Chamber Music Palisades Concert, Blu-ray (2010)
Program: SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Quintet Op. 57; DEBUSSY: Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp; & BROCKMAN: Feast of Fives
Studio: AIX Records 80052
Video: 16:9 1080i HD
Audio: Choice of Dolby TrueHD 5.1 in "stage" or "audience" perspectives, DD 5.1 or PCM stereo
All region coding
Extras: Many system tests and explanations
Length: 62:00
Rating: *****
This is the first full Blu-ray concert release from AIX; it’s interesting they decided to do it with a classical chamber concert when most of their recent Blu-ray sampler is acoustic pop. But if you liked the one movement excerpt on that disc from the Shostakovich Quintet, you’ll want to have the complete work on this Blu-ray. I reviewed the DVD version here.
AIX is partial to Dolby’s lossless audio scheme for Blu-ray, TrueHD, rather than the DTS equivalent of DTS-HD MA. The disc also includes a standard Dolby Digital 5.1 track just in case. Everything fits on a single disc now with the 50BG capacity, and the standard CD offered with the original DVD is no longer present.
All I can add to my previous review is that both the picture and audio are clearly enhanced, with more clarity, detail and realism. It’s like having the chamber players right in your listening room. Actually, I can add one other thing – an additional asterix to my heading above for the Blu-ray version. An A/B comparison of the DVD and Blu-ray versions would be an easy sell for any retailer wanting to convince a music lover about the advantages of Blu-ray!
– John Sunier
