Mozart & Schubert [Pure DSD]

Since both soloists have figured prominently in Eudora’s lists, it’s good to hear this collaboration. Their flawless precision should be no surprise; even better is their unanimity of intent, projecting music as if from a single, purposeful consciousness. Beautifully balanced textures expose buried midrange themes as bass lines provide firm support.
Crisp, clear scales ripple through the Mozart in all registers; the primo particularly sparkles. The Andante, beginning simply, expands flexibly to accommodate embellishments, which the pianists handle with poised dexterity. Graceful sectional ritards clarify the structure of the Andante with Variations; the busiest variation is crisp and clean, while the minore is painted in more ambivalent colors. The chordal cadences arrive with gratifying unanimity.
The players, oddly, seem less relaxed in the Schubert. After a peremptory start, the turbulent Lebensstürme Duo is mostly stuck in a single color, with severe contours in the chordal climaxes. The F minor Fantasy—four short movements, played attacca—covers a broader, deeply felt emotional range. High accents in the two middle movements lack depth, though the Allegro vivace’s fugal “waltz” demonstrates the possibilities of four-hand writing. After a powerful fugue, the finale’s thoughtful ending seems to hang fire. Excellent, unobtrusive sonics.

An Extraordinary Release in Pure DSD 256

When two masters play side-by-side, magic happens. So it is with this excellent new recording from pianists extraordinaire Josep Colom and Javier Laso.

I have long admired the playing of both Spanish pianist Josep Colom and Swiss-born pianist Javier Laso. Both are masters of their craft.

As one might expect, the performances are delightful. Filled with sparkling energy. These works dance, swirl, peek and slide away in the hands of these two great pianists. And, as one might hope, Colom and Laso perform with the utmost congeniality and complementary movement. That old expression, "they almost read each others' minds" is very apropos.

And the superb musicianship is enhanced gratifyingly by the brilliant recording from Gonzalo Noqué. Once again, Gonzalo mounts to the skies in my estimation for the sound quality of this release. Recorded in DSD 256, then mastered entirely in the DSD domain, with no PCM, no analog mixer, this is Pure DSD 256 - Direct Mixed audio.

Gonzalo is making a very intentional choice to record and release in Pure DSD 256. He lays down his tracking channels in DSD 256. But he then mixes purely in the DSD domain, with no PCM, for a final release that is Pure DSD 256. If you have not listened to Pure DSD 256 recordings, you have not yet heard the best sound quality that is being produced today.

This new recording from Eudora Records, Mozart & Schubert, is an great choice to hear some of the best sound quality being made available today. And, the performances are top of the house.