2 Channel Stereo

In my previous post I talked about going to the Utah Symphony Concert with Hilary Hahn.  On my way home listened to a Hilary Hahn recording I had in my car. Apparently I didn't get enough of her at the concert. Of course the audiophile in me started comparing the experience of listening to performance at a concert to that of listening to a recording, particularly in the car. It also got me to thinking about 2 channel stereo. 2 channel stereo is the dominant way we listen to music since its advent. However the experience of listening to music in stereo can vary greatly depending on how you are listening to it.

Back to my comparison of the concert venue, vs the car. In the concert hall, the source of the sound is obviously in front of me, and that is where my ears tell me the sound is coming from. And were I to do this, I could point to where the different instruments are with my eyes closed. In my car however I have speakers in front of me, to the sides of me, and behind me. I might be able to detect one instrument is dominant on the right or the left, but certainly have no perception of the placement of the instrument in a 3 dimensional space.

For classical music or other "acoustic" music performances, car audio does a rather poor job of "recreating" the experience. The reason 2 channel stereo still dominates recorded music, the ability to create a stereo image of the sound in front of, as if were coming from the stage. Unfortunately most people today never experience this when listening to music.

Most people are typically listening to music in their cars, on their iPods through not very good headphones, a small speaker system such as an iPod dock , or from their computer. None of these will create a stereo image with a deep soundstage in an attempt to transport you back to the concert venue. Well it can be done to a point with computer speakers, but most people don't have the proper set up to achieve this. Additionally most people aren't really "listening" to the music, they have it on as background noise while doing something else.

Hilary Hahn Concert

Went to the Utah Symphony concert last night and it was awesome. They began the program with Mozart's Symphony No. 41, his last and arguably the best known. It seems the 4th Movement at least is heard more frequently than his other symphonic works. Be it on classical radio or in some soundtrack. I would wager many people unfamiliar with Mozart's symphony's would recognize the 4th Movement.

That was followed by the Mahler's Symphony No. 10 1st Movement: Adagio. For those that don't know, the reason only one movement was played, is that it is the only one he completed before he died. Those familiar with classical music are aware of the curse of the 9th symphony. From Beethoven on, it seems all the great symphonic composers die after they complete their 9th symphony. Of course this is pure superstition and not at all true, as many composers have more than 9 symphonies.

Hilary Hahn anchored the program with Korngold's violin concerto, and she was stupendous. Korngold's music drips with unabashed romanticism, and this concerto in particular, Hollywood 'schmulziness'. The 3rd Movement is just fun. You can really hear some of his "film score" traits come out in it. Hilary was in top form, of course I'm somewhat biased. I have been fan of Hilary since she was 18 when I first heard her and own several of her recordings.

I just happened to have one of her recordings in the car. So still in the mood I listened to it on the way home. I have to say, it just ain't the same listening to recording. There is an energy in a live performance that gets lost on the recording. I guess I'll just have to bide my time till the next the concert.