I used to have a very difficult time enjoying historical recordings with
their assortment of fade-outs, interference, lack of clarity, etc.  In
fact, I got to the point where I was hardly buying any of them.  Then,
all of a sudden, I was able to easily tolerate fairly poor sound and
concentrate on the performance.  I think it's a matter of time/experience
and attitude.  There are some glorious recorded interpretations from the
past, and I'm not going to miss out on them.

Actually, I owe some thanks for my resolution of poor sound to Steve
Schwartz.  I was griping to myself about the sound on the Rosalyn Tureck
WTC set from DG when Steve posted his high opinion of her set.  At that
point, I said to myself, "If Steve can handle the sound, I can also." I
sort of considered it a challenge and made a point of coming to grips with
outstanding performances in less than sterling sound.

My advice for those who have trouble with sound quality is to keep trying
to resolve it.  Don't give up!  I almost did just that, and it would have
been a poor decision.

Don Satz
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