How do they MIC a symphony?

One of the finest recordings and performances of the work, IMHO. The XRCD of this recording is very good, but the Classic reissue, particularly the 45 rpm version, is superb. I will listen to it tonight to figure out if it's Heifetz (quite possible, as they close-miked their star) or someone else who's got the nasal problems, but I do recall hearing that breathing as well, so you haven't lost it!

Kublakhan,

Funny you should post this thread when you did. On Tuesday July 22nd, I attended the Philadelphia Orchestra doing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with Itzak Perlman. They were recording the performance (probably for their archives), and I noticed that they were multi-miking the be-jeezus out of it. I counted no less than 12 spot mics along with a spaced pair of omnis above and behind the conductor (Hans Graf) hanging from the proscenium. This was an all Beethoven concert including the Corolian Overture, The 4th Symphony, and the Violin Concerto. I've done a bit of live recording myself, and I'm of the minimalist mic school: the fewer the better, well placed to capture the hall as well as the music. Kavi Alexander of Water Lily Acoustics is the current master of this technique in my book: 2 custom made tube mics, all analog recordings. Listen sometime if you can to his recording of the Philadelphia Orch. on the Water Lily "Nature's Realm" to hear what good 2 mic recordings can sound like.

Well, there was a lot of ambient noise at my house last night (the Newark flight path was over my house last night, it seemed), but I think you're hearing Heifetz breathing. You can also hear some of the orchestra's sheet music being turned at one point, I think.

Slipknot's right about the Water Lily recording, it's a very minimalist recording that sounds very realistic, although to hear it at its best you need to have your speakers at a 90 degree angle to each other or something like that, and don't expect to hear any hall sound (not at all the recording's fault, the venue is as dry a hall as there is). Of the current recording philosophies, I like Delos's best, as I am a fan of their chief recording engineer John Eargle and his work--he does use a few spot mikes, but mixes them in very unobtrusively. Other current classical recording engineers whose work I think is top-notch are Tony Faulkner, Peter McGrath and Michael Bishop (plus the person responsible for the latest SFO recordings), as they seem to have a very good sense of how to make an orchestra sound like you'd hear it in concert. And of course, the great recording teams of the past, Mohr/Layton for RCA, Cozart/Fine for Mercury, and Wilkerson for Decca, all made great-sounding classical recordings. There is no one way to make a recording of an orchestra, as all of these folks use different techniques, but they all have results that are satisfying.

Of course you intended to type "Wilkinson" of Decca, as in Kenneth Wilkinson. Great listing of superb recording engineers.

I am a terrible typist, you are of course correct. Maybe I was thinking of Bobby Wilkerson, the forward on that Indiana national basketball championship team that beat my beloved alma mater in 1976?