Chopin's Last Waltz, Robert Silverman pianist, Kimber Kable ISOMIKE 5606, LP.
Producer: Ellen Silverman
Editing: Aaron Hubbard
Mastering: Chad Kassem, Aaron Hubbard
Recording Engineers: Aaron Hubbard, Ray Kimber
Mastering Engineer: Kevin Gray, Cohearent Audio, LLC
Recorded using the ISOMIKE RECORDING TECHNIQUE recorded at DSD256 and edited in that format without any compression or equalization other than application of the RIAA curve.
Piano: Steinway & Sons
Repertoire
Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49
Valse in A flat, Op. 64/3
Prelude in C# Minor, Op. 45
Nocturne in A flat, Op. 62/2
Mazurka in C# minor, Op. 63/3
Mazurka in F minor, Op. 68/4
Ballade in F Minor, Op. 52
http://www.robert-silverman.com/index.php?mpage=disc&cid=29
About Robert Silverman from His Official Website
In a career spanning more than five decades, Robert Silverman has climbed every peak of serious pianism: lauded performances of the complete sonata cycles by Beethoven and Mozart; concerts in prestigious halls across the globe; orchestral appearances with many of the world's greatest conductors; and award-winning recordings distributed internationally.
Recognized as one of Canada's premiere pianists, Robert Silverman has reached a level of musical and technical authority that can only be accomplished after years of deep commitment to the instrument and its vast literature. Many aspects of Silverman's playing are frequently noted: a polished technique, an extraordinary range of tonal palette, an uncanny ability to sing his way into the heart of a phrase, and probing interpretations of the most complex works in the repertoire.
The distinguished pianist has performed in concert halls throughout North America, Europe, the Far East, and Australia. Under the batons of such renowned conductors as Seiji Ozawa, John Eliot Gardiner, Gerard Schwarz, Neeme Järvi, and the late Kiril Kondrashin and Sergiu Comissiona, he has appeared with orchestras on three continents, including the Chicago Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, the BBC (London) Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, and every major orchestra in Canada.
Robert Silverman's discography includes over 30 CDs and a dozen LPs. His recording of Liszt's piano music received a Grand Prix du Disque from the Liszt Society of Budapest, while his widely-acclaimed 10-CD recording of all thirty-two Beethoven sonatas was short-listed for a Juno Award. His 7-CD album of all the Mozart Sonatas was released in 2010.
In 2013, Silverman was named to the Order of Canada, an honour accorded only about 150 Canadians annually. In 1998 Robert Silverman was named the first winner of the Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award for Keyboard Artistry, administered by the Ontario Arts Council Foundation, in recognition of "his high level of artistry, his moving interpretations of a wide range of music...and his commitment and contribution to music in Canada."
Robert Silverman resides in Vancouver where he was a faculty member at the University of British Columbia for thirty years, served a 5-year term as Director of the School of Music in the 1990s, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters in 2004. He now devotes himself full-time to concertizing and recording. He is frequently heard on the CBC English and French radio network; a Steinway artist, he has recorded for EMI, Stereophile, Marquis Classics, OrpheumMasters and CBC Records. He has also lectured on piano music for the Celebrity Cruise line.
Silverman enjoys an enormous following on the internet, where a generous selection of his recordings is accessible on YouTube, Soundcloud and iLike. Most of his recordings—including his latest, Variations by Schumann and Brahms – are available for sale and download from Amazon, iTunes, and CD Baby.
The Review
All right my dear friends, you wanted to know if an LP cut directly from a DSD256 Master (Quad DSD, which is 4 times SACD resolution) outputting directly to the cutting lathe by a top mastering engineer would replicate a master tape recorded at 15 IPS? I can now emphatically and authoritatively state that it does. Utilizing playback on the finest phono cartridges I know of on all Tim de Paravicini E.A.R. phono preamplifiers, both tube and solid-state, I heard nothing even remotely digital in the playback of this new LP from Ray Kimber.
Cartridge References:
- Grado Epoch, MI
- London Reference, MI
- Stein Aventurin V6 MK.2, MC
- Kiseki PurpleHeart, MC
I made a note of the date, October 12, 2017, in my listening notes. That is the date I no longer could tell the difference between an analog or digitally sourced (Quad DSD, though!) LP no matter how hard I tried to imagine something amiss. Why should I be surprised that Ray Kimber, the master of all things interconnect, an inventor and entrepreneur, the most honored and giving individual in audio today, should accomplish this achievement? Ray has the brilliance and taste levels to pull it off and he has!
The Last Waltz is an all-Chopin LP with Robert Silverman playing at the top of his game. Whether Brahms, or Mozart, and now Chopin, Silverman employs an elegance of touch and tone that is magical and moving. His playing channels Chopin as if this composer is not considered the most difficult tunesmith of them all. Silverman makes it sound so easy, it is unimaginable at times. I love his playing, now more than ever. Did not Silverman know audiophile productions are supposed to sound technically wonderful while the performance does not? He must not have gotten the memo!
All of the selections come from Chopin's final period of 1841-1849. They are beyond gorgeous and difficult. Silverman proves he can emotionally and technically master even the Fantaisie in F minor, an elegant yet mind-blowing exercise in beauty redefined in music. Robert Silverman must now be considered the top Chopin interpreter extant. Chopin's Last Waltz must also be considered a must own. A LP sequel is absolutely required!
The last Waltz is a reference recording with a bullet. Dynamics are unrestrained. Airiness and sense of space are unlimited. Imaging is palpable and gorgeously focused. Weight, slam, and scale are big and rounded between the speakers. This is a performance, not just a recording, in my reference systems. Ray and the team he has gathered here have brought us a masterpiece so lifelike and wonderful, I cannot contain my admiration. Even the LP packaging is just wondrous and elegant.
The QRP pressing is tuneful to the max and quiet as the proverbial mouse. The LP sounds better than any tape; it achieves the status of a performance In situ. Chad Kassem has pulled out all the stops to press this perfect LP. Just wait until you hear Ballade No. 4 explode in charm and power. Not one of my cartridges, not even the London, had trouble with this selection no matter the intensity of the velocity of the dynamics. This is superb LP pressing for sure.
Chopin's Last Waltz is available at Acoustic Sounds, home of QRP and Chad Kassem, and will sell for a very reasonable $35 considering the lavish, almost Soria Series packaging. A beauty in every musical way, Silverman has accomplished something really extraordinary. Such wondrous playing! Such wondrous audiophile perfection! Such a tremendous breakthrough in digital recording technique and LP mastering! Chopin's Last Waltz receives my very highest recommendation.
