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Weird Question on Murray Pariah SACD Confusion

I am a little confused after a trip to Tower Records in Tokyo last week.

In their SACD live with headphones display, one of the SACDs playing was Murray Pariah Bach -- I thought piano concertos -- but I don't recall exactly.

I liked the sound of the disc, but decided not to purchase it as it was about $45.00 in yen, thinking it would be cheaper and easy to find in New York. However, on trips to two different stores I can't seem to spot the disc anywhere.

The weird and confusing thing is that the artwork and layout for the disc in Japan was exactly the same style as the artwork and layout and typeface for a Murray Pariah GOLDBERG SACD that I can easily find in New York.

The only thing that looks like Bach piano concertos, however, had a RED cover that did not look familiar to me.

I assumed the SACD catalogue was pretty small and distributed globally, but is it possible that only the artwork would change for a disc released in Japan? Could the red jacketed disc I find in New York be the same recording as the SACD I saw in Tokyo?

In any case, the performance sounded pretty good -- maybe some of you have the recording in which case I would also love to hear your opinion of the music and recording quality.

Thanks.
cwlondon
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cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 
T-Bone:

You are a star! Thank you for cracking the code. With hindsight, I suppose there are bigger issues in the universe to contemplate, but it really was puzzling me.

Despite my accurate memory of the Goldberg style cover, perhaps I was wrong about the price - I would have sworn it was Y 4500 -- maybe it has gone on sale.

In any case, I thought it sounded pretty good and will now consider it a worthwhile SACD in either the red cover or the other cover.

Thank you everyone.
t_bone
1,182 posts
 
Upon a visit to Tower, I find it is indeed the above-mentioned "red" Bach Keyboard Concertos 3,5,6 and 7 with Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Different cover (Perahia in dark blue suit jacket with t-neck sweater in front of gate/fence (in Paris, like the GVs?) with the same dark blue and red Arial-style font typeface) but same contents. The new Japanese SACD catalog has it as "SIGC-9". BTW... it is Y3000 + 5% consumption tax making it roughly $25.
t_bone
1,182 posts
 
Cwlondon,
I had planned on stopping by Tower in Tokyo this weekend so if you can wait until Saturday or Sunday AM E.S.T. for an answer, I will post my findings after I go (Tower is a ten-minute walk from home). This, of course, assumes it's in stock. You've seen the size of their SACD inventory and perhaps noted the attention that seems to be paid to it...
Travis
bomarc
501 posts
 
Mastering an SACD is not cheap, and this disk is not going platinum. It is really hard to imagine anyone mastering the same recording twice for different markets. Different versions of cover art, aimed at different markets, is more plausible.

It's just barely possible that Perahia has recorded the Bach concerti twice, and different labels have put out the different versions on SACD. But given the minute demand for SACDs at the moment, I would doubt that's the case here.

It's highly likely that you're looking at two covers and one recording. Buy it and enjoy.
czbbcl's avatar
czbbcl
1,752 posts
 
Cwlondon

That's interesting, I haven't heard that there are different releases in different parts of the world; but I am not expert on the subject either. You might try perusing elusive discs (www.elusivedisc.com) web site as well; or you could call and ask them. I have found them to be quite helpful as well as making some good recommendations.

Chuck
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 
I find the RED one easily.

What I can't find is the Bach Piano Concertos that has the GOLDBERG style cover. That is what I saw, heard and liked in Tokyo.

Still confused. Maybe the red one in the US is the same recording as the one with the different cover.
ilusha
16 posts
 
I saw this SACD in Virgin Records NY. You could also buy it from Amazon.com.
czbbcl's avatar
czbbcl
1,752 posts
 
I believe you may be refering to Murray Perahia BACH Keyboard concertos #3,5,6,7. The lable is red with a picture of Murray doing what appears to be looking into an opened grand piano.

Chuck
t_bone
1,182 posts
 
Oops... to respond to your other questions... I have seen different cover art on the same Sony-released music between Japan and the US but do not, off the top of my head, remember any SACDs like that. Also, the "global SACD catalogue" is not at all global outside of Sony's releases and even then, I'm not sure all Sony SACDs are available in all markets. For the smaller labels, non-local market distribution is gray market or non-existent. An example would be the dozen-plus superb DSD recordings done by Japanese label Exton (which to my knowledge are not available in the US).
t_bone
1,182 posts
 
There is a new Chopin Etudes SACD out which I also saw at Tower Records in Tokyo a few weeks ago. It should be available in New York. It has a similar typeface but the picture is different (though I can see a similar style, despite the difference in picture style (high contrast vs the GV's low light low contrast cover shot)).

A quick link on the web provides an interesting source. Try this link to see if that's what you're looking for...

Travis
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