Contact: Megan Felling , 816.218.2621
mfelling@kcsymphony.org For Immediate Release -- June 10, 2010 Reference Recordings releases new SACD of Kansas City Symphony's Britten's Orchestra First multi-channel release features full 5.1 Surround Sound (Kansas City) -- Reference Recordings this week released a new multi-channel SACD (Super Audio CD) of the Kansas City Symphony's Britten's Orchestra. The dual-layer disc, their first release of this type, will have 5.1 surround, two-channel DSD, and two-channel stereo with HDCD. "Reference Recordings is pleased to announce our first multi-channel release, a hybrid SACD of Britten's Orchestra performed by the Kansas City Symphony, conducted by Michael Stern (RR-120 SACD). This album has received rave reviews for both performance and sound on the compact disc release and we are very proud to offer it in this new version, "said Marcia Martin, Vice President of Reference Recordings. "Reference Recordings has a virtually unbroken history of making the finest possible high resolution recordings. We started with analog tape. We were not satisfied with early technology, 16 bit digital recordings, but soon began making HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) recordings, in which the process was co-designed by our own recording guru Keith O. Johnson. In the opinion of many, these are probably the best digital recordings ever. Currently we record at 176.4 kHz/ 24 bits, with HDCD. RR's master recordings are made using PCM, not the DSD which is the native format for SACD. For a long time, we weren't satisfied with the sonic results of the conversion of PCM to DSD and so we did not make SACDs. New technological improvements now make that conversion much less of an issue. We're excited to be making SACDs for fans of the format. Our first two releases were Two-Channel Hybrids. Now, this new release of Britten's Orchestra will let music lovers and audiophiles hear our masters in full 5.1 Surround Sound for the first time. The Hybrid SACD also contains a stereo SACD version as well as a Compact Disc version, encoded with HDCD. The SACD stereo and multichannel layers require an SACD player; the CD layer will play on any CD player," Martin added. The Kansas City Symphony, led by Music Director Michael Stern, released the first version of Britten's Orchestra, their second CD for award-winning audiophile label Reference Recordings, on November 10, 2009. This project explores the compositional genius of British composer Benjamin Britten's music. Recording sessions were held in June 2009 in the outstanding acoustics of the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence, Missouri. Britten's Orchestra has garnered more positive reviews of any of RR's orchestral recordings - most recently in The Absolute Sound magazine : "Britten's Orchestra...is not only deeply satisfying on a musical level, but will also, I predict, become an instant 'demo' disc classic. Great music and great sound - now that's my kind of 'audiophile' recording." -Wayne Garcia Included is music from Britten's dramatic score to Peter Grimes, one of the true operatic masterpieces of the 20th century. His important, controversial Sinfonia da Requiem is rooted in the darkness of World War II. Then , experience Britten's spirited introduction to the orchestra's different instrumental families, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra -- a delightful piece used in music education for decades. "These works by Britten are all very close to my heart, and we all put a lot of ourselves into these performances. Above all, I am very proud of how everyone in the Kansas City Symphony plays on this recording. Working with Reference Records and with David Frost on this project was also very special experience. I think that the recorded sound they captured is tremendous, and it makes us all very excited as we plan our next collaborations," said Stern. This new release was produced by four-time Grammy Award winner David Frost. Frost says he is honored to work with engineer "Prof." Keith Johnson for the first time, and is full of enthusiasm for the sound quality of the masters. "We are delighted to continue our relationship with Reference Recordings and look forward to building on the great success of our first project together. I feel that Britten's Orchestra is even more exciting both sonically and musically, and look forward to sharing it with music lovers worldwide," said Executive Director Frank Byrne. The Kansas City Symphony's first project for Reference Recordings, The Tempest, debuted to critical acclaim. It is a high-resolution recording of two sets of incidental music to Shakespeare's The Tempest, by Sir Arthur Sullivan and Jean Sibelius. Both CD's are available online at www.allegro-music.com . The Kansas City Symphony has previously recorded for Naxos, and Michael Stern has recorded for Sony, Arabesque, Denon, Hyperion, and Naxos. SACD Technical Notes Super Audio CD (SACD) is a high-resolution, read-only optical audio disc format developed by Sony and Philips Electronics, the same companies that created the Compact Disc. SACD (Super Audio CD) is a disc of identical physical dimensions to a standard compact disc; the density of the disc is the same as a DVD and it encodes audio using a process known as Direct Stream Digital. The SACD sampling rate is 2822.4 kHz and the resolution is one bit. A stereo SACD recording can stream data at an uncompressed rate of 5.6 Mbps; four times higher than the rate for Red Book CD stereo audio. SACD recordings can have a higher frequency response and dynamic range than conventional CDs. Hybrid SACDs (which include both a Stereo CD and an SACD layer) can be played back on all CD players. To hear the SACD Stereo, and on many discs the SACD Multichannel layer, requires a SACD player. SACD audio is stored in a format called Direct Stream Digital (DSD), which differs from the conventional Pulse-code modulation (PCM) used by the compact disc or conventional computer audio systems. DSD is 1-bit, has a sampling rate of 2.8224MHz, and makes use of noise shaping quantization techniques in order to push 1-bit quantization noise up to inaudible ultrasonic frequencies. This gives the format a greater dynamic range and wider frequency response than the CD. The SACD format is capable of delivering a dynamic range of 120dB from 20Hz to 20kHz and an extended frequency response up to 100kHz, although most currently available players list an upper limit of 70--90kHz, and practical limits reduce this to 50kHz. -- (technical notes adapted from Wikipedia article) About the Kansas City Symphony Led by Music Director Michael Stern, the Kansas City Symphony's 80-member orchestra performs more than 50 concerts on three series (Classical, Family, Pops) during its 42-week season, September through June. In addition, the Symphony performs non-series concerts such as Bank of America Celebration at the Station and Symphony in the Flint Hills, educational programs, community outreach performances, and serves as the orchestra for the Lyric Opera and the Kansas City Ballet. Classical performances are broadcast weekly on KCUR 89.3 FM during the Kansas City Symphony Hour, Thursdays at 9 pm. Visit the Kansas City Symphony online at kcsymphony.org . About Reference Recordings For more than 30 years, Reference Recordings has been one of the most innovative and respected independent labels in the music business. Founded on the premise that most commercial recordings sound nothing like the live performance experience, Tam Henderson's productions for Reference Recordings have been widely and lavishly praised for their dedication to high quality sound in the service of great music. In 1978, Henderson began working with engineer Keith O. Johnson, who was already becoming an audio legend for his innovative approach to realistic recordings. Some 100 discs later, RR is still recording what many consider to be the finest-sounding classical and jazz discs in the world. Reference Recordings has won two Grammy Awards and many other nominations, including a nomination for Producer of the Year in 1998 and seven nominations for Best Engineered Album. In addition, RR has received numerous awards and citations from industry organizations and publications. RR has recorded many world premieres, and has pioneered many technological innovations--most recently the introduction of HRx, high resolution digital files for home music servers, and the widely praised HDCD digital encoding process (co-invented by Keith O. Johnson). As President, Producer and Director of A&R, Tam Henderson has brought Reference Recordings to a position of prominence and respect achieved by few independent labels.
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