Recording has long been recognized as part of the lifeblood of symphony orchestras; in terms of publicity, satisfying the needs of patrons, and spreading the gospel about orchestras of high caliber, nothing beats a good recording. When the bottom fell out at BMG Classics in 1999, the illustrious Philadelphia Orchestra found itself without a recording contract for the first time since 1917, and surprised everyone in the industry by briefly recording with budget stalwart Naxos before moving onto an arrangement with Finnish ...
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Recording has long been recognized as part of the lifeblood of symphony orchestras; in terms of publicity, satisfying the needs of patrons, and spreading the gospel about orchestras of high caliber, nothing beats a good recording. When the bottom fell out at BMG Classics in 1999, the illustrious Philadelphia Orchestra found itself without a recording contract for the first time since 1917, and surprised everyone in the industry by briefly recording with budget stalwart Naxos before moving onto an arrangement with Finnish label Ondine. This option has worked out well, as Ondine is capable of delivering better sound and more attractive kinds of packaging than the Philadelphia Orchestra could expect even at BMG. This Ondine issue featuring Christoph Eschenbach and the Philadelphia in the SACD format is no exception to either of these attributes. Eschenbach's only previous Mahler symphony recording is one made of the Symphony No. 1, "Titan," with the Houston Symphony, and his rendering of the Symphony No....
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