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<I>Intermezzo</I>: The Santa Barbara Sessions Letter

Sidebar 6: The following letter commented on the recording.

Pleasure & disgruntlement

Editor: "What," my wife asked in her most perplexed tone, "could possibly have inspired you to write a letter to Stereophile?"

"A most pleasurable experience coupled with modest disgruntlement," I replied obtusely.

The Pleasure: The new Intermezzo LP is magnificent! I have now listened at least six times, and each time it almost brings tears. The dynamics...the ambience...the performance...the sound! My congratulations—and my thanks—to everyone associated with its production…

<I>Intermezzo</I>: The Santa Barbara Sessions Larry Archibald on the Sessions

Larry Archibald's "The Final Word," March 1990 (Vol.13 No.3):

"Euphonic coloration," a term frequently used to describe as pleasing a characteristic which would otherwise be thought simply a fault, normally has a positive connotation. But there's always a patronizing air attached—we like to think that truly good components avoid all coloration.

John Atkinson, Tom Norton, and I are just back from the January 1990 recording sessions for Stereophile's second LP; the experience, along with a visit to Paul McGowan of PS Audio, set me to thinking about euphonic colorations—or…

Recording of June 2000: Shostakovich: String Quartets 1-15

SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartets 1-15
Emerson String Quartet
Deutsche Grammophon 289 463 284-2 (5 CDs). 1999. Emerson Quartet, prods.; Da-Hong Seetoo, eng. DDD. TT: 5:59:19
Performance *****
Sonics ****

Time to refill your Zoloft prescription: There's a new set of Shostakovich string quartets on the market, and it's by the Emerson Quartet, which means these musical progeny of the composer's most repressive, depressive, anxiety-ridden moments will be rendered with the unflinching clarity we've come to expect from the group's recordings of Bartók and Ives.

…

The Fifth Element #14

The custom of giving presents at Christmastime recalls the Magi, or wise men, of the Nativity story (Matthew 2:1-16), who were most likely not "kings" but astrologers. Paintings usually depict three wise men presenting gifts to a newborn in a stable. However, a persnickety reading of Matthew's text reveals that the precise number of Magi, although it must have been at least two, is not stated. The text specifically mentions a house rather than a stable, and implies that Jesus was a toddler. So much for the great Renaissance painters doing their research, or even reading carefully. The text,…

The Fifth Element #14 Page 2

And here are six CDs of unusual artistic quality that are not Christmas-themed.

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, etc.; Sir John Barbirolli (Angel Classics 67264): The Tallis Fantasia is that rarity, a work that is immediately accessible but of immense staying power. Barbirolli's 1963 stereo version is not the lushest recording job, but it more than makes up for that in conviction and logical inevitability.

Poulenc: Ballet Music; Charles Dutoit, Pascal Rogé (PolyGram 452 937): Les Biches and other charming but bittersweet scores are collected in idiomatic…

The Fifth Element #14 Page 3

In my last column, I mentioned Stereovox interconnect as a new contenduh. More time with it confirms that judgment. Stereovox is a partnership between digital cable guru Chris Sommovigo, whose Illuminati digital cables have long been Stereophile favorites, and recording producer and former opera singer Antonio de Almeida Santos. (Tony's late father conducted the atmospheric von Stade Canteloube Songs I recommend above, and Tony was at the sessions. Brat.)

Stereovox just doesn't fool around—no surprise, given Sommovigo's track record in the digital domain. They make one interconnect and…

The Tragedy of High End Audio

As I walked through Stereophile's Taipei High-End Hi-Fi show (see the full report next month), I was startled to see four ladies in their 50s carrying Stereophile bags full of brochures. They'd just left a demonstration of Martin-Logan CLSes driven by Aragon electronics and were talking animatedly among themselves as they busily made their way to the next exhibit room. My surprise was repeated throughout the show as I saw an amazingly diverse group of people who had enough interest in high-end audio to get themselves to the Taipei Hilton and pay the show's admission price. Young couples, old…

The Tragedy of High End Audio Page 2

The first problem is one of marketing. The high end tends to sell its wares to the same people over and over again. The guy who bought a Symphonic Bombast 101 amplifier last year is encouraged to buy the Bombast 201 this year—and advertising money will undoubtedly be spent trying to get him to buy a 301 next year. Instead of "fishing in the same hole," high-end manufacturers should make expanding the high-end audio market their primary concern.

I'm not talking about promoting certain products—I'm talking about making the very idea of high-quality music playback in the home known to the…

E-Commerce & Specialty Audio Retailing

"But I want to buy Thiel loudspeakers over the Internet!" cried an insistent music lover from the back of the room.

"I'm sorry, but you are not our customer," replied Thiel Audio Products president Kathy Gornik.

Gornik had just patiently explained her company's sales policy to a roomful of contentious audio professionals and hi-fi fans: no Internet sales, period.

"All sales transactions between customers and dealers must take place in person," she stated, leaving no room for interpretation.

The scene was an Audiocafe.com-sponsored panel discussion at CES 2000, in…

E-Commerce & Specialty Audio Retailing Letters

Letters on this subject appeared in the March, May, and June 2000 issues of Stereophile:

Uncharted waters

Editor: As a small New York dealer, I must say Jonathan Scull in the January Stereophile was right on the money with respect to e-commerce. The market here is tough when it comes to quality audio gear. Although we are not fond of Internet sales of audio gear, we are going to have to take that plunge if we want to stay in business.

If more people, especially newcomers, realized how important it is to personally audition any audio component that he/she was interested in…