Videos by Anthony Kershaw, flutist, conductor and publisher of audiophilia.com. To collaborate or for business enquiries, email publisher@audiophilia.com.
Love this recording, so gemutlich, as you indicate. I have the Speakers Corner as well. There is also a fairly recent Analogue Productions SACD. And checking on Discogs, I see Scott can score a reel to reel tape for only $299.99.
A cheap vinyl version to look for (in the UK) is the Marshall Cavendish 'the great composers' release that came with a magazine. It beats my CD version.
I have the 200g 'Quiex' Classic Records pressing, cut by Grundman, which is fantastic. This is an RCA Living Stereo title featuring the Festival Quartet which was recorded at Manhattan Center in NYC in January of 1957. The first pressing (Oct '57) was a mono with the stereo version following in 1962. Classic also did a version on 180g. Both Classic pressings are maybe a tick lower in price on Discogs than the Speakers Corner version.
Stumbled on your channel and I'm amazed! I have a complete edition of Curzon on CD, and while I continue to explore it, I totally get your point about the trout!
I adore the Curzon Trout Quintet recording. Been testing out some “new to me” Monitor Audio speakers and Audioquest cables with this recording. Fantastic!
Great video, Anthony! I have an original Decca, wideband, edition 2 in excellent condition. I’d recommend this version for those unwilling / unable to pony up for the 1st press. It’s still a tube cut and sounds glorious. I only paid £55 for it on eBay.
A more detailed cartridge isn't always better. It can be very spiky and grating on the nerves. You need more than one. I have a black and a blue and often I prefer the blue depending on the recording.
Worth a read is Peter Heyworth's 2 volume biography on Klemperer called "Otto Klemperer: His Life and Times". Very insightful into his musical philosophy which at heart was very daring and revolutionary. He was a conductor who was not afraid to go against the crowd (and probably liked it) to reveal new perspectives on pieces, and new music which he was a champion of at the Kroll earlier in his career. He was a wild man and even in old age would bar hop and wound up humorously getting arrested on one occasion. A true musician and rebel lol! He gets pegged as a old grand German conductor, but he was really a wild personality!
@@AudiophiliaChannel Being a manic-depressive as Klemperer was can lead to some...unexpected...behavior. The biography mentioned has many more entertaining stories of his antics. At one point there was a play that was going to be made about his life because it was so entertaining and dramatic.
Nice review Anthony! A few weeks ago I received the Craft Recording- Sunday at the Village Vanguard via Acoustic Sounds. Great sounding LP. I also have it on CD/20-bit from Fantasy-jazz and ripped to FLAC. I only have the CD version of Waltz for Debbie but now after listening to you this morning I’ll have to shell out more money for the LP version. I’ll do a coin flip on Craft vs UHQR. Thanks again for your review 👍👍
Nice vid. I was fortunate to interact with Tim on FB on some Luxman gear. I enjoy using a SUT with my Hana Umami Blue cart. I use a Bob’s Devices Sky 40 going into a Sun Valley tube phono preamp/equalizer.
Have a question about composition & possibly a future video idea. Was/am literally listening, via ROON / QOBUZ to now my 10th album recording while rabbit-holing music history, composers, pieces, even labels, etc. Many, by the way, I may currently own on vinyl too thanks to you, Scott, Mark, etc. YES! One be both a vinyl audiophile AND a digital-phile(?) especially via my 6-7 yrs with ROON. Here's my Q: while listening to & reading about The Firebird on Wikipedia, there's a short few sentences, "[Firebird] Stravinsky later created three concert suites based on the work: in 1911, ending with the "Infernal Dance"; in 1919, which remains the most popular today; and in 1945, featuring significant reorchestration and structural changes." It's the "...reorchestration and structural changes..." part, was/is this common with composers & pieces we've come to appreciate & love? Why so, if common? Didn't know this was done. Thanks!
@@DanielHog13 I’m not quite sure what you’re asking. Stravinsky arranged sections of The Firebird for four reasons: its popularity, orchestra size, length and to transfer copyright from Russia to Boosey and Hawkes in London.
Your review sold me o the PhaseMation EA-350. I’ve been contemplating upgrading the SUT from the internal to the T-1000. Not sure how much of an upgrade that will be.
Love that you include sheet music to highlight what you are looking for. I’m visual, I find this very helpful. There is no greater joy for me, sometimes, than sitting down to listen to a favourite piece, accompanied with the sheet music.
I think very highly of Brendel's 70s go round of Schubert's piano music from 1822 to 1828. The Impromptus and Moment Musicaux are the best of the best as far as I'm concerned. Have you ever heard Leopold Wlach and the Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet's recording of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet on Westminster? If not, you can probably find either a used CD or LP of it. I have several performances of the Clarinet Quintet, which is one of my favorite pieces by Brahms, and like this performance the most.
@@jeremyberman7808 I love Brendel, too. Have most of his Philips/Schubert on LP. Don’t know the Wlach Brahms. So many good ones. Thea King/Gabrieli on Hyperion is lovely. The new DG with the Berliner principal, Andreas Ottensamer, is spectacular, but I live and breathe with Karl Leister and the Amadeus on DG. For me, perfection.
At this price level the Speed Control should include the ability to make manual speed adjustments. Power from the wall is never a guarantee to be spot on. It fluctuates. And, that, in turn, can (might!) impact the micro-processor just enough to alter its speed controlling capability. Luxman, Technics, and many other turntables in this price range have manual speed adjusting capability. It can be a deal breaker. It would be for me. I was born in 1960. I lived through the amazing 1970's TT years when manual speed control with strobe lighting was a given by companies like Thorens, Pioneer, and many other manufacturers. Albums vary in thickness which alters their speed. Relying entirely on a micro-processor leaves some doubt as to whether the speed is spot on.
That's fabulous that it has manual speed adjustment capability. I do have to ask if you have ever conducted a true blindfold listening session swapping in and out the record $$$ weight and the extremely $$$$$$ stabilizer. I mean that someone else was there who worked behind the temporary curtain/wall making this swap and you sat there in the listening position and blind A/B compared the sound at least 15 to 20 times and got it right 90% or better on your score card successfully identifying the $$$ weight or the $$$$$$ stabilizer in use. That, to me, would be absolutely essential/required to make that level of $$$$$$ investment in something that financially resides near the top of the seriously? list along with amp stands, speaker wires, interconnect cables, cable and wire holders that elevate the run above the floor, shelving systems that have built-in suspension, and so on. We have a very nice system : AL5 LaScala speakers, a PrimaLuna integrated tube amplifier, and a basic $200 CD player. We purchased the system after six plus months of many store visits A/B comparing tons of systems and components at several different high end stores that were within reach of our home. We tried and assembled every combination possible from all tube to all solid state to mixed systems also sliding in and out cables and speaker wire options of varying price points. We declared that we would spend upwards of $15,000 at the outset (which we did) thereby earning their willingness to make all of this happen. We also brought lots of food and snacks to every visit for everyone to enjoy. There are two schools of thought. Spend 80% on the speakers or spend 80% on the source unit(s). We went with the 80% commitment toward the speakers, made that choice, and then worked backwards with the idea that we could upgrade components down the road. We compared TT and CD options since we were both born in the early 1960's thus we both lived through the TT to CD transition in the late 1970's into the early 1980's. We owned a nice, older Pioneer TT for about 10 years before a CD player entered our system. We owned a lot of albums, and we quickly owned a lot of CD's. We were open to both choices, and we figured that we would do a lengthy A/B comparison between the two formats playing the same songs/music over and over. We set modest purchase ceilings. For a TT, it was $5,000. For a CD player, it was $2,000. However, we did compare both options against a $10,000 +/- choice from both formats. We did lots of A/B comparisons where we had no idea which components were in play since all were lit up, all were spinning a disc or an album, and only the guy playing around with the wires in the back knew what was actually being listened to. These were long sessions often near the end of the day minimizing other visitors to the store. Our findings: CD is extremely clear, crisp, and free of any type of distractions. Albums have audible distractions regardless of what album you choose. There are occasional pops, clicks, and hiss. It can range from a couple of them here and there to a number of them throughout the side of an album. It is inevitable and inescapable. In fact, the better the TT and cartridge, the more these imperfections were revealed. That would sum up the difference when comparing TT's at different price points. The more you spend on a TT, the better the sound you will hear, but you will also hear more of those imperfections in the format. The word is "reveal" and that is what you are paying for. btw, we used a handful of mofi box sets and other high end albums to remove the comments that we had lousy albums. These were top shelf, very expensive, well reviewed, clean, near new albums that they happen to sell and have on hand for listening purposes. TT's offer a fabulous tactile experience. My wife and I know. We grew up with them. Gatefolds, liner notes, posters, album art and etc. are all part of the fun, listening experience. That is a given. TT's and cartridges do reveal imperfections in the album playback whether its dust or an actual defect in the grooves. Anyone denying this is simply unable to see reality objectively. They are justifying the purchase, understandably so since the aforementioned tactile experience is wonderful, and they have come to accept the imperfections: white noise perhaps: inaudible to them at this point. CD's are silent between songs, they're dead silent between passages within songs, and they reveal every single note, every inhale by the singer, and every sound produced by everyone performer on stage unless the CD is flawed which is rare. A $10,000 CD player versus a $200 CD is so close in playback that it is impossible to justify that cost difference. Your speakers would be far more important. We could barely hear a difference from any and every different CD player playing the same songs. We used male and female solo vocalists, we listened to quiet passages, jazz music, classical music, 70's rock music, and a lot of Motown music in A/B comparisons. The $10,000 CD player did reveal some added enjoyment, but there is no way it offered $9,800 more in its playback capability. Those subtle improvements would be forgotten (were forgotten) quite fast. We owed both albums and CD's for quite some time. We found ourselves playing the CD's far more often having repurchased favorite albums on CD through the lengthy transition period. We do miss the albums and that overall experience. I suspect that we will buy a TT again, add some high end albums, and rekindle that tactile experience. However, CD playback is so crystal clear that we will continue to make that our top listening choice. Anyone saying CD is bright and sterile has not done their due diligence and gone out and assembled a system capable of producing beautiful sound. You haven't put in the time: those 6 months of listening sessions with all levels of equipment. The brightness you're claiming from CD playback is coming from your speakers or your amplification. btw, tubes and solid state make a big difference in a system's sound. It is very identifiable. And, it is completely subjective which you prefer though the Klipsch speakers seem to mate beautifully with tubes. Of course, Klipsch is a very subjective choice as is any speaker. CD's cost pennies on the dollar, and the ability to locate hard-to-find music is far easier on CD whereas you will be relegated to buying a used album of older releases and chances are the previous owner(s) played it on inferior equipment (a marginal cartridge with improper tone arm weight adjustment), they never cleaned the album, and it will have lots of distractions due to its abuse.
Thank you for doing a SUT review. These have interested me after I found they made significant improvements to my inboard step up transformers of my LAMM and EAR phono stages. Even with the additional cabling, outboard SUT is how I choose to configure my system. One SUT I own is a Phasemation and like it a lot! I wonder how a Phasemation SUT would mate with your phono stage.
Just to add my Beethoven Piano concerto cycle favourites..... Stephen Bishop Kovacevitch / Davis on Philips. Solid Beethoven playing...what's not to like. Emanuel Ax / Previn on RCA. Simply divine elegant playing from Ax, Previn is at one with him all the way. A very under rated set in my opinion, one that I can keep returning to and finding something new to enjoy every time. When I am needing a Stokowski fix then his set with Glenn Gould really does it for me......Don't forget Fleisher and Szell though, I wouldn't want to be without that one. Cheers, Ian.
Hi Anthony, interesting what you said about CD's . After your recommendations for De Falla's Three Cornered Hat, I got myself a copy of the Ansermet version on Decca Legends remastered CD. I cannot believe the stunning recording quality. Why cannot modern recordings record the Violin sections faithfully like they are here ?. And that brass section sounds so realistic....I could go on. By the way, I got the 3/4 time signature straight away 😂. I am only a humble pianist or should that be piano player ? ( I use the term loosely these days as the arthritis has well and truly kicked in 😂 ) not a conductor though . Love the livestream, always makes for an interesting Thursday morning breakfast treat. Cheers Ian.
45rpm records of classical were done in Japan early 80s by King Records/DAM (same guys as the Super Analogue Disc) as well as EMI Japan....hmmmm I don't see them on discogs. I have 15 of them, readily available at used stores in Tokyo, and some have diff songs/bands on each side almost like they were made for DJs! Needless to say they sound amazing (especially the Muti Firebird) - Japanese were way ahead of the curve back then (problem is they're living in the year 2000 since 1983 :)
Speaking as an analogue supporter, and a critic of some aspects of digital reproduction, unfortunately logic dictates that once any master, be it analogue or digital file has been produced it can only be degraded from that point onwards. Cold, hard fact of life I'm afraid. One may prefer the reproduction via one's vinyl system, and well and good to you, but it's an artifact of added or missing information. Ditto with an analogue master tape; any playback system, starting with the mastering playback tape recorded, can only degrade the information contained in the tape; distortions. noise and speed inconsistencies (wow and flutter). It's a sorry state of affairs when we can, and often do, prefer the sound produced by dragging an archaic rock around a piece of plastic to the latest technology. As John Lennon once said: "How can we move forward when we don't know which way we're facing?"
Hi All, I pick your stream up in the morning while I'm having breakfast as I am in the UK.....anyway, Lahav Shani, what a real talent that guy is. Has anyone seen his RU-vid or BBC proms performance of him conducting and playing Prokofiev's piano concerto no.3 ? (.the BBC Radio 3 sound quality was a joke ) . Cheers Ian. Leicester.
@@AudiophiliaChannel Hi Anthony, it will certainly be interesting if they release a recording of it. I wonder if he has Prokofiev's second piano concerto under his belt?. Certainly someone I have to see live. Cheers, Ian.
I’ve ordered all four of the OS new releases from my dealer, so impressed by the quality of this series. I’ve also ordered one of a 1/100whitel label release direct from DG of the Grieg version.
It might’ve been Jack that mentioned something about Brahms 4th… I have the Solti with Chicago/Decca box set of the 4 symphonies. Any thoughts on that set Anthony? Did Solti get Brahms right in your opinion?
I love Giulini's Pictures at an Exhibition with the CSO on DG. Adolph Herseth's promenades are so majestic and the Great Gate of Kiev with the CSO brass is regal and beautiful.
The Dies Irae tuba mirum section used at the beginning of The Shining I saw the CSO play it live up in the 6th floor gallery of Orchestra Hall in 1978 with Arnold Jacobs and his assistant playing that scary leitmotif with the deep bells accompaniment is truly frightening. The amplitude and bigness of this work is practically impossible to record accurately. To truly hear the bigness of Symphonie Fantastique you need to hear it live. It's astonishing!
Giuliani recorded the Firebird Suite with the CSO for EMI as well. The string parts in the Firebird are fiendishly difficult and the CSO plays it perfectly. The berceuse and finale are really majestic. I think the CSO really loved him.
Just got my copy today. On Bruckner’s birthday no less! Only listened to the 4th and wow. If the rest of the set sounds as good as that, this will be epic.
@@ComfyMaps www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2018/1/25/phasemation-pp-2000-mc-phono-pickup-cartridge Stunning. My reference. Was 6. Up to 8 after my review!!! But still value for money, it’s that good. Buy with confidence. 👍
