Donald Scarinci wrote:

>I've been listening to Telarc's 20 bit surround sound CD of Mahler's
>Symphony no.9 conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos and performed by the
>Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.  There is no question that quality
>CDs make all the difference in the world.

Donald (great name) goes on to detail the superb sound provided by the
Telarc recording.  I have this recording and agree that the sound is
excellent and a definite plus for enjoyment and reward.

I also generally place a high premium on sound quality.  But, some list
members have written how this priority on sound quality can deprive a
listener of the rewards of many superior historical recorded performances.
To some degree, they have questioned Donald's love of music versus love of
the latest sound technology.

Of course, only Donald knows where he stands on this comparison.  For
myself, the results of historical performances has been mixed.  The sound
on Gieseking's WTC on DG and on Toscanini's Traviata on RCA ruined it for
me.  But, I found Neveu's Sibelius violin concerto a true revelation.  Was
the sound good? Hardly.  But, the performance was so wonderful that I
didn't even notice the sound; the performance just transcended those
considerations.

My point is that blowing all historical recorded performances off the
playing field can be detrimental to a listener's overall enjoyment and
appreciation of classical music.  Also, these historical performances give
us a "window of opportunity" to glean how it was done back then and make
valid comparisons with modern performance style.

So, I do hope that Donald will at some point concentrate on historical
recordings and find a few that give him great pleasure.  There is risk,
but the rewards can be great also.

Don Satz
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