Roger Hecht writes:

>I mentioned a lot of Mehta recordings I've liked, but I'll admit that much
>I find admirable about them is their sound.  AFter all, in the world of
>audiophiles, it's always nice to find a performance that resembles live,
>even if you have to give a notch musically. ...
>
>Anyone who loves orchestral music and can afford to do so must hear them
>live in the Musikverein.  Such a sound I've never heard on earth before or
>since.

Can these two statements be reconciled? Is the VPO so good because the
audio is good? Perhaps, (and rather unlikely), the VPO sounds good and
unified because the sound is "forgiving" rather than being "analytical".
>From my subscription seats in Avery Fisher Hall the sound was *analytical*.
Down the avenues somewhat in Carnegie Hall if I hear the same orchestra
from roughly the same location, the sound being more on the *forgiving*
side, the same personnel produce a VERY different sound (read unified).
I would not attempt a comparison of different orchestral sounds unless I
heard them both in the same hall from the same seats during the same time
of the year and on many occasions.  We know audiences absorb sound and when
their apparel differs so will the sound, as it also will under different
degrees of humidity.  I would not want to name any conductor who made the
best recording of anything.  If it were possible to do so, recording
companies would stop releasing any more and we would stop buying and
comparing them with one another.  I very much like the Mehta/Lupu Beethoven
concerti and their Emperor with the IPO, an early London digital (400
050-2), one of the first CDs I acquired, remains very high on my list.  I
also like the Mehta Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique (London 400- 046) finding
it exciting rather than boring (as did another listener).  I like the
Mehta/Dicterow/NYP Ein Heldenleben more than Fritz Reiner's.  I love all
the Schubert Symphonies Mehta did on London LPs with the IPO.  I always end
up comparing these with any other Schubert symphonies which come along.  I
come away liking Mehta's more.  People DO agree that Mehta's Resurrection
Symphony with the VPO is amongst the better ones.  I also frequently enjoy
listening to the London twofer, 443 030-2 Mahler #3 LAP and #1 with the
IPO.  When I watched Mehta in open rehearsals with the NYP he often sent
assistants out onto the orchestra floor to report back their impressions
of what they heard, and appeared to adjust the performance accordingly.
Perhaps he too wanted a unified sound.  In the end analysis, no matter how
much Mehta-bashing takes place, I will happily join the majority of NYP
audiences in their standing ovation whenever Mehta comes back home for a
guest appearance in return for the many pleasure-filled evenings they
provided.

Norman Schwartz
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