Michael Stern - Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 'Organ'

New! Hybrid Multichannel SACD release

5.1 Surround and stereo SACD, stereo CD with HDCD

"... Stern and his players convey an air of expectation. There's a pleasing warmth to the orchestral sound but at the same time there's plenty of definition. The sound seems very natural... The richness of the strings is seductive... They sing with overt warmth... Stern captures the spirit of the music in a way that seems just right... A delectable performance... A fine release... Anyone buying it will enjoy it very much." — MusicWeb International

Conductor Michael Stern leads the Kansas City Symphony on interpretations of these great works by Camille Saint-Saëns, captured in brilliant sound by Grammy winners "Professor" Keith O. Johnson (engineer) and David Frost (producer). Others on the team include Sean Martin (engineer) and Graemme Brown (SACD authoring).

The 2015 release of this collection of great works garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Engineering. Now presented in brilliant SACD surround sound, the all-encompassing 3D realism and power of the Kansas City Symphony and soloists Jan Kraybill (organ), Noah Geller (violin) and Mark Gibbs (solo) is truly revealed. Kraybill is the featured soloist on the Symphony No. 3 while violinist Geller and cellist Gibbs appear on the other two works.

The Kansas City Symphony has released four previous titles with Reference Recordings to great acclaim. Two additional projects have been recorded, including music of contemporary American composer Adam Schoenberg
(release planned for September 2016), and music of Gustav Holst: The Planets; Ballet Music from The Perfect
Fool. The Symphony has been led by Music Director Michael Stern since 2005. Under his leadership it has experienced impressive artistic growth, garnering new national and international acclaim.

For 40 years, Reference Recordings has been one of the most innovative and respected independent labels in
the music business. Reference Recordings releases have been highly praised for their dedication to high quality
sound in the service of great music. Founder Tam Henderson (1998 Grammy nominee for Producer of the
Year), was joined in 1978 by engineer Keith O. Johnson. Some 140 projects later, RR is still recording what many
consider to be the finest-sounding classical, jazz and blues discs in the world.