ON DEMAND LA Phil Ein Heldenleben + Shankar until 4/30

[alexwill]

Don't miss the fanfare for 3 tpts in the Shankar Sitar Conc.from 36 to 37m.

Ein Heldenleben offstage starts at 88 minutes.

http://www.kusc.org/radio/on-demand/socal-sunday-night-on-demand/

LA Phil
Zubin Mehta, conductor
Anoushka Shankar, sitar
R. SHANKAR: Sitar Concerto No. 2, “Raga mala” (West Coast premiere)
STRAUSS: Ein Heldenleben

[trumpetbrew]

Definitely ranks amongst the most boring, unimaginative Heldenlebens I've heard, at least from the trumpets. Some interesting stuff from the horns though, percussion too. The post-war Eb had some good character. Congrats i suppose? Super in time and tune!!!!!
Dear God, if that goes to Chicago, I'll be even more irate. Please don't allow it.

The Bb trumpet/celli duo was really beautiful though. Wonder who that was?

[MrClean]

I agree - the broadcast recording is not good. There is no fire there. Mehta also likes a slower battle scene. Btw, he admonished us multiple times to not play any louder than the rehearsals. We were not, however, exactly holding back. You would not have wanted to be sitting directly in front of the brass.

I've said it a billion times... You are never going to get an accurate picture of this section (or the orchestra for that matter) from our broadcast recordings - they just do not sound good. They have not figured out how to get a balanced, dynamic, clear sound, which I think comes from having the mics in too close proximity to the strings. Think of it this way: imagine someone speaking at a louder-than-conversational voice at you from ten feet away, while someone whispers directly in your ear. The louder voice should dominate, but does not because of proximity of the whispered voice to your ear drum. It has been a constant source of aggravation for me since I've been here, to the point where we have had several meetings on the topic, and even organized a presentation for the engineers. You can guess how that was received...

On a side note, your post was fine right up until you took it to a personal attack. You are absolutely entitled to an opinion on the recording (which I share), but you probably should have left it right there. Tom plays his ass off, and Chicago would be very, very lucky to have him.

J
_________________
Jim Wilt
LA Philharmonic
Colburn School

[trumpetbrew]

Jim, it's not an attack, it's a preference. I know our society has moved to being much happier not hearing about people's preferences or opinions. Alas, I still think it is OK to have these opinions and share them. I suppose I could make it more blandly digestible? ie

That playing seems to work great in LAP - I hope the section stays together!

re broadcasts - have these engineers been exposed to some of the other big orchestra streams? NYP, CSO, Cinci, Pitts, etc - they all have streaming services and have found a way to capture more trumpet fire.

[MrClean]

We compiled a sampling of multiple orchestras, from broadcast quality to commercial releases to do a side-by-side comparison of exactly the same repertoire. There was a contingent of musicians at the presentation as well, to try to explain what we thought the differences were. It was not a comfortable, feel-good sort of meeting, though we tried to keep it very constructive and positive. Pretty much fell on deaf ears (pun intended). Our guys certainly understand the technology and the equipment, but I do not think they have the sound in their heads that they need to capture. It is aggravating, as we understand that many, if not most people's exposure to this orchestra is going to be through media. This is also our legacy, and it just is not good.
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Jim Wilt
LA Philharmonic
Colburn School

[dstdenis]

I listened to this concert recording, and I thought it was a fine performance. I understand that the trumpet section played their parts the way they were asked, and they did so beautifully. (I had no idea Shankar wrote such trumpet parts!) Listening on headphones, the audio stereo mapping seemed odd to me, but still, I enjoyed the music making.
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Bb Yamaha Xeno 8335IIS
Cornet Getzen Custom 3850S
Flugelhorn Courtois 155R
Piccolo Stomvi

[roccotrumpetsiffredi]

[Tpt_Guy]