night but two SACD disks were almost $40. I have YoYo Ma's version on CD but never warmed to it - perfectionist playing and early CD sound didn't move me.

I did hear the same content on vinyl at the Analogue Shoppe [sic] here in Silicon Valley. It was much better than the Ma version I have. I see in one of the English audiophile magazines that you can have the LP set for $90!

How do the Mercury reissues compare to the RCA Living Stereo releases?

I recieved this a few days ago, not sure if I'd really want to sit down through over 2 hours of mostly solo material, short attention span generation and all
I say mostly solo, as this release contains the six cello suites plus two sonatas for cello and piano. It went in my player, stayed there till the end, then disc 2 immediately followed. The music is fantastic, Bach at his best. The playing is great too, flawless and with plenty of feeling.

As for the 3 channel stereo sound, well it feels like you have a cello in your room, that deep fullbodied sound is reproduced fantastically. However it is a bit closely miked, and occasionally the notes seem to move about the soundstage a little (at least on my system). Not enough to be too distracting though, a bit of width maybe adds to the recording. Analogue hiss is minimal, I had to find it, it didn't come looking for me.

I finally sprang for the SACD set too. My experience matches Mandel's - clear melodic lines, warm tonation, and crisp rhythms.

Highly recommended and deserving of its reputation.

Bach was the god of music, and his Suites for Solo Cello may be his finest composition. I finally got a chance to hear the Janos Starker recording on SACD and am bowled over by his playing and near-perfect interpretation; easily my favorite cellist when it comes to the J.S. Bach Cello Suites. The three-channel recording is warm, immersive, and hypnotically engaging.

Such a shame that this pair of SACDs is only available nowadays at an astronomical price. Highest recommendation.