President's Message
April 2002

Hello Members:

1.   Vol. 24 No. 2 of the Bass Speaker has been published electronically. It contains 3 meeting summaries: Joel Rosenblatt of Atlantic Technology Loudspeakers, Chris Field of EOSS Loudspeakers, and Bob Berkovitz of Sensimetrics on audio forensics. The last has many fascinating examples of analyzing audio recordings, sometimes in criminal cases (shades of C.S.I.!). Obits and reminiscences of Henry Kloss and Richard Bolt (of Bolt Beranek and Newman), a follow-up on HDTV reception and industry news fill out the 25 pages.

2.   Heavy irony dept.: After a movie on DVD comes up "MACRO VISION Quality Protection".

3.   The new Kimmel performing arts center and new home for the Philadelphia Orchestra, replacing the "architecturally resplendent but acoustically maddening" Academy of Music, has generally been rated a success. The 2500 seat Verizon Hall, shaped like the inside of a cello, has adjustable resonating chambers wrapping around the hall, with the unexpected side benefit of rendering cell phones useless. (BBC Mag Mr02).

4.   At the beginning of March the last laser disc pressing facility in the US will close. THE WORLD'S LAST LASER DISC is a farewell to the great format that has given so much satisfaction. In production for over a decade, THE ROME DISC will offer scenes of Rome in CAV format. $75 from Ponessa Productions, POB 1064, Glendive MT 59330.

5.   Undaunted by the failure of the St. Louis Orchestra to market its own recordings under the Arch label (they are in financial trouble), the London Symphony is doing the same. "Les Troyens", a 4 disc set, is the 10th release on the LSO Live label and has sold 30,000 copies. Recordings are made in concert at the Barbican Centre in London and no recording fees are paid to the conductors, soloists or orchestral players. Artists receive royalties when a recording breaks even (!). The San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas is following suit now that its final recording for RCA, "Charles Ives: A Musical Journey" has been released. The SF musicians have made concessions too, getting up-front fees for sales only through 10,000 units. The label, SFS Media, has had a problem in their Mahler Sixth release: a hiccup of silence in the final movement necessitates a repressing. (NYT 10Mr02) (Being involved in digital editing, I can sympathize-I'm amazed at the consistently high level of quality in classical releases-DBH)

David Hadaway

President, Boston Audio Society


 

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updated 11/11/04