This extends to the composition of the quartet itself. Formed in 1976, the group gave its first concerts in 1977 and settled into its current lineup in 1979, when cellist David Finkel joined. But the Emerson has never settled on a permanent first violinist—Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer alternate those duties.
"We've just always done it that way," Philip Setzer explained. "On my last day at Juilliard, I mean…
"Back when we began the Beethoven cycle, someone asked us exactly the same question—'Why Beethoven?'—although the reasons there were very different," said violist Larry Dutton. "Many people knew the Beethoven quartets, many amazing musicians had recorded them, so our decision was based upon our need to confront those pieces. With Shostakovich, it's a little different. We love the music, of course, but it's not all that well-known, and perhaps our interpretations of it will make it possible for people who haven't heard it before to become Shostakovich listeners,…
"We had, in Aspen, a perfect opportunity to explore this kind of recording," Drucker said. "And in Da-Hong [Seetoo, producer, recording engineer, and violinist] we found the ideal collaborator. Computer editing stations and the ability for us to take…
"I used four Schoeps MK2H omni [microphone] heads on bodies of my own design in a square arrangement in the middle of the Quartet, about 70" from the musicians, going straight to hard drive at 24-bits/44.1kHz. I burned CDs for the Quartet from each day's performances. I edited the sessions using Sound Designs software."
Da-Hong Seetoo designs electronics under the Omnitronics name.—Wes Phillips
BARBER: String Quartet
IVES: String Quartets 1 & 2, Scherzo ("Holding Your Own").
DG 435 864-2
BARBER: The Complete Songs, Dover Beach
HARBISON: String Quartet 2
SCHULLER: String Quartet 3
WERNICK: String Quartet 4
Thomas Hampson, baritone
DG 437 537-2
BARTóK: String Quartets 1-6
DG 423 657-2 (2 CDs)
BEETHOVEN: String Quartets 1-16
DG 447 076-2 (7 CDs)
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet 11
SCHUBERT: String Quartet 14 ("Death and the Maiden")
DG 423 398-2
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet 16
…
Originally a defense and space contractor offering high-performance (and presumably high-cost) analog/digital converters (ADCs), British-based Data Conversion Systems is one of a small number of…
The first series of listening sessions was both satisfying and dissatisfying. Satisfying because the sound was always musical; I enjoyed my favorite CDs and DATs for hours on end, one leading to another. Dissatisfying because I am a professional reviewer, dammit, and…
Description: Remote-control D/A processor with volume and balance controls; switchable narrow- and wide-window PLL on data input; 64x-oversampling digital filter; and 5-bit "Ring DAC." Sampling frequencies: 48, 44.1, and 32kHz (standard), plus 96 and 88.2kHz (with dual-AES/EBU software option). Inputs: 2 AES/EBU on XLR jacks, 1 S/PDIF on BNC jack, 1 S/PDIF on RCA jack, 1 S/PDIF on ST-optical, 1 S/PDIF on TosLink optical. Outputs: unbalanced analog on RCA jacks and balanced analog on XLR jacks. Frequency response: "set for optimum transient response." S/N Ratio:…
The main digital source was a Mark Levinson No.31 CD transport feeding the Elgar via Madrigal and Illuminati AES/EBU cables and a Meridian 518 jitter-reduction unit. When I sent my No.31 back to Madrigal for updating to No.31.5 status, I used a Meridian 500 to spin CDs. Master tapes of Stereophile's recordings, some sampled at both 44.1kHz and 96kHz, were played back on a Nagra-D digital tape recorder via AudioQuest's new Digital Two AES/EBU cable, while a Sonic Solutions Macintosh-based Digital Audio Workstation was used for the editing mentioned in the text.…