Music
Bay Area Audiophiles Wowed by APL and Yarlung
Lysy on Yarlung
It was just one of those days where everything seemed to click.
At 8AM yesterday, a 3-car caravan descended on West Valley College in Saratoga. We were met by a smiling Gerard Carter of the Music department, and we started unloading the gear and setting up. We had the gear assembled, room redecorated (chairs and tables moved), and music playing by 9AM.
We spent an hour dialing in speaker positions and the like. Alex Paychev of APL Hi-fi liked what he was hearing – a good sign. So did Doug Olsen, who had graciously contributed some of the gear. Just after 10AM, Bob Attiyeh of Yarlung Records landed at SJC, and was picked up by member Andrej Sali.
In fact, just about the only thing that went wrong was a formatting error on one of my hard drives. The drive wasn’t needed anyway. Oh, and the founder of a famous audio webzine couldn’t find the place.
APL UA-S4
And then came the music. And things got even better. About 50 BAAS members listened for hours to great music, carefully recorded and produced, and rendered beautifully by the APL DAC-S and accompanying amps and speakers. And just when we thought things couldn’t go any batter, we were treated to some tracked on the über alles $30K+ APL NWO Universal Player/USB DAC. Nice. Very.
Along the way, we learned some very interesting things about Bob’s recording techniques, Alex’s design philosophy, and the effects of sampling rate on fidelity.
Special thanks to Bob Attiyeh and Alex Peychev – great stuff!
Bob
NY Times “Top 10″ Classical Composers
Click here for videos and more.
Great intro to the mysteries of classical music.
Delicious – and good karmic offset to tomorrow’s NFL action.
Bob
Benchmark Videos and Free High Resolution Downloads
Benchmark hosts a “young artists in the studio” series on the web site “Masters of Their Day.” It’s excellent.
Not only can you watch the recording process (in 720p), but you can download 24/88. My favorite is #2.
Enjoy,
Bob
“Sorrowful Songs” Composer H. Gorecki Dies
Many audiophiles and music lovers will remember him for his moving “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.”
This 1992 classical piece has enjoyed widespread popularity in both classical and pop circles.
Turn down the lights late at night, cue it up, and tell me you aren’t moved.
My favorite rendition is here (cover at left). The newer Telarc recording is nice too – performed at a bit less lugubrious pace.
Bob
Silverman’s Mastery of Beethoven Continues
- Guest Post by Ori Mizrahi-Shalom -
A week after the first solo concert, Robert Silverman played the second evening of Beethoven sonatas. It was the same place, almost the same people, and I’m glad to say – the same pianist. Just better…
First, arriving at Le Petit Trianon, I had to circle the street several times to find a parking spot. I thought to myself “is this concert series becoming THAT popular?”
In short, no. There turned out to be some big screen and lots of kids on the next street, listening to some shallow speech with ads in the background. What a surreal concept. They could have been all enjoying a great evening of REAL music and outstanding entertainment just thirty seconds away. The sign of our time…
The selection that evening went from elementary to supremely hard. If you know the music, then you probably know what I mean. There was method to the madness, I think.
The first half of the evening was on the light side. Not overly demanding on technique, which requires special “flare” from the pianist to lift it up above the average. Silverman delivered this music with good phrasing and deep emotions. His interpretation of the music sounded to me very personal, the way that now I can identify with his style: thoughtful elegance, playing the fine line between the basic well-phrased theme and the explosive “show off” urge, that he sometimes still succumbs to…
I have no doubt in my mind that this back and forth stylistic contrast will be obvious on the final recordings and in fact I would be disappointed if it didn’t. That’s where the character of the musician shows and where the music takes a life of its own.
The second half of the evening included the more demanding sonata no 22 and the famous Appassionata. I know you’d expect me to rave about the latter and I indeed shall, but not for the obvious reasons.
As I mentioned in my first review, it’s easy to like Silverman with popular music, which the Appassionata surely is. The question is: can you LOVE Silverman playing popular music as such?
Sonata no 22 is quite demanding. Silverman usually plays from memory but for this one he had the sheet music. Tells you something… He ended up dropping a page on the floor and still finished it with striking brilliance. Tells you something… I remember that because at the end he threw a joke “I didn’t need it after all!” This ability to go deep into the music and then “come down to earth” and connect with the audience is what made the event even more special. But then came the finale.
Appassionata is a demanding piece. Silverman did not need the sheet music for it. Perhaps it’s just impossible to read as you play at the intense levels that it demands. Perhaps it’s a testimony to the great familiarity with this music. Whatever it is, the musicianship was brilliant. Such an intense mix of music and outstanding polished technique is not something you witness every day.
I’m sure Silverman does not wish to feel that “spent” every time he plays the piece. You could tell it when he took a long pause after the first movement (and the long cheers) and took the time to wipe his forehead and take a deep breath. Perhaps Beethoven intended for it to be just like this and followed it by a much more relaxed second movement, which was also delivered in a magical way. The third and final movement is definitely another upward climb and was a perfect climax to a superb evening of piano music.
I don’t have to summarize that one because I already did that before writing the first line of this report a week after the event. The last paragraph was written first and it’s most appropriate! The evening of the concert, I sent a short email to Bob Walters:
You should have made it to the concert. I don’t think that I’ll ever in my lifetime hear piano playing at that level. The Appassionata must be Silverman’s favorite piece! What a night!
“Everything is a Remix” – A Very Cool Site
Literate and fun, from Howlin’ Wolf to Led Zep to ???
Click here to go to the blog/site.
Bob
Free Bax/Mahler/Barber Concerts in Sonoma in October
IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SONOMA COUNTY, CA – SEPTEMBER 11, 2010
2010 Sonoma Classical Performance Schedule
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2010 Media Contact: Wallace Breitman
707-939-3683
CYPRESS STRING QUARTET INAUGURATES SEVENTH SEASON OF CLASSICAL MUSIC IN SONOMA ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21
The Sonoma Classical Music Society inaugurates its seventh season of bringing great classical music to Sonoma and the Sonoma Valley when it presents the acclaimed San Francisco based Cypress String Quartet on Sunday, November 21, 2010, at 3:00 pm in Burlingame Hall, 252 West Spain Street, Sonoma. Formed in 1996, the Cypress String Quartet, comprised of Cecily Ward, violin, Tom Stone, violin, Ethan Filner, viola, and Jennifer Kloetzel, cello, is noted for its elegant performances and its sound has been called “beautifully proportioned and powerful. Tickets are $20 for members of the Society, $25 for adults, and $10 for students. They will be available from the Society’s website, www.sonomaclassical.org, Reader’s Books, Pharmaca, and at the door
At the November 21 concert, the Cypress String Quartet will perform Mozart’s String Quartet in C major, K. 465, nicknamed “Dissonant,” the last of the set of six quartets which Mozart dedicated to his friend Franz Joseph Haydn and one of his most famous works; Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet, a set of delightful dances which integrates modernist vocabulary, neoclassical elements, jazz and dance rhythms from a variety of sources and cultures; and Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor, op. 10, premiered in December 1893, influenced by Javanese gamelan music, and based solely on four tones and their relation to one another.
The Cypress is recording the Beethoven late quartets, having released the first of three discs in August 2009 to great acclaim (Gramophone praised it as “revealing artistry of uncommon insight and cohesion.”), with the second disc released in August 2010 and the third scheduled for a 2011 release. The quartet members trained individually at institutions including the Juilliard School, Interlochen Arts Academy, Cleveland Institute of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Royal Academy of Music.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear a superb ensemble perform great classical music live in Sonoma!
The next concert in the Sonoma Classical Music Society’s 2010 – 2011 season will be in January 2011.
About the Sonoma Classical Music Society
The Sonoma Classical Music Society was formed in 2004 with the mission of sponsoring a series of classical music concerts in Sonoma of the highest professional quality. An application for membership in the Sonoma Classical Music Society may be obtained at the website: www.sonomaclassical.org.
Silverman Masterful in Audio High Concert Series
— Guest Post by Ori Mizrahi-Shalom —
Background. Many of us know pianist Robert Silverman through the Stereophile CD projects. In those, Silverman always showed a great mastery of the instrument. His touch is firm and his delivery smooth and powerful.
Prelude: 2009. BAAS members had the opportunity to hear Silverman last year at the Sherman Clay Steinway Store in Santa Clara (also organized by Audio High’s Michael Silver). During that rehearsal gig, I felt that he excelled at the virtuoso pieces, where speed and brilliance coupled with decades of familiarity with the instrument definitely pay dividends. It’s easy to like Silverman with “popular” music! I was less drawn to his interpretation of the more intimate pieces, however, where a musician must connect with the music and the audience by creating the ‘right’ mood and atmosphere. In those, technical qualities take a second place to deep soul-searching. I came out of the session last year not quite satisfied: it left me wanting for something more.
Recital I: September 9th 2010. I know the Le Petit Trianon Theater in San Jose from other concerts. It is a jewel! This 340 seat theater offers superb (!) acoustics. It is 
small enough to enjoy the music from practically every seat in the house but it’s even better when you pick your own… I was disappointed to see so few BAAS members. The theater was far from being full and that is a real pity, especially considering the good cause of raising funds for Stanford Children’s Hospital “rooms of magic” project. Perhaps the Thursday evening timing proved a challenge.
[If you'd like to attend Recital II this Thursday (9/16), let me know. - Bob]
This concert was the first of a planned eight recording sessions encompassing the complete Beethoven piano sonata cycle. There was no soundman on stage, no drama. Just a few microphones and some equipment behind the piano. And a cover on the piano bench to absorb the squeaks…
My Reaction. Silverman showed up more than ready for the challenge.
Like all things in life, music requires a warm up and I found the first two movements to be in that category: decent but not entirely thrilling. But as the evening progressed, things got better and better.
The second sonata was the “highlight” of the evening and it suited Silverman’s style well. The “Waldstein” offers a virtuoso player anything he could wish for, and Silverman stepped beyond mere technical mastery. He added sensitive phrasing and smoothness that I haven’t heard from his previous recordings or the live session last year. It was the kind of music that I was hoping to hear but wasn’t sure I would.
I was delighted to hear music of great elegance, music which meshed delicate interpretation with a brilliant performance. I was for me a moment of musical heaven, and I’d like to believe that most of the audience had recognized the same joy. The cheers at the end of this second sonata left no mistake about that.
After the short intermission the audience was treated to more of the same. Silverman was “in the zone” and continued to deliver the goods. Suffice to say that the second half of the program was even better than the first!
I can sit at home and listen to great recordings on my system and I do enjoy that aspect of my love of music. On the other hand, any time I hear great music performed live by a master of the instrument, I recognize immediately how much the live music is superior to the recorded one. It’s the kind of experience that adds to my appreciation of music and musical arts.
If you got to this point in this article and did not doze off then you must be a music lover yourself. Take my advice and attend some of the follow up sessions. Beethoven sonatas seem to have just the right mix of soul and playfullness that matches Silverman to the tee and the result is pure musical joy. In a sense, Silverman faithfully followed the note for the first movement of sonata no. 28 by the Master himself: somewhat lively with the deepest feeling. Bravo!!!
Yikes! iPod sales down and music follows
As reported in theAge, iPod sales have been on the decline. This is known.
But did you know that sales if (compressed) music downloads parallel that trend?
It turns out that this is no small matter:
The music industry had looked to the iPod to drive people to buy music in download form, whether from Apple’s iTunes music store or from newer competitors such as Amazon. The problem for them is that digital music sales are only growing as fast as those of Apple’s devices.
”At a time where we’re asking if digital is a replacement for the CD, as the CD was for vinyl, we should be starting to see a hockey-stick growth in download sales,” says Mark Mulligan, an analyst at Forrester Research who specialises in music and digital media.
”Instead, we’re seeing a curve resembling that of a niche technology.”
Can Apple’s announcement this week reverse the trend?
Is high-end affected? How?
More on the Beethoven Sonata Series
A Touch of (Audiophile) Class
I received an interesting email today from the founder of CDbaby. It’s worth sharing.
Enjoy:
———————-
Hi Bob - Way back in 2006-2008, you bought some CDs from my store, CD Baby. (SERENITY OF LIFE: Absolution, E.S. POSTHUMUS: Unearthed, and 13 others. Remember?) So you might be interested in my new free projects to help musicians: MusicThoughts: inspiring quotes about music http://musicthoughts.com/c/QiPaA MuckWork: assistants to do your dirty work http://muckwork.com/c/QiPaA Derek Sivers: my personal site, with articles http://sivers.org/c/QiPaA SongTest: a free, open song contest http://songtest.com/c/QiPaA They're all free, open-source, and non-commercial (except MuckWork), so I'm not emailing you for any business reason. But since we've emailed in the past, I thought I should let you know what's new. I sold CD Baby two years ago, so this is the last time you'll hear from me, unless you reply back or click those links. Though if you do reply, please let me know what's going on with you (really!), in case I can help in any way, and to keep this from being a one-sided conversation.Thanks! -- Derek Sivers derek@sivers.org http://sivers.org/c/QiPaA P.S. Why I sold CD Baby and where the money went: http://sivers.org/trust
Colors of Noise: Visualizing Electronica
Beautiful, evocative, and trippy, this vid takes you on an entertaining journey rendered by two German artists.
If you can’t take electronica, try this one instead. Far more sedate.
Or this one for something in between.
Cool stuff.
Downloads available here.
(Lehmann’s other videos are also notable, for reasons other than music.)
Lang Lang Plays iPad at SF Davies Hall
Virtuoso pianist Lang Lang stunned SF’s Davies by whipping out an iPad and playing “Flight of the Bumblebees.” Video here.
The software powering the performance was Magic Piano from Smule.
I wish I had been there…makes me want an iPad too!
Bob
Keith Richard’s Exile
An engaging Guardian article provides the backstory on the Stones masterpiece – “Exile on Main Street.”
The self-imposed exile to France, conducted to evade Britain’s putative 93% income tax, provided the backdrop for drunken debauchery, in-fighting, and raw rock & roll.
The article presages an upcoming re-release of “Exile.”
{Thanks, Aaron}
Nature’s Well-tempered Joke on Music
Ever wondered what “well-tempered” – as in claviers and turntables, not steel – really means?
This lengthy but well-written Slate article takes you through it.
In the process, you’ll learn about Bach’s motives and methods for WTC, instrument tuners’ dilemmas, and a special musical construct named “the wolf.” Music excerpts help motivate the text.
A little geeky, but fun nonetheless.
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