Post by terence February 24, 2009 (21 of 49)
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thanks for that. have you any info specifically on how the multichannel mix sounds?
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Post by Cherubino February 24, 2009 (22 of 49)
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tailspn said:
James Levine's press conference has been edited into a podcast here:
http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/c_09_gen_images.jsp?id=36700016
Jimmy provides quite a bit of detail, both on the music selections, and the intent of the BSO's transcription effort. The guy standing Levine's right is John Newton, the owner of Soundmirror and recording engineer for the BSO. I hear these mixes all the time at the hall, as they're being monitored, and can say they are stunning. The resulting SA-CD's capture them faithfully.
Soundmirror remastered all of the RCA Living Stereo SACDs. Next time you see John, ask him if he knows whether or not the series will be resumed.
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terence said:
thanks for that. have you any info specifically on how the multichannel mix sounds?
I purchased these Saturday evening at Symphony Hall. Yesterday I listened to the Brahms, today the Ravel. Both were very compelling. There is tremendous force in the music. I did think the sound lacked brilliance compared with what I have been hearing in the hall of late. But do not let that discourage you. Brenda, who you will remember thought the PentaTones are "too bright" would be thoroughly delighted. But interpretationally, and soundwise, these are nonpareil. The total impact is rather greater than that of any recordings I can ever remember hearing. I think perhaps Levine may be the "conductor of the century".
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Post by synthy February 24, 2009 (24 of 49)
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Windsurfer said:
I purchased these Saturday evening at Symphony Hall. Yesterday I listened to the Brahms, today the Ravel. Both were very compelling. There is tremendous force in the music. I did think the sound lacked brilliance compared with what I have been hearing in the hall of late. But do not let that discourage you. Brenda, who you will remember thought the PentaTones are "too bright" would be thoroughly delighted. But interpretationally, and soundwise, these are nonpareil. The total impact is rather greater than that of any recordings I can ever remember hearing. I think perhaps Levine may be the "conductor of the century".
I find this interesting...I had a different impression. I last heard Levine and BSO perform Daphnis Suite 2 in March '07 and remember it quite vividly. The recording doesn't give quite as much of the impression of Symphony Hall as I hoped (the rear channels need some boost) and is more brittle than I expected. I think this is because of the odd highlighting of some of the cellos towards the center - they sound surprisingly close-miked (not sure if this is actually the case) and leap out at me occasionally, sounding rather thin, squishing the center depth of field. The rest is excellent - the brass is particularly wonderful, though. The way the trumpets bloom out is just as I remember.
I also find that Levine gets just a touch too quick with tempo for my taste in some spots and doesn't wring enough anticipation out of key transitions (like in the famous daybreak scene). Still, these are minor reservations...There's loads of gorgeous music-making going on here. The Danse Generale is as spectacular as you could want, though the audience's thunderous reaction is only milliseconds behind the final note. I'm still listening and absorbing, comparing to the old Munch/BSO and the Suites by Skrowaczewski on MoFi and Haitink on Pentatone. I'll be trying the Brahms soon.
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Post by tream February 24, 2009 (25 of 49)
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Windsurfer said:
I purchased these Saturday evening at Symphony Hall. Yesterday I listened to the Brahms, today the Ravel. Both were very compelling. There is tremendous force in the music. I did think the sound lacked brilliance compared with what I have been hearing in the hall of late. But do not let that discourage you. Brenda, who you will remember thought the PentaTones are "too bright" would be thoroughly delighted. But interpretationally, and soundwise, these are nonpareil. The total impact is rather greater than that of any recordings I can ever remember hearing. I think perhaps Levine may be the "conductor of the century".
Bruce, are these with or without applause....the latter, I hope.
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Post by hiredfox February 25, 2009 (26 of 49)
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Both are already on my 'wish' list. Anybody who supports US [i.e., SACD.net and its supporters] gets my unequivocal support for their new ventures irrespectively of any performance or recording quality issues. Well done Boston Symphony!
My advice to any critics of performance.. "Do not kill a goose about to lay a Golden Egg!"
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Post by Allen February 25, 2009 (27 of 49)
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Just curious of one thing about this series:
Are these really live recording? I mean, is the applause taken out completely from the performance?
Normally I do not buy CD or SACD if they contain such "live" elements. Just found out that some LSO releases sometimes have the zeal applause at the end. That alone will make me not to buy from that series.
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Post by terence February 25, 2009 (28 of 49)
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synthy said:
I find this interesting...I had a different impression. I last heard Levine and BSO perform Daphnis Suite 2 in March '07 and remember it quite vividly. The recording doesn't give quite as much of the impression of Symphony Hall as I hoped (the rear channels need some boost) and is more brittle than I expected.
so not much surround info on the rear speakers then?
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Post by Peter February 25, 2009 (29 of 49)
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Allen said:
Just curious of one thing about this series:
Are these really live recording? I mean, is the applause taken out completely from the performance?
Normally I do not buy CD or SACD if they contain such "live" elements. Just found out that some LSO releases sometimes have the zeal applause at the end. That alone will make me not to buy from that series.
Which LSO Live releases have applause?
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tream said:
Bruce, are these with or without applause....the latter, I hope.
The Brahms got away without applause. It just wasn't possible with the Ravel - some idiot(s) began applauding before the last notes died away. To have cut that off would have entirely ruined the performance. I really can't comprehend what dictates to someone that they should forgo a superb recording because it happens to have applause at the end. Sure, for many its a sore point but THAT sore ???
I am going to listen again to both discs to be able to talk about the surround characteristics later. I was so caught up in the music, I was unable to analyze (or didn't want to spoil it by doing so) the sound per se. My impression is that someone may have turned down the surround channels during mastering for some inexplicable reason. Yet they are there. I typically have surrounds set back a db or two. For this disc I will definitely want to set them up to equivalency with the fronts.
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