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Tinny sound accompanying cello on recordings ?

I'm somewhat baffled by an on and off tinny sound I've heard on several recordings of Dvorak's Cello Concerto. Up until a few years ago, I either didn't hear it or didn't notice it. The more revealing the sound system, the more obvious is this phenomenon. At first, I thought something was wrong with my speaker drivers, but when I listened through other transducers, I noticed the sound was still there. I proceeded to isolate the rest of my equipment, but the rather unwelcome "guest" remained. It didn't matter whether I used the same recordings with a cd player or a phono front end, things didn't vary. I listened to identical passages of the Dvorak Concerto with Fourier/Szell and Harrell/Levine. I haven't yet bothered to check other cello recordings. This tinny/sizzling sound is a shadow-like resonance hovering around the cello's notes as they are being played, asserting its presence more frequently, it seems, from the mid to upper midrange. I assume some of you classical fans have heard this. Can anyone explain exactly what's going on here ? By the way, I hear it also (though less obviously because of the much smaller sized sound system) when watching and listening to the same piece performed by Rostropovich on You Tube with my computer and its little Altec speakers. Listen in particular to the first movement from the time the cello enters, and onward.
opus88
opus88 OP
530 posts
 
I've since heard the same sort of respose on my portable cd player. I'm about ready to assume that what I'm hearing is part of the cello's actual sound, but there's another less than pleasant possibility here, which is that my hearing is changing (likely, since I'm 65 years old). If I had to describe this sound in another way, I would liken it to sibilance.
chashmal
605 posts
 
Dude, listen carefully to a live cello. Those strings make all kinds of vibratory resonances and some are very very subtle. The fact that your gear is picking it up is a good thing. The complexities of the sound of such an instrument are staggering. I have noticed all kinds of strange unexpected overtones on trumpets and other instruments too.
opus88 OP
530 posts
 
Thanks Chashmal, your comments are reassuring. It's been a long time since I've heard a solo cello in a live concert. That was when I had the great pleasure of seeing Janos Starker. We have a very fine orchestra here in Asheville, NC, and I'm aware of the one in Brevard, which isn't far away. Last week, I attended a wonderful performance of the Asheville Symphony featuring the Bruch Violin Concerto and the Brahms Fourth. I will make it a point to attend the next concert I can find with a cellist performing.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Opus, remember that those recordings have been miked from a vantage point much closer to the performer than what would be considered socially acceptable for a concert goer. At that distance the mike will pick up a wealth of very low level ringing overtones that would be lost over longer distances. It is also possible that if your system is very revealing, your ears may be producing some intermodulation. . . this may happen on chorded passages, particularly in higher position and in thumb position. If this were intermodulation, you would have the illusion of the ringing or tinny sound to originate from the middle of your head rather than from the speakers. In my experience the phenomenon is more common on the violin. . . e.g. Lara St. John playing Bach partitas and Sonatas on a Stradivari violin. Lastly, if I remember correctly, the intermodulation output frequencies are equal to the sum and the difference of the input frequencies. . . as such they are enharmonic and can sound quite eery. . . but do not fault your electronics. . . 'tis all in our heads, so to say. G.
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