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  1. R

    Recent Concerts You've Enjoyed

    Living in Chicago, I'm fortunate to hear Esteban Batallan regularly. The principal trumpet chair at the CSO is named for the legendary Adolph (Bud) Herseth. Esteban is a worthy successor to Bud Herseth. He was pleased when I said that to him at a dinner last year.
  2. R

    Recent Concerts You've Enjoyed

    Hrůša, CSO deliver a season highlight with bracing central European works https://chicagoclassicalreview.com/2024/03/hrusa-cso-deliver-a-season-highlight-with-bracing-central-european-works/ The violinist's encore was stunning.
  3. R

    Ron Resnick Launches Audio Cafe LLC, a New Clarisys Audio Dealer

    How will you get the Pendragon "all squared away" with the Clarisys speakers in front of them?
  4. R

    Recent Concerts You've Enjoyed

    I like the perspective of the orchestra from your seats. How does the sound compare to other seats you've had at Disney?
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    Steinway & Sons Spirio Self-Playing Piano

    Wonderful memories! In 50 years of attending concerts and operas in Chicago, I especially remember Jon Vickers in Peter Grimes, a concert version of Salome with Birgit Nilsson and Georg Solti, and more recently, recitals by Evgeny Kissin.
  6. R

    Anthony Cordesman RIP

    PS Audio: https://www.psaudio.com/blogs/pauls-posts/in-memorium
  7. R

    Anthony Cordesman RIP

    Stereophile: https://www.stereophile.com/content/high-end-audio-writer-anthony-h-cordesman-passes
  8. R

    Idagio Classical Music website streaming

    I have not gotten into streaming music yet. This seems like a very good option for those of us primarily interested in classical music. https://www.idagio.com/us/music-streaming/
  9. R

    Maestro

    Leonard Bernstein Deserved Better Than ‘Maestro’ https://quillette.com/2024/01/16/leonard-bernstein-deserved-better-than-maestro/
  10. R

    Are you an audiophile or a music lover?

    An amazing amount of effort, time and money that Ken Fritz invested. It's so sad that ALS robbed him of many years of enjoying the music. But I think he enjoyed every minute of building his dream system.
  11. R

    Maestro

    Perhaps it should have been titled "Lenny, Felicia and the Boys". I've read Jamie's book "Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein", so no big surprises in the film. As someone who enjoys his music and recordings, I was disappointed in the emphasis on his personal life instead of...
  12. R

    Natural Sound

    The Rockford Symphony is still in business! https://www.rockfordsymphony.com/ I heard them a time or two in the 80s(?) at the Coronado Theater - now the Coronado Performing Arts Center. However by that time I had been thoroughly spoiled by listening to the Chicago Symphony, so ....
  13. R

    Natural Sound

    The Gallery seats are pretty much unchanged from the Solti era. The hall had a significant renovation since then - stage expanded, "terrace" seating behind the orchestra and glass reflector added, etc. I grew up in Rockford and have been a CSO full season subscriber since 1971. As you might...
  14. R

    Natural Sound

    This is my normal view of the Chicago Symphony from the Gallery in Orchestra Hall. I like to be able to SEE all of the musicians. (I use a 10x monocular from time to time.) I really don't like main floor seats, but they are excellent for concerts with a vocal or string soloist.
  15. R

    Ethics of Switching Seats at a Classical Concert

    At Orchestra Hall in Chicago the Gallery (the topmost level) is all one price except for the last row. It's a little cheaper since the elevation from the previous row is about half the normal. Result: a compromised view. But almost everyone who buys those seats stays there even though there are...
  16. R

    Videos of Acoustically-Coupled Audio Recordings

    Carlos, thanks for posting these two "remastered" versions. While I only have very modest speakers, and the tracks are not volume level matched to the YouTube clip I posted, I do not find either of them to be an improvement. Enjoy your systems and remastering methods!
  17. R

    Videos of Acoustically-Coupled Audio Recordings

    That looks like the right version. Note that the commercial release may very well have been recorded at a different time and location. But that's not likely to matter very much. I heard Hilary Hahn last May at Orchestra Hall in Chicago doing the Sarasate Carmen Fantasy. Very nice! I was going...
  18. R

    Videos of Acoustically-Coupled Audio Recordings

    Yes indeed. Here's a Hilary Hahn video on YouTube. It sounds like a real violin on my modest speakers. Hilary Hahn - J.S. Bach: Partita for Violin Solo No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002 ----
  19. R

    Videos of Acoustically-Coupled Audio Recordings

    I prefer the first video (1:20)
  20. R

    Videos of Acoustically-Coupled Audio Recordings

    With $25 Radio Shack desktop speakers, I should not really comment, but... I was not impressed. I regularly attend the Chicago Symphony with soloists such as Hilary Hahn, so I know what a good violin sounds like.
  21. R

    Leonard Bernstein and the Israeli Philharmonic

    Thanks for the link, Marty. I found the film quite interesting. I've seen several of Hershey Felder's films biographical films and attended one or two of his live performances.
  22. R

    Do Quads wear out "all at once"?

    My Quad 57 pair blew up a Dynaco Stereo 120 in about 1970. I then happily used the Quad 303 for years with the 57. In 1999, the 57 pair found a new home with a friend who then had quad Quads.
  23. R

    Recent Concerts You've Enjoyed

    I had the rare opportunity on Thursday to hear the "dress" rehearsal of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the CSO conducted by Riccardo Muti. His last concerts as Music Director. (Named Music Director Emeritus for Life on Friday night.) Wonderful and sound and visuals from the Box K. See attached...
  24. R

    Ron’s New System

    The photo below shows a view from a seat that I would choose. Review: The Philharmonic Journeys From Ocean to Desert The orchestra’s final program of the season featured the New York premiere of John Luther Adams’s “Become Desert.” By Joshua Barone June 9, 2023...
  25. R

    Ron’s New System

    The people attending classical concerts have different preferences or reasons for buying specific seats. Which is very good for ticket sales! My top criteria is to be able to SEE each instrument in the orchestra, and get some of its direct sound, not blocked by anything else. That generally...
  26. R

    Ron’s New System

    For one, last row orchestra vs first row orchestra. I thought that the last row would be a better overall acoustic experience. Of course the music performed in the two concerts you mentioned are radically different.
  27. R

    Ron’s New System

    Ron, This may not be the right thread, but... I think you were planning to hear the Mozart Jupiter symphony at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this last weekend. If so,your thoughts?
  28. R

    More Consensus That Streaming Is An Inferior Format & Not High End?

    Thanks for the link to an interesting essay. I attend 30+ Chicago Symphony concerts, about 10 operas and 8 piano recitals each year. I have turned in my audiophile card.
  29. R

    Location, Location, Location....

    Here are two photos from the top of the Gallery in Orchestra Hall, Chicago. I use a 10x monocular to view the piano keyboard.
  30. R

    Location, Location, Location....

    I've never had the opportunity to compare various seats in the Lower Balcony. Any place I've been sounded very good. I think the critics generally had seats a few rows up. Some critics have complained about "dry" acoustics quite frequently. What I like most about the LB is the visual aspect...

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