On 100 th birthday of Henryk Szeryng DG reissue of beautiful 3xLP limited and numbered edition , still available for around 60 euro.
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What are you currently listening to (Classical)?
- Thread starter Bachtoven
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The arm on your TT looks similar to what i had when i was still using a TT...
Mine is a Forsell air bearing arm of the frist generation as i still have it somewhere...
Mine is a Forsell air bearing arm of the frist generation as i still have it somewhere...
Hello Andrew,
You are correct, the original two channel master tape itself was copied many times and these copies were used in mass high speed tape duplication processes which were then packaged and sold. It is possible to find the same performance duplicated by different companies (in this case Bel Canto and Ampex) with slightly different packaging and fidelity.
In those days the art of editing was done with grease pencil, razor blade, editing block and splicing tape mechanically with the tape itself. The skill of those early craftsmen and women is amazing to say the least. I hope you have the opportunity to hear a well made prerecorded tape soon.
Cheers!
You are correct, the original two channel master tape itself was copied many times and these copies were used in mass high speed tape duplication processes which were then packaged and sold. It is possible to find the same performance duplicated by different companies (in this case Bel Canto and Ampex) with slightly different packaging and fidelity.
In those days the art of editing was done with grease pencil, razor blade, editing block and splicing tape mechanically with the tape itself. The skill of those early craftsmen and women is amazing to say the least. I hope you have the opportunity to hear a well made prerecorded tape soon.
Cheers!
Listened to this magnificent vintage LP in the music room of a friend yesterday.
Both the sonics and interpretation are memorable.
Afterward I asked my friend and was told that that the current market price was more than usd1k for a mint condition one!
Both the sonics and interpretation are memorable.
Afterward I asked my friend and was told that that the current market price was more than usd1k for a mint condition one!
Swedish Naxos release. Picture being enveloped by aurora borealis on a warm Spring evening instead of orchestral fireworks. A magnetic calm far removed from electricity in the air.
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When I was interviewing Decca recording engineers for my Decca book back in 2013 and 2014, they said that the best thing about changing to digital recording was the ease of editing. One of them told me that he could hear in the LP every edit he did on every recording he engineered. If you buy or see a pro tape machine that came out of a recording studio, you can usually see all the marks from the razor blade cuts on the splicing blocks. Decca was a bit unusual in that when recording with multiple mikes which fed a multichannel mixer, they would mix the tracks onto the 2 track tape machine in real time, so that they did not have a 16 or 24 track tape that they would later remix (highlighting the flute or french horn for example). What you got in the recording studio the day of the session was the product of that day's work. Obviously this was for classical recordings, so there is a real sense of instruments in a real space in the finished recording.
Quick story about edits. When Alicia de Larrocha, the famed Spanish pianist was being recorded in a London area studio by Decca, they finished the session, with all the various takes, and Alicia went back to Spain. When they played back the tapes to choose the best takes for the final master tape, they discovered she had missed a note in one of the pieces, and they did not have a backup take that covered the error. So they packed up all their recording equipment and went back to the studio, this time without Alicia. However, one of the engineers was a competent pianist and they had him play that note every way they could think of. They did get a good match and that note was the one they edited into the final master tape. The engineer, of course, didn't get credit in the album for his one note contribution.
Larry
One of the great sonic advantages of today's tape duplication at 15ips 2 track is that the duplication is all done in real time, so the tapes you buy from Chad or Tape Project or any commercial company are in real time, inslead of the old high speed ( I think up to 24x) duplication.) It is quite amazing that some many of these older tapes sound as good as they do. That, as well as moving to 4 track stereo tapes which used half of the tape of 2 track tapes (and both sides were duplicated at the same time - half of the tape recorded the music backwards) and the eventual move of many pop and a few classical tapes to 3.75iips from 7.5ips were done to save money. Tape continues to be much more expensive as a medium than vinyl and even high speed duplication is not as fast as a record press (or digital).
Larry
Larry
Absolutely! A stunning recording and transfer by Bob Witrak's HDTT. It was recorded in 1956! at a live concert at Carnegie Hall. The original is actually a Westminster 7.5ips 2 track tape (copied I believe in real time) by Sonotape. I have Bob Witrak's DSD256 which is one of the very best digital albums I have. He first released it in 96/24, one of his earlier releases, but as his duplication equipment has improved, you can hear the quality of the best hirez formats. Bob has been on the leading edge of releasing hirez files. He was among the first to release DSD, and has been doing native DSD256 transfers as well as DXD352 transfers. If you are a fan of classical and jazz and want to get really close to the sound of 2 track tape (both 15ips and early 7.5ips), HDTT is the place to go. He has sales around holidays and currently there is a Father's Day sale (so if you are a father, grandfather, or have ever thought about being a father treat yourself to some of his rips).
After being introduced to this stunning recording by HDTT, I actually found a copy of the tape (quite a bit pricier than HDTT). It is spectacular. I'm not great with my new iphone and genius scan - the cover is actually red orange with a gold label.
Larry
This is a great set. I have three versions of this. The original LP's, the 7.5ips 4 track stereo commercial tapes, and a 15ips 2 track set of dubs of the master tapes (production or safety). Unfortunately, the 15ips 2 track dub was done a bit carelessly and the tape of the 2nd sonata and partita ends about 1 1/2 minutes short of the end of the partita (the end of the famous and fabulous Chaconne, one of Bach's greatest compositions). Neither the vinyl nor the tape is as good sound quality as the tape. I may just buy the new records to be able to record the last 90 seconds of the Chaconne to splice onto the tape.
BTW, I just read in wiki that Szeryng's tombstone has the concluding measures of the Chaconne inscribed on it (the end of the part that is missing from my tape!) Szeryng's life is quite fascinating - worth a read in wiki. A teaser: Born in Poland, trained in Berlin and Paris, Szeryng became a citizen of Mexico because of his efforts in WWII.
Larry
Larry, thanks for continuing to make this place What's Best.
I have a boxed set of Bernstein's earlier Mahler series with the New York Philharmonic, done through the '60's for Columbia. Bernstein did the first complete Mahler series on record and was, along with Mahler's former assistant Bruno Walter, largely responsible for the reinvigoration of Mahler in the US (and maybe the world). This is album is part of his second series, this time on digital with the Vienna Philharmonic, with whom he also did the complete Beethoven symphonies, also on vinyl. I don't know this set, but in the earlier recordings, you can hear Bernstein's great passion with Mahler, I think a kindred spirit to Bernstein. Both were composer-conductors, eminent in both fields, both were music directors of the New York Philharmonic, and both were of Jewish heritage, but, I believe, non-practicing.Listened to this magnificent vintage LP in the music room of a friend yesterday.
Both the sonics and interpretation are memorable.
Afterward I asked my friend and was told that that the current market price was more than usd1k for a mint condition one!
View attachment 79206
Larry
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