Post by tream November 23, 2010 (1 of 57)
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Well....after a couple of recent comments about the lack of Nielsen symphonies, here we go...except that they were recorded in the Barbican.
Well, I'm sure I will be giving it a go when it is finally released. I just wish these recordings were made somewhere else. The Barbican really is a substandard hall. Shocking for a great musical city like London.
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Post by Jonalogic November 24, 2010 (3 of 57)
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tream said:
Well....after a couple of recent comments about the lack of Nielsen symphonies, here we go...except that they were recorded in the Barbican.
Well, I'm sure I will be giving it a go when it is finally released. I just wish these recordings were made somewhere else. The Barbican really is a substandard hall. Shocking for a great musical city like London.
Tream Hi
Many thanks for the heads-up. I knew this was in the works, but it's nice to see it firming up.
As a great lover of Nielsen, I will undoubtedly buy this. As a fine Sibelius conductor, of course, I am sure that Colin Davis will make a good stab at these Nielsen masterpieces. However, I don't have any expectation of decent sound quality; regretfully, we all know by now what the LSO Live/Barbican combination means.
One can only hope the engineers eventually get it right- the fine Classic Sound recording of the Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony (on Chandos) shows that it is possible to get decent sound out of this sorry dust-bowl of a hall.
Cheers
Jon
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Post by Chris November 24, 2010 (4 of 57)
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Jonalogicsaid:
One can only hope the engineers eventually get it right- the fine Classic Sound recording of the Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony (on Chandos) shows that it is possible to get decent sound out of this sorry dust-bowl of a hall.
Cheers
Jon
Happy to be able to agree with you again Jon.
Just listened to the new Otello ,and can confidently say that the Barbican CAN NOT accommodate GRAND OPERA!
And if anything, OTELLO IS GRAND OPERA IMO!
The Karajan 1974 on EMI LPs are simply stunning compared to the closed in "dry as dust" sound on the LSO Live set. In photographic terms I would say Karajan is in bright full colour and the newcomer in black and white! The covers say it all!
Sad but true IMHO.
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Post by Jonalogic November 25, 2010 (5 of 57)
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Chris said:
Happy to be able to agree with you again Jon.
Just listened to the new Otello ,and can confidently say that the Barbican CAN NOT accommodate GRAND OPERA!
And if anything, OTELLO IS GRAND OPERA IMO!
The Karajan 1974 on EMI LPs are simply stunning compared to the closed in "dry as dust" sound on the LSO Live set. In photographic terms I would say Karajan is in bright full colour and the newcomer in black and white! The covers say it all!
Sad but true IMHO.
Chris Hi
Yep, I went to the very first public concert at the Barbarian. It was crappy then, and is still crappy now.
It was designed as a multi-use hall, but that is really no excuse for such an acoustic abortion.
Considering that the Festival Hall in London is also on the dry-ish side, this was a great opportunity missed.
Now, the CBSO hall in Birmingham, that is something else...
Cheers
Jon
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Post by Lochiel November 25, 2010 (6 of 57)
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I have to add my agreement here - just today I have been contemplating the sale of Davis' Sibelius discs because of the sound. No matter how many times I play it - whether SACD or RBCD - or what I listen to it on - headphones, car stereo, home - it's just lousy. No depth, no soundstage, no reverb, just a dry, brittle accoustic that destroys any sense of perspective to the music.
It's simultaneously a tragedy and an outrage, given the quality of the conductor, the orchestra, and the repetoire, that this label continues to record here and in the way that they do. I can't believe that moving the microphones back 20 ft or so would not result in a better recording. The MP3 samples on Amazon of the new Naxos recording sound better.
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http://www.newmusicbox.org/page.nmbx?id=33tp02
"Even with renovations, a fan-shaped performance space will remain inadequate because its fundamental shape precludes adequate lateral sound. This is the primary reason that most renovations are essentially doomed to be patch jobs. If the size and shape are wrong to begin with, there is relatively little that can be done to remedy acoustics, even in the most beloved architectural landmark."
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Post by Chris November 26, 2010 (8 of 57)
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sunnydaler said:
even in the most beloved architectural landmark."
By "most belowed" I guess you are referring to the two SUPER-UGLY concrete boxes used as Concert Halls in London The Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall.
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Post by Lochiel November 26, 2010 (9 of 57)
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From the picture and links above, one can see another issue with the Barbican - the stage is very deep. This is Uchida and Davis doing the Mozart concerto; half the stage is empty behind the orchestra. No wonder there's no forward reflection of sound.
Royal Festival Hall, on the other hand, may not look good from the outside, but some of the new LPO recordings, as well as the recent Gardiner Brahms discs, demonstrate that it is not as bad as it used to be on the inside after renovations.
Didn't Chandos record the last VW symphony Hickox performed (the 1st, I believe) live at the Barbican? Does anyone know how that recording came out? Did it also, like most LSO recordings, sound like it was recorded outside in the parking lot?
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Post by hiredfox November 26, 2010 (10 of 57)
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Despite all the criticism of The Barbican, it sound fine in the flesh for most concerts and you get a damn good view without being crammed in like sardines
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