# Your favorite purchases for 2020...........



## Itullian

What are your favorite recordings you bought for 2020?
:tiphat:


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## thejewk

Shostakovich Quartets - Borodin Original and Fitzwilliam Quartet
Beethoven Quartets - Alban Berg Quartett
Jeno Jando - Beethoven Sonatas
Pierre Boulez complete Columbia album recordings
KLR Trio Bach Guild box

In non classical
Autechre Sign and Plus


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## Merl

I found a few recordings in the Weekly Quartet thread thanks to Spotify and then either grabbed them via download or purchased them secondhand or new cd. This was one of my favourites but I had to take a punt on it and bought the cd, blind. I wasn't disappointed. Superb recording and performance of the Grieg quartet.


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## Animal the Drummer

Beethoven symphonies - Pittsburgh Symph./Steinberg, bought (natch) after reading a discussion on here. I had some of these performances on LP as a kid and it's been an unalloyed pleasure welcoming them back into my collection.


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## Rmathuln

*Too numerous.
But I will limit it for now to boxes.













































*


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## Kiki

The one that really surprised me for how good it was is Ian Bostridge's new Die schöne Müllerin, a 2019 live recording at the Wigmore Hall with Saskia Giorgini on the piano. Bostridge's youthful and vulnerable voice from the 1994/95 Hyperion recording has now got more muscle, more authority and has matured into a fantastic story teller.









I swore I would not touch Beethoven in 2020 but there are too many good ones that I could not ignore. E.g.
Jordi Savall's Nos. 1 - 5 rec. 2019, Alia Vox)
Thomas Adès' Nos. 1 - 3 (rec. 2017, Signum) (The second installment of 4 - 6 is not as great)
Theodor Currentzis' No. 5 (rec. 2018, Sony)
Masaaki Suzuki's No. 9 (no, it's not slow!) (rec. 2019 Live, BIS)

My fascination with Astor Piazzolla's Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas continues. There are Arabella Steinbacher's (rec. 2018, Pentatone), David Grimal's (rec. 2010 Live, Aparté) and the Artemis Quartet's (rec. 2004, Erato); and the one that I found the most compelling is the Cappella Gabetta's rendition (rec. 2018, Sony). BTW, the Vivaldi Four Seasons coupled on the Cappella Gabetta's CD is also awesome!

And the one that I treasure most is Mravinsky's 1954 studio Shostakovich 10th, finally found courtesy of Merl, re-issued by Naxos. For GBP 4.31 (chandos.net), it is not exactly cheap enough to be called a bargain, but I have finally acquired all four recordings of Mravinsky's Shostakovich 10th. Satisfaction.


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## Mathias Broucek

Kiki said:


> And the one that I treasure most is Mravinsky's 1954 studio Shostakovich 10th, finally found courtesy of Merl, re-issued by Naxos. For GBP 4.31 (chandos.net), it is not exactly cheap enough to be called a bargain, but I have finally acquired all four recordings of Mravinsky's Shostakovich 10th. Satisfaction.


Are you able to recommend a particular Mravinsky DSCH 10? I seem to recall that they are mostly in poor sound and/or with bronchial audiences...

BTW, if you haven't already, try to get the 5th recorded in Tokyo in 1973 (Altus). Performance is tremendous and the engineering well ahead of what the Soviets were doing in that period


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## starthrower

Nielsen Symphonies 1-6 / Blomstedt 
Michael Gielen Edition Vol 8 
Strauss Orchestral Works / Kempe
Wagner Die Meisteringer / Solti
Mahler No.5 Shipway, and Boulez
Alwyn Conducts Alwyn Symphonies 1-5 on Lyrita


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## Kiki

Mathias Broucek said:


> Are you able to recommend a particular Mravinsky DSCH 10? I seem to recall that they are mostly in poor sound and/or with bronchial audiences...
> 
> BTW, if you haven't already, try to get the 5th recorded in Tokyo in 1973 (Altus). Performance is tremendous and the engineering well ahead of what the Soviets were doing in that period


I think the 1976-03-03 live recording (the Erato release being the most widely available) is the probably the safest bet.

*1954-04-24 Studio, Mono, Leningrad (Naxos etc.)* - Clean mono sound (at least on the Naxos re-issue). The performance is not as lively as I would expect, but then aren't we spoiled by all those live recordings that Mravinsky has left us?

*1955-06-03 Live, Mono, Prague (Praga)* - Thin, bright sound. The performance is brutal enough, but the sound quality makes it difficult (for me at least) to focus on the music during those loud passages. Warning: Praga being Praga, the recording dates/venues quoted by Praga are always suspicious, but this recording is definitely different from the other three.

*1976-03-03 Live, Stereo, Leningrad (Erato etc.)* - Average stereo sound by 1976's standard. That razor sharp Mravinskian efficiency in the performance is apparent though. Awesome!

*1976.03.31 Live, Mono, Leningrad (Melodiya etc.)* - Sounds like broadcast-quality mono to me rather than stereo as Melodiya claimed. Can't chose between this and the Erato in terms of performance, but for sound quality alone the Erato is obviously better.

--

Yes, I do have Altus' *1973-05-26* live recording from Tokyo of Mravinsky's Shostakovich 5th. Awesome, isn't it? The NHK recording is good.

Talking about Altus, it has also released a *1973-05-03* live recording from Leningrad, and a *1978-06-12/13* live recording from Vienna. The sound quality of both is also good (with the Leningrad sounding more "open" than the Vienna). Altus really have done a good job in re-mastering these old Mravinsky recordings.


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## Mathias Broucek

Kiki said:


> I think the 1976-03-03 live recording (the Erato release being the most widely available) is the probably the safest bet.
> 
> *1954-04-24 Studio, Mono, Leningrad (Naxos etc.)* - Clean mono sound (at least on the Naxos re-issue). The performance is not as lively as I would expect, but then aren't we spoiled by all those live recordings that Mravinsky has left us?
> 
> *1955-06-03 Live, Mono, Prague (Praga)* - Thin, bright sound. The performance is brutal enough, but the sound quality makes it difficult (for me at least) to focus on the music during those loud passages. Warning: Praga being Praga, the recording dates/venues quoted by Praga are always suspicious, but this recording is definitely different from the other three.
> 
> *1976-03-03 Live, Stereo, Leningrad (Erato etc.)* - Average stereo sound by 1976's standard. That razor sharp Mravinskian efficiency in the performance is apparent though. Awesome!
> 
> *1976.03.31 Live, Mono, Leningrad (Melodiya etc.)* - Sounds like broadcast-quality mono to me rather than stereo as Melodiya claimed. Can't chose between this and the Erato in terms of performance, but for sound quality alone the Erato is obviously better.
> 
> --
> 
> Yes, I do have Altus' *1973-05-26* live recording from Tokyo of Mravinsky's Shostakovich 5th. Awesome, isn't it? The NHK recording is good.
> 
> Talking about Altus, it has also released a *1973-05-03* live recording from Leningrad, and a *1978-06-12/13* live recording from Vienna. The sound quality of both is also good (with the Leningrad sounding more "open" than the Vienna). Altus really have done a good job in re-mastering these old Mravinsky recordings.


Thanks very much - appreciate the advice.


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## jegreenwood

Kiki said:


> . . .
> 
> My fascination with Astor Piazzolla's Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas continues. There are Arabella Steinbacher's (rec. 2018, Pentatone), David Grimal's (rec. 2010 Live, Aparté) and the Artemis Quartet's (rec. 2004, Erato); and the one that I found the most compelling is the Cappella Gabetta's rendition (rec. 2018, Sony). BTW, the Vivaldi Four Seasons coupled on the Cappella Gabetta's CD is also awesome!
> 
> . . .


I listened to the orchestrated version of that a lot over the past two weeks (as part of "Eight Seasons" by Gidon Kremer.


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## CnC Bartok

Some damned good purchases this year, but a lot of listening time has been employed in catching up with some older favourites, to be honest.

Best of 2020 for me? 
Continuation of a wonderful Vaughan Williams cycle under Martyn Brabbins. Symphonies 3, 4 and especially 5 have come across brilliantly.
Some very pleasing Beethoven cycles: Symphonies under Adam Fischer, reissues of cycles under stodgy pld masters Steinberg and Scherchen, and a fabulous new (for me) set under Willem de Vriend. Oh and a fabulous complete Quartets under the Smetana's, downloaded from Supraphon
A surprisingly good Bartok Quartet set by the Romanian Arcadia Quartet.
Finally getting to hear Penderecki's 6th Symphony, knowing now that'll be his last, sadly.

Also, as a post scriptum, I have started collecting the Antonini Haydn 2032 project CDs on Alpha. It's too soon to tell if my initial joy at these fresh performances will last, but I have decided I'll get the whole lot as they come out. You can't take it with you. Cannot fault their presentation, each issue is physically a thing of beauty.


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## Knorf

I made a sizeable dent in my bank accounts with purchases this year. But I think the big winner for me has to be the big 90th birthday box for Stanisław Skrowaczewski's complete recordings on the Oehms label.

With terrific to among-the-the-ever performances of the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, and Bruckner (including the latter's unnumbered symphonies in F minor and D minor), as well as the Chopin Piano Concertos and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra and a wonderful disc of Stan's own music, this has got to be one of the best overview collections out there. And I got it for barely $35! Thanks to Merl for recommending it!

(The only weak performance in the box in my opinion is Berlioz's _Symphonie Fantastique_.)










Other purchases I've been exceptionally thrilled with:

Complete piano music of Ravel, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.










Jiří Bělohlávek's complete Dvořák Symphonies and Concertos.










The Emerson Quartet's complete Beethoven Quartets.










Iván Fischer's Mahler _Das Lied von der Erde_.


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## Kiki

jegreenwood said:


> I listened to the orchestrated version of that a lot over the past two weeks (as part of "Eight Seasons" by Gidon Kremer.


How do you like it? The Gidon Kremer was my first Piazzolla Four Seasons. Wild and virtuosic. Awesome! It used the Desyatnikov orchestration that most recordings did. Since then I've discovered the Wienhardt orchestration, of which Arabella Steinbacher recorded, which sounds more like a violin concerto and arguably more sophisticated.


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## SanAntone

This is my only purchase this year:

_Jelly Roll Morton: The Complete Library of Congress Recordings_ is a 2005 box set of recordings from jazz pioneer *Jelly Roll Morton*. The set spans 128 tracks over eight CDs. It won two Grammy Awards in 2006, Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes.


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## Granate

_CD Edition_


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## Granate

_Digital Edition_


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## Rogerx




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## jegreenwood

Kiki said:


> How do you like it? The Gidon Kremer was my first Piazzolla Four Seasons. Wild and virtuosic. Awesome! It used the Desyatnikov orchestration that most recordings did. Since then I've discovered the Wienhardt orchestration, of which Arabella Steinbacher recorded, which sounds more like a violin concerto and arguably more sophisticated.


More and more. It was a gift several years back, and received only a few playings. During one, a couple of weeks ago, I discovered a problem with my streaming setup. I used the album (and a recording of Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues) to troubleshoot, listening to the recording at least half a dozen times. I finally solved my problem, while at the same time truly discovering the music (at least in one arrangement).

Did you know that Desyatnikov wrote/arranged the music for a ballet called Russian Seasons also linked to the Vivaldi?


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## D Smith

2020 was a great year for music. These are just a few albums I got that stood out for me.

Beethoven: Symphonies 1 - 5. Jordi Savall, Les Concerts de Nations.










Haydn Op. 33. Doric String Quartet










Elgar: Violin Concerto. Nicola Benedetti










Beethoven: String Quartets. Quatuor Ebene










Schmidt: Symphonies. Paavo Jarvi.


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## Rach Man

Knorf said:


> I made a sizeable dent in my bank accounts with purchases this year. But I think the big winner for me has to be the big 90th birthday box for Stanisław Skrowaczewski's complete recordings on the Oehms label.
> 
> With terrific to among-the-the-ever performances of the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, and Bruckner (including the latter's unnumbered symphonies in F minor and D minor), as well as the Chopin Piano Concertos and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra and a wonderful disc of Stan's own music, this has got to be one of the best overview collections out there. And I got it for barely $35! Thanks to Merl for recommending it!
> 
> (The only weak performance in the box in my opinion is Berlioz's _Symphonie Fantastique_.)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Other purchases I've been exceptionally thrilled with:
> 
> Jiří Bělohlávek's complete Dvořák Symphonies and Concertos.


The Skrowaczewski and the Bělohlávek are superb throughout the entire set. These two are my go-to performances so many times.


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## Rmathuln

*Taking a dive into some Japanese SACD versions of longtime favorites was also a highlight of 2020 for me

The best ones:




























I would like to make this one my Christmas present to me.
The cosmic devil named COVID-19 may prevent it though, international shipping being what it is right now.









*


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## bavlf

Frauenliebe und Leben Op. 42


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## Rach Man

For everything going wrong in 2020, I made so many music purchases. Here are some of the highlights.

I'm rarely a fan of solo piano, but this is extraordinary.









A TC thread trashed Schumann. In that thread someone posted this set. I never heard it before reading the thread. But I now love Mahler's addition to Schumann's work.









Great Mozart from one of my favorite conductors. Plus I like the Webern that came along for the ride. This doesn't seem like a great pairing. But this gives one two totally different wonderful selections. Superb pairing in my book.









I saw Baiba Skride perform Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra right before COVID hit. Since then, I have been buying many of her works. This is a great pairing, too, and she performs terrifically.









Plus, I bought a couple hundred odds and ends from thrift shops that will introduce me to many pieces that I normally wouldn't buy. Since they were dirt cheap, I bought and bought and bought.


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## Taplow

I've added very little to my collection over the course of this year. I've been on a bit of a buying spree the past week or so, as I usually do around Christmas, but have not had the opportunity to go through them all yet and decide what I like. So I'll nominate this, which I purchased back in October …










Still haven't heard all of it, but the few symphonies I've picked out so far have impressed.


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## Taplow

Rach Man said:


> For everything going wrong in 2020, I made so many music purchases. Here are some of the highlights.
> 
> I'm rarely a fan of solo piano, but this is extraordinary.
> 
> View attachment 147814


I have this on my wishlist, but am rather taken by the Alexander Melnikov on Harmonia Mundi (HMC902019.20) so don't feel the need to rush out and buy another. I was greatly unimpressed with Ashkenazy's Shostakovich symphonies, but this seems well executed.


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## Desertpilot

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and glad to be here. I've made several purchases which I really enjoy.

The first is the Schubert Quintet with Rick Stotijn playing the double bass. The bass gives the piece a lot of weight and depth.








Next is Prokofiev - Alexander Nevsky, Lieutenant Kijé Suite by UT Symphony and Choir. The SACD was expertly mastered by Sound Mirror (Boston).








Plenty more were purchased, but these are two of my favorites.

Marcus
Las Vegas, NV


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## Blancrocher

Bach, Concertos for Piano (Koroliov et al)


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## Rogerx




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## Merl

I'd been after this set for a long time, as its ridiculously pricey these days, until it showed up mint / secondhand online. With the help of a fellow TCer I finally got it and I will be eternally grateful to him for getting it for me and sending it to me. I am deeply in his debt but hopefully he'll be enjoying a windfall of stuff that is currently on its way to his door and there's more to come during the Xmas period. Thank you so much, mate. You know who you are (a top bloke and someone I class as a real 'friend' on here). I'll say no more. Bargain of the Century. :tiphat: one day, hopefully, I'll thank him face to face.


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## Rmathuln

Merl said:


> I'd been after this set for a long time, as its ridiculously pricey these days, until it showed up mint / secondhand online. With the help of a fellow TCer I finally got it and I will be eternally grateful to him for getting it for me and sending it to me. I am deeply in his debt but hopefully he'll be enjoying a windfall of stuff that is currently on its way to his door and there's more to come during the Xmas period. Thank you so much, mate. You know who you are (a top bloke and someone I class as a real 'friend' on here). I'll say no more. Bargain of the Century. :tiphat: one day, hopefully, I'll thank him face to face.
> 
> View attachment 147850


Do you have permission from your doctor and/or nutritionist to Munch that much?


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## Taplow

Merl said:


> :tiphat: one day, hopefully, I'll thank him face to face.


Es gibt sie noch die gute Leute.

A fine, enviable set indeed!


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## Kiki

jegreenwood said:


> More and more. It was a gift several years back, and received only a few playings. During one, a couple of weeks ago, I discovered a problem with my streaming setup. I used the album (and a recording of Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues) to troubleshoot, listening to the recording at least half a dozen times. I finally solved my problem, while at the same time truly discovering the music (at least in one arrangement).
> 
> Did you know that Desyatnikov wrote/arranged the music for a ballet called Russian Seasons also linked to the Vivaldi?


I didn't but now I do. Found the Gidon Kremer recording of Desyatnikov's Russian Seasons. Sounds like Russian folk with a Stravinskian twist. Spring reminds me of Le noces. The style does seem to change a bit from season to season though. Very interesting.


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## Dirge

*Of recordings new to me in 2020, these five capture performances that are right up my alley and strike me as outstanding …*

Robert SCHUMANN: Fantasie in C major, Op. 17 (1839)
:: Arrau [BBC Legends, live '60]

Arnold SCHOENBERG: Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11 (1909)
:: Arrau [BBC Legends, live '59]

Jean SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 4 (1911)
:: Ormandy/Philadelphia [Columbia '54]

Leos JANACEK: _Mládí_ (1924)
:: Prague Wind Quintet w/Nechvátal [Supraphon '72]

Rebecca CLARKE: "I'll bid my heart be still" (1944)
:: Dukes & Rahman [Naxos '04]

*Other 2020 favorites and borderline-favorites …*

Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA: _Missa Papae Marcelli_ (1562?) & _Stabat Mater_ (1590s?)
:: Turner/Pro Cantione Antiqua [ASV '78]

W. A. MOZART: String Quintet in G minor, K. 516 (1787)
:: Prazak Quartet w/Beyerlé [Praga, live '00]

Luigi CHERUBINI: String Quartets No. 3 in D minor (1834) & No. 6 in A minor (1837)
:: Quartetto Savinio [Stradivarius '07]

Pyotr TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade for Strings (1880)
Edward ELGAR: Serenade for Strings (1893)
:: Hope/Zürcher Kammerorchester [DG '20]

*Old LP favorites gotten in digital format in 2020 …*

Béla BARTÓK: String Quartets (1908-39)
:: Végh Quartet [Columbia/Angel '54] Praga
_Despite sketchily worded puffery to the contrary-"Genuine Stereo Lab" … "Remastered from studio first stereo recordings" … "restarting from the initial stereo tapes"-these are almost certainly mono recordings that have been given the dreaded artificial stereo treatment. Annoying as the effect is, these are otherwise the best sounding transfers/remasters of these recordings that I've heard, being much cleaner, more focused and detailed, and better balanced than the rather woolly, fulsome, and opaque Music & Arts offering._

Ernest BLOCH: _Schelomo_ (1916)
:: Rose, Mitropoulos/Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York [Columbia '51]

Carl RUGGLES: _Sun-treader_ (1931)
:: Thomas/Buffalo Philharmonic [CBS '80] Other Minds

Franz SCHMIDT: Symphony No. 4 (1933)
:: Moralt/VSO [Epic '55] Naxos Classical Archives (download only)


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## Rogerx




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## Rogerx




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## Malx

This year I haven't bought nearly as much as in the past - a lot of enjoyment has been had from exploring discs already in the collection not played in some cases for years (the silver lining). 
Of the purchases I have made the items below are my standouts:


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## bavlf

Timeless, cosmic, and like an unreal recording!


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## starthrower

Malx said:


> Of the purchases I have made the items below are my standouts:


I regret not choosing this set. I bought Neumann's second cycle which fails to excite me. I have Belohlavek's Martinu cycle which I enjoy.


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## jegreenwood

I found it on Amazon for a good price. Shipping from England, though, so who knows when I'll see it.

Edit: And the answer is - today!


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## Chilham




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## realdealblues

You guys are all doing better than me, I can hardly remember what all I bought this last year let alone what my favorite was


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## Itullian




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## Itullian




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## Itullian




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