Pedal C

I don't know anything about the technical aspects of recording, but to my ears at least, it sounds like recent recordings are more..."homogenized"...for lack of a better word, than most older recordings. I heard Phil Smith in person for the first time last year and was really surprised at how much more live and vibrant his sound was than in most recordings I'd heard. It completely changed the way I percieved him. To contrast, I heard Bud Herseth live in the mid 90's and found that he sounded very much (although not exactly) like he did on most of the older recordings that I absolutely love! I may be totally full of it (it wouldn't be the first time!), but I think maybe the recording technology accounts for SOME of the sameness of sound. I would agree though, that even live, there is less variety of sound and personal "flair" than before (although I never heard more of the earlier generation of players live).

Another thing I wonder about is if the sound of other instruments in the orchestra has gotten less individual. Do flute players sound more alike now than 40 years ago? Clarinet? Cello? Etc... That would definately make orchestras sound more similar regardless of the trumpet player.

Also...has scholarship improved over the years so that conductors are interpreting music in a more similar way? Are some of the "individualistic" interpretations from older recordings not acceptable anymore? I'm not knowledgeable enough to even begin to answer that...

Neat topic.

Jason.

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"The oboe's A is to make sure we still play it 1 and 2" - Bud Herseth

"One way or another, every patient stops bleeding." - Scrubs