Thanks all. Newbee, great to hear from a fellow idiot! I'd already done a bit of research on my own and had already ordered the Hewitt version on SACD so good to hear I made a good choice. Great input as always, Newbee, and I'm a hopeless romantic, which is probably what drew me to the piece in the first place. See my original thread if you want to watch the DVD and hear the passage that caused me to seek this out in the first place. Funny you mention your mom, I was back east visiting my mom (writing from there now as a matter of fact) where both my mom and I were watching that DVD and we both commented about that piano passage at the end of the DVD finding ourselves looking for the source in the credits. Alas, there was none. I'll look up the Rubinstein version(s) as well, which I may already have on some disc as I do have some of his performances. Thanks to all for the recommendations.
Showing 9 responses by jax2
Just got Kissin CD. Excellent! Both the performance and the sound quality. Just awesome! Highly recommended. Thanks, I will order it. I got the Hewitt SACD. While the performance is outstanding, the recording and sonics are surprisingly poor. It seems to have been recorded with very low gain necessitating a 3 O'clock position on my preamp, as well (necessitating a similarly high position on a friend's system). The piano seems distant and a bit fuzzy overall...not in crisp, sharp focus, nor very immediate. It's a shame as the performances on these two discs are very nice indeed. Certainly on the more romantic side as Newbee sussed out. |
Many thanks, Newbee (and all). Newbee, I did not take your original recommendation as one having actually heard the recording so I would not have blamed you either way :-) FWIW I have a multi-layered version of the disc and am playing in on a Modwright/Sony player (SACD). I am not able to get the CD layer to play on my player (though it does have the layer there) so I brought it over to hear on my friend's system (an outstanding system, BTW), and came away with very similar impressions. Both his and my systems required copious amounts of attenuation at the pre stage. Mine was at 3:30 and his at 2:30 (this is not normal for either system). At the same time I'd brought over a far less lofty piece of piano music to hear on his system and I have to say I'd never heard a piano sound so good coming from a pair of speakers! It was hair raising good! So what I'm saying is that it was definitely not the system that was throwing a poor image. His player is just a CD player so was definitely playing the CD layer on the Hewitt. Interesting observation on the dual-layered discs. A bust in more ways than one for me as it was a relatively expensive disc too. From the standpoint of the performance it was a fine recommendation, and if the CD is better than the dual layer I certainly understand your recommending it. Burn me a copy and I'll burn you a copy and we can see how they vary on our respective systems;-) OK, I'm ordering the Kissin! |
PS I'd add that the Volodos is an excellent recording with great immediacy and presence (wonderful performance too), which is primarily what I felt is lacking in the dual-layer Hewitt (not "Hewlett", Newbee - if there is a Hewlett recording then we're talking about a different artist :-) The Pletnev CD is a very spirited and energetic live performance. It does not have the sonic immediacy of the Volodos but it is a powerful performance, and a great live recording (IMO of course). It's on Deutsche Grammophon. |
OK, now I'm really perplexed!!!! So I'm burning the CD copies for Newbee this morning and use a direct-copy software (one disc in one drive copied to one in another). I just went to play the burned copy in my system to confirm that it played fine before sending it out, and to my amazement not only does it play fine, but it sounds superior to the SACD, and does not require nearly as much gain (I'd say it's a good 5db higher in gain overall). I put in the original SACD and sure enough, the sound was more distant and required going from 11 o'clock to 2 o'clock on my pre to get a similar volume to the copied version!!! WTF! Now this does NOT explain why on my friend's system, which as far as I know is a CD-only player, the disc had a similar sound and similar issue with gain as it does on my own SACD player!!!! The disc had to have been playing its CD layer on his system, yet it required a very high amount of attenuation from his pre too. Somebody give me a clue here!!! This is VERY ODD! I've just started a new thread that will be up as soon as the moderator approves it. I think this issue is worthy of a thread of its own at this point. |
Hey Newbee (and all)- I finally listened to the Kissin today. Wow, that is a unique and passionate interpretation - he really makes the music his own in some ways. I really enjoy his playing. It is a much bolder interpretation than Hewitt, who tends towards the traditional and romantic. It sounds very different indeed from Hewitt's rendition of some of the same compositions. Sonics are OK, but not great on the Kissin -- better than the Hewitt SACD I'm getting, on par with the burned CD of the same. Good for a live recording overall. I guess I'm spoiled with the expectation of the immediacy of various studio recordings of piano (which make it sound as if the piano where in the room rather than on a stage in the distance) that I enjoy so live on stage always seems to fall short in that respect. Certainly not in the performance, especially in this case. Thanks very much for pointing me that way. Next up; Rubenstein! Newbee, did you get the Pletnev I suggested? |
I've got Pletnev on my order list, but I'm waiting for some more to get there before I hit the button. I'll let you know when I hear it. I'm now more curious than ever. $6 used on Amazon with about $3 for shipping: you cannot go wrong! I look forward to hearing your impressions. I've really been enjoying the Kissin. BTW, I passed on the Hewitt SACD along with the burned CD's to a friend with a universal player. He listened at my house and was astounded at the difference. I'll be curious to hear what happens on his player. I'll post to that other thread. |
Thanks, Newbee! I'll keep an eye out for it. I've been enjoying the Hewlett disc you recommended, in spite of initially being disenchanted with the sonics. I still find the piano to sound a bit distant, but do enjoy the performance. You inspired me to put it on right now...lovely! The Kissin is more athletic and full of bravado and flourish (hope I conveying this well). I find Hewlett to be more as you describe May - relaxed, natural and beautifully flowing. Kissin is more abrupt perhaps...unpredictable and a bit brash at times. |