SPOTLIGHT The classical music general discussion thread

[windhoek]

I'm actually kind of inclined to think the problem was almost the opposite - trying to do things like they used to. Early digital recordings were made to only a few channels, mixed live. The engineers were typically working closely with the folks who developed the ADCs and the recordings were characterized by a natural sound with incredible dynamic range. Not particularly like the analog recordings from the 70s, especially from labels like DG, which were characterized by too many mics and limited dynamic range. Early digital was at a disadvantage to tape when working that way, and once the more traditional engineers started using it the results were much less impressive.

You might be right. All I know is is I've bought lots of modern pop/rock records over the last ten years and lots of them sound terrible, terribly compressed perhaps; so much so I've more or less stopped buying new records.

Admittedly, part of the problem is my system. The 'bad' records in my collection don't sound that bad through the small Kralk Audio BC-30 bookshelf speakers in my bedroom as the loud compression helps produce a fuller sound from those bass-lite speakers, but those records just sound really bad through my Tannoy Eaton Legacy speakers, speakers which really call for music with great dynamic range to allow the music breathe into the room rather than be rammed into the room with excessive compression.

Thankfully, it wasn't always thus and good sounding records are still out there, and at least one of them is mine

 

[ubertrout]

I suspect that at the beginning of every format they make records that sound really great on great systems, perhaps because no-one really has the system to play them back properly, so there aren't complaints about excessive dynamic range and the like. Over time as the listener base grows so do the compromises, until a new technology comes along and the cycle starts over.

I think that was part of what was so bracing about both quad and SACD/DVD-A; both represented the starts of another cycle, even if written off as failures by the broad public.

 

[ubertrout]

(and yes, about 60% of my listening is on a mid-fi PC audio system, so definitely agree)

 

[dadregga]

There is no human-discernable quantifiable difference between analog or digital in terms of capturing and reproducing the same sound wave - that has been proven over and over again.

There is a difference in how things are recorded (as mentioned) and mastered, and what kinds of mastering you can get away with in digital formats versus vinyl specifically (which places heavy physical constraints on how sound can be stored, and dynamic range) - and therein lies all the percieved differences between "analog" and "digital".

 

[mkt]

Five new (discounted) releases from BIS including more Beethoven from the Chiaroscuro Quartet
https://www.eclassical.com/labels/bis/

 

[humprof]

Ugh
https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/mu...om-public-appearances-following-brain-surgery

Glioblastoma multiforme. Fuck....
https://www.npr.org/sections/decept...cer-and-his-scaled-back-new-world-symphony-ro

 

[humprof]

Interesting project, exploring Grieg's folk roots. (The lead violin lines are played in folk-fiddle style--or maybe the original folk tunes are just overlaid on top of Grieg's score?) Very immersive Atmos mix.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/grieg-peer-gynt/1599287583https://berlin-classics-music.com/en/releases/peer-gynt/

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Interesting project, exploring Grieg's folk roots. (The lead violin lines are played in folk-fiddle style--or maybe the original folk tunes are just overlaid on top of Grieg's score?) Very immersive Atmos mix.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/grieg-peer-gynt/1599287583https://berlin-classics-music.com/en/releases/peer-gynt/

That Grieg's is some really lovely stuff, added it to my Library

 

[mkt]

A new 2L release in spatial audio that I didn't see in the spatial classical list?
https://music.apple.com/us/album/alt-hva-mødrene-har-kjempet/1612141038https://shop.2l.no/products/alt-hva-modrene-har-kjempet

 

[humprof]

A new 2L release in spatial audio that I didn't see in the spatial classical list?
https://music.apple.com/us/album/alt-hva-mødrene-har-kjempet/1612141038https://shop.2l.no/products/alt-hva-modrene-har-kjempet

So many titles slip in under the radar. I think that's brand-new today, though--I woke up to find an email from 2L promoting it. International Women's Day. Same group that released UR a month or two ago.

ALL THAT OUR MOTHERS HAVE FOUGHT is a collection of contemporary, Norwegian choral works portraying strong women. The music illustrates some of the many storms that women have had to – and still have to – weather. They tell stories about the women’s suffrage movement, about a Syrian student risking her life to complete her medical education, and about a small girl’s defiance. All these stories open our eyes to different viewpoints on women’s struggles. The driving force behind this collection is our wish to provide new perspectives on the weeping women of the Norwegian national anthem, thru music composed by Tone Åse, Trond Kverno, Marianne Reidarsdatter Eriksen, Birgit Djupedal, Ellen Lindquist and Eva Holm Foosnæs.

 

[mkt]

Not sure if I've seen Linn before in Spatial Audio/Apple Music. I wonder how it compares to the SACD version.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/mozart-symphonies-nos-38-41/1535767041

 

[4-earredwonder]

Just came across this new Dolby Atmos BD~A/V review from blu~ray.com and ordered from Deep Discount

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Bach-St-John-Passion-Blu-ray/308933/#Review
https://www.deepdiscount.com/bach-g...h-st-john-passion-bwv-245-deluxe/028948618224

 

[humprof]

Just came across this new Dolby Atmos BD~A/V review from blu~ray.com and ordered from Deep Discount

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Bach-St-John-Passion-Blu-ray/308933/#Review
https://www.deepdiscount.com/bach-g...h-st-john-passion-bwv-245-deluxe/028948618224

That showed up on Apple Music this past week, too. Haven't listened to it yet so can't comment on the mix, but nice to see that at least some of these new Atmos mixes are also getting physical releases.

 

[4-earredwonder]

That showed up on Apple Music this past week, too. Haven't listened to it yet so can't comment on the mix, but nice to see that at least some of these new Atmos mixes are also getting physical releases.

With Deep Discounts 10% discount [on orders of 3 in stock items] the 3 disc set including [ugh] 2 CDs was about $18! $5 Cheaper than AmazonUS!

https://www.amazon.com/Bach-St-John...52-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[4-earredwonder]

Was just spinning this sumptuousl DXD SACD 5.1 recording from Norway's 2L label. From American modernist composer Elliott Carter who passed away in 2012 at the ripe ole age of 103!

https://www.hraudio.net/showmusic.php?title=5350#reviews

 

[ubertrout]

Was just spinning this sumptuousl DXD SACD 5.1 recording from Norway's 2L label. From American modernist composer Elliott Carter who passed away in 2012 at the ripe ole age of 103!

https://www.hraudio.net/showmusic.php?title=5350#reviews

How is it? I was made to listen to Carter as an undergrad and it didn't stoke a desire for more.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Do we need another Firebird [COMPLETE] Rite of Spring and Petrushka? .......Just pre~ordered this newly minted two disc multi~CH SACD set from Amazon, so I suppose the answer is YES!

 

[4-earredwonder]

How is it? I was made to listen to Carter as an undergrad and it didn't stoke a desire for more.

Well, ubertrout now that you're all grown up you might be surprised at the beauty of this 2L disc. Performances and of course sonics are quite LOVERLY!

 

[ClassicalSurroundFan]

Anyone tried the Stingray Classica add-on subscription on amazon or elsewhere? Is anything in surround? Particularly interested in chamber music in surround, realizing this is not going to be a focus anywhere. Is there a better service (ie. Medici.tv)?

 

[ubertrout]

Do we need another Firebird [COMPLETE] Rite of Spring and Petrushka? .......Just pre~ordered this newly minted two disc multi~CH SACD set from Amazon, so I suppose the answer is YES!

Skeptical but I'll probably buy it. At the same time...we have great studio recordings of these from Litton/Bergen, the Fischer recording of the Rite and Firebird Suite, and somehow three good quad recordings of the Rite now on SACD (Bernstein, Mehta, Tilson Thomas).