Re: Review of Edna Stern's Schubert on Tape
Robert, I take your points with some reservation, but let's cut to the chase. Without compromising her musical intentions (and your apparent appreciation of them), Ms Stern could simply have stipulated 'no editing' and made single-take digital recordings for her Schubert album - more easily, technically superior, and probably far more economically. (Magnetic tape is expensive, and some of the cheapest digital recorders perform vastly better than any analogue tape recorder ever made.) With appropriate acoustics, these recordings could even be self-made at home (e.g. look at James Ehnes' site about his latest Ysaÿe and Bach discs). What Ms Stern is regurgitating in her sleeve notes is simply, as Néstor terms it, the 'cultist' and, I would dare to add, the audiophilic myths that circulate like snake oil through, particularly, the consumer audio press. I have no problem at all with her free choice and preferences, but when she adopts more absolute terminology to infer the 'superiority' of her chosen technology, I will be equally absolute by saying it is measurably and demonstrably untrue. As I note that Ms Stern was only born at the start of the digital era, it's understandable that she may be taking an idealised view of the past. As someone who lived through, at least, the stereo era of analogue audio and had some professional involvement in it, I was more than happy to wave it goodbye, and see absolutely no reason to go back. I retain my analogue recorders (made by Nagra and Studer) for the purpose of replay and digitisation, but never intend to hit the 'record' button again!
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