A Tale of Two Live Concerts

[nicoff]

About Mahler Symphonies: the second one, the resurrection it is amazing, but for me, the third one love it very much, in my opinion the second and third are absolutely in quality unbelievable

After those 2 I love the 5th because of the adagio inside, they may turn that one at my funeral: it sounds like funeral music, but it is written a love song. I think this adagio is the best part in Mahler symphonies.

The 1st one, I love it, a famous kids song is originated from first

Also great, the 6th and 4th.

I totally understand you!

It is hard to pick just one when it comes to Mahler!

But… you did not mention Das Lied von der Erde. The last movement, "Der Abschied", might just be the supreme Mahler for me.

(By the way, since you like the adagietto of the 5th, you can hear its beginnings in this Mahler’s song: “Ich bin der Welt”)

PS. The adagietto of Mahler’s 5th was the music picked by Leonard Berstein for the funeral of President John F. Kennedy.

 

[AJ Soundfield]

I dont "listen for SQ," I find the huge echo so utterly distracting that I don't enjoy the music. In the TD Garden (Boston), the echo really is horrendous.

That would be rather annoying. No such issues at my local venues, at least the ones I attend.

 

[Spock]

My stereo system, by comparison, sounds puny compared to the expansive landscape of sound and the dynamics of a full orchestra with over 200 performers on stage. This is the true "absolute sound" and while we can enjoy listening to our stereo systems, there is absolutely no way that a two-speaker system can replicate that.

Nicoff,

The next time you go to a live concert, in an tutti moment, with all the orchestra playing, look at the pianist. His hands move, his body moves and yet you can't hear him.
But in your system you can! Ah!

 

[nicoff]

Nicoff,

The next time you go to a live concert, in an tutti moment, with all the orchestra playing, look at the pianist. His hands move, his body moves and yet you can't hear him.
But in your system you can! Ah!

That is yet another example of where live music and recorded music differ. In just about any symphonic work where there is piano (e.g., a piano concerto), the composer gives the pianist plenty of time to shine. That is when the pianist/piano take front stage and the orchestra plays a companion role. In a live performance, at the point when you hear a tutti orchestral moment, that is a time for the full orchestra to shine/lead and for the piano/pianist to become just another member of the orchestra.

 

[Spock]

In a live performance, at the point when you hear a tutti orchestral moment, that is a time for the full orchestra to shine/lead and for the piano/pianist to become just another member of the orchestra.

I don't think this is the thinking of many sound engineers who ALWAYS seek to capture the individual contribution of all instruments, so that we, audiophiles can then spend a lifetime looking for that symbiosis between the part and the whole, trying to discern, in the message musical, every detail that composes it.

Cheers!