I’ve heard Glass’s Music for 18 Musicians live twice, because it was used for a piece called Rain by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. There are videos on YouTube. Found an image off my phone from the show. Good to sit near the front for this piece to get a full view of the orchestra. It is wonderful to watch, both the dance and the musicians. There are 5 marimbas used in that piece.
p.s. Back to live music next week - Alina Ibragimova playing the Janacek and Beethoven/Kreutzer violin sonatas, socially distanced audience of 25 followed by a dinner from a very decent chef.
Somewhat ironic as the first two operas I missed thanks to Covid-19 were Janacek (Jenufa) and Beethoven (Fidelio).
Yes, most 24/192, one DSD and one parallel as vinyl…I wait for more…would be my number one concert act. I really love marimba and vibraphone, I even kept a marimba recording of Bach cello suites (which is not a must have )
Being a glutton for novelty, I tried this album. You are absolutely right about the sound; the marimbas were pounding away in my front room in an incredibly realistic manner, although the orchestra was a bit ‘back over there somewhere’. You can however have too much of a good thing, and after about 15 minutes my wife and I agreed that it was a little obtrusive and we would like our room back.
Having recorded a good number of orchestra and chamber works with percussion I am continually pleased (and a little surprised) how easy it is to capture the sound of a lot of percussion. Recorded marimba xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle, wood blocks, etc. typically sound very good.
Chimes are harder, as are gongs. My hypothesis is their longer decay produces complex interactions to which our ears are sensitive and are harder to capture. Piano is similarly a percussion instrument with a long, complex decay.
If it’s on Qobuz I’ll check it out. Never heard of the instrument so it’ll be a learning experience. Looks interesting as well.
Update, it’s available on Qobuz so in the queue
I played the first couple of tracks from Metamorphosis. It certainly has a lot of presence! I think I shall defer the rest until I am feeling a little more robust
Wife and daughter out of earshot, I am going to spend the next 90 minutes or so with my Favourite Orchestra and my Favourite Conductor, and this recommended recording (Classical_music.com 4th favourite to conduct survey of 50 or so top conductors) .
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