As with most 2L releases, we re treated to both a Blu-ray, with three audio options, as well as an accompanying SACD. 2L does not skimp on its recordings, and that love and devotion are evident throughout all three of the Blu-ray s rather pristine sounding mixes. The Blu-ray offers two DTS HD-MA mixes, a 7.1 at 24/96KHz and a 5.1 at 24/192kHz, as well as a standard PCM 2.0 at 24/192kHz. The recording itself was made with a 352.8 kHz sampling rate, in an audio format known as Digital eXtreme Definition, which preserves 8.4672 Mbit/s per channel. That s a lot of numbers, but what it adds up to (no pun intended) is an amazingly lifelike performance with abundant hall ambience. The listener is literally surrounded by the orchestra, though I was a bit surprised to hear the piano playing through all the surround channels rather than being focused front and center. I was also a bit underwhelmed by the thinness of the piano sound in all but the Violin Concerto, something that may have to do with the piano rolls themselves. I m not sure if that ancient technology was able to record with any real fidelity such things as attack and decay (though evidently one of the editing tricks Grainger "cut and pasted" was a pronounced sostenuto). The piano utilized was a concert Steinway, but it has little of the renowned Steinway resonance and full spectrum, at least in the Concerto and the piano solos. Strangely, it sounds just great on the Violin Sonata, but that is the one piece whose piano roll provenance is not clearly explained in the liner notes. Conductor Rolf Gupta and the Kristiansand Symphony do a remarkable job staying with Grainger s odd phrasing choices, and both DTS mixes offer remarkable warmth and immersion. Grieg s lovely use of reeds and winds is especially lyrical in this recording, wafting through the surround channels with appealing directness.

[font=Courier New]DISC INFO:

Disc Title:     EDVARD GRIEG
Disc Size:      15,864,269,419 bytes
Protection:     AACS
BD-Java:        Yes
BDInfo:         0.5.1

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name:                   00000.MPLS
Size:                   0 bytes
Length:                 1:07:00 (h:m:s)
Total Bitrate:          0.00 Mbps
Description:           

VIDEO:

Codec                   Bitrate             Description   
-----                   -------             -----------   
MPEG-4 AVC Video        0 kbps              1080p / 24 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1

AUDIO:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description   
-----                           --------        -------         -----------   
DTS-HD Master Audio             Miscellaneous languages0 kbps          7.1 / 96 kHz / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             Miscellaneous languages0 kbps          5.1 / 192 kHz / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM Audio                      Miscellaneous languages9216 kbps       2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit[/font]