Sensible Sound articles from August 2007

Sensible Sound archives from August 2007

Ramblings.(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... Preview: ETF Acoustic RPlusD room measurement software (www.etfacoustic.com) The ETF 5 measurement system has been instrumental in many of my TSS reviews on speakers and electronic equalizers. A reasonable starting point to use this...

A trouble with orchestras.(FORUM)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I cannot seem to get a reply from the San Francisco Symphony or its producer of the Mahler recordings. I am referring to the letter to the editor by R.H. Baldwin in issue 111. Perhaps you or one of your reviewers can clear up this question ...

Dear Mr. Rich.(FORUM)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I greatly enjoy your articles greatly, despite not being able to follow all the byways of electrical engineering. But, I have a couple of comments: 1: You seem very much against toe-ing speakers because it emphasizes high frequencies at...

Gary Lea's CES review--high end and T.H.E. show.(Consumer Electronics Show 2007)
August 1, 2007... So here we are with another year at CES. Time to fight the hordes again. To be honest I was not all that enthused about going to CES this year. Gone are the days that the idea of being able to wander around room after room of audiodom's latest...

T$S.(CES 2007)(Conference notes)
August 1, 2007... It was the 40th anniversary of the Consumer Electronics Show. To emphasize that fact, the CES provided alumni ribbons that attendees could attach to their ID badges. Mine (self-selected, the show doesn't keep detailed records) read "30+ YEARS."...

Velodyne Digital Drive DD-10 subwoofer.(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... Manufacturer: Velodyne Acoustics, Inc., 345 Digital Drive, Morgan Hill, CA 95037; www.velodyne.com Price: $2,499 (list); $1,999 (street) Source: Manufacturer Loan Reviewer: Gregory Koster You need to do three things to be a...

Yamaha RX-V2700 7.1 channel network home theater receiver.(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... Manufacturer: Yamaha Electronics Corp., 6660 Orangethorpe Avenue, Buena Park, CA 90620; (714) 522-9105 http://www.yamaha.com/yec/ Price: $1699 Source: Manufacturer Loan Reviewer: David A. Rich Manufacturer's...

Hsu Research HB-1 Bookshelf speaker system.(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2007... Manufacturer: Hsu Research, 3160 E. La Palma Avenue, #D, Anaheim, CA 92806; (800) 554-0150; www.hsuresearch.com Price: $129.00 Source: Manufacturer Loan Reviewer: Howard Ferstler This is the second satellite speaker package...

More jazz than not.(THE MUSIC)(Bach: Goldberg Variations)(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... Bach: Goldberg Variations (arranged for String Trio by Dmitry Sitkovetsky) Julian Rachlin, violin/Nobuko Imai, viola/Mischa Maisky, cello (Deutsche Grammophon 477 6378) It is hard to think of the Goldberg Variations without thinking of the...

Double double.(THE MUSIC)(Ludwig van Beethoven, Nos. 3 and 4)(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... For this issue, Tom Lyle and I have decided to compare two recordings of two piano concertos of Ludwig van Beethoven, Nos. 3 and 4.. Both are lower-priced releases that feature big names. From Sony Classical, we have legendary pianist Leon...

Carousel corner.(THE MUSIC)(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... Every once in a while one simply stumbles across something which, in spite of one's efforts to stay "on top" of events, releases, and trends--the self-anointed tasks of all critics, that fills a gap in musical or cultural history, offers an...

Vinylla fudge.(THE MUSIC)(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... Hindemith: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Mozart: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 3 in G Major (K. 216) Joseph Fuchs, violin/London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Eugene Gossens, Everest/Classic SBDR 3040 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9,...

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3.(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3. Mikhail Pletnev, piano; Christian Gansch, Russian National Orchestra. DG 477 6415. Very, very good. Late in 2006 pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev embarked on an ambitious project: To record...

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4.(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... Bruckner: Symphony No. 4. Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. EM10946 3 84723 2. Like most conductors and record companies, Sir Simon Rattle and EMI continue to record most of their new material live. I suppose it has to do with...

Cherubini: Symphony in D major, Medee, Faniska, Lodoiska overtures.(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... Cherubini: Symphony in D major; Medee, Faniska, Lodoiska overtures. Piero Bellugi, Orchestre Sinfonica di Sanremo. Naxos 8.557908. If you are like me, you may think of Luigi Cherubini as an eighteenth-century classical composer, whose major...

Elgar: Orchestral Miniatures.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Elgar: Orchestral Miniatures. James Judd, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.557577. For listeners used to hearing only Sir Edward Elgar's big orchestral works--the First and Second Symphonies, the Pomp and Circumstance marches, the...

FIM Super Sounds! III. A Musical Celebration of Sonic Wonders.(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... FIM Super Sounds! III. A Musical Celebration of Sonic Wonders. FIM XR24 073. OK, call it showing off, if you will. First Impression Music producer Winston Ma has put together another collection of materials remastered through meticulous...

Liszt: Symphonic Poems, Vol. 3.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Liszt: Symphonic Poems, Vol. 3. Michael Halasz, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Naxos 8.557846. Franz Liszt wrote thirteen tone poems, and conductor Michael Halasz seems intent on recording all of them for Naxos. This is the third volume...

Mahler: Symphony No. 9.(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... Mahler: Symphony No. 9. Daniel Barenboim, Staatskapelle Berlin. Warner Classics 2564 64316-2. Another Mahler Ninth. The man's continuing popularity goes unrestrained, probably because he offers so much, from the subtle to the grandiose,...

More Decca Originals: Adam: Giselle.(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... More Decca Originals: Adam: Giselle. Karajan, VPO (Decca 475 7507). Dvorak: Symphonies 8 & 9. Kertesz, LSO (Decca 475 7517). Mahler: Symphony No. 8. Solti, CSO (Decca 475 7521). Decca are continuing to reissue some of their best old...

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 12 and 17.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 12 and 17. Alfred Bendel, piano; Sir Charles Mackerras, Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Philips B0006594-02. This title is virtually self-recommending. You've got one of the world's preeminent pianists, Alfred...

Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik; Divertimento in D; others.(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik; Divertimento in D; others. Concerto Koln. Archiv 00289 477 5800. Over the past two decades or more, I have come to respect and in some cases love the performances of period-instruments bands. But it does...

Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 40 and 41 "Jupiter"; Final Ballet from Idomeneo.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 40 and 41 "Jupiter"; Final Ballet from Idomeneo. Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre. Archiv Production B0006506-02. Anyone wishing to own a recording of Mozart's final two symphonies played on period...

The Never-Ending Waltz.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... The Never-Ending Waltz. Erich Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Telarc CD-80668. Every album has to have a gimmick these days. With Telarc's The Never-Ending Waltz the deal is to string together snippets of famous waltzes into a...

Orff: Carmina Burana Suite; Bird: Serenade; Reed: La Fiesta Mexicana.(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... Orff: Carmina Burana Suite; Bird: Serenade; Reed: La Fiesta Mexicana. Harlan D. Parker, the Peabody Conservatory Wind Ensemble. Naxos 8.570242. My first thought before listening to this disc was how the already rowdy Carmina Burana would...

Purcell: Music for Queen Mary.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Purcell: Music for Queen Mary. Choir of King's College, Cambridge; Stephen Cleobury, Academy of Ancient Music. EMI 0946 3 44438 2. The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, has been recording some wonderful music for many, many years, and...

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Borodin: Symphony No. 2.(Sound recording review)
August 1, 2007... Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Borodin: Symphony No. 2. Kiril Kondrashin, Concertgebouw Orchestra. Philips 475 7570. Recorded in 1979, Kondrashin's performance of Scheherazade is one of my four favorites in this work, the others being...

Saint-Saens: Organ Symphony; Poulenc: Organ Concerto.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Saint-Saens: Organ Symphony; Poulenc: Organ Concerto. Peter Hurford, organ; Charles Dutoit, Orchestre symphonique de Montreal; * Philharmonia Orchestra. Decca Originals 475 7728. It seemed to me that Dutoit just recorded this Saint-Saens...

Satie: 3 Gymnopedies & Other Piano Works.(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Satie: 3 Gymnopedies & Other Piano Works. Pascal Roge, piano. Decca Originals B0006393-02. Erik Satie (1866-1925) wrote mainly solo piano music, and most of his best material can easily fit on a single disc. Of the single-disc collections...