What is a good recording

[skeptic]

Sometimes winning just means getting there first.

[BillB]

Bastard! Just kidding.

I think it's different for everyone. For me it's something where care was taken to capture a performance as cleanly as possible while keeping it simple.

Now, "What makes good music?", you can ask that one...

Bill

[skeptic]

If you read my postings, you would know that what I have to say about that makes a lot of people very angry. If I'd have to give one characteristic of "great music", I would say that it holds the interest of an intelligent adult no matter how many times he or she listens to it. It always has something new and interesting to offer. Sometimes it is its sheer beauty of sound, sometimes it is how it is constructed like the architecture of a building, sometimes it is the way it progresses and how one part leads powerfully into another, sometimes it is the way the musicians play together making the whole much greater than the sum of the parts. It takes a great mind which has either a unique bent for music and has been highly trained to write such music or even rarer, utter genius like Mozart who was writing from early childhood. It also takes musicians who have dedicated their lives to the perfection of their instruments or their voices both technically and musically. These are very rare combinations but when found can be savored like great wines, great art, or great literature. They are the exact opposite of the mundane, mediocre, ordinary, carelessly written and performed so called music which is commercially so successful. And why does it make people angry to hear that what most of them call music is mediocre trash? Because deep down they know that it is one hundred percent true. That's why.

[BillB]

When it comes to music I love a good melody. Whether it's classical, country, rock, or pop I can't resist a nice melodic song.

Recordings on the other hand I like kept simple...unfortunately some of my favorite bands don't agree...

Bill

[skeptic]

I would say I know at least ten thousand different melodies. Some of them were so fascinating to certain composers that they couldn't keep their hands off of them experimenting with them again and again, and again. Many are simple ditties of no consequence and not much interest. I would say that I have no general rule for predicting which category a melody will fall into. An earwig is a melody you can't get out of your head. The BBC did an entire program about them. Women are more prone than men to getting them. The only recommended way to get rid of one is, I'm sorry to say, to replace it with another one. Who was the greatest melody writer of all time? IMO, Tchaikowsky, hands down. Nobody wrote more beautiful melodies or so many of them. I hope you listen to one some day. In its original form.

[Dusty Chalk]

You had me up until this part:

And why does it make people angry to hear that what most of them call music is mediocre trash? Because deep down they know that it is one hundred percent true. That's why.

See, that's just wrong. Ignorant, even. Sometimes it's just not about how "intellectually stimulating" music is, sometimes one just wants to "rock out". The best music appeals to both hemispheres of the mind, the intellectual and the emotional, not just the intellectual as you seem (though not want) to imply.

You can get tired of any piece of music if you listen to it too much. I know that doesn't sound like it's the case, but try listening to just one version of one symphony 4 times straight, and I guarantee that by the fourth listen (if not earlier), you're going to be hankering for something else. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying it's not self-mood-defining (and by that I mean that, no matter what mood one starts in, one is in the mood to listen to this piece shortly after it starts). I'm saying that if you were to try to do it as soon as you read this, there is a very good chance that you'll be forcing yourself.

The appreciation of music is just way too dependent on the mood of the listener to be able to make that sweeping statements that you make.

ANYWAY...

In answer to the original question: a good recording is one that gets out of the way, as much as possible. That's my definition. Now, that's kind of preposterous, considering I'm listening to Venetian Snares right now, but I still feel it is an appropriate answer, not in terms of some sort of "original performance" the likes of which doesn't exist for this kind of music, but for some ideal "intended" fictitious "performance" (for lack of a better word..."rendition", perhaps?).

[BillB]

skeptic,

On the way into work this morning I got to thinking about your post above. I've only attended two classical concerts, both at Philadelphia's Academy of Music, and I only own about a dozen or so classical recordings.

Most "classics" were made before recording technology was invented. Many reviews of classical recordings critique or applaud the performance of a certain piece on a given recording. If no recording of the original exists, what does one use as a reference to critique whether or not the performance is good?

Any particular Tchaikowsky recordings you would recommend? Preferred formats are SACD or DVD-A but CD will do as well.

Thanks,
Bill

[BillB]

Pete (Dusty),

While I don't agree with skeptic calling my favorite music trash he's entitled to his opinion. It's why I would NEVER ask the question, "What makes good MUSIC?"

Bill

[skeptic]

Bill, from your post above;

"Now, "What makes good music?", you can ask that one..."
Dusty;

"You can get tired of any piece of music if you listen to it too much. I know that doesn't sound like it's the case, but try listening to just one version of one symphony 4 times straight, and I guarantee that by the fourth listen (if not earlier), you're going to be hankering for something else."

I agree!

"The best music appeals to both hemispheres of the mind, the intellectual and the emotional.."

I also agree. In fact to be great music it MUST appeal to both hemispheres. The problem I have with insipid music it it doesn't appeal to either, at least not for me. And BTW, even great compositions poorly performed are deadly boring and seem to never end. Sometimes the performances are just blah, utterly uninspired. And there is a lot of awful classical music out there too. As a matter of fact, MOST writers of great classical music also wrote a lot of very boring music as well. We focus on the gems but there are almost always many weeds and just plain rocks in those gardens too.

Right now I am NOT in the mood for classical music. In fact I was just listening to what I consider the world's happiest music, Dixieland Jazz. Here's one I can recommend although they are not my favorite arrangements, the performances seem very competent and very well recorded.

"Dixieland Jazz" Green Hill GHD5020 and also very good is Dixieland Hymns GHD5019. Interesting that the two recordings were made by different engineers and sound different. The bass in 5019 is more pronounced than 5020. Also very good on Green HIll is Dixieland Christmas.

http://www.greenhillmusic.com/ghAbout.htm

I am still waiting for re-release of "The Dukes of Dixieland" recordings which Audio Fidelity Records originally issued in the 1960s.

Bill.
As for some Tchaikowsky, there is a ton of it out there. Here is a very nice starter disc for you;

Deutche Gramaphone 413-153-2

It's a two disc set, one all Tchaikowsky and the other with some other very famous Russian music. The Romeo and Julliet Overture which starts off slowly may be among his best writing. There are loads of beautiful melodies on these discs, fine performances and recordings, lots of variety, and it shouldn't cost more than around $10 - $12 for the pair. As for Tchaikowsky's music, it barely scratches the surface of what he wrote.

[nobody]

For some not-so-happy Dixieland music, maybe not strictly Dixieland all the way through, but certainly in places....check out the latest Dirty Dozen Brass Band disc, Funeral for a Friend, just released this year. It's a New Orleans Funeral Cycle dedicated to a recently lost band member.

Great stuff.