Wiener Philharmoniker/New Year's Concert 2009 [Blu-ray] [2009]

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001LMSP2Q/ref=oss_product

 

After one too many movies with just bass, explosions and lots of killing, a change was needed. Something to show off the finer qualities of the home theatre system, and its musical qualities. I chanced across this disc whilst getting a few more of the usual action fare off Amazon UK. This was a blind buy after reading some reviews.

 

The Vienna New Year Concert is an annual affair and this comes in the Blu Ray format, and is recorded in lossless DTS-MA 5.1 or stereo LPCM. The 5.1 is more immersive and you won’t find your subwoofer going to sleep either. The sound quality is truly fabulous and you can feel part of the audience, and yet you have no difficulty picking out individual instruments but the soundscape is immersive and smooth.

 

The picture quality is equally breath-taking, even though it is 1080i “only”. Check out the grain on the instrument stands and the floor boards. The colours are vibrant and you will also test the full range of colours of your display. It is only focussed on the performers in the wonderful opera house, you may feel bored, but the well filmed video also includes views of the Austrian landscape and you really want to hop on board a plane right away and fly there. The 16:9 presentation fills your display nicely.

 

But the icing on the cake is in the bonus section. There is a segment, almost 25 minutes long, called Linz 2009. Linz is one of the 3 big cities in Austria and there is a segment which showcases the city with music from Hayden. The picture quality is even better than the main show and the beauty of the city and its surroundings is really solid! But around the 10th min, there is the icing on the cake. The percussion section of the Vienna Orchestra perform in a steel mill and this is truly stunning. It starts first with a fireworks display which will give your surrounds and subwoofer a serious workout and goes right into a performance quite unlike what you think of most Philharmonic Orchestras and the surround demonstration is on par if not better than the typical Eagles “Hotel California” demo.

 

This disc comes highly recommended.

 

PQ: 4.5/5

 

SQ 4.5/5

 

A worthy buy.

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