User Details - tream

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Name:
  Thomas Ream
Details:
  Longtime music lover-classics (including opera), jazz and some rock, some country, bluegrass, celtic and new age.
Location:
  SF Bay Area, California, USA
HiFi:
  2 systems:

Multichannel - Sony XA5400ES, Integra DTR-40.2, Sunfire on wall speakers, with sub woofer.

Stereo - Sony XA9000ES, Simaudio I-7, B&W 804's, biwired with Audioquest cable, Nottingham Space 294 with Koetsu Black,Simaudio LP5.3 Revox A77. Technics R1520
Email:
  tomream01@hotmail.com
Web:
 
Posts:
  1187

 
 
Reviews
Found: 26 show all

Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony - Kitajenko      (12 of 12 found this review helpful)
  July 21, 2010

FWIW, I indicated in the Forum that I would post my reactions to this recording after I had a chance to listen to it. The earlier review on this site as well as comments made by Kal Rubison and a few others were encouraging enough for me to purchase this SACD, despite some negative reactions ... more
Dvorak: Symphony No. 6 - Sir Colin Davis        (6 of 6 found this review helpful)
  September 12, 2005

Performance wise, this is a winner. Davis and the LSO provide a passionate performance of this symphony (more akin to the 8th than to the 7th or 9th, in my view). The playing is excellent, with surging strings and limpid wind solos. Tempos are brisk, phrasing straightforward but without a trace of ... more
Mozart: Symphonies No. 31 & 38 - Krips      (7 of 7 found this review helpful)
  July 23, 2005

Krips was a genial Austrian who, while never considered to be among the world's top conductors, made some important recordings, including Don Giovanni with Siepi, a Schubert Great C Major that some consider to rank near the top, the first stereo integral set of Beethoven symphonies (before Karajan), ... more
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 - Haitink        (13 of 14 found this review helpful)
  June 9, 2005

This release is a disappointment, both for the performance and the sound. Haitink leads an OK, middle of the road interpretation without much drama or passion and the sound is dry, even tending towards strident. The soundstage is very wide and about a centimeter deep (it almost sounds like the ... more
Beethoven: The Symphonies - Karajan    (14 of 14 found this review helpful)
  June 8, 2005

I acquired this set, originally recorded in sessions in 1961 and 1962, as part of the process of comparing performances of Beethoven’s 5th on SACD (http://www.sa-cd.net/showthread/6768//y?page=first) and have since been listening to the other symphonies. Except for the 8th and 9th symphonies, this ... more

 
 
Latest Posts

Is Matching Surrounds or Center w/ Mains More Important for Classical? Or are Both Equally Important?
May 16, 2013
I own the Magnepan 3.7s and they sound great. I understand that the 1.7s are excellent as well and a bargain with respect to price performance. I am in the process of building a multichannel system with the 3.7s as the stereo pair - I will report when complete. The bass is perhaps a bit light with the Maggies but as you say well defined. ... more
Discussion: Wagner: Tannhauser - Janowski
May 5, 2013
I don't think so. I saw it on Amazon from several sellers, and another on line retail had it for sale, all in the mid-$30 range. Obviously RBCD. There are a few Wagner performances where I live with RBCD (everything else is either SACD or LP). One is the Sinopoli Tannhauser, two others are the Kubelik Meistersinger and the Kubelik Parsifal. ... more
Discussion: Wagner: Tannhauser - Janowski
May 3, 2013
Try Sinopoli's recording. It might convince you that this is one of Wagner's most beautiful scores, as it convinced me. I have now listened to the Janowski a couple of times. He doesn't relax and let the music flow the way other conductors have, but he is exciting. Having said that, I miss the music of the Paris version. ... more
San Francisco Symphony on Strike
March 22, 2013
Sloppy is not a word I used, and would not characterize the first set of performances in that way. I would use the word careful, perhaps, and committed for the second set of performances. There is no doubt that the soloists as recorded are superior to the first set. ... more
San Francisco Symphony on Strike
March 22, 2013
Actually, I would. San Francisco has been a great and supportive home for him. I was actually at his debut concert with the SFS back in the early 70's. As he once said to me....that was a long, long time ago! (OK, that was the only time I ever talked to him). But he has had a fantastic opportunity in San Francisco to record, to present innovative ... more