tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post1369382659855787992..comments2024-03-26T15:57:13.443+00:00Comments on On An Overgrown Path: Today's classical music is compressed in every wayUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-4442002448673478762016-11-02T11:36:12.975+00:002016-11-02T11:36:12.975+00:00Although no longer a geeky "audiophile",...Although no longer a geeky "audiophile", I do think that sound quality is very important with notated music. This is especially true with, for example, solo piano which I understand is very difficult to capture well. Some early Naxos solo piano recordings were awful, but producers such as Erik Smith of Philips managed great sonics with many of Mitsuko Uchida's Mozart and Schubert discs back in the 1980s and 1990s. Interestingly, many of these old "quad" recordings have been successfully remastered by Polyhymnia and released by Pentatone on SACD as were, some years ago, many Mercury and Living Stereo recordings.<br /><br />Now, my 53-year old ears just are not what they were 20 or 30 years ago, but I can hear a clear improvement from SACD discs via a recently acquired end-of-line Denon CD/SACD player. It is such a shame that SACD is becoming harder to replay (and I only listen in 2-channel stereo, by the way, as I have just the two ears) and source. We have the exceptions like BIS and Challenge Classics, but I note Hyperion threw in the towel on SACD some years ago, which is a matter of much regret.<br /><br />Had more labels followed the lead given by Alia Vox and produced sumptuous SACD discs, well-packaged and with decent notes, we would, I think, have been blessed and sales might have been better than expected.<br /><br />It won't happen now, of course, as the "major" labels merely wish to churn out mega boxes of old recordings that sit and glower in the corner.MarkAMeldonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09635592193850567632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-37731200058762157452016-11-02T11:21:34.303+00:002016-11-02T11:21:34.303+00:00Good point about Karajan Antoine, thank you for ma...Good point about Karajan Antoine, thank you for making it.<br /><br />http://www.overgrownpath.com/2009/08/when-sound-really-mattered.htmlPliablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10616598845886342325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-86501244151728637602016-11-02T10:43:17.667+00:002016-11-02T10:43:17.667+00:00Actullly, in this respect, Karakan also understood...Actullly, in this respect, Karakan also understood the importance of the medium as a message.<br /><br />These days, Karajan's and Stokowski's style have made them out of fashion but who has taken their place to be speak and reach out ?<br /><br />Best from London (where I saw Shostakovitch's Dadaist the Nose yesterday in a packed Covent Garden, much to my surprise).Antoine Leboyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14027811769393725415noreply@blogger.com