Sat front row at the symphony...
Yesterday, I got to sit in the front row to hear the Pittsburgh Symphony do Beethoven's Piano Concerto no 1 and the Shostakovich Symphony no 10. I know we all talk about audio gear here, but I have to tell you, sitting in the best seat in the house (Heinz Hall) was an amazing audio experience. I'm not sure the best audio gear in the world can quite match it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I was mesmerized by the acoustics of the hall and the dynamics of one of the world's best orchestras.
Once I had the pleasure of some college students playing a 4 instrument string ensemble at my home. The warmth, volume (!) and nuance of 4 string instruments blew me away. My gear couldn't even get close to reproducing that. It was later I concluded we listen to gear and not music. Sure music is playing through our gear but it's the gear we select, fuss with, trade, upgrade, lust after, plan for and play with. Music is merely the media for our gear to shine with. |
I go to live concerts all the time. I think it's all a different sort of listening experience. Vinyl. Digital. Cans. Big speakers. A big concert hall, club, small chamber hall. Each one has its own merit. You cannot go to a hall and hear Leonard Bernstein, but you can listen to him on your system. The atmosphere of the live venue is nearly impossible to recreate. But, then there are the recordings that were made to be recordings. I head Karajan's final concerts with the Berlin Phil in Carnegie Hall. I have never quite heard an orchestra sound like a small chamber group, with every single player seemingly connected to one another. So, true, that will have to live in my memory, but I do love being able to listen to Karajan on my big rig... |
@clearthinker Vanessa Mae does not wear long dress and often is standing up as a soloist :) |
Flame on! Vienna is the Mecca of Music. Sat in the back corner of the Musikverein beside the organ. Could not even see the musicians. Brahms Double Concerto with the home team. The music was rich, opulent and just as good as in the stalls. That hall is magic. * The first chairs of the Vienna Phil are on par with any soloist in the known universe. (They were the soloists in the Brahms Double.) Their former first cello had tone production that put Rostoprovich and Yo Yo Ma in the shade. When you get two diametrically opposed opinions, there's only one way to settle it. Go to Vienna and decide for yourself. For the price of a pair of interconnects. The Vienna Opera House is another great sounding hall. Sat in the front row and it was so loud. So very very gloriously loud. And yes, you can reproduce that sound in your room. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. They're just repeating accepted wisdom. Daytime attractions in Vienna include the Art History Museum (Kunsthistorische) which has the largest collection of Breugels outside Holland. The MAK has Klimt and you'll have the place to yourself. For the horsey set, there's the Spanish Riding School. The food is pretty good. The coffee sensational. And the Munich Hi Fi show is four hours drive away. Still time to get organized and go.
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