[Harry Lavo]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.









Gotcha!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz?

Not really. Too much good music to snooze. Let's talk music, acoustics,
and recording, shall we?

First up, the Bis recording of the Mendelssohn String Quintets. These are
obviously recorded in what the pros call "a good room". Hard to tell if it
is a studio or not, but I suspect it is. Very little ambiance per se (or of
short enough duration that one is not aware of the "room" per se). But a
very warm, natural sounding recording. The string sound, particularly of
the violas and cello on ths recording are outstanding, as are the dynamics.
Bis is noted for the quality of sound in its SACD's, and this one does not
disappoint. The Quintet #2, which is the better known of the two, ranks
right up there with Brahms, Beethoven, Schuman, and Schubert for
classical-romantic chamber music for this type ensemble. It is in B flat
major and has a "dark" quality it...a formal, serious piece of music. The
lesser known and earlier Qunitet #1 is the airier, more tuneful work. It
has a beautiful Intermezzo as a second movement, the third is a scherzo, and
the fourth, marked "allegro vivace" is just that. In the Scherzo,
Mendelssohn writes a section that literally sounds like a machine gun, with
such explosive and rapid bowing of the cello that it feels like their is
fire aimed in your direction. The Bis recording captures that in glorious
sound...the strings, particularly as I said of the cello and violas, have a
depth, luster, and bite to them that is completely natural to them, without
any of the "edge" that often creeps into digital recording of strings. I've
been privy to listening to and often recording literally dozens upon dozens
of string trios, quartets, and quintets (even a few sextets) and this is as
good as it gets in a commercial medium.

Now we turn to the Channel Classics recording of piano-cello Sonatas. Many
folk think Channel Classics right now to be doing the best job of recording
chamber music of any company...I don't agree as a general statement. I find
many of their recordings have too much "room sound" and they tend to record
in overly bright, live venues. The same is true of this recording of the
Shastokovich-Prokofiev-Britten Sonatoas...but not to the same degree. Of
all the Channel Classics I own, this IMO is the best sounding. Both piano
and cello are beautifully captured with a natural acoustic and ambience
surrounding them...obviously recorded on location in a church, as Channel
Classics tend to be. The piano in particular has the upper end "clang" of a
large Steinway with none of the shrillness or grating edge that many
recordings have. My friend Barbara plays a nine-foot Steinway at home as
well as in concert, and I know the sound well in a variety of settings.
This is a really good recording of a Steinway in concert. The Shastakovich
and Prokofiev are wonderful pieces, IMO. In fact, Shatakovich's chamber
music is my absolute favorite of all composers...and I like his chamber
works even more than his symphonies and larger scale work. The D Minor
Sonata on this disk is a moving, urgent, inventive piece and draws a
wonderful performance from these two young men. The Prokofiev Sonata in C
Major is a mellow piece...one of Prokofiev's quietest chamber works....but
full of his usual invention. I admit an undue fondness for Prokofiev...his
Love for Three Oranges Suite (Pittsurgh Symphony, Steinberg) was one of the
first two classical recordings I bought for myself as a teenager (Strauss's
Der Rosenkavelier was the other). And I have a fairly decent selection of
this works both large scale and small at this point in my life. And then
there is the Britten. Enough said.

In my estimation, chamber music is an even greater "fit" to multichannel
sound than orchestral music. The very best orchestral recordings tend to
knock down the walls, but five channels is barely enough to really simulate
a large venue. On the other hand, five speakers and the intimacy of a
living room or listening room are a much more natural environment for
chamber music, and the "gap" between recorded sound and room sound is
narrower, so the recordings develop a "they are here" inimacy when well
recorded that is really captivating. The "holographic" sound stage that is
so difficult to create in a multi-purpose listening environment with stereo
is relatively easy to create with multichannel.

So, last night I had a concert....

I agree with Shhhh! and Arny that everything else being equal, a live
performance of chamber music in a wonderful setting really is "something
better". But short of that, being able to recreate that environment in the
home, when the opportunity and mood are right, as happened for me last
night, is a wonderful thing. When I think back to the very beginning of the
Hi-Fi Era (and I was there in the early '50's) it amazes and delights me
that now, within one man's lifetime, I can be treated to music that is so
close to "being there".

I'm not sure it really does get better than this.