Whats on your turntable tonight?

"Images Galantes de la Renaissance"
-- l'ensemble Polyphonia Antiqua (Pierre Verany PV4791)

Schubert, "Piano Sonata in B Flat, Opus Posth., D. 960"
-- Leonard Shure, Piano (Audiofon 2010)

Debussy, "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun"
Stravinsky, "Firebird Suite (1910)"
-- Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic
(Sheffield Lab 24, Direct-to-Disk)

Best regards,
-- Al

Nice records for today's listening, Al. Love 'em!

Happy 4th of July to all
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Neil Young Official Release Series Discs 1-4

07-04-11: Rushton
Nice records for today's listening, Al. Love 'em!

Thanks, Rush. Yes, all three are wonderful recordings, musically and sonically. Among a great many things that could be praised about them, two small specifics were so striking to me that I must single them out for mention:

1)In the Firebird Suite, the transition from Berceuse to Finale was absolutely magical, due to a combination of Leinsdorf's conducting and the crystal clarity that was maintained by the recording as the volume of the music descended to a near whisper, before building up beautifully.

2)Although the sonics of the Renaissance recording were outstanding in pretty much every respect, I particularly found the sonics of the drum to have been captured with definition that is simply amazing.

Best regards,
-- Al

Al, I'm glad to hear of someone else valuing this Leinsdorf/Sheffield LP. It is underrated, imo. I often hear it disregarded precisely because it so accurately captures the dry acoustic of the recording stage. Audiophiles are expecting the lush acoustics of the Concertgebouw or Vienna. Instead they get the dry non-reverberant acoustics of a large movie sound stage and don't know what to make of the sound. That acoustic environment contributes nicely to the crystal clarity of this recording - not necessary pretty, but you sure can hear everything that's happening.

The Pierre Verany recordings are typically marvelous and the "Images Galantes de la Renaissance" is certainly one of their best sonic efforts. I wish I had more of this label's recordings in my collection.
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