# "Unpolished" Recordings



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Listening to old recordings of Gould, Richter, and others gives a real natural feel to the recording. I feel you are hearing more of the artist in these recordings compared to modern day takes which are heavily produced and loses some of the natural dynamic nature of the artist.

I would really prefer some kind of in-between, a clean sound with a natural feel.

Any thoughts/ideas?


----------



## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

This topic in the *HiFi *section might get more action. Justa thought.


----------



## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

The piano and harpsichord are not easy instruments to record. Many modern recordings record these instruments with very close miking. These recordings can be rather harsh to many with a lot of mechanical noises from the instrument and the performer. Some may like the detail though. There's probably a "best" balance between too close and too distant miking for most people, but even this day in age a lot of engineers get the balance incorrect. The only thing I can recommend is to sample recordings before buying to find the best recording for your taste.


----------



## chill782002 (Jan 12, 2017)

Captainnumber36 said:


> Listening to old recordings of Gould, Richter, and others gives a real natural feel to the recording. I feel you are hearing more of the artist in these recordings compared to modern day takes which are heavily produced and loses some of the natural dynamic nature of the artist.
> 
> I would really prefer some kind of in-between, a clean sound with a natural feel.
> 
> Any thoughts/ideas?


I've said this elsewhere but I recommend the Nuova Era version of Schnabel's Beethoven Piano Sonatas. Recorded between 1932 and 1935 so very natural but the sound is surprisingly clear with a lot of high end detail, much better than the heavily NR'd EMI version.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I think Lily Kraus has my favorite collection of Mozart's piano sonatas.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I think I really like both styles for what they have to offer. There really is no "perfect" match aside from what you enjoy the most individually. But I see merits in both styles, I think if I ever go into a studio to record, I would like to fall closer to the rawness of the older recordings which feel very real and natural, but with as clean as sound as possible without ruining the individuality of my playing.


----------



## chill782002 (Jan 12, 2017)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I think Lily Kraus has my favorite collection of Mozart's piano sonatas.


Yes! Her 1954 cycle is excellent.


----------



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

While I'm always amazed at the quality of classical recordings of the 60s and 70s, overall, I think the recording quality still depends on the engineers, past or present. For instance, the present day piano/orchestra recordings of the U.K. Hyperion company are excellent.

I don't find pre-1955 mono recordings to be natural. I've got two ears for a reason.


----------



## quietfire (Mar 13, 2017)

You can listen to me if you want to. Lol.


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I find the old RCA Munch/Boston Symphony stereo analog recordings sound much better, with a lot of warmth, than recent cold sterile digital recordings.


----------



## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

I prefer very "clean" recordings, because unlike a live concert, you are going to listen to it over and over. Any extraneous sounds, like someone in the audience coughing, or the piano stool creaking, or Gould humming and howling under his breath, become extremely irritating when they are in a recording. They seem to become ever more noticeable the more you listen to the recording.


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

I like music, clean or not, as long as I can hear my favourite music.


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Vaneyes said:


> This topic in the *HiFi *section might get more action. Justa thought.


I do agree with you on that one.


----------

