Re: Levine/Chicago Symphony Brahms AMAZING!!!

That's good to know, the Basic First sounds bright (even to my ancient ears)
and constricted, being unpleasant to sit through. <

This afternoon, I listened to the Basic 100 CD (RCA 09026-61715) all
the way through, after which I put on the LP (RCA ARL 1-1326) for
comparison, hearing again only mvts. 3 and 4. Both required slightly
revised settings on my audio equipment, including an add-on EQ, the
latter set to a curve like this: ≈ . (That's the closest I can come to
it with a keyboard. I hope it survives the voyage through ASCII...)
The settings for my McIntosh MA6900 integrated amplifier are listed
below:


RCA 100 CD RCA ARL LP

L - 9:00 L - 9:00
LM - 10:00 LM - 9:00 *
M - 9:30 M - 9:00 *
UM - 8:00 UM - 9:00 *
H - 7:00 H - 10:00 *

Volume 2:00 Volume 1:30

I must explain that my settings are for a large listening room with
boomy bass and somewhat peaked treble. (vaulted ceiling, hardwood
floor...) The CD and the LP both have a kind of "in your face"
quality, by which I mean that the perspective is all left-to-right and
not front-to-back. The highs on the CD, especially the strings, have a
great amount of digital "glare", not heard on the LP. In general, the
LP sounds a lot better than the CD, the strings responding better to
my settings. (Note that all settings are below 12:00, or "flat".
That's just the way my listening room is...) I do like the snappy
clarity of the pizzicato strings in the finale, and the little
pianissimo taps of the timpani in the intro to mvt.4 are heard clearly
as well. Levine paces the performance very well, but the "chorale"
theme in the finale fails to thrill as it should. (In my experience,
the real thrill at that point is in the old and long-unavailable Am.
Decca recording with Wallenstein and the LAPO -- alas, I don't have
it...) --E.A.C.


On Jan 27, 3:58 pm, "Norman M. Schwartz" <n...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Steve de Mena" <st...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in messagenews:CNGdnZ9oTbxBaQHanZ2dnUVZ_smnnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Russ and/or Martha Oppenheim wrote:
"Norman M. Schwartz" <n...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:479b75b5$0$11581$607ed4bc@xxxxxxxxx
Does the #1 on this Japanese release sound any more "AMAZING!!!" than
its
counterpart on the RCA Basic 100 (61715)?

. . .the back of whose whose booklet touted "other great Brahms
recordings
from RCA Victor" including Basic 100 Volume 31: Brahms Symphonies Nos. 3
& 4
[sic] (09026-61849-2/4). The CD was actually issued with Brahms 3 and
Schumann 1 (Levine/Phila). The Levine/CSO Brahms 2 & 4 have never been
available commercially in the US.

Russ (not Martha)

The Brahms 3 on the Japanese reissue sounds better than the "Basic 100"
release, as if it were sourced from a master tape versus one 1-2
generations away.

That's good to know, the Basic First sounds bright (even to my ancient ears)
and constricted, being unpleasant to sit through.

Steve

.

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