Welcome to my very first blog... in my job I am in a really lucky position where I get to visit lots of interesting places and meet extraordinary people. I'm really glad I can now share my personal experiences with anyone interested in reading about them...
It's the first time I've attended a recording session and I was surprised by what I saw and heard.
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, an exceptionally talented and eclectic group of musicians, emanate from all over Europe. Unusually, or so I was told, there is not a weak link in the orchestra. Also unusually, after each take, the entire orchestra piled into the control room to hear themselves. Mallinson said: "This is the most engaged orchestra I've ever worked with. They come to listen to every take immediately with Sir Charles so that they can improve the performance. They take absolute responsibility for the quality of their output."
I enjoyed the sideways glances, grimaces and sniggers of the orchestra as they reacted to various foul-ups during the take, though I must admit that few were noticeable to me.
For one take, I was privileged to be allowed into the hall during the recording. There I could see the 16 shiny, new Sennheiser microphones positioned around the orchestra. Interestingly, these microphones, coupled with the latest 24bit / 192kHz A-D technology, mean that almost the entire mix comes from the stereo pair situated to the front left and right of the orchestra - in the listening position so to speak. "They pick up everything", said Hobbs, "which means that the latest recordings require less mixing than ever." And so? "And so the recording sounds far more like the live orchestra." A-ha!
"The Beethoven [Piano Concertos 3,4 & 5, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Artur Pizarro] were 75% there," said Mallinson. "Now we have all the pieces in place, this one will be 100%."
I can't wait to hear it!
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