Daniel Barenboim & Berliner Philharmoniker Franck Symphony in D Minor & Faure Pelléas et Mélisande UHQCD

Numbered, Limited Edition UHQCD!
Playable on any CD player, the Ultimate High Quality CD greatly surpasses all previous CDs before it!
Daniel Barenboim and the Berliner Philharmoniker have maintained a close artistic partnership for 60 years. Together, they have recorded a fascinating programme of masterpieces of French Romanticism that demonstrates the maestro's unique sense of timbre and his unerring understanding of style. That's why Universal Music Japan and Deutsche Grammophon are now releasing the brilliant-sounding UHQCD version of "Franck: Symphony In D Minor; Fauré: Pelléas Et Mélisande“.
In June 2023, Daniel Barenboim conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker in a French programme that includes both Franck's "Symphony in D Minor" and Gabriel Fauré's orchestral suite, the incidental music for Maeterlinck's play "Pelléas Et Mélisande". The joint concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker was so special that Barenboim decided to preserve it in the form of a recording. In César Franck's seminal Symphony in D minor, Barenboim relies on the great monumental sound that accentuates the hymnal nature of this work. Gabriel Fauré's enchanting suite "Pelléas Et Mélisande" is brought to life by the musicians in a colourful and sensual way, thus preparing a carpet of sound for Albrecht Mayer on the oboe and Emmanuel Pahud on the flute, who inspire with their expressive and beautiful solos.
UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. UHQCDs, unlike conventional CDs, are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. To protect the softer photopolymer from scratching, another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied. The combination results in a significantly reduced reflection of the laser light inside the CD and an unrivalled precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with normal CD players. Musically, the result is a sound that is strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.
While Universal Music Japan's first UHQCD series relied on the DSD data of previous SHM-SACD releases, albums that had not previously been released as SHM-SACD are now being released with increasing popularity. Typically, the master tapes of the Universal Archive are re-converted to DSD for this purpose. UHQCDs are ideal for music lovers who want to get as close as possible to the sound of the recording, but do not have a SACD player.

Features:

• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Made in Japan
• Superior Crystal Sound
• Ultimate High Quality CD
• XRCD-Like Luxury Digipak
• Playable on conventional CD players

Musicians:

• Daniel Barenboim, conductor, piano
• Berliner Philharmoniker

Selections:

Cesar Franck (1822-1890)
Symphony in D Minor
1. I. Lento – Allegro Non Troppo
2. II. Allegretto
3. III. Allegro Non Troppo
Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)
Pelléas et Mélisande, Op.80
4. I. Prélude (Quasi Adagio)
5. II. Fileuse (Andantino quasi allegretto)
6. III Sicilienne (Allegretto Molto Moderato)
7. IV. La mort de Mélisande (Molto Adagio)