Sat, 9 Oct 1999 22:42:08 +0000
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Donald Satz wrote:
>I've been unclear for years why a large number don't like the Nimbus
>piano sound. But, "cavernous" clarifies matters. I suppose I like that
>cavernous sound, but I don't consider the sound "hollow"; I think it's very
>well focused. Until very recently, I considered Decca piano sound poorly
>focused. And the sound supplied for Kovecevich by EMI is in the "we're
>gonna pound you to death" category.
It is a highly variable phenomenon. Take the Brahms set. This received
a bad review in the penguin guide because of that sound (piano set to far
back). Yet I found this artifact most prominet on the first item in the
set and not present at all on some works. So I wonder if the reviewer
actually listened to the whole set.
I agree it's not perfect and there may be better recordings around. That
early Brendel must certainly be worth considering.
I see it like this, we all have limited funds but I want to listened to
as wide a repertoire as possible. This means buying a less than perfect
budget version of something which I will not listen too very often. By
doing this I save money which enables me to explore lesser known composers
and repertoire.
I calculate that the average price I have paid for a CD is $6.4 (low in the
UK). If I were purchasing full price CDs all the time my collection would
have to be only 30% of its current size.
Set against such considerations the Nimbus release fit the bill just
nicely.
Bob Draper
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