Hi-Rez Highway: Great - We can have Dueling Reviews! by Chris from Lafayette New high resolution SACD releases, players and technology.

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Posted by Chris from Lafayette ( A ) on July 19, 2005 at 23:16:26

In Reply to: umm yeah... my experience is completley reverse of yours... posted by danny kaey on July 19, 2005 at 20:55:36:

Needless to say (considering my previous posts), I agree with Teresa on this recording and on the Mahler 5 in the Water Lily St Petersburg series. (Haven't heard the Shostakovitch.)

In the meantime, consider this: in the producer's notes for the Mehta / NY Phil recording of Mahler's Fifth Symphony on Teldec, Max Wilcox states: "The orchestration of Mahler's Fifth Symphony is a study in contrasts, ranging from a string quartet in the third movement to the enormous climaxes of the finale. We needed a space which would yield both clarity and the sense of depth and openness so vital to Mahler's music. A concert hall would seem to be the obvious choice, yet we learned by experience that the early sound reflections from the rear of the stage favor the projection of the brass and percussion thus causing problems with the strings and winds."

To my ears, this is exactly what has happened in the Water Lily recording of Mahler's Fifth. It's all well and good to use a minimal microphone technique, but you have to position the mikes in the right place, or you'll end up with the mal-adjusted balance described by Wilcox.

By the way, Wilcox apparently used (8) microphones for the Mehta recording - I'd guess that's on the low side, compared to most recordings of this work these days. I don't think he was entirely successful however - the Teldec recording lacks definition and bite (too much reflected sound). But at least the balance among the orchestral sections on the Mehta recording is realistic (unless our reference point is from the cheap seats way in the back of the hall!).

-Chris Salocks

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