Goodness: I haven't posted anything since April! This doesn't mean that I have given up on music, nor purchasing recordings. Rather, it has been a busy period with too many distractions. You will still find me in the morning with iPod and headphones, doing chores. There is no such thing as "too many recordings."
I received an extravagant gift that has kept me busy: a SlimDevices Transporter. This is a very high-end device, yielding even better playback than my MusicHall CD25.2; indeed, this is the most "audiophile" piece of equipment I now own. More importantly, it is motivating me to consolidate every single recording I have onto one hard disk. The end result will be that I have a catalog of everything, with easy retrieval. (I gave up counting my CDs some time ago: I'm guessing it is over 1,500, which makes me only a "mid-weight" collector.)
The process requires that I load each and every CD into the computer to "rip" it to a digital format. Because this is a high-end device, I want to use a "lossless" format that provides some compression, but without any loss in dynamics or detail. Using a lossless compression makes it possible for me recreate the original recording bit-for-bit; this results in much larger files than generally practical for iPods and other MP3 players. Since the data is served off of my computer system (transmitted via wireless to the Transporter), I installed a one Terabyte external disk that will provide a home for my entire collection, with room left over for future recordings.
There are several lossless standards available, and this choice got me into some trouble. I experimented with both FLAC and ALAC and once I chose the latter (because it is native to iTunes) I managed to delete the first 360 recordings I had laboriously ripped, essentially having to start over; it has taken me a couple of weeks to recover. I am more careful, now!
The process of ripping disks means I have to handle each-and-every CD, which leads to my topic today. I'm astonished at how many recordings of the same works I have, particularly when it comes to Sebastian Bach. I have complained about this before. Nowhere is is more obvious than with the Goldberg Variations. In looking at my many versions, I can't help but reflect on many of their merits and deficiencies:
- Murray Perahia: my favorite, for the perfect balance of, well, everything.
- Pierre Hantaï: my favorite harpsichord recording. Actually, I only have his first recording, not finding much difference between it and his second.
- Christoph Rousset: the blandest recording of any major artist I have.
- Glenn Gould: how can you not respond to either? He has magic, along with what I can only call "bad manners". There are moments of absolute perfection, but I still think Perahia comes close, with consistency.
- Jaroslav Tuma: best clavichord recording. This is also a very original interpretation, not sounding anything like Gould. He makes it sound very natural to the clavichord. His harpsichord version is less compelling.
- Kurt Rodarmer: most high energy recording--on two guitars! This has fabulous sound and energy, but suffers from a "Segovia style" that succumbs to gross over-emphasis of SOME notes THAT somehow the performer THINKS are so important the LISTENER might miss them.








