Hey, cheapskate,
Seconded. I can remember back a few years ago when Robert Harley was the Technical Editor, and HDCD was the new rage, just before SACD came on the scene. He raved about Eugene Istomin's K.491 (the C-Minor) piano concerto, "A Professor Johnson HDCD Recording" on Reference (RR-68CD). I already had (and still cherish) Brendel's version on Philips vinyl (6500 533, with Neville Mariner). Bob and I were old friends with similar tastes, so I bought the new CD. I was absolutely flabbergasted, when I put on the HDCD version, at how bland it sounded compared to the LP, which had URGENCY, an incredible sense of forward propulsion and drama. I know, it is unfair to compare Istomin (an outstanding pianist, but not exactly in the Mozart hall of fame) to a superstarlike Brendel, who has studied Mozart for a lifetime, but some of it WAS the vinyl. Harley and I shared a 2-bedroom for a few months back in the late '70's, in Garbage Grove Ca, when we were both too broke for the luxury of an individual pad. When I saw him at HE a year or so later, I tweaked him about the reco, and he said, "Hey, what did you expect from digital, analog?" I haven't heard JA's K.622 on his new SACD, but I do have an older Michaelson version on regular CD that is just SUPER. The best, most intimate version I have ever heard, of perhaps Mozart's most intimate music. My old Columbia LP version (Szell and the Cleveland, with Robert Marcellus, MS 6968) has the more dramatic sense of forward propulsion that seems to go with vinyl, but I actually prefer Michaelson's performance overall, even though mine is just an ordinary old Redbook CD. Here is the sad part of the story, as you may have read in ST's column or elsewhere. Antony Michaelson has an illness that has affected his nervous system to the point where he can no longer perform as a concert clarinetist. And I don't think there is an analog master of any of his performances -- I think all of his recordings were digitally mastered. Maybe Mr. Atkinson can clarify this for certain, but I THINK an analog recording is now impossible. It is tragic to me, when I think of how spontaneous and "right" Michaelson's performance is, that he apparently can no longer play the music he loves to his own high personal standards. The bright side, of course, is that Mr. Michaelson HAS left these other performances for all of us to marvel at. Do you have both the SACD and Redbook versions? If so, which do you prefer? I'll probably go ahead and get JA's SACD version, just to cover all the bases on one of the GREATEST Mozart clarinetists I know of (I can't claim to be an expert, just a fan). Incredibly, he also originated, designs for, and heads up one of the best high fidelity manufacturing firms around, Musical Fidelity (I'm sure you knew that...talkin' to myself again). Cheers, Clifton.

Clifton,

There WAS a scare awhile back about the possible lack of magnetic tape, but I do see it being available at the likes of Guitar Center and Musician's Friend on 10" reels again. This could be good news.

Why you liked the original sound is probably due to an engineer and producer who really, really care. Just like on K622 the team of JA and Tony Faulkner hit one out of the park. I am about to buy a couple of

Tony's newest high rez recordings shown off his web site. Green Room Productions After K622 I have no doubt that I will not be dissappointed.

Also I would urge you to look at John Mark's web site John Marks Records as he has some very excellent CD offerings of classical music that are superb. I know they are digital, but... Glass Bead Game is one winner. If you like chamber music and instrumental Christmas Holiday music you need to order his Red, Blue, Green trio (3 volumes) of Rejoice CD/s that we wear out each holiday season. I have given away many as gifts to non-audiophiles who love them.

Hopefully JA is "contemplating" Cheapskates's request for some vinyl releases of his newest recording efforts. They would be very nice.

Hi, Jim -- thanks for the recos. I'm on it! No single person can hear everything that's good out there: one of the great pleasures of this site is getting all these different recos of software that I otherwise would never have heard of. I have heard of Marks's productions, and I even read Hesse's novel (Glasperlenspiel -- I know that CAN'T be spelled right). I must be the only gaffer left in the world who has read all of Hesse. Anyway, I would never have thought of puchasing a soundtrack-of-a-movie-of-a-novel without some reco from someone I know or respect -- in this case, you, thanks to the forum. Cheers. Clifton

How's this for timing? I just bought the MF A5 CD player and it's really wonderful. Best surprise: a copy of the redbook Michaelson/JA K622 was included in the box!

Hi, Cheapskate -- no, your post was clear enough. But I had preconceptions that kept me from reading it properly. I assumed that, since I had an earlier digital version of Michaelson, and I had seen a recent ad for JA's SACD version, and I knew about Michaelson's illness...all of these erroneous assumptions led me to infer that there was no extant analog master of Michaelson's reading of this piece. People like me shouldn't be allowed to think while sober. But this is great news, indeed. Yes, I shall posthaste to the ordering desk and secure a copy. Thanks for the heads-up!!! Between Wolfgang and the Duke, you guys are invaluable. Now, if I could just find my brain...let's see, I had it here somewhere just a minute ago... Cheers, Clifton

Roy, nice set o' ears ya got there! Yes. I found the same surprise in 3 boxes, when I bought a MuFi preamp, power amp, and DAC. Have you listened to it yet? My expectations were low: I thought, "Great, another amateur thinks he can play Mozart, 'cause the notes look simple on the page and he played in the high school band." I was absolutely stunned at the quality of the playing AND the recording. It really is the best reading that I have heard, and I, being a great lover of Mozart AND this piece, have heard 'em all. Hope you love it as much as I do. Happy tunes, Clifton

Quote:
Hopefully JA is "contemplating" Cheapskates's request for some vinyl releases of his newest recording efforts. They would be very nice.

I would love to release some vinyl, Jim, but my last effort, the Bob Silverman Liszt Sonata (of which I am immensely proud), took 5 years to earn back its investment :-(

As I bankroll the Stereophile recordings personally and lease the masters to Primedia, I need a quicker return than that.

For K622, BTW, I let Antony Michaelson fund the project, and Primedia buys stock as required. But yes, both Antony and Tony Faulkner did one heck of a good job.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

John,

I had written Cheapskate privately and said I was sure it was the investment in a min run and then hoping you could sell all rather quickly. We are all aware that being in the "record business" is rather risky to say the least.

I was hoping to win the Mega Millions yesterday and try and help you out, but as always my numbers "never come in". I told the girl at the counter it would be better if I just gave her the $10. The Governor knows where to get more when he needs it. LOL

I thought I recall you saying you were doing a DSD release this summer? I hope this is still true.

Regards.

Quote:
Are you saying that in order to get the best of your production efforts in the future we need to embrace SACD?

Perhaps. The real issue facing a small indie company like me is that the recording projects have to break even within a reasonable time period. With LP and even SACD, that is becoming increasingly uncertain :-(

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

John,

I hope you never lose money on a recording project. Would you think that allowing pre-orders for upcoming releases would help be a guage for initial sales volumes?

Heck, I don't even want a discount. I have always thought the music I've bought from you and JMR is worth every penny.

Now, that Barry Manilow Greatest Hits 2-lp set...what was I thinking? I've never even done drugs. Unless prescribed of course. LOL