Henselt/Bronsart Piano Concertos - forthcoming from BIS/Paul Wee

[Ilja]

To me the more important question is: does it bother you? All recorded audio that is released is manipulated in some way or another. It needs to be in order to give a representative, "objective" idea of the work. And often that's something of a unicorn: the majority of people in a concert hall will presumably hear something quite different depending on the hall's acoustics, their seat relative to the orchestra, and a number of other factors. In that sense, BIS's "original dynamics" blurb is just another bit of marketing speak. 
Particularly in orchestral music, creating a fitting sonic image requires great skill and I guess that we can all recall enough examples where the sound engineer went wrong. Where this case differs, however, is that it strays from what appears to be something of an industry consensus. Personally, I consider it an inventive solution to cope with the limitations of a recording and do justice to the composer's intention, rather than a problematic manipulation.

[Mark Thomas]

Does post-production manipulation of a recording bother me? Of course not, it's what a mixing desk is for and, as Ilja says, is part of the process of making any recording. What does bother me a little (but only a little) is the reason for it in this case. It's not to achieve a perfect "concert hall" balance between soloist and orchestra, say, it's to correct a predictable deficiency in the orchestra - that it never had the sheer volume needed for the repertoire. That was something which should have been have been apparent to the professionals before the recording was made - Alan voiced his concern here as soon as it was announced. There's a difference between using technology to cover up a shortcoming and using it to tweak an already good recording, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

[Ilja]

Good point. And yes, it WOULD bother me if this were used as a way to employ fewer musicians than is necessary to create an acceptable performance.

[Alan Howe]

I just thought from the beginning that they'd made a mistake choosing the SCO. I still do. The result is an exciting, but very odd CD - which only we seem to have noticed!

[eschiss1]

I will admit that the moment one truly has to worry that "original instrument" performance of a 1911 composition means a 1770 orchestra, something is a little wrong. I'm guessing we aren't quite there, and that I sound more reactionary than this anarchosyndicalist is -usually- accused of sounding, but... I mean... really.
(I have had other concerns about claims I've read- some having to do with practices in Renaissance music insisting that because the average performance of choral music to be expected at the time wouldn't have involved instruments, neither should ours, which makes my head spin (should our performances of music have the average horrible intonation and ensemble of the average performances of the time the music was written- e.g. 19th century music performed using the substitute system for "rehearsals" in England- too? The mind reels at that kind of logic. But I apologize for the digression...)

[Mark Thomas]

I share your pain at these sort of "developments", Eric.  They represent a total lack of imagination, are a substitute for creativity and an artistic dead end.

[Alan Howe]

To me the more important question is: does it bother you?

Answer: yes it did, from day one. It still does. I don't know of any (modern) recording of romantic piano concertos that sounds as weird as this one. However, I've 'parked' my reservations because the pianism is so outstanding.

[eschiss1]

Wee also, judging from his Alkan (symphony & concerto from Op.39) disc (and his Thalberg?), seems to have some history of well-chosen repertoire which should be encouraged... (not saying necessarily with this disc.)

[Alan Howe]

I said 'weird' because I can hear width in the orchestra, but not much in the way of depth - or is that merely a function of the size of the orchestra? Try picking out the timpani, for example - are they any more than a vague rumble?

[Alan Howe]

But to return to the positive - this recording has considerably increased my admiration for the Bronsart as a piece of music rather than merely a showpiece. Now, if Mr Wee were to pop up in London with, say, the LSO in this concerto I'd be first in the queue for tickets.

[Maury]

Regarding the recording : This sounds like  Dynamic Range Restriction aka the Loudness Wars, which are ubiquitous these days since so many listeners use the mobile device as their playback system. Typically it is close mic'ed pop recordings and especially those done in what I term concurrent mono which are distributed horizontally across the stereo field but with very little depth differences.  Timpani are often the most difficult to record properly and the first to suffer because they are on the borderline of definite and indefinite pitch.

I could be wrong but I thought the "vogue" for chamber orchestras playing 19th C repertoire began as a financial rather than a HIP motivation. But there does seem to be an increasing liking for lightweight Beethoven so maybe this is the future whether we want it or not.

[eschiss1]

Mr Wee is, interestingly, back in London this afternoon, but for a solo performance.

[Alan Howe]

But there does seem to be an increasing liking for lightweight Beethoven so maybe this is the future whether we want it or not.

Well, there's been lightweight Brahms, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, etc. Fancy the SCO under Dausgaard in the Pathétique?