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RE: Recording is the death of Music
Yes, good point. Although most of the recordings that I have played for are in a 'natural' acoustic and not a studio, you still have the microphones much closer than an audience would be. This really has affected the way we use the instruments, pushing us generally to the softer attacks and woolier sounds.
Especially for opera, where the acoustics of the space have a huge effect on the voice. The Italians use the term "chiaroscuro" to describe it (the term is also used in visual art, but a totally different thing, obviously). In a large space, the audience can hear the vowels very clearly as if the singer is standing close to them, but the distance also gives a darkness to the sound that you just cannot get from up-close mics. It is very difficult to replicate this in a recording.
That's interesting to hear how it changes the way you play as a result. The microphones used also can color he sound differently, depending on what you get. Many of the commercially available mics will have a "bump" on the frequency response around the 2-3kHz range, which will make bad vocals sound very clear. But for an opera singer, who is trained to accentuate that frequency, it gives the voice a harsh edge that isn't really there. When I first discovered this problem, I adjusted my singing to make it softer, but of course, that's now how the voice is designed to be used all the time.
Still, I love the challenge and discovery of how I can achieve a better recording sound. I'm not anti-recording, but I am a bit of anti-perfectionism in the process. This is why I love Vladimir Horowitz: many of his recordings he did in one take and would leave mistakes in there. It was more authentic, and no one thinks he was a hack.
Yes, many of the old recordings are much more authentic. They also tell us much about the styles of expression that are frowned upon in the modern classical world. Heavy use of portamenti and liberal tempo rubato with left and right hands being expressively not together.
Interesting about the mic bump, I didn't know that!