HiRez Poll London Symphony Orchestra - BEETHOVEN CLASSICS [DVD-A]

[JonUrban]

Please post your thoughts and comments on the double disc classical DVD-Audio disc set.

 

[neil wilkes]

This disc is part of a series of (AFAIK) 5 titles all played by the LSO conducted by Don Jackson (the others being Schubert, Bach, Mozart & Tchaikovsky).
It's the usual CD/DVD-A/V format, and the authoring is shoddy right off the bat which is not a good sign, as DTS should - and do - know better than this. For example, if you select the DTS option, you will get LPCM Stereo. If you select PCM stereo you will get MLP Lossless stereo. To get the DTS you have to select it, then use the remote AUDIO button to actually gain access to it. Poor. This should never have made it past QC.

Moving on to the music, I am sad to say this is technically perfect, but utterly lacking in any passion whatsoever - the Pastoral & Moonlight Serenade sections in particular highlight this completely. The Piano on the Moonlight Serenade is completely without any light & shade at all, and almost no variation in the playing (For how it should be done IMHO, think Anita Chang & her AIX Records release of Chopin's 4 Ballades)
Sadly, this seems to be true for all these titles.
It gets an 8 for me as it is after all technically perfect.
Sadly for me, I don't like "Beethoven By Numbers" any more than I like Painting by numbers over a Monet or a Leonardo masterpiece.
The music deserves better than this.
Buy it if you want perfection.
Avoid it if you want feeling.