Pavarotti
It would seem that in the August 1981 issue of STEREO REVIEW, Messrs. William Livingstone and George Jellinek mutually decided, "Let's sock it to Luciano Pavarotti." Mr. Jellinek describes the Pavarotti/ Joan Sutherland Traviata as "disappointing" and calls Pavarotti's portrayal of Alfredo "routine" (page 99-100), and Mr. Livingstone puts down Maestro Pavarotti in "Classical Music Briefs" (page 91) for his "constant efforts to upstage soprano Judith Blegen in the Met's performances of L'Eli sir d'Amore this year." I agree with Mr. Jellinek that Ms. Sutherland's enunciation has always left much to be desired, but, still, I cannot believe that artists of the prestige and caliber of Pavarotti and Dame Joan could ever put out a "disappointing" record. As for Mr. Livingstone's comments, while I do not wish to take anything away from the enormously gifted Ms. Blegen (who I feel has become the world's leading lyric/coloratura soprano now that Beverly Sills has retired from singing), I feel that Pavarotti is perfectly capable of upstaging anybody he sings with, even if he should happen to be singing offstage. It is also apparent that Mr. Livingstone has forgotten that Pavarotti's role in L'Elisir, the peasant Nemorino, is the central character of the opera and therefore should be allowed to hold center stage. Given Pavarotti's magnificent voice and his reputation in the world of opera, I say, more power to him!
ALLEN JONES Port Arthur, Tex.
William Livingstone replies: An artist's prestige does not prevent him from making a disappointing record, but on the contrary probably makes it harder for him to satisfy the public. "To upstage" means to distract the audience's attention from another per former improperly. Nemorino may be the most important character in L'Elisir d'Amore, but the opera makes little sense musically and dramatically if the soprano is not permitted to sing her arias without distracting horseplay from the tenor. I don't think Pavarotti's voice and reputation exempt him from common courtesy to his colleagues, but he may well agree with Mr. Jones that it is impossible for him ever to make a disappointing album and that he is entitled to hog center stage at all times.
There was no collusion between Mr. Jellinek and me, but Pavarotti does make rather an easy target these days.
Listening Tests
I think the "golden ears" chosen for August's listening tests on $100 speakers must have left those ears in their glass cases at home-or else the test procedure was faulty. When there are so many large discrepancies in the rankings (for example, the Technics SB-L50 was ranked most preferable by two judges and least preferable by three), something is wrong and the test should be deemed invalid. Here are some suggestions to get more credible results:
(1) Decide on uniform criteria before the test (such as musical accuracy). I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that some of the evaluators brought in records of thunderclaps and applause, since in past issues STEREO REVIEW has advised against using such sound effects to evaluate speakers.
(2) Use a set of speakers that, regardless of cost, all the panelists agree are accurate musical reproducers as a measuring stick with which to compare the speakers being tested. Julian Hirsch does this time and again when he tests speakers, so why not in this case? (3) Provide the program material for the tests (records and tapes), or at least censor those brought in by the evaluators to eliminate objectionable ones-see point (1) above.
Together with the other procedures that were used (such as keeping the speakers being evaluated from being seen by the listener, equalizing volume levels, etc.), these could help insure unbiased judgments.
DEAN TOMEK Vallejo, Calif.
Associate Technical Editor David Ranada replies: Unhappily, the results of a scientific test often do not concur with common sense expectations-but that does not mean they are invalid. In this case, the disparities in the rankings tell us that speaker preference is sometimes far more dependent on program material and listener taste than one might think. Regarding reader Tomek's other points:
(1) The only criterion used was preference. Since most other speaker characteristics were hidden or controlled by the test procedure, the listeners could base their preferences only on the speakers' sonic properties. Accuracy, realism, and the rest are included in this criterion.
(2) Comparing speakers with a standard in this case would have resulted only in finding which speakers sounded most like the standard. And there's no guarantee that we would be able to find a "measuring stick" that our eight "golden ears" could agree on. The point of the test was to find preference trends in a population of skilled listeners within typical dealer-showroom restrictions.
(3) The thunder recording was made by the listener who used it. He was under the storm as it broke, and I can think of no better material for testing speaker "accuracy" than material recorded by the listener in situ. Applause is useful as a test signal since it rapidly points out deficiencies in upper-midrange performance. STEREO Review's previous admonitions against using sound effects to evaluate speakers apply only to those sounds unlikely to be en countered in everyday life, such as steam locomotives, car crashes, and nuclear explosions.
If we had provided the material for the test, we would have had to make sure that each listener was as familiar with it as with the material he actually brought in. This could take years. Also, providing the material would run the risk of a subliminally biased choice that might give an unfair ad vantage (or disadvantage) to a particular speaker system.
That was a fine review of fifteen $100 speakers in the August issue, but how about a panel of professional musicians for the next review of this sort? Here's my panel of "golden ears": Count Basie, Itzhak Perl man, Zubin Mehta, Buddy Rich, Frank Zappa, Aaron Copland, Robin Gibb, Henry Mancini. Does anyone publish reviews of audio equipment by musicians?
RICHARD ALEXANDER; Glen Head, N.Y.
No.
Tchaikovsky Trio
In an August review, David Hall suggests that the Tchaikovsky Trio, Op. 50, at times calls for "an orchestral canvas." Frederick Stock, the great conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for some thirty years, did arrange the trio for full orchestra, and it was performed by the Chicago Symphony with great success in Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, and elsewhere. The score and parts are gathering dust in the library of the orchestra. When will someone dig them up and record it? A minor correction: Mr. Hall said that the Mirecourt Trio is based on the West Coast. It is, and has been for several years, in residence at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.
The trio was, however, formed at California State University in Fullerton, which is on the West Coast.
KARL OLDBERG; Santa Monica, Calif.
Dubbing Ethics
I am a music lover. I collect music in all forms. But I have little or no sympathy for the blues that record labels are crying about music lovers illegally dubbing music. I'm not concerned primarily with the costs but with the availability of the product. I can utilize discs, cassettes, or eight-track cartridges, and no sooner do I see a new issue of interest in the Schwann catalog than I at tempt to get it. After many months of the item's being "on order," I am told that it has been cut out. The catalog life of records and tapes seems to get shorter and shorter as we grind out more.
I realize that a store can stock only so much and that some items I might want are out of the ordinary, not in the mainstream of what today constitutes popular music. So I resort to dubbing as a last resort-but only as a last resort. For instance, this very month I had arranged with friends to borrow two old and long out-of-print Capitol recordings so I could dub them, but I learned that Capitol has just reissued the recordings. Now if they will leave them in print long enough for me to be able to buy copies, I will buy them and then dub my own copies so as to save wear on the discs.
ROBERT W. HOHLMAYER; Springfield, Ohio
The Byrds
Steve Simels has always been my favorite STEREO REVIEW writer, and I was pleased with his kind remarks about the Byrds in the August "Popular Music Briefs." Although I'm only twenty-one, I have been a Byrds fan since long before I even heard of Tom Petty. Consequently, I noticed an error on Mr. Simels' part: he said the song Why had never been previously issued on an American album, but it's the closing track on "Younger Than Yesterday," released in 1967.
TOMMY NAUGHER; Piedmont, Ala.
Steve Simels replies: We're both right. The version of Why mentioned in "Briefs" was recorded in 1966 at the sessions for the "Fifth Dimension" album and was originally released as the B-side of Eight Miles High. It is considerably harder-edged and more aggressive than the 1967 remake.
Disc Packaging
I would like to second James Green's re quest (January "Letters") to the record companies to switch back to paper record sleeves. Whereas Mr. Green's problems with the currently fashionable plastic-lined sleeves stem from the hot and humid tropical climate of Puerto Rico, which he says causes the plastic to bleed and stick to his records, my problems involve static caused by the dry air in the western United States, compounded by the abundance of all types of dust in the environment. Removal of most records from their plastic sleeves en genders a tremendous static charge, which quickly results in the attraction of an abundance of dust particles to the record surface. This problem is especially pronounced with many European records, which in the name of quieter disc surfaces are made of vinyl with little or no antistatic compound mixed in. I have had to put al most as much money into antistatic remedies as I have into records, and I have there fore pirated as many paper inner sleeves as I could get.
DOUGLAS E. ROLLINS; Ogden, Utah
I have a complaint not about the quality of record albums today but about the quality of album jackets, which is seldom written about. Today's album jackets have poor storage qualities. Record companies insist on giving us fancy covers that tear easily in repeated use because of the sharp disc edge. Albums should come factory-equipped with plastic-lined paper inner sleeves, like imports have. Perhaps one day American record companies will give consumers what they really want: better quality and fewer frills.
PAUL A. CAMPISE; Houston, Tex.
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Source: Stereo Review (USA magazine)