Topic: WINDING DOWN, LOOKING UP (Read 3715 times)

Amusingly, the packages showed up about an hour after I got off the phone with Amazon and the USPS - coincidence? I think the USPS woman told us all kinds of untruths, got the driver on the phone or spoke to him and had him go back to the UPS store. So, I got everything and spent the evening listening to everything or mostly everything.

TCB · « **Reply #140 on:** December 15, 2016, 10:10:32 PM »

I guess I missed the story behind George's umbrella. What makes this umbrella special?

bk · « **Reply #141 on:** December 15, 2016, 10:14:58 PM »

One of the things I got, a 2-CD set of Bernard Herrmann's Phase 4 albums remastered on the Eloquence series - the Hitchcock one and the British film music one (which has one additional track from his Shakespeare album) - I used to love these Phase 4 Herrmann records, but hearing them now? They're so dry - there's no air at all - it's amazing to hear, actually. Of course everything is close-miked and in an airless studio, which is the problem. But a little natural verb on these and it would be a whole different story. I may send a couple of these tracks to my engineer - have him put our favored verb on them, and then let people contrast and compare - purists, of course, will want exactly what was released, but we know how that went for the original Follies cast album vs. the remix we did. That said, these remasterings are better than any of the many CD releases these two albums have had, and I have every one of the incarnations. Some of the obnoxious shrillness of the album masters has been smoothed over so that sounds better, and it's just a better sound overall. Happy to have gotten this no matter the problems inherent in the recording itself. It does sound like you're standing on the podium with Mr. Herrmann. A little bit of space, that's all you need.

bk · « **Reply #142 on:** December 15, 2016, 10:18:17 PM »

I also got the Ashkenazy Rachmaninov set - these are the MOST raved about recordings and, of course, they are all my least favorites. They're not bad, but I don't love the sound, and the performances are not as interesting as any of the others I've been hearing - in fact, this is the first recording of the second symphony that I could live without - the others all have their interest. Well, not quite true - another raved about recording that was actually given away for free with the BBC Music magazine is absolutely horrible - far away sound, no detail, no feeling, no nothing. Back on the shelf it went and out of iTunes it went. And I got some concert music by Mrs. William Alwyn, Doreen Carwithen, since I'd enjoyed her film music so much - and these pieces, a piano concerto and assorted others, are wonderful.

bk · « **Reply #143 on:** December 15, 2016, 10:19:44 PM »

I also listened to Paul Paray's Rachmaninov second, one of those Mercury Living Presence things from the 1950s - good clean sound, but again a very dry acoustic which does not serve anything well. It's a wonderful performance though, and the detail in the orchestration is so clear that I heard things I haven't heard before, inner lines that are really lovely.

bk · « **Reply #144 on:** December 15, 2016, 10:22:04 PM »

Also, William Steinberg conducting Robert Russell Bennett's lovely symphonic poems on Stephen Foster and Jerome Kern.

bk · « **Reply #145 on:** December 15, 2016, 10:22:15 PM »

In other words, lots o' music.

TCB · « **Reply #146 on:** December 15, 2016, 10:22:43 PM »

Welcome, 2 Guests!

TCB · « **Reply #147 on:** December 15, 2016, 10:23:17 PM »

Have you ever eaten meatball salad?

Jane · « **Reply #148 on:** December 15, 2016, 10:28:50 PM »

Quote from: John G. on December 15, 2016, 07:33:03 PM

All kinds of Christmas cookies, including cinnamon stars, Russian teacakes, chocolate surprise cookies, cream cheese cookies and Springerle.

Yum!

Jane · « **Reply #149 on:** December 15, 2016, 10:29:48 PM »

Quote from: TCB on December 15, 2016, 09:57:24 PM

Quote from: John G. on December 15, 2016, 07:32:06 PM
I don't need candy. Mom sent a box with probably 20 dozen cookies in it.

Apparently you missed the note from your mother, that half of the cookies were supposed to be for me.

😊

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Author Topic: WINDING DOWN, LOOKING UP (Read 3715 times)