Solo Piano/Other Recordings Played thru Omega Speakers

4Musica · « **on:** 11 Dec 2010, 05:56 am »

Louis,

I have been listening to a lot of solo piano works of late on my Omega Alnico Super 8 XRS and I must tell you that I continue to be more and more impressed with these speakers. I know that according to the "specs" they do not go as high as many other speakers do (or claim to do) but I find the musical presentation to be exquisite.

Do other Omega owners find these wonderful speakers to be as stunningly real with solo piano works as I do? Is there a particular recording that made you decide yeah or nay on the question of solo piano realism, and if so, which recording(s)? Right now I am listening to The Fountains of Villa d'Este (Franz Liszt) performed by Teddy Teirup and almost feel like I am being treated to my own personal piano recital. This is not the first time this has happened while listening to piano music through my Omegas! And I have found the same to be true with many other solo instrumental recordings, such as guitar, cello, violin, viola da gamba, and lute.

Nicely done, Louis! Many thanks for your fine offerings!!

All The Best,

Steven

Mijknarf · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Dec 2010, 11:03 am »

I don't own Omega speakers, but I'll give you a place to start with a great recording that happens to be appropriate for the season; have fun with the new speakers!

December - George Winston

ZLS · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Dec 2010, 12:33 pm »

Quote from: 4Musica on 11 Dec 2010, 05:56 am

Louis,

I have been listening to a lot of solo piano works of late on my Omega Alnico Super 8 XRS and I must tell you that I continue to be more and more impressed with these speakers. I know that according to the "specs" they do not go as high as many other speakers do (or claim to do) but I find the musical presentation to be exquisite.

Do other Omega owners find these wonderful speakers to be as stunningly real with solo piano works as I do? Is there a particular recording that made you decide yeah or nay on the question of solo piano realism, and if so, which recording(s)? Right now I am listening to The Fountains of Villa d'Este (Franz Liszt) performed by Teddy Teirup and almost feel like I am being treated to my own personal piano recital. This is not the first time this has happened while listening to piano music through my Omegas! And I have found the same to be true with many other solo instrumental recordings, such as guitar, cello, violin, viola da gamba, and lute.

Nicely done, Louis! Many thanks for your fine offerings!!

All The Best,

Steven

Are you interested in any Jazz Recording?
If so, I could recommend a bunch.

4Musica · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Dec 2010, 01:31 pm »

Yes, George Winston is a great one for solo piano and very "seasonal" as well. I am always looking for recording suggestions, vinyl (preferably) and CD. Baroque/Classical/Romantic/etc, jazz, blues, vocals, big band, swing - I pretty much listen to everything!

fdiaz · « **Reply #4 on:** 12 Dec 2010, 01:08 pm »

In the interest of full disclosure, let it be known that I am the dealer that sold the Super 8 XRS Alnicos to 4Musica/Steven.

Hello, Steven:

It is deeply gratifying for me to know, from our conversations throughout the past year and from your multiple posts on this forum, that you are deriving so much enjoyment from your Omegas, considering the company they are keeping among other, much higher-priced, extremely high quality components in your collection.

Here's my (very) short list of piano realism through any of the Omega loudspeakers:

Nojima Plays Liszt (Minoru Nojima) - Reference Recordings
Chopin and Liszt Sonatas (Alan Gampel) - Mapleshade Records
Chris Anderson - Love Locked Out - Mapleshade Records (Stunning)
Liszt - Annees de Pererinage, Vol. 1 (Switzerland) (Jeno Jando) - Naxos
Any Chopin by Ashkenazy on Decca
Any Beethoven and Schubert by Brendel on Philips
Beethoven piano sonatas by Paul Lewis - Harmonia Mundi

Even not so great recordings sound very real through the Omegas.

The above is a very short list, mind you.

I wish you and other lucky Omega owners much continued happy listening.

Frank Diaz
EarHead Audio

ZLS · « **Reply #5 on:** 12 Dec 2010, 04:55 pm »

Quote from: ZLS on 11 Dec 2010, 12:33 pm

Are you interested in any Jazz Recording?
If so, I could recommend a bunch.

Evolution:John Lewis (of Modern Jazz Quartet Fame)
Conversation With Myself: Bill Evans
Luckey and the Lion: Willie the Lion Smith and Luckey Roberts (Harlem Stride Piano)
The Pianist:Duke Ellington (That's Right; Duke Ellington on Solo Piano)
The Best of Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces on Pablo: Art Tatum
Thelonious Himself: Thelonious Monk

4Musica · « **Reply #6 on:** 13 Dec 2010, 12:46 am »

Thank you Frank and ZLS. Both of you made at least one recommendation with which I am not familiar - yet!

doctorcilantro · « **Reply #7 on:** 21 Dec 2010, 02:34 am »

Heavenly thread! Thanks for posting some cuts all. I'll dig through my archives and what I can find here to play on the new Hoyt-Bedfords arriving...tomorrow!

S Clark · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 Dec 2010, 03:27 am »

Having played for years, the absolute best recording of what a piano sounds like to the artist is David Fung's Evening Conversations- Stunningly accurate for a close mic session.

4Musica · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 Dec 2010, 05:19 am »

This is just another excellent example of why I love audio forums! I have no idea at this point who David Fung is, but after I post this reply I will do a quick google drill (my normal MO) and then seek out "Evening Conversations" on vinyl (hopefully) or at least CD. Many thanks, S Clark!

Dr. Cilantro - Hopefully you will be sharing feedback on your new Hoyt-Bedfords? Congrats, BTW.

I am feeling more than a little guilty about my own lack of input for a thread that I started. I promise this weekend to post some recordings that I feel are extraordinary for playback on Omegas.

Happy Listening, Everyone!

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #10 on:** 21 Dec 2010, 06:44 am »

My Omega's shine with this recording....

Oscar Peterson - "Tracks"

4Musica · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Dec 2010, 05:30 am »

Here's one recommendation (although not piano) for not quite solo music that I feel is just extraordinary, and I am luxuriating in it right now on my Omegas! It's "Sainte Colombe - Retrouve & Change" featuring the incredible (and incredibly beautiful) Hille Perl on Viola da Gamba. She is accompanied on various works by other excellent musicians playing Theorbo, Triple Harp, Irish Harp, and/or Organ. DHM label - 05472 77373 2. I would love to find this on vinyl . . . But I am just so grateful to have found it at all!

Happy Listening!

Louis O · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Dec 2010, 07:56 pm »

Hi Steven,

Great news. I have to listen to more piano myself and get off of all the guitar music.

All the posts are great and I will be looking into a lot of the suggestions.

What I do when I design the speakers is to pay attention mostly to voice. It's so easy to hear voice everyday as a reference. The hard part is to get it right. This is one of the reasons that I will always build single driver speakers. Get the midrange right and the rest will work out.

Piano is very hard to get right.

Thanks again,
Louis

4Musica · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Dec 2010, 08:39 pm »

Here is one solo piano recommendation; I have it on CD but it might also be available on vinyl. "109" featuring pianist Jackson Berkey performing works of Beethoven (opus 109, hence the title), Scriabin, and Debussy. Berkey's phrasing and expression are to be treasured. American Grammaphone AGCD 381.

S Clark - You are so right about David Fung! Yarlungrecords has proven to be a gold mine of a find! Thank you!

Happy Listening, everyone!

Steven

Louis O · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 Dec 2010, 11:43 pm »

Hi Steven,

Many thanks and I will look into these too.

Thanks again,
Louis

fdiaz · « **Reply #15 on:** 29 Dec 2010, 04:29 am »

Steven (and the others):

You probably already have these, but they're still worth mentioning in this post:

Frederic Chopin - Ballades, Scherzi, and other assorted works - Murray Perahia - Sony

Frederic Chopin - Etudes (Op. 10 and 25), Impromptus - Murray Perahia - Sony

Happy Listening!

S Clark · « **Reply #16 on:** 29 Dec 2010, 04:36 am »

Quote from: 4Musica on 26 Dec 2010, 08:39 pm

Here is one solo piano recommendation; I have it on CD but it might also be available on vinyl. "109" featuring pianist Jackson Berkey performing works of Beethoven (opus 109, hence the title), Scriabin, and Debussy. Berkey's phrasing and expression are to be treasured. American Grammaphone AGCD 381.

S Clark - You are so right about David Fung! Yarlungrecords has proven to be a gold mine of a find! Thank you!

Happy Listening, everyone!

Steven

Steven, Glad to pass the word on this cd. It has no peer in my collection of piano recordings. I'll look for the Berkey recording as well....

Got it used for $.71 plus shipping! Looking forward to it.
Scott

4Musica · « **Reply #17 on:** 29 Dec 2010, 04:42 am »

Frank - Yes, I have those and they are wonderful interpretations/recordings.

Tonight is actually a Chopin night for me, comparing and contrasting my Omega-based system and my Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento-based system. So here is a vinyl solo piano recommendation that will be spinning shortly on those systems. Malcolm Frager Plays Chopin, Telarc Digital (wish it could have been analog), DG 10040. Despite being a digital recording, this is one of my five desert island classical LPs. An incredible performance. However, it might not be the right choice for Chopin purists insofar as Mr. Frager plays these pieces on a Bosendorfer Imperial Concert Grand, pretty much the complete antithesis of the type of piano for which the pieces were composed. But it sure works for me!

Happy Listening!

Steven

fdiaz · « **Reply #18 on:** 29 Dec 2010, 05:04 am »

Steven:

I happen to have the Grande Polonaise interpreted by Frager in an early Telarc sampler disc. It's probably taken from the disc you cite.

FD

Hank Murrow · « **Reply #19 on:** 1 Jan 2011, 03:45 pm »

Quote from: 4Musica on 23 Dec 2010, 05:30 am

Here's one recommendation (although not piano) for not quite solo music that I feel is just extraordinary, and I am luxuriating in it right now on my Omegas! It's "Sainte Colombe - Retrouve & Change" featuring the incredible (and incredibly beautiful) Hille Perl on Viola da Gamba.

Wow! I got a copy and it will go alongside Jordi Savall's many recordings in my collection. Sounds great on my Super 5's with SET amplification! So many small details in the playing rendered perfectly.

Thanks for the recommendation & Cheers in the New Year........ Hank