Don Satz replied to me:

>>If the music sounds muddled when played in its natural setting, then
>>there's a problem with the music.
>
>Could Mike elucidate the characteristics of a natural setting?

I hope I'm not too late in replying -- it might be a dead subject by
now.

By natural setting, I mean a hall or a "chamber" (where "chamber" music
was first performed).  The most natural settings would be, for example,
the Esterhazy Palace, where most of Haydn's symphonies were first
performed.  The Adam Fischer recordings of these symphonies (on Nimbus)
were made there, and they sound beautiful.  (I'd like to add that these
recordings are good examples of "less is more" when it comes to recording
engineering.  All Nimbus recordings are made with one (1) stereo
microphone.) Another example: Gregorian chants were and are performed
in cathedrals.  They probably sound better that way -- can you imagine
them being performed in an anechoic studio, with fake reverb added in?

-Mike