New Ultra Analogue Tape - Paganini Caprices Live!

[astrotoy]

Ed Pong just has released the complete Paganini Caprices captured during a live concert at his home concert venue, with the super Japanese violinist Tatsuki Narita. I don't think there has ever been a live recorded performance before. The pieces are too difficult! But Narita was up to the challenge. I just ordered my set. It takes 3 tapes to do the whole thing.

http://ultraanaloguerecordings.com/wpsite/store/

Look under Tatsuki Narita. You can order each tape separately. But you get a bluray of the entire concert if you order all three tapes together.

Larry

[astrotoy]

I received the 3 Paganini Caprices recital tapes last week. All I can say is WOW! First, in my 50+ years of concert going, I have never heard the complete Paganini Caprices ever played in one concert. Typically in a violin recital, a group of three of the caprices are featured as one of the pieces, or sometimes one of caprices is played as an encore. So playing all 24 in one live concert is a monumental accomplishment. The caprices range from being difficult to almost impossible to play. Paganini wrote them over a period of years in three groups - 6, 6 and 12. And this is how the recital was arranged, as well as the three tapes. The first two tapes are around 25 minutes long each, and the last one is over 30 minutes long, making the total recital over 80 minutes in length. Narita is a fabulously talented violinist, with both extreme technical chops and an expressiveness that comes out in this playing. You can feel the tension in the room as he plays one after another - almost like movements in a sonata. It is like a high wire act without a net.

If the price of three tapes is too steep in one go, I would recommend starting with the last reel, Caprices 13-24. This contains his last and most famous caprice #24. This was the basis for several very famous workes, including two sets of Brahms piano variations and the ultra popular Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff, for piano and orchestra.

Ed has continued to incrementally improve his already fine recording and duplicating electronics, inserting some vintage WE300b tubes at critical points, and putting in a battery power supply in one part. The sound is even more palpable with the WE 300b's in the chain than his earlier tapes.

I compared Narita's traversal of the Caprices with my two favorite versions - the Itzhak Perlman from the '70's and the Michael Rabin from the '50's. I find the emotion and subtlety of Narita's playing to surpass both Perlman and Rabin, which were both studio recording. The sonics, in these 15ips 2 track tapes are in another league, of course.

Buy at least reel 3, then you will want the other two.

Larry

[astrotoy]

These are solo violin performances ? Stradivarius ?
CCIR EQ ?

The Caprices are solo violin. Along with the Bach Sonatas and Partitas they are the pinnacle of solo violin playing. Tatuski is playing a Guarnari del Jesu, lent by an anonomous patron. He also has a Strad, lent to him by a Japanese Foundation. Ed records using NAB EQ which he thinks sounds better. I buy his tapes with NAB EQ, but he offers them in CCIR also.

Larry

[rockitman]

I ordered ACT 3 and Beethoven Ghost Trio. These will be my first Ultra Analogue RTR Tapes.