Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 and 9 powers onto the Blu-ray format withan excellent 7.1 mix encoded with the DTS-HD Master Audio codec at a24/96khz bit and sample rate. This recording is powerful, subtle,exquisite, and rancorous. The violins and lower strings are vivid sweetand airy, woodwinds light and colorful, brass big and powerful, andtrumpets blow through the air with power and authority. The sonicpicture features a wide arc of musicians situated in an unusualfashion. I am used to hearing the first and second violins to the left,and the lower strings to the right. On this recording they are switchedwhich took my ear sometime to get used to. The bass drum is so powerfulI could feel each bass wave projected into the room as it is struck.Every detail and nuance is captured with crystal clear clarity. Imagingis huge in every direction, with the ambience of the recording locationvividly rendered. The front sound stage is deep, and laterally wall towall wide. The rear sound stage can be aggressive, with instruments andambience being perceived strongly along the rear and side walls. Whilelistening to this recording, you get the uncanny feeling that you areright in the hall, or the musicians are in the room with you. The tonalquality of each instrument is finely represented; even harmonics areaudible when you listen carefully. During quiescent moments the noisefloor is not heard, so instruments sound like they are coming out ofsonic ¨darkness” when called on. The mix on this disc is first-rate,and audiophiles are sure to get pleasure out of listening to it.

1] Moderato - Allegro non troppo - 16:11
2] Allegretto - 5:20
3] Largo - 14:22
4] Allegretto non troppo - 10:42
Symphony No.9 in E flat major op.70
5] Allegro - 5:32
6] Moderato - 7:55
7] Presto - 3:09
8] Largo - 3:16
9] Allegretto - 6:58