Thank you Marty. That is a wonderful description. Could you please recommend a couple of digital and analog recordings that to you demonstrate this sense of "action"? Thank you.
Peter,
Happy to oblige. Hard to choose among many fine example but these should be useful for our purposes of highlighting good piano recordings that can be used to assess DAC playback capabilities for piano reproduction.
For Studio Piano recordings:
1) Murray Perahia Schubert Piano Sonatas Sony S2K 87706
As beautiful as it gets. Lovely recording and the entire album is a gem. Try Disc 1, tracks 1,4,5 The space between the notes is where the piano breathes, especially in the lower register, but the action during the arpgeggios and sparkle of the treble throughout is also quite compelling.
2) Yoram Ish-Hurwitz | Liszt Turtle Records TRSA0020
This SACD has incredible dynamic range which shows off the Steinway D’s capabilities nicely.
Try track 4 which has some gorgeous treble tones. Track 5 is begun “presto furioso” which says it all. Overwhelming left hand. Then resolves to a much calmer piu mosso ending. (Track 5 is unlike most of the tracks which mostly demonstrate an introspective, serene and reflective side of Liszt). Once again, gorgeous playing throughout on a superbly recorded instrument.
For Live piano recordings:
3) Yuj Wang The Berlin Recital Deutche Grammophon 028948362820
A masterpiece in every way. Dazzling and compelling playing. The repertoire is brilliant. Combining Rachmaninov, Scriabin with Ligeti (the guy was far ahead of his time- so fascinating) and Prokofiev. Might as well start with track 1. The DGG tonmeisters are in their element here in Berlin’s Philharmonie Hall and capture the Steinway beautifully. Track 9 shows both pianist and piano in top form, particularly the end of the first movement of Piano sonata No. 8 which exemplifies Wang’s tour-de -force playing.
4) Martha Argerich | Nelson Freire Salzberg DGG 477 8570
And now for something special. What’s better than a beautifully recorded piano? Answer- two pianos! And it doesn’t get any better when they’re played by two of the greatest virtuosos of all time. Argerich and Freire are not just incredible individual artists here. But as former husband and wife, they know each other’s playing so well that they communicate in a realm that creates sheer magic. Start with the Variations on a Theme of Haydn and see if you can stop before the last note of La Valse. Their version of Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances is just astounding and enough to make me forget all else as I'm in rapture here. It’s as if it was played by one mind with 4 hands.
For me, this is sort of like watching TV and changing the channels and you come across
“The Godfather” or “Animal house”. Either way, you can’t change the channel!
Similarly, if you find you are listening to this album and start thinking about DAC performance, you are unfortunately missing the point. What the Lampi does is allow you to listen to the music and forget about how the hell it's being reproduced. Not much I can say after that.
5) Honorable Mention:
Ivan Moravec Plays Beethoven VAI Audio 1010
I had to include this for one reason only. I was at Mike Lavigne’s barn many years ago when he gave me his computer tablet and told me to play something (As many of us know, Mike is a generous host and often gives his visitors pretty much free reign for listening options) . No idea why I chose this but since I like piano music for critical listening, I hit play. I was listening to the piece played through Mike’s GG 1.5 and it was at that moment I knew I was hearing something that was special. I wasn’t sure it was the cat’s meow as I was into Meitner at the time but filed it away in my brain nonetheless for revisiting down the road. Little did I know that time would come several years later. But indeed after several significant system changes, I finally pulled the trigger on acquiring a Lampi GG2. Is listening to it even more satisfying than watching “The Godfather” for the 300th time? You bet.
Hope this helps
Marty