Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 ("Pathétique"). Seiji Ozawa conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in Berlin in a disc aimed at the Japanese market (there's a little English on the keep case and the disc menu). It appears this title has not been distributed in Europe or the U.S. This is one of the very few video recordings made to  date with 96 kHz/24 bit sound-sampling technology. Directed by Goro Kobayashi; produced by Setsu Mikumo; technical manager was Oleg Anton; video engineer was André Schumann; sound engineer was Felix Kundt, recording engineer was Rainer Höpfner.  Released  2008, disc has 59 minutes of music and 5.0 PCM sound.  Grade: X-APH-A+

This is one of  the very best recordings of a symphony ever made. Even though this was recorded far from Japan in Berlin, NHK made the investment to get an impeccable video. There was plenty of room for the cameras. The lighting in the Philharmonie building was expertly prepared to match the capabilities of the camera gear used. The PQ is outstanding with fine resolution, accurate color rendition and balance (observe how real the sheet music looks and how beautiful the skin tones are), no glare or reflections, and no picture or motion artifacts. Focus is always perfect and the depth of field of focus achieved is impressive.

Best of all, the video director planned his shooting carefully. He followed Huang's Law and used the flexible power of his cameras to get a pleasant (not hyperactive) mixture of shots of solos, small groups, small sections, large sections, and groups of sections as well as many of the whole orchestra---depending on what forces the Tchaikovsky commits at various places in the score. And, of course, there were good shots (but not too many) of the most expressive Ozawa throwing his all into the fray.

We will not forget, of course, that Ozawa was standing before one of the best orchestras in the world in their home venue. They seemed to be aware of the investment NHK was making in this, and they responded to Ozawa with their usual skill and with dramatic passion.

Recording the sound with 96 kHz/24 bit sampling technology gives this production a head start in audio fidelity over ordinary HDVDs. The  engineers managed to keep a "clean and clear" rendition of individual sounds while also building up  a "warm soundstage" for ensembles, sections, and the entire orchestra. Add to this remarkable dynamic variation in sound level and the result is a gripping trip in the home theater.

Subject disc is not the same performance as that of the Pathétique by Ozawa and the Berliner Philharmoniker published as a  part of the  Karajan Memorial Concert title. We will assume that the same orchestra and conductor would sound quite similar in playing the same piece in different places. Subject NHK performance has has distinctly superior PQ and SQ, so the result is a better performance of this piece than is found on the Karajan Memorial Concert.  But for those used to records on CD and DVD,  the  recording on the Karajan Memorial Concert disc is itself a huge step up. Most consumers would therefore opt for the Karajan Memorial Concert disc because you also get Anne Sophie Mutter in a fine recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Stated differently, for most people, 2 hours of fine music at $35 is a better deal than 1 hour of audiophile music which costs $108 with shipping to the U.S. (on December 24, 2011). 

If there were other similar music on the disc, this title would receive a regular "A+" grade. But I grade this title "X-APH" because it is so short.  I don't care how good it is---NHK will have to put more music on their Blu-ray offerings to sell to the general market. But if you are an audiophile, or a music professional with an interest in the state-of-the-art, or you have the money to always buy the best, then order this disc. If you don't know Japanese, you will have fun stumbling through the menus, but you can hack it. (BTW: we don't get a commission from amazon in Japan because we can't read that website well enough to sign up as a sales partner. But we still give you a button to get you started just below the end of this mini-review.)