Videos - oomph, tympani, menace, power

[PeterA]

He did not voice his opinion at the time.

That may be true I can’t remember. My point is that he would be able to make an assessment on the quality of which phone is more accurate. People use these system videos for different purposes. I use them as a tool and I listen for particular characteristics on the video but realize they don’t convey everything accurately. They are also used for fun and sharing. My question remains. I suspect some would prefer the phone that is more accurate and others would prefer the phone that sounds more pleasing to them. They may or may not be the same.

 

[hopkins]

I was curious to find out how my small speakers could handle the Bartok piece that Tima filmed.

They struggle a little, but I enjoyed listening anyhow.

My amp has limited power, which does not affect dynamics (in my humble opinion) but you simply cannot push it beyond a certain volume level. This was close to max volume. The speakers probably distort at those high volumes anyway...and my phone as well!

 

[PeterA]

Bartók's 'Concerto for Orchestra' is perhaps his most accessible work. (!) It was commissioned to him toward the end of WWII by conductor Serge Koussevitzky while Bartok lay in a hospital bed suffering from leukemia. The work revived him for a while but a year later he succumbed. This Concerto is in five movements and as best I can tell, none of them relate to the others. The 4th movement is, imo, one of the composer's most melodic pieces.

Here is the 1st movement. It features a particular Bartókian style called 'night music' From my review of his Piano Concertos, most of this still holds for the piece at hand: "Bartók’s orchestrations feature percussion, brass and woodwinds, while relying on strings for texture and atmosphere. Each piano piece includes instances of Bartók’s famous "night music," a sound portrayal he often used in slower movements. Instead of harmony and melodic development, Bartók delivered his interpretations of nocturnal sounds from animals and insects, often using drum and cymbal taps, strikes and splashes. The meaning of these concertos always seems just around the corner, just out of reach. Nonetheless, for those willing to explore, each work offers wonder, obvious genius, and a celebration of the sheer physicality of sound."

If Stravinsky is a rhythmic devil, Bartok is a rhythmic dervish. Note the continually varying time changes in this piece. While its intro section is slow semi-brooding, overall, from Andante to Allegro Vivace, it can be as feral as some of Bartók's earlier works.

Here with the Lamm M1.2 monoblocks.

One of the best from The Original Source series by Deutsche Grammophon
Bartok 'Concerto for Orchestra' 1st Mvmnt (Introduzione) Andante Non Troppo – Allegro Vivace
Rafael Kubelik/Boston Symphony Orchestra
DG TOS 2530 479

Tim, I like your notes on the music and also this video. The presentation comes across as a whole, very coherent. Great balance and dynamics. "The sheer physicality of sound" comes across well over your video.

 

[tima]

Tim, I like your notes on the music and also this video. The presentation comes across as a whole, very coherent. Great balance and dynamics. "The sheer physicality of sound" comes across well over your video.

This music kinda latched on to me. Mid-twentieth Century is perhaps as modern as I've done. Thank you for viewing and your comments. There is more interesting Bartok to be had. I think these home videos are important because they are not abstract connections to equipment but to real people with a passion for music in their home. They are an opportunity for exposure to music one has not heard. They keep alive the the reason some of us are audiophiles.

 

[Daro]

 

[hopkins]

Here's another version of that Vivaldi Oboe concerto I had recorded before, but this time with my new Phasemation phono preamp which I like:

I can't be objective about how the video sounds, but I do enjoy listening to it on my computer with headphones.

 

[tima]

Here is 4th movement of Dimitri Shostakovich's Symphony Nr.5 with Leonard Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic. It was recorded in Boston Symphony Hall. This happened shortly after the conductor and orchestra performed it in the Soviet Union with Shostakovich himself attending. Shosty liked it.

The work is complex with lots of emotional tension, bleakness, references to Russian folk dances, it is both searing and elegiac.

The 4th movement is triumphant, incandescent and victorious. "The resounding march that ends the movement (~08:12) represents the triumph of evil over good. The apparent optimism of the concluding pages is, as one colleague of the composer put it, no more than the forced smile of a torture victim as he is being stretched on the rack." ref

Shostakovich had angered the Soviet Hierarchy, particularly Stalin, with earlier works including his opera Lady McBeth (quite the story there.) The reality of living under Soviet System coupled with the composer's desire to be Russian and stay in Russia led to his recognition that he somehow must appease the hierarchy. Here was his response to return to the System's good graces. The audience loved it and Stalin approved. Critics debate whether the ending is truly victorious or hollow under the covers -- a tacit mocking of prior criticism.

To understand Shostakovich is partly to understand Russian history under the Soviets.

Audio cat Finzi voices his approval by not slapping his tail on the carpet.

 

[No Regrets]

Here is 4th movement of Dimitri Shostakovich's Symphony Nr.5 with Leonard Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic. It was recorded in Boston Symphony Hall. This happened shortly after the conductor and orchestra performed it in the Soviet Union with Shostakovich himself attending. Shosty liked it.

The work is complex with lots of emotional tension, bleakness, references to Russian folk dances, it is both searing and elegiac.

The 4th movement is triumphant, incandescent and victorious. "The resounding march that ends the movement (~08:12) represents the triumph of evil over good. The apparent optimism of the concluding pages is, as one colleague of the composer put it, no more than the forced smile of a torture victim as he is being stretched on the rack." ref

Shostakovich had angered the Soviet Hierarchy, particularly Stalin, with earlier works including his opera Lady McBeth (quite the story there.) The reality of living under Soviet System coupled with the composer's desire to be Russian and stay in Russia led to his recognition that he somehow must appease the hierarchy. Here was his response to return to the System's good graces. The audience loved it and Stalin approved. Critics debate whether the ending is truly victorious or hollow under the covers -- a tacit mocking of prior criticism.

To understand Shostakovich is partly to understand Russian history under the Soviets.

Audio cat Finzi voices his approval by not slapping his tail on the carpet.

I love seeing Finzi enjoying your music with you !
Best wishes,
Don

 

[No Regrets]

Here is an excerpt from Witches Brew on vinyl being played on my trusty old Linn LP12/Naim Aro tonearm/Benz Ruby Zebrawood S-Class moving coil cartridge into my all vacuum tubed Wavestream Kinetics Deluxe Phono Reference Level 5.1 with outboard power supply; First Sound Presence Audio dual mono vacuum tube line stage; Single Ended 845 vacuum tube power amplifier powering my Dunlavy SCIV Signature speakers.

Best wishes,
Don

 

[tima]

I love seeing Finzi enjoying your music with you !
Best wishes,
Don

Thank you Don!.

Ever since he was a kitten he loves to come into the audio room and listen. Here he is in my previous room -- a lion laying down with the Lamms.




Keep posting videos.