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Angela Hewitt Live

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Last night I went to a recital by Angela Hewitt. Incredible!!! She is a true artist with unbelievable control of her instrument. Her musicality was outstanding, the tempos she selected were ideal (IMO) and the nuances of the dynamics sublime. Fortunately the venue (Modlin Center at Univ. of Richmond) has superb acoustics which is not true for many of the venues in this town. I sat about 15 rows back slight left of center so my ears where level with the top of the piano and my eyes directly on the keyboard.
In any case this AM I listened to one of her CD's (The Toccata's - Bach of course) to see how the system matched up to live. I was expecting to be sorely disappointed but happily not so. Was it as good as live, no way. However it was really quite good. The nuances were there as were the PRAT; what is lacking is the sharpness of the attack (not that the Maggies were flat - just not as sharp as live). I think some of the differences really have to do with the room. Live the piano filled the hall with smoothness while the stereo although having a good soundstage just didn't envelop me.
In summary: 1) Angela Hewitt is one of the finest pianists playing today. She has confined most of her efforts to Bach but is beginning to expand her repertoire (she played Bach, Mozart, Rameau, and Beethoven at the recitial). 2) Get her recording of the Bach Toccata's on Hyperion - you will not be disappointed. 3) I got to spend more time on room acoustics and probably will start with some corner traps (I got to work on the wife since my WAF is a few points below zero). Suggestions on the room (and the WAF) are welcomed - pictures of the room are on my listing in Inmate Systems, pictures of the wife are available by request.
I may be an egoist but at least I don't talk about other people.

Follow Ups:

Re: Angela Hewitt Live - theaudiohobby 16:40:28 12/03/06 (4)
On the issue live vs. recorded, I simple cannot agree with the prevailing audiophile wisdom i.e. can folks distinguish live from recorded blind? Somehow I doubt it, most of the comments that live cannot compare recorded are made by folks who see the performer performing and who domestic listening environment generally preclude them form listening at equivalent SPL levels at home. I think with a solo piano or violin or such like with exception of an organ, it is fairly easy to fool folks that they listening to live, if some basic issues are addressed, at any rate it is a documented fact that once the visuals were obscured, many folks can not tell live from recorded. "live piano filled the hall with smoothness" is a dead giveaway i.e. you are listening to the live piano from probably well over 15ft (if you were in the front row) away however the mic that recorded performance was probably no farther than 3ft away from the source.

Music making the painting, recording it the photograph
- Re: Angela Hewitt Live - neolith 17:42:14 12/03/06 (3)
  I suspect in some cases you are correct. Certainly for non-acoustic instruments where one is listening to a instrument indirectly (amplifier to loudspeaker), there probably is no real difference. And I have been at various concerts where the acoustics are so bad that if one were to hear the same thing in stereo shop, the poor dealer would be better off selling apples on the corner. However I disagree about your comments about solo instruments and live is different from recording. This is why we spend so much time and money on this hobby. If any home stereo could easily reproduce a live performance we would not be discussing, debating, tweaking, upgrading, arguing with the wife, etc.
  
  I may be an egoist but at least I don't talk about other people.
  - Re: Angela Hewitt Live - theaudiohobby 05:03:25 12/05/06 (2)
    "However I disagree about your comments about solo instruments and live is different from recording. This is why we spend so much time and money on this hobby. If any home stereo could easily reproduce a live performance we would not be discussing, debating, tweaking, upgrading, arguing with the wife, etc"
    Well, there is one thing a recording cannot do, bring the performers into your listening chamber, however a live performance does that as a matter of course. Not amount of time and money can rectify this and as long as that is case, there will be "discussing, debating, tweaking, upgrading, arguing with the wife, etc", That in a nutshell is the essential difference between a live performance and a recording, and a key reason why I am an advocate of blind testing in audio, it removes visuals which is a key factor influencing bias.
    
    Music making the painting, recording it the photograph
    - Re: Angela Hewitt Live - Rob Gold 08:44:32 12/10/06 (1)
      I HAVE hear Ms. Hewitt live, and from three feet away (when I warked at Ottawa's National Arts Centre, I found her rehearsing in the building's reception Salon). I've had the same pleasure with Ashkenazy, Serkin (Rudolph), Kimura Parker, Josselson, and many others. Make no mistake, pianos are large and powerful percussion instruments, and will hurt your ears when played as such.
      Microphones "hear" very differently from people; they are far more sensitive to near field than far field sounds, and the panorama of from where they "hear" is different.Place one 15th row center at a piano recital and all that would come through a mike is a low distant rumble.
      No need to worry about the live vs. recorded difference, since I've never seen a cat, dog or child in the least bit fooled by any sound coming from a box.
      - Re: Angela Hewitt Live - theaudiohobby 16:28:52 12/10/06 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Angela Hewitt Live posted by Rob Gold on December 10, 2006 at 08:44:32:
        
        "I HAVE hear Ms. Hewitt live, and from three feet away (when I warked at Ottawa's National Arts Centre, I found her rehearsing in the building's reception Salon). I've had the same pleasure with Ashkenazy, Serkin (Rudolph), Kimura Parker, Josselson, and many others"
        Good for you, I am willing to wager that all those times you heard them, you also SAW them playing.
        "Microphones "hear" very differently from people; they are far more sensitive to near field than far field sounds, and the panorama of from where they "hear" is different.Place one 15th row center at a piano recital and all that would come through a mike is a low distant rumble."
        The big problem with your commentary here is that in documented controlled tests, i.e. without a priori knowledge the test subjects could not reliably distinguish live from recorded. I imagine that large ensembles will probably be harder to conceal in this manner, but solo instruments and small ensembles are another matter, it is been done and documented.
        "No need to worry about the live vs. recorded difference, since I've never seen a cat, dog or child in the least bit fooled by any sound coming from a box. "
        As Richard Greene is fond of saying, have you spoken to the cat or dog to know whether they are fooled by sound coming from a box. As for kids, it is another matter, Disney employ those tricks in their theme parks all the time for kicks, how they use a blind fold i.e. take away apriori knowledge. In summary, your commentary is purely anecdotal, live vs. recorded is a settled matter.
        
        Music making the painting, recording it the photograph
Thanks Neolith for the reality check... - stevenk 12:52:00 12/02/06 (0)
It's too easy to become consumed with the nuances of tweaking our systems sometimes to step back for a reality check and hear a good live performance. It was interesting to hear the similarities and differences between your system's performance vs. a live performance.
I had a similar experience recently hearing the St. Louis Symphony and Chorus perform Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms and several other pieces included a wonderful Messiaen piece. I was bowled over by the tremendous dynamics produced by the Symphony and full chorus at full volume--something my system could never recreate. Likewise, every time I hear the symphony, I'm amazed at how smooth and clear everything sounds yet its never bright, shrill or harsh sounding. Sitting in the balcony, the sound totally surrounds you and envelopes you due to the hall acoustics. Again something difficult to recreate at home. These are some goals I've been working toward in my system and continue to get closer to but I know I will never get there. On the other hand, I'm pleased with my system's sound within the parameters of home audio systems. For the reproduction of acoustic instruments, I find maggies hard to beat in terms of a realistic reproduction of the texture, timbre, size and the materials involved in how these instruments make sounds. I can easily hear the wood in a stand up bass or acoustic guitar which I like a lot.
Nothing beats a good live performance, however, thank God (or we'd all be in trouble).
steve

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