Most demanding passages for a turntable & system

One of my favorites and most demanding to play is a Japanese Direct to Disc 45rpm recording of Bethoven's Appassionata on the RCA label. It is very dynamic and exciting to hear. I got it in the 80s and have played it on some good systems. I have heard mistracking on most systems with this record. I can play it with my current cartridge but the stylus has to be perfectly clean. The other record to try is T's 1812 overture on the Telarc label. You can plainly see where the canon shots are in the grooves. I have seen that record (not with my copy, fortunately) throw tonearms off the record! If Peterayer ever invites me over to hear his turntable, I'm bringing these two records with me.

Tonywinsc, I also have that Beethoven "Appassionata" on 45 RPM
RCA. Kamiya is the pianist and it is a Bosendorfer Imperial piano. It's a very
fast, dynamic performance. I prefer slower versions, musically, so I don't play
it often.

This is a difficult to track LP. I listened to it again tonight just to make sure.
The LP played all the way through with no problems on my rig. I find the
beginning of side one to be the most demanding. Unfortunately, this is
another one of those LPs where the recording and sound quality is excellent,
but I don't really love the performance.

You are certainly welcome to visit any time. Please send me a message via the
Agon system.

Yes, that is the same album. I found my copy in the 80s in a cutout bin for $2. What a jewel of a find. Now that you mention it, the pace of her playing is fast. I'm used to the record so the one time I heard it live, I felt the live player was a bit slow. It is surprising to me that performers at such an accomplished level would change the tempo so much. Different interpretations maybe. Also, the way the piano is miked on this record makes you feel like you are sitting very close to the piano. (Could you hear her breathing in the quiet passages and the strings rattle on that one loud passage?) The live presentation is very different since I was sitting a good distance away from the piano. That is the other thing about hifi, I think- we have our own intimate presentation to enjoy for ourselves that is not often experienced live.

VEry few tables in the day could track This with out clearly audible problems or worse.

I have a couple of Digital Mastered records from around 1980 like the Telarc 1812 Overture that I enjoy; but my analog hifi buddies in the 80s turned their noses up at these digital renderings. Especially when their tonearms skate across the record during the canon fire. (Nothing a penny couldn't fix :0) )