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Name:
   Bruce Zeisel
Details:
   I am a devotee of Classical Music, especially violin, cello second. Enjoy music from Vivaldi and Bach to Shostakovitch, Schnittke, and living contemprorary composers. Enjoy Mozart and Haydn, Beethoven Schubert etc but maybe revel more in Bruckner, Mahler, Dvorak, Sibelius, love early Bartok, and the Concerto for Orchestra. I love Mozart Piano Concertos and Brahms also!

Although we live in Albany and attend local concerts, my wife and I also have a "mini series" with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston, so we make that trek 7 or 8 times a year plus forays to Carnegie Hall, and for soloists who are REALLY interesting - such as Vadim Repin, Pieter Wispelwey, Hilary Hahn, or Julia Fischer, we will even go to Avery Fisher Hall. That venue, in my mind is a poor place to listen to music so when we go there, we sit up close.
Location:
   Albany NY
HiFi:
   Hi Fi Currently consists of:

Left and Right speakers: Apogee Duetta Signatures (unmodified)
Center Channel speakers : pair of Magnepan 2.6Rs each driven by one half of stereo amp with Y connection to that amp from center channel of preamp.

If you are not familiar with these, they are planar magnetic speakers (no cones or enclosures), with ribbons for the higher frequencies. the Apogees have 4ft long ribbons for tweeter/midrange. The Magnepans have what looks to be about a 30 inch ribbon tweeter. (Quite spectacular in that it is less than a quarter the thickness of a human hair)

Rear Channel speakers: Mirage Omni-Sats

Amps: Musical Fidelity P-270 for front left and right
B&K 140 for center channel as described above
Parasound A-23 for rear channels

Pre-amp: Bel Canto Pre 6 (7.1 channel analog preamp)

SACD: Sony SCD XA 9000 ES

Interconnect Cables: Neglex 2534 Quad Microphone cable
Speaker Cables: As supplied with Apogee Speakers and 10 gauge Home Depot Outdoor Extension Cord with terminations from Radio Shack for center and rear channels.

Favorite SACD labels: PentaTone; Channel Classics; BIS
Email:
   zeisels@verizon.net
Web:
  
Posts:
   1385
 
 
Reviews
Found: 29 show all
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 13 & 24 - Helmchen, Nikolic        (14 of 14 found this review helpful)
  October 12, 2007

This one is rather special! Superb sound; and the very nuanced but masculine playing from Helmchen and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra is wonderful! Not a period performance, but like Julia Fischer's Mozart Concertos, this is a period informed performance of the highest caliber. I was unfamiliar ... more
Brahms: Symphony No. 1, Haydn Variations - Janowski        (8 of 10 found this review helpful)
  September 12, 2007

I've listened to this several times now and I find it compelling....disconcerting possibly. But the thing is that I can't seem to get enough of it. As Edvin in his review above implies, these performances really move along. Maybe move along too fast. Or do they? It all depends on what you want in ... more
Brahms: Violin Concerto, Double Concerto - Fischer, Kreizberg        (9 of 9 found this review helpful)
  June 8, 2007

Brahms, to the manner born? Actually to say that this is Brahms, "to the manner born" would discredit this magnificent achievement. One should say "This is Brahms as it should always have been played!" As has been remarked elsewhere, Julia Fischer is an astonishingly gifted young artist. Her ... more
Theodorakis: Rhapsody for Cello, Ballet Suite - Bosch      (4 of 5 found this review helpful)
  April 11, 2007

I still really don't know what I think about this one! The playing and recording are quite good, excellent really - that is why all the stars. The Rhapsody for Cello has me bemused. At any given moment, I am aware that I am hearing nice melodic material. Superb 'cello playing, (keep an eye out for ... more
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9 - Kreizberg        (13 of 15 found this review helpful)
  April 3, 2007

First, I want to call attention to the sound (in multi-channel) of this release: It is stunning! The strings have body but sound like strings, not some congealed mass of treble - and unfortunately that is not always accomplished, even in SACD - so I find this exceptionally fine! The separation of ... more
 
 
Latest Posts
Lack of video caused SACD's demise?
Today 08:29 am
I actually looked to see if Theresa had posted her email address because I really wanted to communicate with her - without waking the ogre under the bridge. Shame that you don't know how to be civil, how to accept the fact that others have different opinions from yourself, and how to allow them to express those opinions without resorting to ... more
Lack of video caused SACD's demise?
Today 06:17 am
I am inclined to agree with your observations concerning hybrid vs single layer discs. My musical preferences run from Vivaldi and Bach through Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, Mendelssohn and Berlioz, Bruckner, Brahms and Dvorak to Mahler, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Bartok and, well I think maybe you get the idea. I enjoy chamber music, ... more
Lack of video caused SACD's demise?
September 6, 2008
I don't follow you here, could you elaborate? What exactly do you mean by "substantive"? I think for example that my SONY SCD XA9000 ES is very substantive. The Meitner gear even more so, and there are others in the same rank. ... more
Lack of video caused SACD's demise?
September 5, 2008
It certainly suits all acoustically produced (as opposed to electronically produced) music. A banjo, guitar, fiddle and flute recorded in the Troy Music Hall playing what ever folk music you care to mention will benefit from mch SACD every bit as much as Brahms piano trios or Shostakovitch symphonies. If you have more to add - tell us because as a ... more
Discussion: Richard Strauss: Tone Poems - Albrecht
September 5, 2008
I just received this and gave it a first listen last night. The sound is rather impressive I must say. I think finding the appropriate volume is critical but that is true of many SACDs. This one is a little "hot" and I turned it down about 20 db from my usual listening level. I have to give it another listen or two before I make any statements ... more