Chung/Shostakovich/CSO/Resound 5th Symphony on iTunes (OOT)

[John Kim]

CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA RELEASES FIRST DOWNLOAD-ONLY RECORDING ON CSO RESOUND—SHOSTAKOVICH'S SYMPHONY NO. 5 WITH MYUNG-WHUN CHUNG— TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2008

Digital download available exclusively on iTunes beginning Tuesday, January 8,
and through additional digital music services Saturday, March 11


The Chicago Symphony Orchestra releases Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D Minor Tuesday, January 8, 2008, as its first download-only recording—the third release on its new in-house label CSO Resound. Recorded live in Orchestra Hall during critically acclaimed performances honoring the composer's centennial in September 2006, this recording features the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Myung-Whun Chung.

The CSO's recording of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 was engineered by Christopher Willis and produced and edited by Michael Fine. It will be available online exclusively at iTunes for 60 days beginning Tuesday, January 8. Beginning March 11, the download will be available through numerous additional digital music outlets, including Amazon, eMusic and Rhapsody, through a partnership with IODA (Independent Online Distribution Alliance). The price is $7.99 for the 52-minute work, including a seven-page booklet with notes and biographies.........
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Recording Details:

SHOSTAKOVICH
Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Myung-Whun Chung,

1  Moderato (18:11)
2  Allegretto (5:01)
3  Largo (5:13)
4  Allegro non troppo (13:39)

Total playing time: 52:04
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Myung-Whun Chung appears courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft mbH.

Producer: Michael Fine
Engineer: Christopher Willis
Editor: Michael Fine
Mixed and mastered by Michael Fine and Wolf-Dieter Karwatky at BKL Recording Group, Lüneburg, Germany.
Recorded live in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center on September 21, 22, 23 and 26, 2006.
Design: Todd Land
Comments: Phillip Huscher
Catalog Number: CSOR 901 803

http://www.cso.org/main.taf?p=7,1,2,5,39

Question:

How good is the sound quality on iTunes? I seem to have heard it's not as good as regular CDs. Then why would anyone bother to download recordings online?? I wouldn't.

John,

[chris]

Some iTunes stuff is 128k, some is 256k - I'm not sure what the CSO Resound releases are. 

For some time I felt that 128 was good enough, but after buying a nice set of headphones and listening to my iPod through my sound system that opinion has changed (when speaking about classical music that is).  If you have cheap headphones, are listening to this in the car, or regular computer speakers then I doubt you'd have an issue. 

256 is much better and fine to my ears - some people won't settle for less than 320 though but I don't know.   Many places will advertise 256 as "near CD quality" - I don't really agree.